Looking for the best time tracking software for freelancers? Freelancers and freelancing is yet another preference in today’s modern working environment. Thanks to the many advantages it provides to employees and organizations including cost savings, flexible work schedules, and others, many organizations are opting for more and more freelance work. However, there are also many challenges when it comes to management in freelancing. This is for both freelancers and their employers. So, software solutions for tracking time are what we need for optimization here.
What is Time Tracking Software?
In short, time-tracking software solutions are tool packages that monitor and log the time your employees spend on specific tasks, activities, and projects. In general, this is in real-time. This means that you will identify the workflow patterns on the spot and will be able to make growth-driving decisions based on accurate data. Overall, the software is widely in use among modern organizations that need excessive work-hour monitoring features and freelancers.
Why Need Time Tracking Software for Freelancers?
Freelancers do get many advantages over the average regular 9-5 employees. One of the biggest ones on this list is the comfort of working from anywhere. However, this also brings up time and project management challenges. Thus, we need a solution. That solution is using a good time-tracking app for freelancers. Besides, who wouldn’t want the various advantages of such software?
1. Billing and Invoicing Accuracy
Software for time-tracking and invoicing for freelancers is a must to implement. Why? That’s because freelancers bill clients based on the hours they spend on various projects. However, manually tracking work hours can cause inaccuracies leading to underbilling or overbilling. Using time-tracking software on the other hand eliminates these issues.
2. Productivity Boosts
The best time-tracking software for freelancers also helps increase overall productivity in a way. How? The software lets them identify how they use their hours. Thanks to real-time monitoring of tasks and activities, freelancers can know every insightful detail on which activities are time-wasters and where they can become more efficient. Overall, the idea here is self-awareness for more productivity.
3. Optimized Project Management
Another benefit of a good time tracker for freelancers is the optimization of project management. The software helps them stay organized in managing the various time slots and meeting deadlines. Come to think of it. Isn’t this much better than juggling simultaneously between different projects?
4. Enhanced Accountability
The biggest challenge for freelancers is accountability. Since they are accountable to their clients for the work hours on projects, inaccuracies here can result in loss of trust, work, and unemployability. On the other hand, using the best time-tracking software for freelancers will help them show an accurate log of work hours. This ensures enhanced accountability.
5. Insightful Reporting
A good time-tracking app for freelancers also comes with real-time analytics and reporting features. These provide insights into workflow patterns and performance. For example, details on profitable clients, time-consuming projects, and time spent on each task can help them make informed decisions about pricing, selecting clients, and workflow.
6. Stress Reduction
According to a popular survey using time-tracking software has reduced the stress levels of employees. This is due to the software providing transparent insights into the workday and preventing overworking. The same goes for freelancers and similar individuals.
7. Legal Adherence
The best software for time-tracking and invoicing for freelancers also helps them comply with labor laws and regulations. In some industries, freelancers need to have detailed logs of their work hours. This is for legal or tax purposes. Using work-hour monitoring software will ensure they have an accurate record of their work-time for the same.
Top 10 Best Time Tracking Software for Freelancers in 2024
The above clears the various benefits of using a time tracker for freelancers. However, they too have various requirements. To fulfill them, they just can’t blindly pick any time-tracking tool and hope it works.
Plus, staying away from fakes and scams is also essential. So, to give you a head start, we shortlisted below the top 10 timesheet software for freelancers.
- DeskTrack
- Toggl
- Harvest
- Clockify
- RescueTime
- Time Doctor
- Everhour
- Hubstaff
- TopTracker
- Timely
1. DeskTrack
DeskTrack is the best time-tracking software for freelancers. More than just a simple time-tracking solution, it provides the latest and most intuitive features for employee monitoring, productivity tracking, and project management. Plus seamless integrations and a high level of customizability are what make it stand apart.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Best overall | $5.99/user/month | 5/5 |
2. Toggl
Toggl, also known as TogglTrack is best time-tracking software for freelancers. Renowned for its intuitive user interface and feature-rich library, this one makes work-hour monitoring a breeze with its one-click timer. What we like about this is that it makes it simple for freelancers to log their time.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| One-click time-tracking | $10/user/month | 4.7/5 |
3. Harvest
Harvest is one of the best time-tracking software for freelancers. Not only it is affordable but it also provides intuitive features for time-tracking, invoicing, and expense tracking. Plus, we also like how it provides seamless integrations for added functionality and cost savings.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Easy time-tracking | $12/user/month | 4.6/5 |
4. Clockify
Clockify is a freelancer time-tracking app known for its free-of-cost unlimited time-tracking. That too for unlimited users. Plus it’s also versatile with a plethora of features including an interactive and easy-to-use customizable timesheet. With that, we recommend this one to budget-conscious freelancers who want to boost efficiency.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Unlimited time-tracking | free | 4.7/5 |
5. RescueTime
RescueTime is one of the best time-tracking software for freelancers. One of its top features is automated time-tracking. This improves focus as they focus more on their work than the clock ticking. Furthermore, the software also helps freelancers understand their workflow patterns as it tracks the time spent on apps, files, and URLs, helping improve efficiency.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Automated time-tracking | $6.50/month | 4.6/5 |
6. Time Doctor
Want a powerful tool for freelancers? We recommend Time Doctor. The time-tracking app for freelancers provides many benefits to freelancers, thanks to its comprehensive and productivity monitoring features. Plus, it also provides proof-backed data with screenshots. This is useful in case the clients ask for the progress of their projects.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Time-tracking with screenshots | $7/month | 4.5/5 |
7. Everhour
Everhour as the name suggests will track every desktop activity down to the last second. What we like about this time-tracking software for freelancers is the seamless integrations it provides. You can easily integrate this powerful tool with project management tools for added functionality. Plus, you also get good analytics and reporting features.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Integrations | $6/user/month | 4.7/5 |
8. Hubstaff
Another of the best time-tracking software for freelancers on our list is Hubstaff. What we think is that this is a robust tool for freelancers. Thanks to its intuitive time-tracking, project management, and productivity monitoring features, freelancers get the capability to become more efficient and productive.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Productivity monitoring | Free | 4.6/5 |
9. TopTracker
Another good software for time-tracking and invoicing for freelancers on our list is TopTracker. Firstly, what makes it popular among freelancers is that it’s free. Secondly, it’s specifically designed for freelancers. What we like about this one is that you get privacy and productivity-focused features including the functionality to take webcam shots and screenshots for proof-backed work-hour monitoring.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Screenshots and webcam shots | Free | 4.7/5 |
10. Timely
Timely is another one of the best time-tracking software for freelancers. What makes this one unique is that it uses the capability of artificial intelligence to automate time-tracking. Plus, you also get a visual timeline of your day. Overall, it’s a good tool for maintaining organization and productivity.
| Best For | Initial Pricing | Rating |
| Automated time-tracking with AI | $11/month | 4.7/5 |
Why is DeskTrack The Best Time Tracking Software for Freelancers in 2024?
Without a doubt, DeskTrack is the top time-tracking software for freelancers. Thanks to its intuitive time-tracking features, this solution gives freelancers the edge they need to stay in the market.
Plus, it’s more than a time-tracking software. This integrated and customizable employee monitoring, productivity tracking, and project management engine is a popular choice across more than 100 nations. Below, we can see why.
- You get automated timesheets and task timers for increasing focus.
- Seamless integrations with other tools make it the most powerful feature-rich software.
- Real-time monitoring and time-tracking is a useful feature for making on-the-spot changes.
- You get the most detailed analytics and visual reporting for proof-backed work-hour monitoring needed by freelancers.
Another highlight is the affordability. We recommend this software for time-tracking to freelancers to take their productivity to the next level.
Conclusion
With that, we wrap up our blog on the top 10 best time-tracking software for freelancers. To summarize, software solutions for tracking time are feature-rich tool packages that accurately monitor and log the desktop activity time spent on URLs, files, and, apps, for identifying and improving efficiency levels. Freelancers need such tools to stay organized and meet deadlines. However, other benefits include billing and invoicing accuracy, productivity boosts, and optimized project management. However, selecting the best work-hour monitoring software from the top 10 list is required to get these benefits. We recommend DeskTrack as the same.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. How Can Freelancers Track Their Work Hours?
Ans. Freelancers due to their flexible schedules and multiple project management find it challenging to track their work hours. Plus, manually tracking work hours can cause inaccuracies. To solve these issues, there are a few minutes.
- Time-tracking software
- Time-tracking apps
- Timesheets
- Spreadsheets
- Work-hour monitoring templates
Q. What is the Need for Time Tracking Software for Freelancers?
Ans. Software for tracking time can greatly help freelancers effectively manage their work-time. Plus, it also helps them stay organized and meet the deadlines. However, the advantages are not limited to this only.
- Billing and Invoicing Accuracy
- Productivity Boosts
- Optimized Project Management
- Enhanced Accountability
- Insightful Reporting
- Stress Reduction
- Legal Adherence
Q. What are the Key Features of Time Tracking Software for Freelancers?
Ans. Timesheet software for freelancers is the best solution for managing and organizing the time in freelance work. These software solutions have features specifically designed for freelancing.
- Comprehensive time-tracking
- Task management
- Project and client management
- Reporting and analytics
- Integrations
- Platform compatibility
Q. Which are the Best Time Tracking Software Solutions for Freelancers?
Ans. Choosing the best-fit software solution for time-tracking can be overwhelming for freelancers. Plus, staying away from fakes and scams is also essential. To give you a head start, here are the 10 most useful tools for work-hour monitoring.
- DeskTrack
- Toggl
- Harvest
- Clockify
- RescueTime
- Time Doctor
- Everhour
- Hubstaff
- TopTracker
- Timely
