best project management software with time tracking

ClickUp

An all in one work platform that puts tasks, docs, dashboards and a native timer in the same workspace, so hours get logged on the task someone is already working in. Any time entry can be flagged billable as it is logged, and approved time exports as invoice ready reports, but ClickUp does not issue the invoice itself. The free plan is unusually generous (unlimited members and guests), though native time tracking only starts on the paid Unlimited plan. The trade off is surface area: teams who wanted projects plus a timer often find there is a lot of product to switch off.

Teamwork.com

Built for teams that bill clients, and the only tool in this table whose free plan already includes time logging, for up to five people. The entry paid plan adds billable time reporting, and the Accelerate tier turns logged hours into client invoices alongside retainers and time budgets. That client work focus makes it a natural fit for agencies, consultancies and professional services teams rather than internal product teams. If nobody is invoicing anyone, much of what you pay for here goes unused.

Zoho Projects

The cheapest per seat option here at four dollars a user each month, and time logs, timesheets and multi level timesheet approvals all sit on that entry Premium plan rather than being held back for a higher tier. It tracks project budgets and earned value too, but billing happens in Zoho Books or Zoho Invoice rather than in Projects, so invoicing means adding another Zoho product. The free tier covers five users and three projects. Teams already inside the Zoho suite get the most out of it; on its own it feels more utilitarian than its rivals.

Wrike

A mature platform for larger, process heavy teams, with timesheets that managers review, approve and lock, which matters when tracked hours feed payroll or client accounting. The catch for this question is which plan you land on: Wrike's own help centre lists timelog availability as Business, Pinnacle and Apex, so the ten dollar Team plan does not include it and time tracking effectively starts at the twenty five dollar Business tier. Hours can be reported as billable and synced to a finance system, but Wrike does not raise invoices. Powerful, and priced for companies that need the approval workflow.

monday.com

A colourful, highly visual work platform where time tracking is a column you drop onto a board, so it fits the way teams already lay out their work. The tier is the problem for this question: time tracking is a Pro feature, two steps above the nine dollar Basic seat, so the headline price is not the price you pay for it. The free plan stops at two seats, which makes it a personal tier rather than a team one. Nothing here turns tracked hours into a client invoice.

Asana

The most polished task and project experience in this list, and the one where time tracking is least native. Timesheets and budgets are a paid add on at $5.99 per user per month on top of a Starter seat, which makes Asana the most expensive route to a timesheet here. It can set hourly user rates and compare estimated against actual time, so cost and budget tracking are covered, but there is no client invoicing. Sensible if the team already lives in Asana, hard to justify if time tracking is the reason you are shopping.

Paymo

Built around tracking time and billing clients from the beginning, which shows in a free plan that includes unlimited time tracking and unlimited invoices for a single user. Paid team plans add active timers, bulk time entries, timesheet reports and project profitability, with timesheet approvals on the top tier. Note that the price shown on the site is discounted for the first three months, so budget for the regular rate quoted here. It suits freelancers and small creative or architecture studios more than large organisations.

Hubstaff

The one tool here that starts from time tracking rather than from projects: automatic timers, activity levels and optional screenshots, with project and task management layered on top. Tracked hours turn into project costs, invoices and payments, which fits teams paying hourly staff or contractors. Pricing starts at $4.99 per seat on the Starter plan with a two seat minimum, and there is no free plan, only a fourteen day trial. The monitoring side divides people: some teams find the activity tracking reassuring, others find it intrusive.

Scoro

A professional services platform that runs quotes, projects, time and invoices in one system, aimed at consultancies and agencies rather than general teams. The time tracker, timesheets, billable time and labour cost reporting are core rather than bolted on, and client billing is native instead of an integration. Pricing works differently from everything else here: you assemble a combination of Scoro apps, quoted from about seventeen dollars per user per month, with a five user minimum and no free plan. It is the heaviest tool in this table and priced for firms whose projects are their revenue.

Avaza

Bundles project management, timesheets, expenses and invoicing into flat monthly plans instead of charging per seat, which gets cheap quickly when most people only need to collaborate. The catch is that each flat plan includes a fixed number of timesheet users, one on the free plan and two on the $11.95 Startup plan, with extra timesheet seats charged individually on top. Project collaborators and external clients are unlimited throughout. A good fit for very small consultancies that want to bill clients without paying full price for everyone involved.

ProofHub

Sells on flat pricing: one monthly fee with no per user charge, which is unusual and gets better the bigger the team gets. Time tracking sits in the entry Essential plan along with projects, boards, Gantt charts, proofing and custom roles, so the core feature set is not rationed by tier. There is no free plan, only a fourteen day trial, and no invoicing built on top of tracked hours. For a team of thirty the flat fee usually beats per seat rivals comfortably; for a team of five it does not.