Time tracking for agencies in 2026: Toggl, Harvest, Clockify and built-in timers, with the invoicing gap stated plainly

What agencies need that freelancers do not

• Projects per client with billable rates, so a report shows margin, not just hours.
• Approvals, so a junior's 14-hour Tuesday gets a second look before it reaches the invoice.
• Timesheets a client can see, or at least export, when the contract says so.
• A timer that lives where the work is. The best tracker is the one people actually start.
• An invoice, or a clean path to one. This is where most tools stop.

There is a quieter requirement underneath all five: the hours have to be true. An agency's time data is only as good as the share of hours that get logged and the honesty of the logging, and both collapse when the timer is in a separate app that people open at 5pm on Friday to reconstruct the week. We have measured this on our own team: with a standalone tracker, about 60% of worked hours were logged, and the Friday reconstructions clustered suspiciously around eight-hour days. With the timer on the task, it rose past 90%, and the days started to look like real days. Whatever tool you pick, the question to ask is where the start button is.

The second quiet requirement is what happens to the data at the end of a client engagement. If the contract says the client can audit hours, you need an export per client and per period that a non-user can read. Check this during the trial, with a real month of data, rather than on the day a client asks.

Toggl, Harvest and Clockify, as of October 2026

Toggl's pricing page states the free plan covers up to 3 users; some older guides still say 5. Clockify's page says the free plan is "for up to 5 users" while its FAQ says you can invite up to 4 people, which is the same thing counted differently.

Toggl Track: the timer people keep using

Toggl's strength is the timer: one click, a browser extension, a desktop app that notices when you stop. Reports by client and project are clear, and billable rates are on paid plans. The free plan covers 3 users, which for a five-person agency means paying from day one: Starter at $9 per user per month billed yearly is $45 a month for five.

There is no invoicing. You export the report and build the invoice elsewhere, or connect an accounting tool. For an agency that bills fixed fees and tracks time to see margin, that is no loss.

Harvest: the timesheet that becomes the invoice

Harvest is the agency tool. Time goes against a client's project with a rate, expenses attach, and at month end you create the invoice from the timesheet, send it, and record the payment. Teams is $9 per seat per month billed yearly ($11 monthly), with unlimited seats and projects; the free plan is one seat and two projects.

If more than a third of your revenue is hourly, Harvest saves a day a month. Its timer is fine rather than good, and project management is not its job; you run it beside a work tool.

Clockify: cheap, and no longer free for teams

Clockify was the free answer for years. In April 2026 the free plan was capped at 5 users and several features moved to paid tiers. The paid plans remain the cheapest in the table: Basic at $3.99 per seat per month billed yearly, Standard at $5.49 with approvals and invoicing, Pro at $7.99 with scheduling and profit reports.

For an agency of 8 to 15, Clockify Standard at roughly $44 to $82 a month is still the lowest-cost route to approvals and invoices. The interface shows its age next to Toggl, and the free plan is now only a trial for a growing team.

If you are on Clockify Free today with more than five people, the change means a decision rather than a surprise: pay for Basic or Standard, which for eight people is $32 to $44 a month billed yearly, or move. Export the full history first; the free plan's reports are now limited to a one-month range, so pulling two years of data after the fact is harder than it was.

Built-in timers: Atrix and others

Most work tools now include a timer. In Atrix, every issue has a timer, time rolls up into timesheets per person and per product, and timesheets go through approvals. The advantage is that nobody opens a second app: the timer is on the task they are already looking at, which is the difference between 60% and 95% of hours logged. It is included in every plan, Builder at $39 a month for 5 seats and Studio at $149 for 15.

The gap is invoicing. Atrix has no invoices, no billable rates on the timer and no client-facing timesheet view. You export the approved timesheet and invoice from your accounting tool. For a fixed-fee agency that tracks time for margin, that is the right division. For an hourly agency, Harvest's end-to-end flow is worth the second app. The agencies page sets out what is and is not included.

How to choose

1. Work out the hourly share of revenue. Over a third: Harvest. Under: Toggl, Clockify or a built-in timer.
2. Count the people who log time, including contractors. Three or fewer: Toggl Free. Five or fewer: Clockify Free, for now.
3. Decide whether approvals are needed. They are, as soon as anyone bills a client by the hour.
4. Put the timer where the work is. A tracker nobody starts is a report nobody trusts.
5. Price it with the rest of the stack. The stack cost calculator adds a standalone tracker to your other tools.

FAQ

What is the best time tracking software for a small agency?

Harvest if you invoice hours: the timesheet becomes the invoice. Toggl Track if you track for habit and margin. Clockify for the lowest paid price. A built-in timer such as Atrix's if you want it on the task and invoice elsewhere.

Is Clockify still free for unlimited users?

No. As of April 2026 the free plan is capped at 5 users, and some features moved to paid tiers. Basic starts at $3.99 per seat per month billed yearly.

How many users does Toggl Track allow for free?

Toggl's pricing page says up to 3 users on the free plan, as of October 2026. Paid plans start at $9 per user per month billed yearly.

Does Atrix do time tracking?

Yes: a timer on every issue, timesheets per person and product, and approvals. It does not create invoices or hold billable rates; export the timesheet to your accounting tool.

Can time tracking show which clients are unprofitable?

Yes, if you record a rate per project and compare hours against the fee. Harvest and Clockify Pro report this directly; Toggl and Atrix give you the hours and you do the sum.

Next step

See how timers, timesheets and approvals sit inside Atrix project management, and how agencies set up client products.

Sources

Checked in October 2026: Toggl Track pricing, Harvest pricing, Clockify pricing, Atrix pricing.