Skip to content

Hourbun vs Timely

Looking for a Timely alternative that sends your invoices too? Hourbun tracks your time, invoices your clients and takes online payment in one app, for a flat price per workspace.

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

The short answer

Hourbun makes, sends and collects your invoices in one app, for a flat price per workspace: a team of 10 pays $99 a month. Timely charges for each user and does not send invoices itself: from its Premium plan it makes drafts that a QuickBooks Online subscription sends, so a team of 10 pays $238 a month. Timely fits teams that want time captured automatically from computer activity.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over Timely

  • A lower price for a team that invoices: a team of 10 pays $99 a month on Hourbun, and $238 on Timely Premium with QuickBooks Online Simple Start to send invoices.
  • A flat price per workspace: Timely charges for each user, and its Starter plan stops at 5 users and 20 projects.
  • Invoices made, sent and paid in one app: Timely makes draft invoices, and a QuickBooks Online subscription sends them.
  • Client invoices on every plan: the Timely Starter plan has no QuickBooks Online sync, so it makes no client invoices.
  • Online payment into your own Stripe account, with no fee from Hourbun: Timely sends invoices through QuickBooks Online and reads their paid status back.
  • A currency for each client or project on every plan: Timely sets a currency for each project only on its Unlimited plan.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and Timely at a glance
Hourbun Timely
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $78 Premium + QuickBooks Online Simple Start
Free plan None None
Free trial 14 days, with no card 14 days of all features, with no credit card
Client invoices Yes Partly On Premium and Unlimited: draft invoices from tracked hours, which a QuickBooks Online subscription sends; their paid status syncs back
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Higher plan Custom time entry states (such as "Approved"), from the Premium plan
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes Memory apps for Mac and Windows; apps for iOS and Android, which Timely no longer develops actively

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

Timely

  • A price per user, lower when billed yearly
  • User limits by plan: 5, 50 or no limit
  • Enterprise priced by sales
  • Invoices on Premium up need a paid QuickBooks Online plan
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun Timely
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $43 a month $58 Premium + QuickBooks Online Simple Start
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $63 a month $78 Premium + QuickBooks Online Simple Start
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $39 a month $138 Premium + QuickBooks Online Simple Start
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $139 a month $238 Premium + QuickBooks Online Simple Start
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $439 a month $538 Premium + QuickBooks Online Simple Start
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (7)
  • Timely makes draft invoices on its Premium, Unlimited and Enterprise plans and sends them to QuickBooks Online, which sends them to clients: Timely's drafts cannot be exported or printed. So each price adds the cheapest QuickBooks Online plan that sends invoices: Simple Start ($38 a month), Essentials ($85), Plus ($140) or Advanced ($340). QuickBooks Online Free has no third-party integrations.
  • Timely connects one QuickBooks Online account to a workspace, and it does not say that its users need QuickBooks Online users, so the user limits of QuickBooks Online (1 user on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced) are not applied here.
  • QuickBooks Online publishes only a monthly price, so the table has no yearly price of Timely with it.
  • QuickBooks Online often shows an introductory offer of 50% off for 3 months; these are list prices without it.
  • The Starter plan has no QuickBooks Online sync, so it makes no client invoices.
  • Tasks, for planning work, is an add-on to any plan; the pricing page lists it from $5 per person.
  • 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 Timely
The features of Hourbun and Timely
Hourbun Timely
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes
Day view Yes Yes
Keyboard shortcuts Yes Yes
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes A project without an hourly rate is non-billable
Hourly rates by client, project, task and person Yes Partly By project: one rate for everyone on it, or a rate for each person
Calendar view No Yes A calendar of your hours, with a week view
Automatic or activity tracking (apps, screenshots, GPS) No Not by design: you track your own time Yes The Memory apps record your computer activity, private to you and with no screenshots
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes Memory apps for Mac and Windows; apps for iOS and Android, which Timely no longer develops actively
Browser extension No No The Memory for Chrome extension is no longer maintained; the Memory desktop apps capture browser activity
Invoicing and payments
Invoices from tracked time Yes Partly On Premium and Unlimited: draft invoices from tracked hours, which a QuickBooks Online subscription sends; their paid status syncs back
A currency for each client or project Yes Higher plan A currency for each project, on the Unlimited plan
Exchange rates between currencies No Higher plan A rate that you enter for each project, on the Unlimited plan
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Yes Time or money budgets; recurring budgets from the Premium plan
Fixed-fee projects Yes Yes A money budget for a fixed fee; invoiced by budget through QuickBooks Online from the Premium plan
Cost rates and profit Yes For admins and the owner Higher plan Cost rates from the Premium plan
Reports with a CSV export Yes Yes Report exports as PDF, CSV or Excel files
Weekly capacity of each teammate Yes Higher plan Individual weekly capacity on the Unlimited plan
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Admin, manager and employee; team leads from the Premium plan
Timesheet approvals Higher plan On the Team plan Higher plan Custom time entry states (such as "Approved"), from the Premium 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, two way, from the Premium plan
QuickBooks No Higher plan QuickBooks Online, from the Premium plan; QuickBooks Self-Employed is not supported
A public API No Yes
Project-tool integrations (Asana, Jira and others) No Yes Asana, Jira, Trello and others on every plan; the sync with monday.com, ClickUp, Asana, Trello, Jira and Linear from the Premium plan
Import of a Harvest account, with its invoices, expenses and estimates Yes Also its budgets, receipts and team, after a preview Partly Projects, clients, users and tags
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 Users, projects, tags and time entries

Which one fits

Hourbun or Timely?

Choose Hourbun if

  • You want to send invoices and take online payments with no accounting subscription.
  • Your team grows, and you want one flat price, not a price for each user.
  • You bill clients in more than one currency, and want it on every plan.
  • You prefer to track your own time with a timer and a week grid, not by recording your computer activity.

Where Timely is better

  • Automatic time tracking: the Memory apps for Mac and Windows record your computer activity, private to you and with no screenshots, and AI drafts your timesheet.
  • A public API and Zapier on every plan, and integrations with project tools such as Asana, Jira, Trello and Linear.
  • A two-way QuickBooks Online sync from the Premium plan: invoices go to QuickBooks as drafts, and their paid status comes back.

Switching

Switch from Timely to Hourbun

Switching from Timely takes one import. Export your Timely time as a CSV report, 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. A later CSV adds only the new entries. Your clients, projects, expenses and past invoices can come too: give the Hourbun format guide and your Timely 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 Timely?

For a team that invoices, yes. A team of 10 pays $99 a month on Hourbun, and $238 on Timely Premium with QuickBooks Online Simple Start, which sends the invoices; a freelancer pays $15 on Hourbun and $58 on Timely.

Can Timely send invoices to clients?

Hourbun makes and sends invoices in the app itself, and clients can pay them online. Timely makes draft invoices from tracked hours on its Premium and higher plans and sends them to QuickBooks Online, where you send them to the client; this needs a QuickBooks Online subscription.

Does Timely charge per user?

Yes. Timely charges for each user: Starter holds up to 5 users and 20 projects, Premium up to 50 users, and Unlimited has no user limit. Hourbun charges a flat price per workspace: $15 a month for 2 people, $99 for up to 30.

Does Timely track time automatically?

Yes. Timely's Memory apps for Mac and Windows record your computer activity, with no screenshots, and its AI drafts your timesheet. Hourbun does not track activity, by design: you track your own time with a timer or the week grid.

Can I move from Timely to Hourbun?

Yes. Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app: export your Timely time as a CSV report, upload it, check the preview, and try Hourbun for 14 days with no card.

Sources

  • From the pages of Timely, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of Timely
All sources (21)

Timely is a trademark of Timely AS, 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.