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The best time tracking and invoicing apps for freelancers

A freelancer who bills by the hour needs more than a timer: the hours have to become an invoice, the client has to be able to pay it online, and someone has to chase it when it is late. This list ranks the apps of our comparison pages on those jobs, for one person.

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

The short answer

By our rule, the top three are Hourbun, Harpoon and Keito. Hourbun has all 5 features of the list, for $15 a month for 1 person. Hourbun is our app, and it is first by the same rule as every other app.

The rule

How we rank

One rule ranks every app, from the facts of its comparison page. No app pays to be here.

  1. On the list: each app of our comparison pages that has invoices from tracked time and online payment of an invoice on some plan, with a published price for 1 person.
  2. First by “Invoices from tracked time”: Yes before Partly, Higher plan or Add-on.
  3. Then by how many of the 5 features of each entry are Yes, and then by how many are not No.
  4. Then by the price for 1 person a month, lowest first, and then by name.
  5. The same rule ranks Hourbun, our app. The top 10 are on the page.

The list

10 apps, for freelancers

  1. 1. Hourbun Our app

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

    Hourbun’s plans

    1 person, a month

    $15

    Duo

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

  2. 2. Harpoon

    Agencies and freelancers that want yearly revenue goals and forecasts beside time tracking and invoicing

    Hourbun vs Harpoon

    1 person, a month

    $19

    Freelancer

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes Through Stripe: cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link and Cash App Pay, and ACH bank transfers in the US
    No fee of the app on online payments
    Yes Only the fees of Stripe
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes

  3. 3. Keito

    Consultancies and service teams that want unlimited users for one price, desktop apps, or billing of AI agent work

    Hourbun vs Keito

    1 person, a month

    $19

    Solo

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes By card, or ACH for eligible US accounts, into your own Stripe account; also PayPal
    No fee of the app on online payments
    Yes Keito charges no platform fee on Stripe payments
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes Sent by hand, or automatically after the due date
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes Clients accept or decline from the public estimate

  4. 4. Plutio

    Freelancers and agencies that want projects, proposals, contracts, scheduling and invoicing in one app, at a flat price per workspace

    Hourbun vs Plutio

    1 person, a month

    $19

    Core

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes By card through Stripe, PayPal or Square; ACH bank debit only on USD invoices
    No fee of the app on online payments
    Yes Only the fees of the payment processor
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes Up to three, on the due date and 3 and 7 days after it
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes Proposals that clients accept online, which can create the invoice

  5. 5. 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

    1 person, a month

    $0

    Free

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes Through your own gateway: Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless and others
    No fee of the app on online payments
    Yes Only the fees of your payment gateway
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Higher plan From Ninja Pro
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes Quotes that a client approves online

  6. 6. Harvest

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

    Hourbun vs Harvest

    1 person, a month

    ≈ $31

    Teams · estimate

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

  7. 7. Moxie

    Freelancers and small agencies that want a CRM, proposals, contracts, scheduling and invoices in one app

    Hourbun vs Moxie

    1 person, a month

    $12

    Starter

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes By card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or ACH through Stripe, or by PayPal
    No fee of the app on online payments
    No
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes Proposals, contracts and quotes that a client signs online

  8. 8. FreshBooks

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

    Hourbun vs FreshBooks

    1 person, a month

    $23

    Lite

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes By card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Buy Now, Pay Later, on every plan
    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
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes Up to three reminders, and late fees
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes

  9. 9. Bonsai

    Freelancers and agencies that want a CRM, proposals, contracts, projects and invoices in one app

    Hourbun vs Bonsai

    1 person, a month

    $25

    Essentials

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes By card or bank transfer through Bonsai Payments or Stripe, or by PayPal
    No fee of the app on online payments
    No A 1% platform fee on Stripe or PayPal where Bonsai Payments is available, and a 2.5% fee on international payments
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Yes Proposals that a client accepts online

  10. 10. Paymo

    Teams that want tasks, Gantt charts and resource scheduling in the same app as their time tracking and invoices

    Hourbun vs Paymo

    1 person, a month

    $15.90

    Plus

    Invoices from tracked time
    Yes
    Online payment of an invoice
    Yes Through PayPal, Stripe or Authorize.net; in the US, through PM Payments (card or ACH)
    No fee of the app on online payments
    Partly Outside the US, only the fees of the gateway; in the US, PM Payments charges its own rates and $20 a month
    Email reminders of late invoices
    Yes Up to three automatic reminders
    Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online
    Higher plan Estimates from the Plus plan; proposals that a client signs online on the Pro plan (beta)
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • ≈ marks an estimate
  • The example: 1 person · 5 clients · 6 projects · 5 tasks · 6 invoices and $7.5k invoiced a month

Questions

Questions and answers

What are the best time tracking and invoicing apps for freelancers?

By our rule, the top three are Hourbun, Harpoon and Keito. Hourbun has all 5 features of the list, for $15 a month for 1 person. Hourbun is our app, and it is first by the same rule as every other app.

Which app on this list costs the least for 1 person?

On this list, Invoice Ninja costs the least for 1 person: $0 a month on its Free plan. Hourbun, our app, costs $15 a month on its Duo plan.

How is this list ranked?

On the list: each app of our comparison pages that has invoices from tracked time and online payment of an invoice on some plan, with a published price for 1 person. First by “Invoices from tracked time”: Yes before Partly, Higher plan or Add-on. Then by how many of the 5 features of each entry are Yes, and then by how many are not No. Then by the price for 1 person a month, lowest first, and then by name. The same rule ranks Hourbun, our app. The top 10 are on the page.

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

Harpoon, Keito, Plutio, Invoice Ninja, Harvest, Moxie, FreshBooks, Bonsai and Paymo 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.