Clockify vs QuickBooks Time: Full Comparison
Clockify gives any team a free timer with a long list of integrations. QuickBooks Time is built for field crews who need GPS tied into QuickBooks payroll.
Free to start. No credit card needed.
Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Clockify if your team works mostly at a desk, wants a free or low-cost timer, and needs to connect to a lot of other apps. Pick QuickBooks Time if you run a field service or construction crew, already use QuickBooks, and need GPS-verified hours to flow straight into payroll and job costing.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
Clockify and QuickBooks Time are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
Worth a look too is TimeTracker, built for agencies that bill clients by the hour; see more options on the alternatives page.
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
QuickBooks Time
Owned by Intuit and built to sync natively with QuickBooks Online and Payroll, so timesheets and payroll share one data source.
- Best for
- Small and mid-size field service or construction businesses already running QuickBooks Online or Payroll.
- Pricing
- No free plan. Time Premium $20/mo base + $10/employee/mo; Time Elite $40/mo base + $12/employee/mo. Intuit now also sells Workforce Premium and Elite alongside these.
- GPS time tracking with location breadcrumbs
- Geofencing to remind staff to clock in (Elite)
- Scheduling by shift or job
- Mileage tracking for field staff
- Job and project costing
- Native two-way QuickBooks sync
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…
Your team works mostly at a desk and does not need GPS tracking.
Clockify's timer and manual entry cover office and remote work without asking anyone to share their location.See how
You want a free plan with no cost at all to start.
Clockify's free plan covers timers, timesheets, and basic reports for up to 5 users at no charge.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 QuickBooks Time offers.See how
You want to break time down by project without a heavier field-service system.
Time tracking by project covers lightweight organizing needs without job costing or GPS features you may not need.See how
You need kiosk mode for staff to clock in from a shared device.
Clockify's kiosk mode covers shared-device clock in and out for an office or a shop floor.See how
You want approvals and invoicing without paying a base fee on top of per-user pricing.
Clockify's paid plans add approvals and invoicing at a flat per-user rate, with no separate base fee.See how
You are not on QuickBooks and do not plan to switch accounting tools.
Clockify still connects to QuickBooks if you need it, but does not require it the way QuickBooks Time does.See how
Choose QuickBooks Time when…
You run a field service or construction crew and need proof of where and when work happened.
GPS time tracking with location breadcrumbs backs up every clocked hour with a record of where the work took place.See how
You already run payroll through QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll.
Native two-way sync means timesheets export straight into a pay run, so hours do not need re-entering by hand.See how
You need to see labor cost by job or project for accurate bidding.
Job and project costing rolls hours up by job, so you can see what a job actually cost to run. This needs the Elite plan.See how
You need to catch overtime building up on a job before it blows the budget.
Overtime shows up in reporting as it happens, not weeks later on a payroll statement.See how
You need to build a schedule for a crew, not just track hours after the fact.
Scheduling is included on every plan, so you can see who has room for the next job before you book it.See how
Field staff drive between job sites and you need mileage on record as an expense.
Mileage logs as a billable or non-billable expense category, so drive time does not get lost off the books. This is an Elite-plan feature.See how
You want one vendor handling both your books and your timesheets.
Being owned by Intuit means QuickBooks Time is built and tested against QuickBooks itself, not a bolted-on connector.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
Cost Tracking
Roll up labor cost by job or project so you know what work actually cost to run.
Explore→Overtime Tracking
See overtime building up on a job before it shows up on a payroll statement.
Explore→Timesheet Approvals
Have a manager sign off on hours before they turn into a bill or a pay run.
Explore→
Frequently asked questions
- Is Clockify cheaper than QuickBooks Time?
- Yes, for most teams. Clockify has a free plan and paid tiers starting under $5 a user a month. QuickBooks Time charges a monthly base fee plus a per-employee rate, which usually costs more overall. See the billing page for how billing setup compares across tools.
- Does Clockify have GPS tracking like QuickBooks Time?
- Clockify adds GPS and expense tracking on its Pro plan, but QuickBooks Time was built around field work from the start, with geofencing and location breadcrumbs backing up audit trail and compliance on every job.
- Can QuickBooks Time run payroll on its own?
- Not on its own. It needs QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll behind it, and the two sync natively so hours flow straight into a pay run through data export instead of manual re-entry.
- Does Clockify offer job costing for construction work?
- Clockify tracks time and cost rates but was not built around job costing the way QuickBooks Time was. If cost tracking by job matters most, weigh that before you pick a tool.
- Which tool has more integrations, Clockify or QuickBooks Time?
- Clockify wins here by a wide margin. It connects to 100 plus apps, even on its free plan. QuickBooks Time's integrations mostly run through QuickBooks itself, plus a smaller add-on list. See reports and dashboards for what Clockify's reporting side looks like.
- Is QuickBooks Time worth it if I do not use QuickBooks?
- Probably not. Its GPS and job costing tools are strong, but its main value comes from syncing straight into QuickBooks Online or Payroll. Without that, a general tool with time tracking built in, like Clockify, is usually a better fit.
- Does Clockify support scheduling for shift workers?
- Clockify focuses on timers and timesheets rather than crew scheduling. QuickBooks Time includes scheduling on every plan, which helps with capacity planning for a crew ahead of the work week.
- Can I approve timesheets before they go to payroll in both tools?
- Clockify supports approvals from its Standard plan up. QuickBooks Time does not list a built-in approval step; it focuses on syncing hours straight into a QuickBooks pay run instead. See how timesheet approvals work before hours turn into a pay run or a bill.
- Does QuickBooks Time track mileage for field staff?
- Yes, on its Elite plan. It logs mileage for staff driving between job sites, which Clockify does not offer. It shows up as its own expense category alongside tracked hours.
- Is there a third option worth looking at besides these two?
- If you bill clients by the hour and want budgets, approvals, and invoicing in one place, it is worth a look at TimeTracker too. See a wider set of options on the alternatives page to compare more tools side by side.
Still deciding between Clockify and QuickBooks Time?
Both are solid tools built for different kinds of teams. Compare features side by side, or check the alternatives page for more options.
See the comparison