Skip to content

Hourbun vs Paymo

Looking for a Paymo alternative that does not charge for each user? Hourbun tracks your team's time and invoices clients at one flat price per workspace.

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

The short answer

Hourbun bills a team at one flat price, with recurring invoices, estimates, expenses and timesheet approvals included: 10 people pay $99 a month. Paymo charges for each user on its team plans, so the same 10 people pay $159 on Plus, and it keeps timesheet approvals for Pro. Paymo fits teams that want project management in the same app.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over Paymo

  • A flat price as you grow: 10 people pay $99 a month on Hourbun, $159 on Paymo Plus, and 25 people pay $99 against $397.50.
  • Two people for $15 a month: on Paymo Plus, the first plan with recurring invoices, estimates and expenses, two users pay $31.80.
  • Timesheet approvals on the Team plan, $99 a month for up to 30 people: Paymo has them only on Pro, at $23.90 per user a month.
  • A weekly timesheet grid on every plan: Paymo adds bulk time by week from the Plus plan.
  • Online payment into your own Stripe account, also in the US: there, Paymo uses PM Payments, with its own rates, a $20 monthly fee and a $69 yearly PCI fee.
  • Cost rates, profit and weekly capacity on every plan: Paymo has profitability from Plus and workload on Pro.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and Paymo at a glance
Hourbun Paymo
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $31.80 Plus
Free plan None A free plan for 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects, with unlimited invoices
Free trial 14 days, with no card 15 days of any plan, with no card
Client invoices Yes Yes
Online payment Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes Through PayPal, Stripe or Authorize.net; in the US, through PM Payments (card or ACH)
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Higher plan On the Pro plan
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes Windows, Mac and Linux; iOS and Android

Same work, two prices

What you'd pay each month

Hourbun costs less in 4 of 5 examples below.

Hourbun

  • One flat price per workspace
  • Duo up to 2 seats · Team up to 30
  • 14-day free trial, no card

Paymo

  • A price per user on the Plus and Pro plans
  • Up to 40% off when billed yearly
  • Free and Solo plans are for one user
  • Free and Solo limit clients and projects
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun Paymo
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $0.90 a month $15.90 Plus $10.90 billed yearly
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $16.80 a month $31.80 Plus $21.80 billed yearly
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 Team $79.50 (lower price) Plus $54.50 billed yearly
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $60 a month $159 Plus $109 billed yearly
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $298.50 a month $397.50 Plus $272.50 billed yearly
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (4)
  • Paymo shows a promotion for accounts created after 2026-09-25: lower monthly prices for the first three months. This page uses the list prices.
  • One Paymo account has one plan for all its users: plans cannot be mixed.
  • In the US, clients pay online only through PM Payments, on paid accounts: 2.95% for Visa, Mastercard and Discover, 3.49% for Amex, 1.1% for ACH, a $20 monthly account fee and a $69 yearly PCI fee. Outside the US, the gateway (PayPal, Stripe or Authorize.net) charges its own fees.
  • The usage of each example: Solo freelancer: 1 person · 5 clients · 6 projects · 5 tasks · 6 invoices and $7.5k invoiced a month. Duo: 2 people · 8 clients · 10 projects · 8 tasks · 10 invoices and $16k invoiced a month. Small studio: 5 people · 15 clients · 20 projects · 10 tasks · 20 invoices and $40k invoiced a month. Agency: 10 people · 30 clients · 40 projects · 15 tasks · 40 invoices and $90k invoiced a month. Larger team: 25 people · 60 clients · 80 projects · 20 tasks · 80 invoices and $220k invoiced a month.

Feature by feature

Features

  • Yes
  • Partly
  • No
  • Only the rows that we could check on a page of Paymo
The features of Hourbun and Paymo
Hourbun Paymo
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes
Weekly timesheet grid Yes Higher plan Bulk time by week, from the Plus plan
Day view Yes Yes
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes
Hourly rates by client, project, task and person Yes Yes
Calendar view No Yes
Automatic or activity tracking (apps, screenshots, GPS) No Not by design: you track your own time Yes Paymo Track records the desktop apps that you use, with no screenshots
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes Windows, Mac and Linux; iOS and Android
Invoicing and payments
Invoices from tracked time Yes Yes
Invoice lines of your own (a fixed fee, a product) Yes Yes
Recurring invoices Yes Higher plan From the Plus plan
Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online Yes Higher plan Estimates from the Plus plan; proposals that a client signs online on the Pro plan (beta)
Deposit invoices Yes Partly Partial invoices of flat-rate projects, by a percentage or an amount
Expenses with receipts, billed with a markup Yes Higher plan From the Plus plan, with receipts and markups
A currency for each client or project Yes Yes More than 85 currencies, chosen on each invoice
Invoices in your client's language Yes Yes Invoice templates in 15 languages
Email reminders of late invoices Yes Yes Up to three automatic reminders
Online payment of an invoice Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes Through PayPal, Stripe or Authorize.net; in the US, through PM Payments (card or ACH)
No fee of the app on online payments Yes Only the fees of Stripe Partly Outside the US, only the fees of the gateway; in the US, PM Payments charges its own rates and $20 a month
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Yes
Fixed-fee projects Yes Higher plan From the Solo plan
Cost rates and profit Yes For admins and the owner Higher plan From the Plus plan
Weekly capacity of each teammate Yes Higher plan On the Pro plan (employee scheduling and workload)
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Admin, project manager, user and guest
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Higher plan On the Pro plan
Integrations and data
Accounting sync Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose Higher plan QuickBooks Online and Xero, from the Plus plan
QuickBooks No Higher plan QuickBooks Online, from the Plus plan
A public API No Higher plan From the Plus plan
Data export and account deletion Yes A whole workspace as CSV files with receipts, for the owner and admins; your account as JSON Yes

Which one fits

Hourbun or Paymo?

Choose Hourbun if

  • Your team is growing, and you want the price to stay flat.
  • You want recurring invoices, estimates and expenses on every plan.
  • You bill clients in the US and want them to pay into your own Stripe account.

Where Paymo is better

  • Project management: task lists, Kanban boards and calendar views, and on Pro, Gantt charts, resource scheduling and a leave planner.
  • Desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, mobile apps, and tracking of desktop apps with Paymo Track.
  • A free plan for 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects, and a lower price for 5 people: $79.50 a month on Plus.

Switching

Switch from Paymo to Hourbun

Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app: upload a CSV of your time, check the columns and the people that Hourbun proposes, and see a preview before anything is added. Your clients, projects, expenses and past invoices can come too: give the Hourbun format guide and your Paymo exports to an AI agent, and upload the files that it makes. The 14-day trial of Hourbun needs no card.

Questions

Questions and answers

Is Hourbun cheaper than Paymo?

For most teams, yes: on Paymo Plus, 2 people pay $31.80 a month and 10 pay $159, where Hourbun costs $15 and $99. For 5 people, Paymo Plus costs $79.50 and Hourbun $99.

Does Paymo charge per user?

Yes. Paymo charges for each user on Plus, $15.90 a month, and on Pro, $23.90, and one account has one plan for all its users. Hourbun charges a flat price per workspace: $15 a month for up to 2 people, and $99 for up to 30.

Does Paymo charge a fee on online payments?

In the US, Paymo uses PM Payments, with a rate on each payment, a $20 monthly account fee and a $69 yearly PCI fee; elsewhere, the gateway charges its own fees. Hourbun adds no fee: clients pay into your own Stripe account, and only the fees of Stripe apply.

Does Paymo have timesheet approvals?

Yes. Paymo has timesheet approvals on its Pro plan, at $23.90 per user a month. Hourbun has timesheet approvals on its Team plan, at $99 a month for up to 30 people.

Can I move from Paymo to Hourbun?

Yes. Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app, with the clients, projects, tasks and people that it names, after a preview. Your Paymo invoices and expenses can come too, in files of the Hourbun format guide that an AI agent can make from your exports.

Sources

  • From the pages of Paymo, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of Paymo
All sources (27)

Paymo is a trademark of Paymo LLC, and Hourbun is not affiliated with it.

Try Hourbun for free.

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