QuickBooks Time vs TimeCamp: Full Comparison
QuickBooks Time ties GPS time tracking straight into QuickBooks Payroll. TimeCamp gives you automatic tracking and invoicing with a free, uncapped plan.
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Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick QuickBooks Time if your business already runs payroll through QuickBooks and you need GPS proof of where staff clocked in. Pick TimeCamp if you want a free plan with unlimited users, automatic tracking, and simple invoicing without a QuickBooks subscription tying you down.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
QuickBooks Time and TimeCamp 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 for teams that bill clients by the hour and want budgets, approvals, and invoicing built around the same tracked time.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
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
TimeCamp
The free plan allows unlimited users and unlimited projects, unusual in this market, with automatic keyword-based background tracking.
- Best for
- Small to mid-size teams and agencies that want low-effort, automatic time tracking plus invoicing.
- Pricing
- Free forever with unlimited users and unlimited projects. Billed annually: Starter $3.99 (invoicing and time off included), Premium $6.99, Ultimate $9.99 per user a month, plus a quote-only Enterprise tier. An AI time tracker is billed by token use on every tier, about $6 a user a month.
- Automatic tracking via desktop app
- Optional screenshots and activity monitoring
- Attendance, overtime, time-off tracking
- Billable time and project budgeting
- Invoicing on Starter, expenses on Ultimate
- Geofencing, Enterprise plan only
- 26 tools for project sync, 80+ browser plugin
- AI time tracker, billed by token use
See how they stack up
Pricing, best fit, and top strengths for both tools, side by side.
Pricing checked 2026-07-31. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Which one fits your team
Choose QuickBooks Time when…
Your business already runs payroll through QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll.
Timesheets sync natively into QuickBooks, so hours flow straight into a pay run without a manual export.See how
You manage field crews and need to prove where someone clocked in.
GPS breadcrumbs and location data show exactly where a punch happened, which matters for job sites and client billing disputes.See how
You want staff scheduling included on every plan, not gated behind a top tier.
Shift and job scheduling ships on QuickBooks Time's base plan, so you are not paying extra just to assign shifts.See how
You need job costing tied to the same timesheets your payroll uses.
Hours roll up by job, so labor cost comes from the same numbers used to run payroll. Full project costing needs the pricier Elite plan, not base Premium.See how
You track mileage for staff who drive between job sites.
Built-in mileage tracking logs driving distance, so field staff do not log miles by hand. This is an Elite-plan feature, costing more than base Premium.See how
Choose TimeCamp when…
You want a free plan that does not cap the number of users or projects.
TimeCamp's free tier covers unlimited people and unlimited projects, which is rare in this category at any price.See how
Your team forgets to start a timer and you want tracking to happen on its own.
The desktop app tracks time automatically in the background, so hours get logged even when nobody remembers to hit start.See how
You do not use QuickBooks and do not want your time tool tied to one accounting platform.
TimeCamp works as a standalone tool with its own invoicing, so you are not locked into a single accounting ecosystem.See how
You want project budgeting bundled in rather than paying extra for it.
Billable time and project budgets are part of the core paid plans, not a separate add-on module.See how
You want the lowest entry price for a paid plan with real features.
TimeCamp's Starter plan costs less per user than QuickBooks Time's base tier, which matters for a cost-conscious small team.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
Project Profitability
See cost against price live as a job or project runs, not after it closes.
Explore→Invoicing From Tracked Time
Turn approved hours into a client invoice without retyping a single number.
Explore→Capacity Planning
See who has room for more work before you commit to a new job or project.
Explore→
Compare other tools
Frequently asked questions
- Is QuickBooks Time cheaper than TimeCamp?
- No, TimeCamp is usually cheaper. QuickBooks Time charges a base fee plus a per-employee fee, starting around $20 a month plus $10 a user for Premium. Geofencing, mileage, and full project costing need the pricier Elite plan, at $40 plus $12 a user. TimeCamp has a free plan with unlimited users, and paid plans start near $3.99 a user a month. See how billing works if cost is the deciding factor.
- Which tool tracks time more automatically?
- TimeCamp's desktop app tracks time in the background without anyone starting a timer, which suits teams that forget to log hours. QuickBooks Time relies on staff clocking in manually or through GPS, which fits field crews and job sites better than office teams.
- Does TimeCamp sync with QuickBooks the way QuickBooks Time does?
- TimeCamp connects to QuickBooks Online through an integration, but it is not the same native, built-by-Intuit sync that QuickBooks Time has. If payroll sync is the main need, QuickBooks Time is the safer, tighter fit. See how data export works if you need hours to leave TimeCamp cleanly.
- Which tool is better for construction or field service crews?
- QuickBooks Time usually wins here. Its GPS breadcrumbs, geofencing, and mileage tracking are built for job costing on a site where you need proof of where a crew clocked in. Geofencing and mileage tracking do need QuickBooks Time's pricier Elite plan, not its base Premium tier.
- Can both tools send invoices to clients?
- TimeCamp adds invoicing on its top-tier plan, turning tracked hours into a client bill. QuickBooks Time itself does not invoice directly, since it hands hours off to QuickBooks for that step. See invoicing from tracked time for how that workflow usually looks end to end.
- Does TimeCamp have a free plan?
- Yes, and it is one of the more generous free plans in the category. TimeCamp's free tier allows unlimited users and unlimited projects. QuickBooks Time has no free plan at all, so reviewing project budgeting costs nothing to test on TimeCamp first.
- Which tool handles employee scheduling better?
- QuickBooks Time includes shift and job scheduling on every plan, including its entry tier. TimeCamp focuses more on tracking and billing than scheduling, so a business that plans shifts and crew capacity daily usually leans toward QuickBooks Time.
- Is either tool good for a small team with no field staff?
- TimeCamp usually fits better here, since a desk-based team gets automatic time tracking and invoicing without paying for GPS and geofencing features it will never use.
- Do I need a QuickBooks subscription to use QuickBooks Time?
- You do not strictly need QuickBooks Online to use QuickBooks Time as a standalone timesheet tool, but almost all of its value comes from the native payroll and accounting sync. Without QuickBooks Online or Payroll, TimeCamp or another standalone tool with its own billing is usually the better fit.
- What if neither QuickBooks Time nor TimeCamp fits what I need?
- If you bill clients by the hour and want budgets, approvals, and invoicing built around the same tracked time, it is worth looking at other alternatives, including TimeTracker, which is built for that exact workflow.
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