Clockify vs OnTheClock: Full Comparison
Clockify is a timer-first tool for tracking and billing hours across projects and clients. OnTheClock is a time clock for hourly staff, with GPS and PTO.
Free to start. No credit card needed.
Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Clockify if you track and bill time by project or client and want a wide list of app integrations. Pick OnTheClock if you run hourly staff and want clock in verification, PTO tracking, and scheduling included at the base price, without paying more for GPS.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
Clockify and OnTheClock are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
If neither tool fits, TimeTracker is worth a look too. It ties tracked hours straight to project budgets, approvals, and client invoices instead of treating attendance and billing as separate problems.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
Clockify
Priced lower than most competitors, and its Free plan (capped at 5 users) still includes timers, timesheets, and basic reports.
- Best for
- Freelancers and small to mid-size teams who want a low-cost or free time tracker for billing clients.
- Pricing
- Free plan cut from unlimited users to 5 in April 2026. Paid from $4.99/user/mo (Basic) up to $14.99/user/mo (Enterprise), billed monthly; annual is about 20% less.
- Timer, manual entry, and auto tracker
- Kiosk mode for shared-device clock in/out
- Timesheet approvals (Standard plan+)
- Invoicing and QuickBooks integration
- GPS and expense tracking (Pro plan+)
- 100+ app integrations, even on Free
- Labor cost vs billable rate reports
OnTheClock
GPS tracking, geofencing, and PTO accrual come standard on the base plan, features most rivals gate behind higher tiers.
- Best for
- Small businesses that want a simple time clock with GPS, PTO, and scheduling included at the base tier.
- Pricing
- No free plan, 30-day trial. $4 per employee a month plus a $5 monthly base fee, so 2 employees is $13 a month. Payroll adds $6 per employee plus a $40 base fee, and a one-time $250 onboarding fee.
- GPS tracking and geofencing
- Biometric and IP punch verification
- PTO and leave tracking with accruals
- Drag-and-drop employee scheduling
- Project and job costing
- Tips, bonus, commission tracking
See how they stack up
Pricing, best fit, and top strengths for both tools, side by side.
Pricing checked 2026-07-30. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Which one fits your team
Choose Clockify when…
You bill clients or track budgets by project, not just by employee shift.
Clockify ties every entry to a project and client, which fits billing work more than plain shift attendance.See how
You want a free plan that covers a small team with no cost at all.
Clockify's free plan works for up to 5 users and still includes timers, timesheets, and basic reports.See how
You already use a lot of other apps and want the widest integration list.
Clockify connects to 100 plus apps even on its free plan, more than most rivals offer at that price.See how
You need to see labor cost against billable rate on the same report.
Clockify's reports compare cost and billable rate side by side, useful once hours turn into a bill.See how
You want to tag and sort time entries without much extra setup.
Simple tagging covers lightweight organizing needs across projects without a scheduling system on top.See how
You bill for hours but only need GPS and expenses occasionally, not on every shift.
Clockify's Pro plan adds GPS and expense tracking at a lower price than most attendance-first tools.See how
You need kiosk mode so staff can clock in from one shared device.
Clockify's kiosk mode covers shared-device clock in and out for a mixed office and project team.See how
Choose OnTheClock when…
You run hourly staff and want GPS and geofencing without paying for a higher tier.
OnTheClock includes GPS tracking and geofencing at its base price, where Clockify holds GPS back for its Pro plan.See how
You need to stop buddy punching with biometric or IP-based verification.
Biometric and IP punch verification confirm who is actually clocking in, which a plain project timer does not check.See how
You track PTO accrual and leave balances alongside worked hours.
PTO and leave tracking with accruals come standard on OnTheClock's base plan, not gated to a top tier.See how
You need drag-and-drop scheduling for hourly shifts, not just a timer.
Built-in scheduling lets a manager build and adjust shifts in the same place staff clock in, which Clockify does not offer.See how
You track tips, bonuses, or commissions on top of hourly wages.
Tip, bonus, and commission tracking cover pay details a project-billing timer is not built to handle.See how
You want project or job costing tied to hourly labor, with a clean payroll export.
Job costing rolls hourly labor up by project, then exports cleanly to payroll instead of a separate invoicing flow.See how
You want the whole tool to stay simple for staff who just need to punch in and out.
A clean, intuitive dashboard needs little training, which matters for a team that is not tracking client billing at all.See how
Popular features
Employee time tracking your team will actually use
One click starts a timer, or people type hours in by hand. Every entry ties to a client, project, and task, so the record stays clean.
Explore Time Tracking→Bill for every hour you earn
Mark each entry billable or non-billable while you work. Approved hours roll straight into reports you can bill from.
Explore Billing→See where the time really goes
Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.
Explore Reports & Dashboards→Use cases this solves
Frequently asked questions
- Is Clockify cheaper than OnTheClock?
- It depends on team size. Clockify has a real free plan for up to 5 users, while OnTheClock charges about $4 an employee a month plus a $5 base fee from the first user. See how billing plans compare on the billing page.
- Does Clockify include GPS tracking like OnTheClock does?
- Yes, but only on Clockify's Pro plan and up. OnTheClock includes GPS tracking and geofencing on its base plan, which matters for a team doing time tracking by task across job sites and needs location proof from day one.
- Which tool handles PTO and leave better?
- OnTheClock wins here. PTO and leave accruals are part of its base plan, useful for leave and PTO tracking. Clockify tracks time off too, but only from its Standard plan and up.
- Does OnTheClock include payroll?
- No, not by default. Payroll is a separate add-on for OnTheClock, priced on top of the base plan. Clockify does not run payroll either, but its reports and dashboards export hours cleanly to an outside payroll tool.
- Which tool is better for billing clients by the hour?
- Clockify fits billing better. It ties time to projects and clients and reports labor cost against billable rate, which supports billable hours tracking. OnTheClock is built around attendance, not client billing.
- Can OnTheClock stop buddy punching?
- Yes. Biometric and IP-based punch verification confirm who is actually clocking in, which supports audit trail and compliance needs. Clockify does not offer the same identity checks at any tier.
- Which tool has more integrations?
- Clockify wins here. It connects to 100 plus apps, even on its free plan. OnTheClock's integration list is smaller, and it leans more on team time reporting and payroll exports than on third-party app connections.
- Does Clockify offer employee scheduling like OnTheClock?
- Not directly. Clockify focuses on timers and timesheets, not shift building. OnTheClock includes drag-and-drop scheduling, which supports capacity planning for hourly teams working shifts.
- Is OnTheClock enough for a team that does not bill clients at all?
- Yes, often. If you just need clock in and out, PTO, and scheduling with no client billing, OnTheClock covers that well, similar to non-billable time tracking on Clockify, but with attendance features built in from the start.
- What if neither Clockify nor OnTheClock fits my team?
- Both tools are worth trying, but they are not the only options. Our OnTheClock alternatives page lists more time tracking and attendance tools side by side, including TimeTracker, which ties tracked hours to project budgets and invoices.
Still deciding between the two?
Clockify and OnTheClock solve different problems: project billing versus staff attendance. See if TimeTracker's budgets and invoicing fit better.
Compare more tools