The Best Time Tracking Tools for Web Agencies

Time tracking is one of those things most agency owners know they should do better — and many of us have the graveyard of abandoned apps to prove it.

The problem usually isn’t the tool. It’s the habit. You get busy, you forget to start the timer, you finish a project and realize you have no idea how many hours actually went into it. You estimate. You probably underestimate. You move on.

The tools that came up most in this thread reflect that reality: a clear split between apps that require you to remember to track, and apps that track automatically whether you remember or not. If you’ve tried time tracking and quit, that distinction is worth paying attention to.

We asked the members of The Admin Bar what they use and why it works for them. Here’s what the community had to say.

The Most Mentioned Time Tracking Tools

• Toggl
• Timing
• Rize
• Clockify
• Everhour
• Moxie
• RescueTime
• Other Tools Worth Knowing

Two Camps, One Problem

Before getting into specific tools, it’s worth naming the divide that ran through this thread: manual tracking vs. automatic tracking.

Manual tools (Toggl, Clockify, Harvest, Everhour) require you to start and stop a timer. They’re simple, flexible, and work great — if you remember to use them. Sonja London runs Toggl as her primary tool but also runs RescueTime in the background specifically because “it sometimes reminds us when we did work and forgot to turn on Toggl.”

Automatic tools (Timing, Rize, Timely, RescueTime) track everything you do on your computer without any input from you. You allocate time to projects after the fact rather than remembering to start a timer in the moment. Mihai Circea made the switch from Everhour to Rize for exactly this reason: “I just couldn’t remember to turn it on.”

Neither approach is wrong — but if you’ve abandoned time tracking before, it’s worth asking which camp your previous tool was in.

Why Agencies Choose These Time Tracking Tools

Toggl

Toggl was the most mentioned tool in the thread by a wide margin — and the praise is consistent: it does what it does simply, and it does it well.

Adam Wright uses it for monthly tracking and invoice reports: “It does what it does perfectly and easy to read monthly tracking reports for sending invoices.” Crystal Grave, Jodi Stammer, Linus Ahimsa, and Raoul Hulsmans are all in the Toggl camp. Linus notes the free plan is enough for his needs.

The appeal is simplicity. Toggl doesn’t try to be a project manager or a CRM — it tracks time, generates reports, and stays out of your way. For agencies that bill hourly or want clean data for invoicing, that focused approach is the point.

Best fit: agencies who want a simple, reliable manual timer with clean reporting — especially useful for invoicing and understanding time-per-client.

Timing

Timing is Mac-only, automatic, and has a devoted following among the members who use it.

Unlike manual timers, Timing uses Apple’s screen time API to track what you’re working on in the background. You review and allocate that time to projects after the fact rather than starting and stopping timers throughout the day.

Angelita Mardiros has it set up to automatically categorize client work, family tasks, and business tasks by file path:

“If I’m doing a new build I’ll add notes at the end of the day so I can look back and see exactly how much time I’m spending doing certain pieces — which helps when quoting future projects. Or I can see monthly and quarterly how much time care plans are taking and why.”

Angelita Mardiros

Dakotah Intriglia called it “fully automated” and noted the Apple screen time API integration specifically. Rachelle Wise echoed the sentiment: “It has saved my arse so many times when I’ve forgotten to track things. The best.”

The Mac-only limitation is real — it’s a non-starter for Windows users — but for Mac-based agencies, it’s the most enthusiastically recommended tool in the thread.

Best fit: Mac-based agencies who’ve struggled to maintain the habit of manual time tracking; especially useful for after-the-fact project allocation and retrospective quoting data.

Rize

Rize is another automatic tracker — similar concept to Timing but cross-platform, with a focus on productivity awareness alongside time tracking.

“Rize, because it’s all automated. Used Everhour before, but I just couldn’t remember to turn it on. Everhour is still the best option IMO, especially if you’re using Basecamp or other tools that have an integration — I’ve just found Rize to be more useful and just effortless.”

Mihai Circea

Christi Yarema tried a free trial during the thread and was immediately impressed by the categorization and detection capabilities. Christian van ‘t Hof called it “an absolute blessing.” Mihai also flagged that Rize has an MCP integration in beta that allows connecting it to Claude for project tracking and automation — an interesting angle for agencies already building AI into their workflows.

There was an AppSumo lifetime deal a few years back at around $60 — worth checking if any deals are still circulating before committing to the subscription.

Best fit: agencies who want automatic tracking with productivity insights, especially those open to AI-assisted reporting and workflow integration.

Clockify

Clockify is the free manual timer that keeps coming up as the practical default for agencies who don’t want to pay for time tracking.

John Marra, Rick Shaw, and Marion Paolo Abagar all use it. Rob Watson pairs it with Jira, using Clockify reports to update invoices before sending. Michael Maximus uses it as a secondary system alongside Akiflow and Google Calendar, primarily to maintain records for tax purposes.

The free plan is genuinely capable — not a crippled trial — which makes it easy to recommend to clients or team members without adding to anyone’s software bill.

Best fit: agencies who want a capable free manual timer, especially useful for teams where multiple people need access without a per-seat cost.

Everhour

Everhour gets consistent praise specifically for its integrations — particularly with Asana and Trello — making it the go-to for agencies already working in those project management tools.

Cheryl Microutsicos made the case clearly:

“I really like it as it integrates with Asana. Also has a browser extension. It lets me create all kinds of reports — time per project, per client, per teammate. A while back I thought I’d save money by using Asana’s built-in time tracking but their time tracking was definitely not nearly as good.”

Cheryl Microutsicos

Gen Herres has used Toggl and Harvest but settled on Everhour. Kane Mitchell integrates it into Trello. Mihai Circea, who switched away to Rize for the automatic tracking, still calls Everhour the best option for teams using Basecamp or other integrated tools.

Best fit: agencies using Asana, Trello, or Basecamp who want time tracking embedded directly in their project management workflow.

Moxie

Moxie is an agency-focused business management platform with time tracking built in — so for members already using it for CRM and invoicing, the time tracker is a natural extension rather than a separate tool.

Greer Rowley Halwagy uses it to log billable and non-billable work, link time to clients and projects, and invoice directly from tracked entries. Karen Lewis noted that her VA can log in and add her own time against tasks. Amy Gumbrell uses the task-level tracking to build better quoting data for future projects. Carla Fedeler keeps it simple: “Time tracker and billing.”

The context matters here: Moxie isn’t just a time tracker, and if you’re not already in the Moxie ecosystem it’s a bigger commitment than a standalone timer. But if you are, having time tracking, invoicing, and client management under one roof removes real friction.

Best fit: agencies already using Moxie for business management who want time tracking integrated into invoicing without a separate tool.

RescueTime

RescueTime sits in a slightly different category than the other tools here — it’s less about billing and invoicing and more about understanding where your time actually goes.

Troy Glancy runs it as a passive data collector: “I always have RescueTime running to let me know how long I was working on what.” Sonja London runs it alongside Toggl as a safety net for forgotten timers. It runs in the background, categorizes your activity automatically, and surfaces patterns you might not otherwise notice.

It’s not the right tool for generating invoices or tracking billable hours by client — but as a self-awareness layer on top of another system, it earns its place.

Best fit: agencies who want passive productivity awareness and a backstop for forgotten timers, rather than a primary billing and invoicing tool.

Other Tools Worth Knowing

These also came up in the thread:

• Harvest — Michelle Sullivan tried several options and came back to it for simplicity; Marci Whitman integrates it with Memetime for automatic activity logging that she allocates to projects
• Timely — Shanda Lynn Watts is enthusiastic about its AI-powered automatic logging and project categorization
• Early (formerly Timeular) — Richard van Denderen’s pick, notable for the physical dice on his desk that he flips to switch between tasks; a tangible reminder to track that no app can quite replicate
• Kimai — open-source, self-hosted, and Marco Drake Ragogna runs it for his team on a $6/month VPS; Sebastian Berger also mentioned it as well-structured for teams
• Dubsado — Brenda Sargeant uses the built-in time tracking and applies entries directly to invoices; similar to Moxie in that it’s a broader business management platform with time tracking included
• Everhour / Memetime combo — Marci Whitman uses Memetime to automatically log all computer activity (with optional screenshots), then imports into Harvest for project allocation; a strong setup for anyone who consistently underestimates their time
• Traggo — Rose Newell’s self-hosted pick with API access for custom exports; worth knowing for agencies who prefer to own their data
• Awork — Sebastian Berger’s favorite for combining project management with time tracking in one tool
• SuiteDash — Irene Koukia uses the built-in time tracking function; another all-in-one platform play
• Zoho Books — Andrew McSpadden uses it specifically so time entries flow directly into client invoices
• Rize MCP — worth flagging separately: Mihai Circea mentioned Rize has a Claude MCP integration in beta, opening up possibilities for automated project tracking and reporting through AI

Patterns We Noticed

The biggest problem isn’t the tool — it’s the habit. Multiple members mentioned switching to automatic trackers specifically because they couldn’t reliably remember to start a manual timer. If you’ve tried tracking before and stopped, the answer probably isn’t a better manual timer. It’s a tool that doesn’t require you to remember.

Automatic tracking is having a moment. Timing, Rize, Timely, RescueTime, and Memetime all track activity without requiring any input. The AI-categorization features in newer tools like Rize and Timely are making the allocation step faster too. For agencies that have struggled with consistency, this category is worth a fresh look.

Time tracking data is most valuable for quoting. The members getting the most out of their tracking tools aren’t just using them for invoicing — they’re using historical data to quote future projects more accurately. Angelita Mardiros uses Timing specifically to understand how long individual pieces of a build take. Amy Gumbrell uses task-level tracking in Moxie for the same reason. This is the use case that turns time tracking from a billing exercise into a business intelligence tool.

Many agencies embed time tracking in a bigger system. Moxie, Dubsado, SuiteDash, Zoho Books — a number of members aren’t using a dedicated time tracker at all. They’re using whatever’s built into the platform handling their CRM, invoicing, or project management. It’s a less precise tool, but the friction of switching between systems disappears.

Some agencies skip it entirely — and track retrospectively. Mark Borst built a custom client and time management tool in Claude in a day that handles time, line items, payments, invoices, and even drafts the client email. It’s a good reminder that the “right” tool is sometimes the one you build yourself when nothing else quite fits.

How to Choose a Time Tracking Tool

A few questions worth working through before committing to a setup:

Have you failed at time tracking before? If yes, start with an automatic tool (Timing, Rize, Timely) rather than another manual timer. The problem probably isn’t discipline — it’s friction.

Does it need to connect to your invoicing? Tools like Harvest, Everhour, Moxie, Dubsado, and Zoho Books close the loop between tracked time and client invoices. If you’re manually copying time data into an invoice, there’s a better workflow available.

Are you using a project management tool already? Everhour integrates tightly with Asana, Trello, and Basecamp. Clockify and Toggl have broad integrations too. Tracking time in the context of a task rather than switching to a separate app reduces friction significantly.

Do you just need data, not billing? RescueTime and Rize are better suited to productivity awareness than invoicing. If you bill flat-rate and mainly want to understand where your time goes, a lightweight automatic tracker may be all you need.

Are you Mac-only? Timing is the most enthusiastically recommended automatic tracker in this thread — but it’s Mac-exclusive. Windows users will need to look at Rize, Timely, or RescueTime instead.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Tracking Tools

What’s the best free time tracking tool for web agencies? Clockify is the most recommended free option in this community — the free plan is fully capable and works well for individuals and small teams. Toggl also has a solid free tier for solo agency owners.

What’s the best automatic time tracking tool? Timing is the most enthusiastically recommended in this thread, but it’s Mac-only. Rize is the top cross-platform option. Both track activity in the background without requiring manual timers.

Should I use a dedicated time tracker or one built into my CRM or invoicing tool? If you’re already using a platform like Moxie, Dubsado, or Zoho Books, the built-in time tracking is often good enough and removes the friction of switching between tools. A dedicated tracker gives you more flexibility and reporting depth, but adds another app to manage.

How do I track time if I keep forgetting to start the timer? Switch to an automatic tracker. Tools like Timing, Rize, Timely, and Memetime log your computer activity without any input from you. You allocate time to projects after the fact rather than managing timers in the moment — which is a much more sustainable habit for most agency owners.

Can time tracking help with project quoting? Absolutely — and this is one of the most underused benefits. Reviewing historical time data by project type, task, or client tells you how long things actually take vs. how long you thought they’d take. Over time, that data makes your estimates significantly more accurate.