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QuickBooks Time alternatives

QuickBooks Time needs a QuickBooks Online plan, and puts employee time on client invoices only from QuickBooks Online Essentials up. Invoices, online payment and estimates come from QuickBooks Online, and a fee for each other user comes on top of the monthly base fee.

By Fred Wu, maker of Hourbun · Hourbun is our app · Checked · Report a mistake

The short answer

This page lists Hourbun, our app, and Clockify, Hubstaff, Invoice Ninja, FreshBooks and Harvest. Each one costs less than QuickBooks Time for 2 people, or does more on a feature that the pages of QuickBooks Time limit or leave out.

The apps

6 alternatives to QuickBooks Time

Hourbun first, as it is our app. Then the others by their price for 2 people, lowest first. Each one costs less than QuickBooks Time, or does more on a feature in bold.

  1. 1. Hourbun Our app

    Freelancers, consultants and small teams who bill their clients by the hour

    Hourbun vs QuickBooks Time

    2 people, a month

    $15 (lower price)

    Duo

    Invoices from tracked time (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    No fee of the app on online payments (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes Only the fees of Stripe

  2. 2. Clockify

    Teams that want a free time tracker with desktop and mobile apps, or per-seat plans with scheduling, time off and invoices

    Hourbun vs Clockify

    2 people, a month

    $13.98 (lower price)

    Standard

    Invoices from tracked time
    Higher plan From the Standard plan
    Online payment of an invoice
    No
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    No
    No fee of the app on online payments
    No

  3. 3. Hubstaff

    Teams that want time tracking with activity monitoring, GPS and payroll for their staff

    Hourbun vs Hubstaff

    2 people, a month

    $18 (lower price)

    Grow

    Invoices from tracked time (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes On every plan; the Starter plan holds 5 clients
    Online payment of an invoice
    Partly Through a PayPal button, into your PayPal account
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    No
    No fee of the app on online payments
    No

  4. 4. Invoice Ninja

    Freelancers and small businesses that want a free plan, many payment gateways, native apps or a self-hosted server

    Hourbun vs Invoice Ninja

    2 people, a month

    $18 (lower price)

    Enterprise (1–2 users)

    Invoices from tracked time (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes Through your own gateway: Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless and others
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes Quotes that a client approves online
    No fee of the app on online payments (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes Only the fees of your payment gateway

  5. 5. FreshBooks

    Freelancers and small businesses that want invoicing, payments and accounting in one app

    Hourbun vs FreshBooks

    2 people, a month

    $54 (lower price)

    Plus

    Invoices from tracked time (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes By card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Buy Now, Pay Later, on every plan
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    No fee of the app on online payments
    No FreshBooks Payments takes 2.9% + $0.30 on a card payment and 1% on an ACH transfer

  6. 6. Harvest

    Teams that want desktop, mobile and browser apps, QuickBooks Online or project-tool integrations

    Hourbun vs Harvest

    2 people, a month

    ≈ $130

    Teams · estimate

    Invoices from tracked time (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes Through Stripe or PayPal
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Yes
    No fee of the app on online payments (ahead of QuickBooks Time)
    Partly A small Harvest fee on card and ACH payments, except on the Premium plan or Unlimited usage billing

For comparison

QuickBooks Time

Businesses on QuickBooks Online that track employee hours for payroll and job sites

Hourbun vs QuickBooks Time

2 people, a month

$115

Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials

Invoices from tracked time
Add-on In QuickBooks Online Essentials or higher, which adds employee time to invoices
Online payment of an invoice
Add-on Through a QuickBooks Payments account: card, ACH bank payment, PayPal and Venmo
Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
Add-on Estimates that a client signs online, in QuickBooks Online Simple Start or higher
No fee of the app on online payments
No QuickBooks Payments takes 2.99% of a card payment and 1% of an ACH payment
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • ≈ marks an estimate
  • Highlight = cheaper than QuickBooks Time
  • Bold row = ahead of QuickBooks Time
  • The example: 2 people · 8 clients · 10 projects · 8 tasks · 10 invoices and $16k invoiced a month

Questions

Questions and answers

What are the alternatives to QuickBooks Time?

This page lists Hourbun, our app, and Clockify, Hubstaff, Invoice Ninja, FreshBooks and Harvest. Each one costs less than QuickBooks Time for 2 people, or does more on a feature that the pages of QuickBooks Time limit or leave out.

Which QuickBooks Time alternative costs the least?

For 2 people, Clockify costs the least on this page: $13.98 a month on its Standard plan. Hourbun, our app, costs $15 a month on its Duo plan, and QuickBooks Time $115 a month on its Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials plan.

Is Hourbun an alternative to QuickBooks Time?

Yes. Hourbun tracks time and invoices clients in one web app, from $15 a month for a freelancer and $99 for a team of up to 30. QuickBooks Time needs a QuickBooks Online account, and puts employee time on client invoices from QuickBooks Online Essentials up, so one person pays $105 a month and a team of 10 pays $195. It fits businesses that already run payroll in QuickBooks Online.

Sources

  • Each fact comes from the comparison page of its app, which names its sources
  • A feature that no page of an app states is a No
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of each app

Clockify, Hubstaff, Invoice Ninja, FreshBooks, Harvest and QuickBooks Time are trademarks of their owners, and Hourbun is not affiliated with them.

Try Hourbun for free.

14 days, no card. Add a client, track your first hour, and send the invoice.