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Hourbun vs Plutio

Looking for a Plutio alternative built around billable hours? Hourbun turns tracked time into client invoices, with a Duo plan for 2 people at $15 a month.

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

The short answer

Hourbun is time tracking and client invoicing for people who bill by the hour, with a Xero sync built in and a Duo plan for 2 people at $15 a month. Plutio Core costs $19 a month for one person with 9 active clients, and a second person needs Pro at $49. Plutio fits teams of 5 or more that want projects, proposals and contracts in one app.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over Plutio

  • A lower price for one or two people: Hourbun Duo is $15 a month for 2 people. Plutio Core is $19 for one person with 9 active clients, and a second person needs Pro at $49.
  • A 14-day trial of the Team plan, with no card: the Plutio trial lasts 7 days, for up to 3 active clients and 3 contributors.
  • A Xero sync built in, for issued invoices and their payments: Plutio connects to Xero through Zapier.
  • Hourly rates by client as well as by project, task and person: Plutio sets rates by project, person and time category.
  • Project budgets in hours or money: a Plutio project budget is an amount of money, used by billable time.
  • Your Plutio time comes with you: Hourbun imports the CSV of time entries that Plutio exports, with their clients, projects, tasks and people.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and Plutio at a glance
Hourbun Plutio
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $49 Pro
Free plan None None
Free trial 14 days, with no card 7 days, with no credit card, for up to 3 active clients and 3 contributors
Client invoices Yes Yes
Online payment Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes By card through Stripe, PayPal or Square; ACH bank debit only on USD invoices
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes iOS, Android, Mac and Windows

Same work, two prices

What you'd pay each month

Hourbun costs less in 2 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

Plutio

  • A flat price per workspace, by plan
  • Core is for one person with 9 active clients
  • Pro includes 30 contributors; Max has no limit
  • 2 months free when billed yearly
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun Plutio
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $4 a month $19 Core $15.83 billed yearly
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $34 a month $49 Pro $40.83 billed yearly
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 Team $49 (lower price) Pro $40.83 billed yearly
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 Team $49 (lower price) Pro $40.83 billed yearly
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 Team $49 (lower price) Pro $40.83 billed yearly
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (8)
  • More contributors can be bought as add-on seats, up to 100; the pricing page shows no price for them.
  • Unlimited contributors under the fair usage policy, with white-label and single sign-on.
  • Every plan has the same core features (projects, invoices, proposals, contracts, time tracking); the plans differ in limits: active clients, contributors, AI credits, workflow actions and storage.
  • An active client is a client that is not archived; archived clients do not count toward the limit of 9 on Core.
  • Billed yearly: Core $190, Pro $490 and Max $1,990 a year.
  • White-label is an add-on of $9 a month on Core and Pro, and single sign-on an add-on of $5 a month on Pro.
  • The pricing page shows a discount code for 15% off; these are list prices without it.
  • 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 Plutio
The features of Hourbun and Plutio
Hourbun Plutio
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes
Keyboard shortcuts Yes Yes T starts or stops a timer
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes
Hourly rates by client, project, task and person Yes Partly By project, person and time category, with a rate on each entry
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes iOS, Android, Mac and Windows
Invoicing and payments
Invoices from tracked time Yes Yes
Invoice lines of your own (a fixed fee, a product) Yes Yes Item templates
Recurring invoices Yes Yes
Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online Yes Yes Proposals that clients accept online, which can create the invoice
Deposit invoices Yes Yes An invoice split into 2 to 5 payments
A currency for each client or project Yes Yes A currency for each client or invoice
Exchange rates between currencies No No Currencies are not converted automatically
A tax on each line, and a second tax Yes Yes Taxes on each line or on the invoice, and compound taxes
Invoices in your client's language Yes Yes A language for each invoice
Email reminders of late invoices Yes Yes Up to three, on the due date and 3 and 7 days after it
Online payment of an invoice Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account 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 Stripe Yes Only the fees of the payment processor
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Partly A money budget, used by billable time
Cost rates and profit Yes For admins and the owner Yes Cost rates on each time entry
Reports with a CSV export Yes Yes A CSV of the filtered time entries
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Owner, co-owner, team, client and custom roles
Integrations and data
Accounting sync Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose Partly Xero through Zapier: invoices and payments
QuickBooks No Partly Through Zapier or Make
A public API No Yes Unlimited API access on every plan
Project-tool integrations (Asana, Jira and others) No Partly Asana, ClickUp and others through Zapier
Import from any app by CSV, with past invoices and expenses Yes Time, clients and projects too; a format guide with a prompt for an AI agent Partly Contacts, invoices, proposals and contracts
Data export and account deletion Yes A whole workspace as CSV files with receipts, for the owner and admins; your account as JSON Yes Exports of projects, contacts, invoices and files

Which one fits

Hourbun or Plutio?

Choose Hourbun if

  • You work alone or as a pair, and want to pay $15 a month, not $19 or $49.
  • You want hourly rates by client, and a Xero sync with no Zapier.
  • You want your team to send timesheets for approval before you invoice.
  • You move from Plutio or Harvest: Hourbun imports a CSV of time from any app, and a whole Harvest account.

Where Plutio is better

  • Projects, tasks, proposals, contracts, scheduling, forms and a client portal in one app, beside time tracking and invoicing.
  • A flat price per workspace: Pro is $49 a month with 30 contributors, and Max has no limit on contributors.
  • Apps for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, payments through Stripe, PayPal or Square, and unlimited API access on every plan.

Switching

Switch from Plutio to Hourbun

Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app, and Plutio exports its time entries as CSV. Upload the file, check the columns and the people that Hourbun proposes, and see a preview of the clients, projects, tasks and time before anything is added. Your clients, projects, expenses and past invoices can come too: give the Hourbun format guide and your Plutio 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 Plutio?

For one or two people, yes: Hourbun Duo is $15 a month for 2 people, while Plutio Core is $19 for one person and Plutio Pro is $49. For a team of 5 to 25 people, Plutio Pro at $49 a month costs less than Hourbun Team at $99.

Does Plutio charge per user?

No. Plutio charges a flat price per workspace: Core for one person, Pro with 30 contributors and Max with no limit. Hourbun also charges a flat price per workspace: Duo for 2 people and Team for up to 30.

Does Plutio sync with Xero?

Plutio connects to Xero through Zapier, for invoices and payments. Hourbun syncs issued invoices and their payments to Xero itself, one way, with no Zapier.

Can I move from Plutio to Hourbun?

Yes. Plutio exports your time entries as CSV, and Hourbun imports them with their clients, projects, tasks and people, after a preview. Try Hourbun for 14 days with no card.

Which is better for freelancers, Plutio or Hourbun?

Hourbun, if you track hours and invoice them: the Duo plan is $15 a month for 2 people, with rates by client, project, task and person. Plutio, if you also want proposals, contracts, scheduling and a client portal; its Core plan is $19 a month for one person with 9 active clients.

Sources

  • From the pages of Plutio, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of Plutio
All sources (24)

Plutio is a trademark of Plutio LTD, 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.