Short answer: Toggl Track scores 9.0/10 on the Starter plan ($12/mo). Best tracker here; the invoice is a PDF, so collect payment elsewhere.
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Tool
Score
Quality
Speed
Price
Ease
Verdict
1
Toggl Track →profileScored on: Starter$9/user/mo billed annually ($12 monthly)Free plan (up to 3 users). 30-day trial
9.0
10
8
8
9
Best tracker here; the invoice is a PDF, so collect payment elsewhere. Why?
2
Clockify →profileScored on: Standard$5.49/seat/mo billed annually ($6.99 monthly)Free plan (up to 5 users). 7-day trial, no card
8.8
9
8
9
9
Cheapest way to bill tracked hours; budgets need the next tier. Why?
3
Harvest →profileScored on: Teams$9/seat/mo billed annually ($11 monthly)Free plan (1 seat, 2 projects). 30-day trial, no card
8.8
9
9
8
9
The only tracker here where clients pay the invoice online. Why?
4
FreshBooks →profileScored on: Lite$23/mo (Lite; intro $4.60/mo for 4 months)No free plan. 30-day trial
6.4
7
4
6
9
Invoicing software with a timer, not a time tracker. Why?
Scores come from public evidence (vendor pricing pages, help docs, feature pages), checked 2026-10-22. We have not run hands-on tests yet. They are planned, and these scores will be updated. See every source ↓
Every untracked hour is an hour you worked for free. We score how much of the path from “timer running” to “invoice sent” each tool covers on the cheapest plan that bills three clients by the hour.
How this ranking was scored: desk research, version 1, checked 2026-10-22. We checked each tool against the public checklist below using vendor pricing pages, help-center docs and feature pages. Every point links to its source under “Why each tool scored what it did”. Plan scored: Cheapest plan that tracks time for 3 clients with billable rates and turns the hours into an invoice. Monthly list price.
We have not run hands-on tests yet. They are planned with the fixture in tests/time-tracking/scenario-01.md, and scores will be updated when they are done.
Why each tool scored what it did
Each Quality and Speed check is worth 2 points (2 = verified on the plan scored, 1 = limited, add-on, higher tier or conflicting docs, 0 = not available or not verifiable). Price bands, monthly list price: $0 = 10 · ≤$10 = 9 · ≤$15 = 8 · ≤$20 = 7 · ≤$25 = 6 · ≤$30 = 5 · ≤$40 = 4 · ≤$50 = 3 · ≤$75 = 2 · more = 1.
Quality checklist
Billable rates per client or project
Invoice generated from tracked hours
Client/project reports with export
Project budgets or time estimates
Automatic time capture (activity tracking or calendar import)
Speed checklist
Browser extension timer
Desktop app with idle detection or reminders
Official iOS and Android apps
Google/Outlook calendar integration
Online card payment on the invoice
1. Toggl TrackQ 10 · S 8 · P 8 · E 9 → 9.0
Plan scored: Starter ($12/mo). Billable rates start on Starter: $12/user/mo monthly ($9 yearly). Free has no billable rates. toggl.com
Quality 10/10
2Billable rates per client or project. Billable rates at workspace, member and project level on Starter toggl.com
2Invoice generated from tracked hours. Create Invoice from Summary or Detailed reports support.toggl.com
2Client/project reports with export. Summary and Time Logs reports; PDF, CSV and XLSX exports toggl.com
2Project budgets or time estimates. Project estimates on Starter and up toggl.com
2Automatic time capture (activity tracking or calendar import). Desktop activity timeline + auto-track calendar events toggl.com
Speed 8/10
2Browser extension timer. Browser extension on all plans toggl.com
2Desktop app with idle detection or reminders. Idle detection and timer reminders on desktop toggl.com
2Official iOS and Android apps. Web, mobile and desktop apps toggl.com
2Google/Outlook calendar integration. Google & Outlook calendar integrations toggl.com
0Online card payment on the invoice. Invoices download as PDF; no online payment and no paid status support.toggl.com
Ease 9/10
3Free plan / trial. Free plan tracks time but has no billable rates; 30-day trial toggl.com
2Self-serve, no sales call. Self-serve signup and cancel; no sales call needed for this plan toggl.com
2Nothing to install. Runs in the browser; nothing to install toggl.com
2Single seat allowed. Can be bought for a single user toggl.com
2. ClockifyQ 9 · S 8 · P 9 · E 9 → 8.8
Plan scored: Standard ($6.99/mo). Invoicing starts on Standard: $6.99/seat/mo monthly ($5.49 yearly). clockify.me
Quality 9/10
2Billable rates per client or project. Billable rates; task rates on Standard clockify.me
2Invoice generated from tracked hours. Invoicing and recurring invoices on Standard clockify.me
2Client/project reports with export. Reports with export and sharing (CSV, Excel, PDF) clockify.me
1Project budgets or time estimates. Budget & estimates are on Pro clockify.me
2Automatic time capture (activity tracking or calendar import). Auto tracker for apps and websites on Free clockify.me
Speed 8/10
2Browser extension timer. Tracking integrations inside other apps (extension) clockify.me
2Desktop app with idle detection or reminders. Idle detection & reminders clockify.me
2Official iOS and Android apps. Mobile & desktop apps clockify.me
2Google/Outlook calendar integration. Google and Outlook calendar sync clockify.me
0Online card payment on the invoice. Online payment on invoices not documented clockify.me
Ease 9/10
3Free plan / trial. Free plan covers tracking but not invoicing; 7-day trial, no card clockify.me
2Self-serve, no sales call. Self-serve signup and cancel; no sales call needed for this plan clockify.me
2Nothing to install. Runs in the browser; nothing to install clockify.me
2Single seat allowed. Can be bought for a single user clockify.me
3. HarvestQ 9 · S 9 · P 8 · E 9 → 8.8
Plan scored: Teams ($11/mo). Free is 1 seat and 2 projects, too few for 3 clients; Teams is $11/seat/mo monthly ($9 yearly). Extra invoices, projects and clients are billed on usage. getharvest.com
Quality 9/10
2Billable rates per client or project. Bill hourly or at a flat rate per project getharvest.com
2Invoice generated from tracked hours. Generate, send and track invoices getharvest.com
1Client/project reports with export. Time and project reports; custom CSV exports are Enterprise getharvest.com
2Project budgets or time estimates. Project estimates getharvest.com
2Automatic time capture (activity tracking or calendar import). Calendar imports into timesheets getharvest.com
