Time tracking · September 20, 2026
Best time tracking software for agencies (2026)
Logged hours have to become an invoice. A timer nobody starts is a decoration.
By Gregory GreensteinUpdated September 20, 2026Affiliate disclosure
Agency time tracking fails when designers keep a private notebook and the PM reconstructs Friday. The job is: hours on a client, a rate, and a bill. Utilization is a bonus. A 40-feature PSA is a different buyer.
This ranking is for US client-service shops. We are not ranking AI meeting notetakers or coding time trackers. Those stay off Incacent.
Prices as of September 20, 2026. Harvest and Toggl publish per-seat annual rates. Clockify’s free tier is the price trap and the on-ramp. Teamwork is here when PM and time are the same product.
The short list
Public list prices as of September 20, 2026. Promos change. Confirm on the vendor page before you buy.
| # | Product | Best for | Public starting price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvest | Agencies that invoice from timesheets into QuickBooks, Xero, or Stripe | Team plan $9/seat/month billed annually ($11 monthly). Pro $14/seat/month annually ($17.50 monthly). Unlimited seats. 20% off called out for annual. | 8.4 |
| 2 | Toggl Track | Teams that want a fast timer and calendar-shaped tracking | Free forever (caps apply). Starter commonly $9/license/month on annual. Premium advertised at $14/license/month for the first Premium annual year, then $18. Confirm toggl.com/track/pricing. | 8.1 |
| 3 | Clockify | Cost-sensitive shops that will live on the free tier until it hurts | Free plan is the headline (unlimited users on Clockify’s long-standing free story; feature caps apply). Paid Plus/Pro-style tiers are cheap per seat on the public card — confirm clockify.me/pricing before you model a year. | 7.7 |
| 4 | Teamwork | Agencies that want projects, retainers, and billable time in one vendor | Free $0 (5 users / 5 projects). Basics $9.99/user/month billed annually (min 3). Accelerate $24.99 (min 5). Optimize is quote-only. | 7.6 |
01
Harvest
Agencies that invoice from timesheets into QuickBooks, Xero, or Stripe
Public pricing: Team plan $9/seat/month billed annually ($11 monthly). Pro $14/seat/month annually ($17.50 monthly). Unlimited seats. 20% off called out for annual.
Harvest pricing (getharvest.com/pricing), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
You only need a personal timer. Harvest is a team product. Clockify Free or Toggl Free may be enough for one person.
Why it ranks
- Time-to-invoice is the product, not a report you export once a quarter.
- QBO, Xero, and Stripe integrations match how agencies actually get paid.
- Capacity and rates exist without buying a PSA.
- Published per-seat math you can put in a retainer model.
Watch-outs
- If nobody starts the timer, you bought a graveyard.
- Pro is easy to overbuy for a 8-person studio that only needed invoices.
- It is not your project board. Pair it with Asana — see the PM ranking.
- Annual lock-in is how the $9 happens.
02
Toggl Track
Teams that want a fast timer and calendar-shaped tracking
Public pricing: Free forever (caps apply). Starter commonly $9/license/month on annual. Premium advertised at $14/license/month for the first Premium annual year, then $18. Confirm toggl.com/track/pricing.
Toggl Track pricing (toggl.com/track/pricing/), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
Invoicing from time is the leak. Harvest or Teamwork will feel less like a stopwatch.
Why it ranks
- The timer is pleasant enough that people use it. That is rare.
- Calendar and timesheet views match how account people actually remember the week.
- Free is a real on-ramp for a two-person shop.
- Profitability reports show up on paid plans when you finally care.
Watch-outs
- Premium’s first-year $14 is a promo-shaped number. Model $18.
- Invoicing is not why Harvest lost to Toggl on UX.
- License vs seat language — read who counts.
- Do not buy it to replace the PM tool.
03
Clockify
Cost-sensitive shops that will live on the free tier until it hurts
Public pricing: Free plan is the headline (unlimited users on Clockify’s long-standing free story; feature caps apply). Paid Plus/Pro-style tiers are cheap per seat on the public card — confirm clockify.me/pricing before you model a year.
Clockify pricing (clockify.me/pricing), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
You want a polished invoice workflow and will pay $9/seat anyway. Harvest is the calmer bill.
Why it ranks
- Unlimited-users free is how a 20-person agency tries time tracking without a board fight.
- Projects, billable flags, and kiosks exist before you pay.
- Good enough until a client audit asks for something prettier.
- A honest “we will not spend yet” default.
Watch-outs
- You get what you pay for in polish and invoice depth.
- Free caps are how you upgrade. Read them.
- Admin sprawl if everyone is a workspace admin.
- Not the tool a CFO brags about. That is not a reason to overspend.
04
Teamwork
Agencies that want projects, retainers, and billable time in one vendor
Public pricing: Free $0 (5 users / 5 projects). Basics $9.99/user/month billed annually (min 3). Accelerate $24.99 (min 5). Optimize is quote-only.
Teamwork.com pricing (teamwork.com/pricing/), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
You already have Asana and just need a timer. Teamwork’s paid plans have seat minimums. Do not migrate the board to get a timesheet.
Why it ranks
- Time lives on the project. Retainers and budgets are first-class on Accelerate.
- Invoicing from logged time is the agency job.
- HubSpot and QuickBooks integrations keep PM from being an island.
- Wins when utilization — not the timer chrome — is the leak.
Watch-outs
- Seat minimums punish a tiny studio.
- A second PM tool plus Harvest is often cheaper than a migration.
- Optimize profitability is a sales call.
- UI is not why people leave Asana.
How we picked
The job is agency hours that become invoices. We scored timer adoption, billing path, published prices, and whether the product tries to replace the whole ops stack. Everhour and Toggl’s older brands are fine; this list stays short.