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Hourbun vs Productive

Looking for a Productive alternative that keeps to time tracking and client invoicing? Hourbun gives you both for a flat price per workspace, with no minimum of 3 seats.

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

The short answer

Hourbun gives a freelancer or a small team time tracking and client invoicing for a flat price per workspace, with late-invoice reminders, recurring invoices and a Xero sync on every plan. Productive charges per seat for at least 3 seats, and keeps reminders, recurring invoices and accounting integrations for its Professional plan. Productive fits agencies that want resource planning and project management in the same app.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over Productive

  • A lower price for one or two people: $15 a month on Hourbun, $36 on Productive Essential, which bills at least 3 seats.
  • One flat price as you grow: a team of 25 pays $99 a month on Hourbun, and $300 on Productive Essential.
  • Late-invoice reminders and recurring invoices on every plan: Productive has them from its Professional plan.
  • A one-way Xero sync of invoices and their payments on every plan: Productive has accounting integrations from its Professional plan.
  • Timesheet approvals for up to 30 people at $99 a month: Productive has approvals from its Professional plan, at $29 a seat a month.
  • Deposit invoices, and invoices in your client's language: Productive bills an advance as a regular invoice, and needs a template of your own for each language.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and Productive at a glance
Hourbun Productive
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $36 Essential
Free plan None None
Free trial 14 days, with no card 14 days, with no credit card.
Client invoices Yes Yes
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Higher plan From the Professional plan
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes Mac, Windows, iPhone 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

Productive

  • A price per seat a month on Essential and Professional
  • Up to 17% off when billed yearly
  • At least 3 paid seats on every plan
  • Ultimate has no published price
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun Productive
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $21 a month $36 Essential $30 billed yearly
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $21 a month $36 Essential $30 billed yearly
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 Team $60 (lower price) Essential $50 billed yearly
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $21 a month $120 Essential $100 billed yearly
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $201 a month $300 Essential $250 billed yearly
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (9)
  • Up to 10 e-invoices a month through Peppol, FACe, SDI or Moj e-Račun.
  • Up to 50 e-invoices a month through Peppol, FACe, SDI or Moj e-Račun.
  • Up to 100 e-invoices a month through Peppol, FACe, SDI or Moj e-Račun.
  • Every plan requires at least 3 paid seats; employees and contractors who use Productive take a seat, and invited clients are free (Productive pricing FAQ).
  • Productive sets no limit on projects, tasks, clients or budgets.
  • Free accounts for teachers and students, and 50% off for non-profits and charities.
  • A volume discount for 50 users or more on the Professional and Ultimate plans.
  • The Notetaker add-on includes 10 recording hours a month; more hours cost extra.
  • 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 Productive
The features of Hourbun and Productive
Hourbun Productive
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes
Weekly timesheet grid Yes Yes
Day view Yes Yes
Keyboard shortcuts Yes Yes
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes
Hourly rates by client, project, task and person Yes Partly A price for each service of a budget; rate cards by client from the Professional plan
Calendar view No Yes
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes Mac, Windows, iPhone 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 Invoice drafts from recurring budgets, from the Professional plan
Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online Yes Yes Deal proposals that a client accepts and signs online
Deposit invoices Yes Partly A regular invoice with a line for the advance; a later invoice bills the remaining amount
Credit notes Yes Yes
Expenses with receipts, billed with a markup Yes Yes
A currency for each client or project Yes Yes
Exchange rates between currencies No Yes
A tax on each line, and a second tax Yes Yes A tax rate on each line, with more than one component
Invoices in your client's language Yes Partly A document template of your own in the client's language, set as the client's default
Email reminders of late invoices Yes Higher plan On the Professional and Ultimate plans
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Yes
Fixed-fee projects Yes Yes
Cost rates and profit Yes For admins and the owner Yes
Reports with a CSV export Yes Yes
Weekly capacity of each teammate Yes Yes
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Admin, profitability manager, manager, coordinator and staff
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Higher plan From the Professional plan
Approvals with more than one level No Partly Several approvers of one entry: all of them, or any one of them; approvals from the Professional plan
Integrations and data
Accounting sync Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose Higher plan Xero, QuickBooks Online, Exact and others from the Professional plan: invoices out, payments back
QuickBooks No Higher plan QuickBooks Online, from the Professional plan
A public API No Yes
Project-tool integrations (Asana, Jira and others) No Higher plan Jira, from the Professional plan
Import of a Harvest account, with its invoices, expenses and estimates Yes Also its budgets, receipts and team, after a preview Partly Clients, projects, tasks, people and 3 months of time; invoices and expenses are not available
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 Companies, contacts, users, rates, time entries and expenses
Data export and account deletion Yes A whole workspace as CSV files with receipts, for the owner and admins; your account as JSON Partly Exports of each table as CSV, XLS or PDF, and a full copy of the database on request; the owner can deactivate the organization

Which one fits

Hourbun or Productive?

Choose Hourbun if

  • You work alone or as two, and do not want to pay for 3 seats.
  • You want reminders, recurring invoices and a Xero sync without a higher plan priced per seat.
  • You need deposit invoices, or invoices in your client's language.
  • You want time tracking and invoicing, without project management, resource planning or a CRM to set up.

Where Productive is better

  • Resource planning with bookings, capacity and time off, and project management with tasks, boards and Gantt charts, in the same app.
  • A sales CRM with deals and proposals that clients sign online, and desktop and mobile apps.
  • Exchange rates, e-invoices through Peppol, a public API on every plan, and QuickBooks Online, Exact and Jira from the Professional plan.

Switching

Switch from Productive to Hourbun

Switching from Productive takes one import. Export your time entries from Productive as a CSV file, upload it, 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 Productive 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 Productive?

For one or two people and for larger teams, yes: Hourbun costs $15 a month for 2 people and $99 for 25, where Productive Essential costs $36 and $300. For a team of 5, Productive Essential costs $60 and Hourbun $99, but Productive keeps reminders, recurring invoices and accounting for its Professional plan.

Does Productive charge per user?

Yes. Productive charges per seat a month on its Essential and Professional plans, with at least 3 paid seats, and quotes its Ultimate plan on request; invited clients are free. Hourbun charges a flat price per workspace: $15 a month for 2 people, $99 for up to 30.

Do Productive and Hourbun send reminders of late invoices?

Hourbun sends email reminders of late invoices and makes recurring invoices on every plan. Productive sends payment reminders on its Professional and Ultimate plans, and makes invoice drafts from recurring budgets from the Professional plan.

Which is better for freelancers, Productive or Hourbun?

Hourbun is built for people who bill clients by the hour: $15 a month for up to 2 people, with invoices, reminders and online payment. Productive bills at least 3 seats, $36 a month on Essential, and is built around agency tools such as resource planning and a sales CRM.

Can I move from Productive to Hourbun?

Yes. Productive exports its time entries as a CSV file, and Hourbun imports it with its clients, projects, tasks and people, after a preview. Your Productive invoices and expenses can come too, in files of the Hourbun format guide that an AI agent can make from your exports. Try Hourbun for 14 days with no card.

Sources

  • From the pages of Productive, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of Productive
All sources (28)

Productive is a trademark of The Productive Company Inc., 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.