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Hourbun vs QuickBooks Time

Looking for a QuickBooks Time alternative that invoices clients without a second subscription? Hourbun tracks your time and turns it into invoices in one web app, at a flat price.

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

The short answer

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 puts employee time on client invoices only through QuickBooks Online Essentials or higher, so one person pays $105 a month and a team of 10 pays $195. It fits businesses that already run payroll in QuickBooks Online.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over QuickBooks Time

  • One subscription for time and invoices: QuickBooks Time needs QuickBooks Online Essentials or higher to put employee time on client invoices.
  • A low price for a freelancer: $15 a month on Hourbun, $105 on QuickBooks Time with QuickBooks Online Essentials.
  • A flat price for a team: 10 people pay $99 a month on Hourbun, $195 on QuickBooks Time, which adds a monthly fee for each user after the first admin.
  • A currency for each client, recurring invoices and late-payment reminders in Hourbun: QuickBooks Time gets them from a QuickBooks Online plan.
  • Project budgets in hours or money on every plan: QuickBooks Time has budgeted hours on Time Elite.
  • No location tracking, by design: QuickBooks Time can record GPS location while a team member is on the clock.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and QuickBooks Time at a glance
Hourbun QuickBooks Time
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $115 Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials
Free plan None None
Free trial 14 days, with no card 30 days, with no credit card
Client invoices Yes Add-on In QuickBooks Online Essentials or higher, which adds employee time to invoices
Online payment Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Add-on Through a QuickBooks Payments account: card, ACH bank payment, PayPal and Venmo
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Yes
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes The QuickBooks Workforce app for iPhone, iPad and Android

Same work, two prices

What you'd pay each month

Hourbun costs less in 5 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

QuickBooks Time

  • A monthly base fee that covers the first admin
  • Plus a fee for each other user
  • Needs a QuickBooks Online plan
  • Time on invoices from QuickBooks Online Essentials up
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun QuickBooks Time
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $90 a month $105 Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $100 a month $115 Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $46 a month $145 Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $96 a month $195 Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $246 a month $345 Time Premium + QuickBooks Online Essentials
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (8)
  • A QuickBooks Online account is required to use QuickBooks Time. Each price adds the cheapest QuickBooks Online plan that adds employee time to invoices: Essentials ($85 a month), Plus ($140) or Advanced ($340). QuickBooks Online Simple Start ($38) has no time entry and no time tracking-only users.
  • The base fee of QuickBooks Time covers the first admin, typically the account owner; each other user costs $10 a month on Time Premium and $12 on Time Elite.
  • Team members who only track time do not count toward the user limit of QuickBooks Online (3 users on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced), so that limit is not applied here.
  • No yearly price is published for QuickBooks Time. Businesses with more than 50 employees can ask sales for a discount.
  • QuickBooks Payments (US): 2.99% for a card or a digital wallet and 1% for an ACH bank payment, with no monthly fee.
  • QuickBooks Workforce Premium and Elite include QuickBooks Time with payroll; they are not compared here.
  • QuickBooks often shows an introductory offer of 50% off for 3 months; 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 QuickBooks Time
The features of Hourbun and QuickBooks Time
Hourbun QuickBooks Time
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes A time clock to clock in and out
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes Time synced to QuickBooks Online can be billable
Automatic or activity tracking (apps, screenshots, GPS) No Not by design: you track your own time Yes GPS location while a team member is on the clock
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes The QuickBooks Workforce app for iPhone, iPad and Android
Invoicing and payments
Invoices from tracked time Yes Add-on In QuickBooks Online Essentials or higher, which adds employee time to invoices
Recurring invoices Yes Add-on In QuickBooks Online Simple Start or higher
A currency for each client or project Yes Add-on Multiple currencies in QuickBooks Online Essentials or higher
Email reminders of late invoices Yes Add-on Invoice reminders in QuickBooks Online Simple Start or higher
Online payment of an invoice Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Add-on Through a QuickBooks Payments account: card, ACH bank payment, PayPal and Venmo
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Higher plan On Time Elite: budgeted hours against actual hours on a project
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Admins, managers and team members
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Yes
Integrations and data
Accounting sync Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose Yes QuickBooks Online, and more than 50 accounting and payroll apps
QuickBooks No Yes QuickBooks Time needs a QuickBooks Online account
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 Timesheets, once the CSV import is turned on in Feature Add-ons

Which one fits

Hourbun or QuickBooks Time?

Choose Hourbun if

  • You bill clients by the hour and want time and invoices in one app, without an accounting suite.
  • You work alone or in a small team and want one flat monthly price.
  • You keep your accounts in Xero and want issued invoices and their payments synced there.
  • You want each person to track their own time, with no activity or location tracking.

Where QuickBooks Time is better

  • A time clock, GPS location, a Time Kiosk for job sites, and the QuickBooks Workforce app for iPhone, iPad and Android.
  • Hours go into QuickBooks Online for payroll, projects and invoices, and into more than 50 accounting and payroll apps.
  • Timesheet approvals, and scheduling and time off in every plan, and a 30-day free trial with no credit card.

Switching

Switch from QuickBooks Time 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 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 QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online 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 QuickBooks Time?

Yes, in each example at list prices: a freelancer pays $15 a month on Hourbun and $105 on QuickBooks Time with QuickBooks Online Essentials, and a team of 25 pays $99 on Hourbun and $345 on QuickBooks Time.

Does QuickBooks Time make client invoices?

QuickBooks Time sends its hours to QuickBooks Online, which adds employee time to invoices from its Essentials plan up. Hourbun makes the invoice from tracked time in the same app, with no second subscription.

Does QuickBooks Time charge per user?

Yes. QuickBooks Time charges a monthly base fee for the first admin, plus $10 a month for each other user on Time Premium and $12 on Time Elite. Hourbun charges a flat price per workspace: $15 a month for up to 2 people, and $99 for up to 30.

Does Hourbun work with QuickBooks like QuickBooks Time?

No. QuickBooks Time is built for QuickBooks Online and needs it. Hourbun has no QuickBooks integration: it syncs issued invoices and their payments one way to Xero.

Can I move from QuickBooks Time 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 QuickBooks Online invoices and expenses can come too, in files of the Hourbun format guide that an AI agent can make from your QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online exports. The 14-day trial of Hourbun needs no card.

Sources

  • From the pages of QuickBooks Time, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of QuickBooks Time
All sources (11)

QuickBooks Time is a trademark of Intuit 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.