Recently updated on November 28th, 2022 at 03:30 pm
The average freelancer and employee are faced with several distractions while working. Whether it is a pop-up notification, a delivered email, or enticing social media, these distractions can reduce productivity, resulting in a long workday and, ultimately—frustration.
Of course, there are many ways to eliminate distractions and boost workplace productivity. But, one of the best and most effective is Time Tracking Apps.
Time tracking apps are available for Mac. So, if you or your team uses macOS, you can download and install these apps. And while there are many of them—enough to overwhelm you—we have helped you handpick the best.
Here are some of the best Mac time tracking apps to boost productivity.
What is a Time Tracking App?
Time tracking apps are tools employees and managers use to monitor time spent on various tasks or projects for payroll, billing, or operation purposes. These apps—available on phones, computers, and PCs—are common in many industries, especially those that hire freelancers and hourly workers.
Time tracking apps give you a clear picture of your operations, like the tasks consuming a lot of your time and those costing you the most money. With these apps installed on your devices, you can kiss distractions goodbye and embrace a new world of sharpened focus and improved productivity.
The best Time Tracking Software for Mac OS.
You’ll have to go for the best to derive maximum benefits from a time tracking app for your Mac device. Of course, this isn’t an easy task, especially for someone with little knowledge or experience with time tracking apps for Mac. However, with our help, you have an edge.
Here are some of the best time tracking software for Mac. Go through the exhaustive list. Look at their features, pricing, and unique benefits and select that which suits your budget and personal or business needs.
1. TimeCamp
Are you looking for a free time tracking app to manage your time and boost your productivity? If so, look no further than TimeCamp!
With over 140,000 users, TimeCamp is a popular time tracking app for Mac, common among IT businesses and marketing companies. It helps individuals monitor how much time they spend on projects, thus making it easy to bill clients accurately and estimate project costs.
TimeCamp is a blessing for project managers as well. With this software, they can track multiple projects and prioritize the right tasks based on cost estimates of tasks provided by the time tracking application.
Freelancers and independent contractors who bill hourly can leverage TimeCamp to track billable time and submit accurate invoices. In addition, small and medium-sized businesses looking for an affordable means to track work hours and boost office employees’ productivity can bank on TimeCamp.
In a nutshell, TimeCamp is designed with everyone in mind, with features that appeal to each party.
Features
- Available as the desktop app for Mac, extensions, and native mobile apps for iOS
- You can monitor events directly from your Google Calendar
- Tracks time automatically
- Integration with many other apps and even the apple watch
- Available for unlimited users
- Offers detailed productivity reports with info on tracked tasks and time on projects
Pricing
- The free plan comes with core-time tracking features for a single user
- The paid plans cost $5.25-7.25 monthly (billed annually) or $7-$10 monthly (billed monthly), depending on your desired feature.
- A free trial is also available for those who want to test the waters.
Best for: Monitoring billable projects with a free automated time tracker.
2. Timing
As the name implies, Timing is an automatic time tracking app for Mac. It’s ideal for freelancers, creative agencies, and individuals looking for an easy way to keep tabs on their work hours.
Like a typical time tracker, Timing helps monitor tasks while you work. It tracks all files, apps, and sites and groups them into productive and unproductive categories. By looking at the activities in each category, you’ll have a clear picture of how to achieve optimum productivity and eliminate unproductivity.
One of the best features of Timing is its ability to run around the clock, making it easy to monitor currently tracked projects. The app is always operational, analyzing everything you do on your Mac.
Features
- Merges manual and automatic time tracking
- It can be used to manage remote teams
- Offers detailed time tracking reports
- Features an interactive timeline that displays all activities
- Idle time detection
- Create rules feature
- Has a screentime feature
- Time tracking data organization
- Available as an iOS application
Pricing
Timing software comes in three plans, including:
- Professional: $8.40 per user each month ( comes with advanced features)
- Expert: $11.40 per user each month
- Teams: $16.90 per user each month
Best for: Marketing agencies, freelancers, and people keen on recording their work hours will enjoy using Timing. You should also consider Timing if you are looking for a time tracking app that offers detailed reports.
3. Klokki
Time waits for no man, so you should adopt measures to ensure you utilize your time effectively. A time tracking app like Klokki, compatible with your Mac, can do just that!
Klokki is not the typical manual time tracking tool you know. This app track time automatically, making it a must-have for freelancers and individuals looking to increase focus. Plus, it has features that allow you to monitor your time after you include rules for tasks that will serve as triggers.
If you have an eye for design, you’ll love Klokki’s amazing interface, which lets you track your time right from the menu bar. Klokki is an easy solution for Mac users and boasts handy features that make time tracking easy and fun.
Features
- The billable hour tracking feature
- Idle time detection. It can be used offline. Sync all your data when you come online.
- The little menu bar that operates in the background
- Rule-based time tracking
- Automatic time tracking
Pricing
Comes with a free version (valid for 14 days). You can also buy the app with a one-time fee of $30 to access advanced features.
Best for: Freelancers and other individual professionals who are eager to know how they use their time, including those looking for a rule-based time tracking app.
4. Fanurio
Fanurio is a one-of-a-kind time tracker designed for Mac users. It helps track time spent on all your projects or tasks. And it also has features that can help you process your invoice easily.
While Fanurio is commonly known as a time tracking app for Mac, it also has project management features, making it ideal for teams looking to boost productivity and manage projects effectively.
Moreover, the Fanurio time tracker offers you alternatives to track your work. This tool also allows you to record expenses for each project. And unlike some time trackers, you can operate Fanurio without opening the app. You can also determine how much time has been used by simply looking at the Fanurio symbol in the Dock menu.
Features
- Has a little desktop timer that detects idle time and sends reminders
- Comes with billing features, including time rounding, discounts, taxable and non-taxable items, multiple taxes, etc.
- Project list organized with tasks
- Reports that displays data with tracked time, invoice hours, etc.
- Collaborate with your team on the same projects
Pricing
- You either pay $59 for Fanuiro’s standalone version or $89 for a single-user license for a server version. The server version is ideal for freelancers or teams who work on multiple devices.
Best for: Freelancers or teams who need a tool that monitors time effectively and make easy payments.
5. Caato Time Tracker
Relive yourself from the stress of using manual timers by embracing one of the best mac time tracking tools—Caato.
Caato is a time tracking tool specifically designed for Mac users. This free time tracking app can help you stay organized by managing your personal and work tasks.
Do you handle many projects? Caato, one of the best time tracking apps for Mac, can help you monitor all easily. This tool also helps you monitor billable hours down to the second. Its clean user interface features data labels that help you identify tasks easily.
Features
- Start and pause button
- Syncs across all Apple devices
- Detailed reports
- Can track time for multiple projects
- You can convert the hours into days
- The status bar displays tracked time
- Allows editing of entries in the past and adding entries in the future
Pricing
Caato comes with a free and paid plan. Its free version has limited functionality, while the Pro version—which costs $19.99—offers users more features.
Best for Small teams and professionals who need a tool to create invoices for projects and clients.
6. Harvest
Harvest is another time tracking software for Mac used for planning projects, monitoring expenses, and ensuring that deadlines are met. It’s a user-friendly tool with a functional and captivating user interface.
Harvest is more of a basic time-tracking app. It combines time tracking, budgeting, allocation, cost insights, invoicing, and payment apps.
One of the highlights of Harvest is its ability to integrate with other applications and services seamlessly. Its unique features, functionalities, and hybrid nature are why it’s used by many companies worldwide and is considered one of the most popular time tracking software for Mac.
Features
- Offers seamless integration with other tools
- Generating and sending invoices
- Track time online and offline with a web, desktop, or mobile app
- Comes with an option to remove idle time from an operational timer
- Tracking expenses
Pricing
Harvest has free and paid versions. Its free version is designed for one person and has just two projects. On the other hand, the pro or paid plan costs $12 per month and is loaded with numerous features and unlimited projects.
Best for Project management and time tracking
7. Toggl
Newbie freelancers and small business owners would love a Mac time tracking software like Toggl. Why? Because it’s an affordable solution that helps record time spent on projects.
For freelancers, this solution can ensure that billable time is well-tracked and invoices are made accurately. On the other hand, small business owners can leverage Toggl to track time, plan projects, motivate team members, and boost productivity.
Toggl is loved by many for its user-friendliness, functionality, and appealing design. Its timer button is visible in almost every app you use, be it Google Doc, Help Scout, etc. This serves as a timely reminder to track your time while working.
Features
- Reporting
- Pomodoro timer
- Tags and colors for transparency
- Simple, automatic time tracking with a start and stop buttons
Pricing
Toggl has a free version that comes with limited features. You’ll need to go for one of its paid plans to access its full feature. They are:
- Starters: $10 per user for each month
- Premium: $20 per user for each month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Best for: Individuals who need a simple time tracking tool
8. Traqq
Traqq is suitable for managers or individuals who employ remote workers, as it helps track worker activities without appearing snoopy.
With Traqq, you can measure and analyze the activity levels of your employees and track the apps and websites they visit frequently. You can also identify activities that hinder their productivity and suggest measures to address them.
Unlike some tools, Traqq’s stopwatch functions round the clock—whether you are online or not. It also allows users to take screenshots and recordings in the background, promoting accountability.
With the unique features, Traqq has, it’s safe to say that it is one of the best employee time management apps for Mac users, especially for freelancers and those working remotely.
Features
- Screen activity recording
- Billing and invoicing
- Automatic time tracking
- Billable hours tracking
- Productivity analysis
- Project tracking
- Ideal for employee monitoring
Pricing
Traqq has three plans: premium starter, teams, and enterprise. Each plan comes with different fees. They are as follows:
- Premium Starter: $0 for up to three seats (has all Premium features)
- Premium Teams: $6 per seat each month
- Enterprise: Contact the sales team for a bespoke plan for teams numbering over 100 people
Best for: Businesses that manage remote and local employers looking for an affordable and simple time tracking solution to boost employee productivity.
9. Be Focused
In an era where online distractions are rife, staying focused on a task has become difficult. But the solution to this common issue lies in software whose name is exactly what it does— help people stay focused.
Be Focused is one of the best time tracking apps for Mac. It helps users break up tasks in intervals, separating them by short breaks, similar to the Pomodoro technique. With the “Be Focused app,” users can create projects, create breaks and monitor their progress throughout the day, week, or set periods.
Consider the Be Focused app if you are looking for a user-friendly app to hone your focus and boost productivity.
Features
- Goal tracking functionality
- Global hotkeys
- Syncs between iPad, iPhone, and Mac
- Tracking time each day, week, or set period
- You can paste a task list from other apps
- Basic task management
Pricing
Be Focused costs $4.99 for a one-time purchase
Best for: Individuals looking for an automatic time tracker that mirrors the Pomodoro timer
10. OfficeTime
Are you looking for simple time tracking apps for your Mac? If so, you’ll like OfficeTime, one of the best time tracking apps.
Office time is an easy-to-use tool. It comes with the necessary basic feature you need to track time and monitor your tasks.
To get this tool up and running, simply click the top navigation bar on your Mac device, choose the task you want to work on, and then switch on the timer. Yes, It’s that easy!
Moreover, you don’t have to open the OfficeTime app to start tracking your time. If you need to work on a different project or are tired and need some time off, you can open the menu and make the necessary selection.
Features
- User-friendly
- Works offline and online
- Invoice and reporting tools
- Overtime calculation
- Billing and invoicing
- Timesheet management
- Billable and non-billable hours tracking
Pricing
- Freelancer: $7 for each month
- Business: $12 per user each month
- Sunshine: $69 (single fee)
Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses looking for affordable time tracking software with basic features. It’s also ideal for legal professionals, solo entrepreneurs, consultants, and contractors.
11. Tyme
Tyme is another impressive time tracking tool for Mac users. It’s effective for tracking time spent on multiple tasks.
Tyme is ideal for individuals or businesses looking for a solution that can run multiple timers simultaneously. You can also depend on this tool to assist you in tracking hours on a specific project, task, or sub-task.
Tyme can be easily launched using custom keyboard short keys. All features on the app can be activated using a hotkey, making it easily accessible. Moreover, you may not have to drag your mouse to use this tool. It’s that easy to use!
Features
- Has a dashboard that displays visualized data in basic graphical reports
- You can view recorded times as calendar entries
- Siri shortcuts let you start and end the timer with prompt voice commands
- Syncs across many devices, including Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
- Can import data from other applications in the CSV format
- Workload overview feature to help managers understand employee availability and budget
Pricing
- Individual: $3.99 per month
- Team: $3.99 for each user, monthly
Best for: Freelancers who need a tool to boost productivity and keep tabs on how they spend their time. It’s also recommended for small teams and independent contractors.
12. Time Sink
Tracking activities while you work on your Mac is made easy with Time Sink. Time Sink is an automatic time tracking software for Mac designed to help you determine how you spend your time on productive or non-productive activities. It has features that help detect distractions, and hone focus, thereby improving your productivity.
With Time Sink, you can concentrate on available tasks while the tool gathers data regarding your activities—including idle time, the apps, and the sites you visit.
For those who would like to carry out activities on other devices, Time Sink can help you create a separate timer for such tasks. This way, the time spent will be added to your total billable hours.
Features
- Comes in two modes: light and dark mode
- Can take screenshots (optional)
- You can make pools (collections of corresponding activities with a drag-and-drop function)
- A basic tool that helps record all your activities
- A timer allows you to record time for non-Mac activities, for instance, phone calls, meetings, etc.
Pricing
Time Sink costs just $5 (one-time fee) for a lifetime license.
Best for: Businesses, and freelancers, who need a simple tool that helps improve personal productivity and provide accurate invoicing solutions.
13. Hubstaff
Are you looking for a powerful Timer for your Mac? Hubstaff is a good bet!
Hubstaff is a popular name in the world of time tracking apps. It helps you monitor time usage on tasks and clients.
If you are looking for one of the best tracking apps for Mac with standout features, Hubstaff is one of them. Hubstaff has timers that can be turned on and off with a click. It also has automatic reminders and idle timeout to ensure the time tracking process is spot on!
After tracking your activities, Hubstaff provides data (time report) to help you note non-productive and productive activities, thus ensuring that you stay accountable. You can access the data—in real-time—from a dashboard. And if you like, you can export the time report as Excel or CSV files.
Features
- Invoicing
- It can be easily integrated with other tools
- Employee attendance tracker and staff scheduler
- Has team dashboard and provides productivity breakdown
- Online timesheets with approvals
- Location monitoring with GPS tracking and geofencing
- It can be used to monitor expenses
Pricing
Hubstaff has different plans, each having unique features based on your team. You can decide to use the plans separately or together to organize your team.
Hubstaff costs $7 per user per month. You can use the free version. Unfortunately, it’s available for just one person and has limited features.
Best for Small and large businesses. It is ideal for remote employees eager to record time in different locations.
14. Timelime
Freelancers, office employees, and individuals struggling with low productivity can turn the tide with Timelime, one of the best time tracking apps for Mac.
Timelime is a time tracking app suitable for Mac users. Though free, it has brilliant reporting features and functionalities that can help you picture and interpret collected data on work hours and tasks.
With Timeline, you can monitor projects across different Apple devices, from iPhones to iPad and even your Mac. This means that if Timelime is operational on your Mac and you switch to your iPhone, the data gathered from your phone will sync with that on your Mac.
Timelime also lets you add notes to recorded hours and tasks, import and export data, create backups, etc.
Features
- Calendar view option
- Task grouping
- Available for mobile devices
- Tasks have the function of note-taking
- Has simultaneous timers
- You can add, edit, or delete time entries manually.
Pricing
Has a free plan with limited features. Pricing begins at $2.99. To access Timelime’s full feature, you’ll have to pay $23.99.
Best for: Individuals, freelancers, small business owners, or even students looking for a simple and affordable means to track their time and boost productivity.
15. On the Job
While many tracking apps for Mac can track time effectively, only a few can do so discreetly or without disruptions. And On the Job is one of those few. If you are the type who loathes distractions, you’ll love this app.
On the Job appears quietly on the menu bar, recording your work hours as you bury yourself in projects. It lacks those annoying notifications that shift your attention from work, making it perfect for those looking for a time tracking app that promotes optimum focus.
With On the Job, you don’t have to create sessions manually. New sessions are created automatically whenever you switch on the timer.
Features
- Billing in multiple currencies
- Client profile management
- Data organization
Pricing
Pay a one-time fee of $39.95 and access the full features of On the Job.
Best for: Freelancers in need of a tool that helps organize client details and individuals looking for an app that helps to track time without distractions
16. Chrono Plus
Chrono Plus is another amazing time tracking app Mac users will love. It’s simple and compatible with Mac, iPhone, and iPad devices. Though a little old, Chrono Plus is impressive in tracking time and managing projects; that’s why it qualifies for our first-class list.
Chrono Plus attaches itself to your menu bar. It uses timers to monitor activities on your Mac. In the end, this Mac app produces a detailed productivity report and invoice. And it does this by automatically multiplying your working hours with your billable rates.
One amazing benefit of Chrono Plus is that it tracks time spent on all mobile devices and computers and syncs the data.
Feature
- Mobile access
- Project visualization using graphs and charts
- Create subtasks
- Tracks completion of tasks and projects
- Time and cost tracking
Pricing
It costs $4.99 to download the Chrono Plus application, after which you can monitor your time and income.
Best for Remote workers and professionals paid by the hour who wish to track their work hours to generate accurate invoices for clients and monitor their costs.
17. RescueTime
Are you tired of being unproductive? Are you looking for an easy means to eliminate distractions and maintain sharp focus when working? Do you want to know and control how you spend your time?
If so, RescueTime is the solution you need!
RescueTime is a timer that helps eliminate distractions and increase productivity. It does this by going through the apps you use and websites you visit; afterward, it offers valuable tips on making the best use of your time.
Thanks to its ability to check distractions, it’s safe to consider RescueTime more of a productivity tool than a time tracker used for creating accurate invoices.
Features
- Captures time automatically
- Activity tracking
- Comes with mail alerts
- Can include employee database using the app
- Access controls and permissions
Pricing
RescueTime comes with two subscription plans: Lite, a free plan with basic time tracking, and Premium, which costs $12/ month, $78/ year, and has unlimited features. It also has a free trial which expires after 14 days.
Best for: Individuals who want to eliminate distractions and hone their focus, including those who need a time tracking app that focuses more on improving productivity.
18. Timely
Are you eager to take control of your time? Do you want to promote accountability and productivity among team members? If so, Timely was made just for you.
Timely is a time tracking tool that doesn’t only track time automatically. It also produces timesheets according to the time entries. Plus, it monitors the website you visit, your location, meetings you attend, documents you work on, emails you send, etc.
Timely, one of the best mac time tracking apps, is perfect for managers who want to monitor employees’ work hours, overtime, and costs. With this app, they can designate projects, set budgets for them, and reassign resources via a drag-and-drop interface.
Features
- Project management
- Team management and time management
- Detailed time tracking reports
- Resource planning
- Team Calendar
- Tracks time automatically
- Employee monitoring
Pricing
Timely has free and paid plans. Its free plan is valid for 14 days, enough time for you to test the app. Its paid plan comes in four subcategories, including:
- Starter $10 per user each month
- Premium $18 per user each month ( offers unlimited projects)
- Unlimited $26 per user each month
- Unlimited + Custom pricing
Best for: Teams looking for a time management tool to keep close tabs on time and monitor budgets, projects, etc.
Benefits of Time Tracking Apps
Why do you need to install time tracking apps on your Mac computer? What benefits do you stand to gain from using these apps? Are they better than manual time tracking methods?
Here are some of the benefits of using time tracking apps.
1. Bill accurately
Do you do jobs that require you to bill clients hourly? If so, time-tracking apps can help you do so accurately.
An automatic time tracking tool can easily and more effectively track hours spent on a client’s project. These apps help reduce errors and eliminate the stress of tracking your time manually.
2. Increase your rates
As a freelancer, how do you determine the right time to up your rates?
Not sure?
Why don’t you use the data you’ve gathered from your time tracking software to decide?
By looking at the time invested on each project, including your overall profit on a job, you should know if you are pricing well or not. If it’s the former, good for you! However, if it’s the latter, you may want to up your rates to get the right value for the time spent on a job.
3. Boost productivity
One of the greatest benefits of using a time tracking app is that it helps increase your productivity. It does this by giving you a clear picture of how you get distracted. From activities that delay you to websites that mess with your focus, data from a time tracking app can help address time mismanagement.
Knowing that you have a specified period to complete a project can also sharpen your focus, thus boosting personal productivity.
4. Understand your capacity
Everyone has a breaking point, which is reached when they overexert themselves. To know your breaking point, you need to track hours spent on projects.
You can easily determine your capacity when you track your time on multiple projects. And when you know your capacity, it becomes possible to protect yourself from overworking.
Managers can also use the information provided by time tracking apps to organize and balance team efforts for current and future projects.
What to consider when choosing a time tracking app
So, you are excited about using a time tracking app for Mac. But before you jump in and select a time tracking app for your Mac PC, there are certain questions you need to ask.
We have highlighted them below:
1. Does it allow payroll integration?
Many time tracking applications offer a different payroll module or integrate with payroll systems. Ensure that whatever app you go for has payroll integration features to help track billable hours, thus making it easy to create invoices.
In addition, to payroll, the time tracking app should also integrate with other significant business applications, like accounting, project management, and productivity software.
2. How accessible is the app?
At one point, you may need to track billable hours of in-house or remote employees. In such a situation, you’ll need an app that is accessible from mobile devices.
Cloud-based time tracking applications let you access the system through a browser. Ensure the Mac time tracking app you select is also compatible with various desktop and mobile operating systems and browser types.
3. Can it operate online?
Sometimes your Wi-Fi will be poor, and connecting to the internet may be impossible or difficult. To ensure that such a hiccup doesn’t affect your app usage, it’s crucial you go for one that can operate offline. Once your Wi-Fi becomes functional, the data is synced and updated, so nothing is left out.
Final words
Time tracking apps eliminate the pain of keeping track of your time with manual timers. And while there are loads of these apps out there, each with various features, selling points, etc., it’s up to you to go for one that suits your needs.
Determine where your team is lacking productivity-wise. If you are a freelancer, do the same. Afterward, select the time tracking app that helps fill the gap to get the best value for your money and increase your productivity.
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