Best Free Timesheet Software 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best free Timesheet Software compared: Clockify, Toggl Track, Harvest, Kimai and 2 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Payroll, HR & Hiring
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clockify | Free (Unlimited time tracking; plan card says up to 5 users (FAQ says invite up to 4 people); reports cover a 1-month range; 30 API requests per hour; 3 webhooks; PDF export only; public projects only); paid from $3.99 per user/month, billed annually (Basic) | Web | Weekly timesheets for a small team | Docs only |
| Toggl Track | Free (Free for up to 3 users; manual and real-time timers, calendar integrations, personal reports); paid from $9 per user/month, billed annually (Starter; $12 shown on the page, probably the monthly rate) | Web browser | Individuals and pairs | Docs only |
| Harvest | Free (Free plan: 1 seat and 2 projects); paid from $9 per user/month, billed annually | Web browser | Freelancers who bill from timesheets | Docs only |
| Kimai | Free (Self-hosted open source (AGPL 3) is free; the site also has a Start for free link to cloud registration without stated limits) | Self-hosted server | Teams who want self-hosted hours | Docs only |
| Google Sheets | Free (Free with a personal Google Account; some Gemini features need a Workspace plan) | Web, Mobile apps | A template for one employer or client | Docs only |
| Microsoft Excel | Free (Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive; files must be saved in OneDrive) | Web | People who prefer the Excel layout | Docs only |
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Good fit if
- A manager approves the hours of five people (Clockify is the pick)
- You bill an hourly client directly from hours (Harvest is the pick)
- You need the hours on your own server (Kimai is the pick)
- You track hours for one job and want no new app (Google Sheets is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
A timesheet is a record of hours that someone has to approve, so the best free option depends on who is approving. If you only need to log hours for yourself or one client, a Google Sheets or Excel timesheet is fine, free, and you control the layout; the cost is that totals, overtime and rounding are your formulas. If a manager must review hours, a time tracker with timesheet views saves hours of retyping: Clockify's free plan covers up to 5 users, Toggl Track's covers 3, and Kimai and solidtime offer open-source options. Harvest bundles timesheets with invoicing but limits the free plan to 1 seat and 2 projects. Pay attention to approval workflows, lock dates and exports, which are the features that vendors most often move to paid tiers; none of the free plans below should be assumed to offer payroll integration. If you are tracking hours of employees for pay, check local rules on record keeping, such as how long to retain them. The six options here are free to start, and spreadsheets appear alongside software because many small teams never need more than a well-built template.
Clockify
Free plan for up to 5 users with timesheet entry; reports are limited to a one-month range. Paid Basic costs $3.99 per user a month billed annually.
Price: Free (Unlimited time tracking; plan card says up to 5 users (FAQ says invite up to 4 people); reports cover a 1-month range; 30 API requests per hour; 3 webhooks; PDF export only; public projects only); paid from $3.99 per user/month, billed annually (Basic) (Clockify pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Weekly timesheets for a small team.
Compare: Clockify alternatives
Toggl Track
Free for up to 3 users with timers and personal reports; entering hours manually is supported. Paid Starter is $9 per user a month billed annually.
Price: Free (Free for up to 3 users; manual and real-time timers, calendar integrations, personal reports); paid from $9 per user/month, billed annually (Starter; $12 shown on the page, probably the monthly rate) (Toggl Track pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Individuals and pairs.
Worth knowing: Free plan excludes team-level reports and billable rates.
Compare: Toggl Track alternatives
Harvest
Free plan: 1 seat and 2 projects, linking timesheets directly to invoices. Pro is $9 per user a month billed annually.
Price: Free (Free plan: 1 seat and 2 projects); paid from $9 per user/month, billed annually (Harvest pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Freelancers who bill from timesheets.
Compare: Harvest alternatives
Kimai
AGPL-3.0 and free to self-host, designed for time recording and exports. You provide the server and updates.
Price: Free (Self-hosted open source (AGPL 3) is free; the site also has a Start for free link to cloud registration without stated limits) (Kimai pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted server. AGPL 3 (open source).
Project activity: 5.1k GitHub stars · latest release 2.71.0 (Oct 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Teams who want self-hosted hours.
Google Sheets
Free with a Google account; build or copy a timesheet template, then share it. Totals and overtime depend on your own formulas.
Price: Free (Free with a personal Google Account; some Gemini features need a Workspace plan) (Google Sheets pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Mobile apps. Proprietary.
Best for: A template for one employer or client.
Compare: Google Sheets alternatives
Microsoft Excel
Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive, enough for a timesheet template. Files must be saved in OneDrive.
Price: Free (Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive; files must be saved in OneDrive) (Microsoft Excel pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: People who prefer the Excel layout.
Compare: Microsoft Excel alternatives
Which one to pick
- A manager approves the hours of five people: Clockify
- You bill an hourly client directly from hours: Harvest
- You need the hours on your own server: Kimai
- You track hours for one job and want no new app: Google Sheets
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Clockify, Toggl Track, Harvest, Kimai, Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
Related guides
Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked 2026-10-23: Clockify, Toggl Track, Harvest, Kimai, Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.