Dashboard of time tracking software showing employee hours, tasks, and productivity metrics.

Best Time Tracking Software for Employees: Features & Tools to Know

By Sammi Cox

Time tracking records employee work hours and enhances productivity. It ensures accurate payroll, better project management, and transparency. This article reviews top time tracking software to help you choose the right tool for your needs.

Key takeaways

  • Time tracking software enhances productivity and accountability by providing insights into employee activities and optimizing task management.
  • Effective time tracking tools feature automatic tracking, GPS monitoring, mobile accessibility, and integration capabilities with other project management software.
  • The 2025 time tracking market includes top apps catering to various needs, such as Toggl Track for freelancers and Harvest for invoicing.

Understanding Time Tracking Software

Dashboard of time tracking software showing employee hours, tasks, and productivity metrics.

Time tracking software is a versatile tool designed to track time, manage projects, automate payroll, and generate detailed reports. Accurate time entries from these tools provide invaluable insights into employee activities, allowing businesses to identify time drains and optimize task management. Whether you’re managing a large enterprise or a small team, time tracking software can significantly improve your workflows.

Employee time tracking apps are particularly beneficial for management. They provide greater visibility into employee activities, allowing managers to monitor and track time spent on various tasks and projects. This enhances transparency and accountability, leading to better resource allocation and improved overall productivity. Additionally, using employee time tracking software can streamline this process further.

Moreover, time tracking solutions are adaptable across various industries, regardless of work activities, schedules, locations, or styles, enabling seamless tracking.

Key Features of Effective Time Tracking Tools

Effective time tracking tools come equipped with a host of features designed to streamline the tracking process and provide valuable insights. One of the most essential features is automatic time tracking, which uses technologies like PINs, biometrics, or apps to automatically record clock-ins and outs, thereby improving efficiency. GPS tracking is another critical feature, enabling real-time location monitoring of employees, which is particularly useful for fieldwork and remote work environments.

Mobile access is a must-have feature for modern time tracking tools. It allows employees to clock in and out, log hours, and add notes directly from their mobile devices, providing flexibility and convenience. Customizable reports are equally important, as they offer tailored insights into project progress and task management, helping businesses make informed decisions. A mobile app can enhance this experience further with mobile time tracking and mobile apps.

In addition to these features, effective time tracking tools often integrate seamlessly with other project management tools and software, enhancing overall productivity and efficiency. Whether you’re looking to track project progress, detailed reporting capabilities, or real-time insights, these key features ensure that your time tracking solution meets your organization’s unique needs.

Top 10 Time Tracking Apps for 2025

In 2025, the market is flooded with time tracking apps, each offering unique features tailored for specific needs. From freelancers to large enterprises, there’s a time tracking solution for everyone.

The top 10 time tracking apps for 2025 include:

  • Kumospace
  • Toggl Track
  • My Hours
  • Timely
  • Harvest
  • QuickBooks Time
  • Replicon
  • Clockify
  • Hubstaff
  • Paymo
  • Avaza

Each of these apps excels in different areas, such as ease of use, project management, invoicing, and more. Let’s dive into the specifics of each app to help you find the perfect fit for your requirements.

Kumospace: Best for Remote Teams

Illustration of a remote employee using a time tracking app on a laptop and phone.

Kumospace is the go-to virtual office platform for remote teams that want to stay connected and engaged, without the awkward Zoom fatigue. Here's why:

  • It replicates the casual, spontaneous feel of a real office with spatial audio and customizable virtual spaces, making it feel more like “walking over to someone's desk” than launching a meeting link.
  • Unlike traditional video conferencing tools, Kumospace encourages organic team interactions like coffee chats, quick syncs, or team-wide celebrations, no calendar invite required.
  • The platform supports collaborative features like screen sharing, embedded docs, and whiteboards inside each room, creating an immersive work environment where collaboration feels natural.
  • Its pricing is startup-friendly, with a free plan for small teams and flexible paid tiers that scale as you grow.
  • Whether you’re hosting a daily standup, co-working session, or virtual happy hour, Kumospace helps distributed teams build culture and communicate more naturally.

For remote teams looking to bring back the human side of work, Kumospace offers a fun, functional, and highly customizable solution.

Toggl Track: Best for Freelancers

Toggl Track stands out as the go-to time tracking app for freelancers because:

  • It is seamlessly accessible through a browser extension that integrates with various web apps, making it incredibly user-friendly.
  • It prioritizes user privacy by not tracking locations or allowing remote monitoring.
  • It features idle detection to ensure that inactive time is not recorded, providing an accurate representation of work hours.

The pricing model is another attractive feature, offering a free plan for up to five users and affordable rates of $9 to $18 for additional users. With its Google Calendar view, users can easily visualize their weeks, color-coded by project, allowing for quick adjustments and a clear overview of their time allocation.

For freelancers juggling multiple clients and projects, Toggl Track is a reliable and efficient time tracking solution.

My Hours: Best for Ease of Use

My Hours is celebrated for its ease of use, making it a great choice for businesses seeking a straightforward time tracking solution. Key features include:

  • Availability on Web, iOS, and Android platforms, offering flexibility and accessibility across various devices
  • Highly competitive pricing, with a free option
  • A premium plan costing just $8 per user per month

One of the standout features of My Hours is its support for unlimited projects, allowing users to track time across multiple clients without restrictions. Additionally, the app is known for its excellent customer support, with tracked hours and responsive assistance provided within 24 hours.

For those looking for a cost-effective and user-friendly time tracking tool, My Hours is an excellent option.

Timely: Best for Project Management

Comparison chart of top time tracking tools with checkmarks for features like clock-in, reporting, and integrations.

Timely is a powerful time tracking app designed to enhance project management. Available on various platforms, including Web, Mobile (iOS, Android), and Desktop (Mac, Windows), it offers comprehensive accessibility for users. One of its most impressive features is automatic time tracking, which eliminates the need for manual logging by automatically adding project tags based on recorded activities.

The app records and groups work, suggesting time entries and providing valuable insights into team productivity. With pricing starting at $16 per user per month, Timely offers a range of features that make it an excellent choice for managing projects effectively using a timesheet app.

For small teams looking to improve project management, team coordination, and overall performance, Timely is a strong contender worth considering.

Harvest: Best for Invoicing

Harvest is renowned for its invoicing capabilities, making it the best choice for businesses that need to bill clients accurately. The app allows users to create and send invoices directly based on tracked time, streamlining the billing process and ensuring timely payments. Harvest automates invoice generation from time entries, saving time and minimizing errors.

However, it’s worth noting that Harvest has some limitations in terms of detailed reporting and customization options for invoices. Despite these drawbacks, its robust invoicing features make Harvest an invaluable tool for businesses focused on accurate billing and efficient payroll processing.

QuickBooks Time: Best for QuickBooks Integration

QuickBooks Time excels in its seamless integration with QuickBooks, making it the ideal choice for businesses already using QuickBooks for accounting and quickbooks payroll. Designed for accurate tracking of work hours, managing employee schedules, and processing payroll, QuickBooks Time offers a comprehensive solution for employee management. The geofencing feature is particularly useful, reminding employees to clock in or out based on their job site locations. Additionally, QuickBooks Time integrates with other tools to enhance productivity, including the time clock functionality.

Available on web and mobile platforms, including iOS and Android, QuickBooks Time ensures easy access and usability for employees. Additionally, its basic scheduling features help manage employee shifts and specific job assignments effectively. For businesses seeking a well-integrated time tracking solution, QuickBooks Time and online timesheets are excellent choices.

Replicon: Best for Enterprises

Replicon is tailored for large teams and enterprises, offering a robust solution to manage complex setups and specific operational needs. Available on both web and mobile platforms, including iOS and Android, Replicon ensures accessibility and ease of use for all employees.

With pricing ranging from $12 to $29+ per user per month, it provides the necessary features to handle enterprise-level requirements effectively.

Clockify: Best Free Option

Clockify stands out as the best free time tracking app because it offers:

  • Unlimited time tracking across unlimited users and projects without any cost
  • A robust free plan accessible for teams looking to manage their time efficiently
  • A user-friendly interface designed to ensure employees can easily adopt and use the app effectively

In addition to its free plan, Clockify includes features for employee monitoring, helping managers track productivity and time spent on tasks. For businesses seeking a cost-effective and comprehensive time tracking solution, Clockify is an excellent choice.

Hubstaff: Best for Remote Workers

Hubstaff is an essential tool for remote workers, offering features like GPS tracking and geofencing to ensure accurate location monitoring. Its automatic time tracking capability helps remote workers maintain productivity and focus on their tasks.

For businesses with remote teams, Hubstaff enhances productivity and monitoring, making it an invaluable resource.

Paymo: Best for Pomodoro Technique

Paymo incorporates a Pomodoro timer, helping users manage their work sessions effectively and maintain productivity. This feature is particularly beneficial for individuals who follow the Pomodoro Technique to break their work into intervals, ensuring focused and efficient work periods.

Benefits of Using Time Tracking Software

Time tracking software is useful for businesses aiming to enhance productivity and efficiency. By providing detailed insights into how employees utilize their time, these tools enable businesses to identify time drains and focus on priority tasks. This not only boosts productivity but also fosters accountability among employees, encouraging them to manage their time more effectively with a time tracker.

Accurate time tracking is essential for businesses that bill clients based on hours worked. It ensures that clients are billed accurately for the time spent on their projects, thereby improving transparency and trust. Moreover, time tracking aids in better project management by allowing teams to analyze how time is allocated across various tasks and identify workflow inefficiencies.

Time tracking software also plays a crucial role in compliance with labor laws. By effectively tracking overtime, breaks, and shift lengths, businesses can ensure they adhere to regulations like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Additionally, time tracking can improve work-life balance by helping employees manage their workload and avoid burnout.

How to Choose the Right Time Tracking Tool

Choosing the right time tracking tool involves considering several factors to ensure it meets your business needs. One of the first things to evaluate is whether the software can scale with your business growth. As your company expands, the tool should be able to accommodate more users, projects, and locations without compromising performance.

It’s also important to consider the specific features that align with your industry’s unique requirements. For instance, a business focused on project management might prioritize tools that offer robust project tracking and reporting capabilities. Additionally, the user-friendliness of the interface is crucial, as it impacts how easily employees can adopt and use the tool effectively.

Integration capabilities with other tools you currently use, such as payroll systems or project management software, are also vital for workflow management. This ensures seamless data synchronization and enhances overall efficiency.

Lastly, assess the customer support options available with the tool to ensure you can get assistance when needed. Implementing a pilot program can also help test the system before a full rollout, ensuring it meets your expectations.

Implementing Time Tracking in Your Organization

Implementing time tracking software in your organization requires careful planning and execution. Training employees on best practices for logging hours can significantly improve their confidence and accuracy, leading to more reliable data. Additionally, ensuring that the time tracking tool integrates seamlessly with other applications like Trello and Slack can streamline workflows and enhance productivity.

Having a dedicated person to review employee timesheets helps maintain compliance with company policies and ensures that all time entries are accurate. Integrating time management and tracking systems with employee leave management can also provide a comprehensive view of time allocation, aiding in better workforce management. Additionally, it is essential to approve timesheets to streamline this process.

By following these steps, you can successfully integrate tracking time into your approval workflow and reap the benefits of improved efficiency and accountability.

Integrations with Other Tools

Integrations with other tools are a crucial aspect of effective time tracking software. For instance, TrackingTime integrates seamlessly with various project management tools, enhancing collaboration and task tracking. This allows teams to manage projects more efficiently and ensures that all time spent on tasks is accurately recorded.

Connecteam, for example, offers payroll integrations with popular systems like:

  • ADP
  • Gusto
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Paychex
  • Xero

These integrations enhance the functionality of time tracking tools by improving data synchronization across platforms, making it easier to manage payroll and other administrative tasks.

Advanced tracking capabilities, such as logging employee locations and equipment GPS, further enhance the utility of time tracking software in various industries.

Summary

Time tracking software offers numerous benefits, from enhancing productivity and accountability to ensuring compliance with labor laws and improving work-life balance. The top 10 time tracking apps for 2025 each offer unique features tailored to different business needs, making it easier for you to choose the right tool for your organization.

Kumospace, for example, combines time tracking with a virtual office experience, helping remote and hybrid teams log hours while staying visibly connected throughout the workday. By embedding presence and productivity tools into a shared digital workspace, Kumospace makes time tracking feel less like micromanagement and more like natural collaboration.

As we look to the future, advancements in AI, mobile capabilities, and virtual environments will continue to shape the time tracking landscape. By implementing the right tool, your business can stay ahead of the curve and unlock greater efficiency and team performance.

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Headshot for Sammi Cox
Sammi Cox

Sammi Cox is a content marketing manager with a background in SEO and a degree in Journalism from Cal State Long Beach. She’s passionate about creating content that connects and ranks. Based in San Diego, she loves hiking, beach days, and yoga.

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