Toggl
Why Toggl
Toggl Track is a time-tracking tool for logging hours across web, desktop, mobile and browser extension platforms, with built-in reporting, billable rates and invoicing. It is aimed at freelancers, agencies and teams that need to measure where time goes and bill clients accurately. It includes a free tier for up to five users, with paid plans adding billing analysis, timesheet approvals and admin controls.
What it does
Toggl is a time tracking tool built around starting and stopping a timer. You log time against a project and client, on the web, in desktop and mobile apps or in a browser extension. Entries roll up into reports you can filter and export as PDF, CSV or XLSX.
It has grown beyond the timer. The same product now covers timesheets with approvals, billable rates, profitability reports, capacity planning, project boards and a timeline.
Why you would need it
You feel the pain at invoice time and at quoting time. At invoice time, you cannot say how many hours went into a client, so you bill from memory. At quoting time, your estimates are guesses, because you never compared the last quote with what the work took.
Tracked time fixes both. You see which clients are profitable, which projects overrun, and who is overbooked before a deadline slips.
Where it fits
Toggl sits beside your project tool and your invoicing. It has integrations with tools such as Jira, Asana, GitHub, Notion and Slack, and works with Google and Outlook calendars. Entries feed invoices, payroll checks and margin reports.
It replaces spreadsheets and memory-based timesheets. It does not replace accounting software, though its reports feed it.
What stands out
- Rates can be set at workspace, member, project or project-member level, so billable hours carry their own value.
- Profitability reports combine billable time with labour cost, to show revenue, cost, profit and margin per project, client or task.
- Capacity planning accounts for time off, public holidays and each person's working hours, and has draft projects to test whether you can take on new work.
- Toggl AI answers questions about your hours in plain language. An MCP server and a command line tool reach the same API.
My take
I would choose Toggl when time is your product, or your cost. The timer is fast, and the reports are clear enough to show a client.
What no tool fixes is the habit. Tracking only works if people start the timer, and a reconstructed day is always a guess. Toggl makes it cheap, with calendar suggestions, idle detection and reminders, but you still need a team rule. Judge it on whether people keep doing it for several weeks, not on the feature list.
Verdict
Pick Toggl if you bill by time, quote from past projects or need to see capacity across a team. Skip it if you want surveillance-style monitoring, or a full project management suite as your main tool.
Books behind it
Notes
Your note
Before you choose
The habit matters more than the tool
Time tracking fails when it feels like policing. Explain why you track, agree what counts as billable and keep it light. Use required fields and reminders so entries are complete, and review the numbers with the team so they see the value.
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Plan limits for the free tier
There is a free plan for a limited number of users, and paid plans with a trial. Features such as approvals, profitability and capacity planning sit on higher plans, and Enterprise adds custom roles. Check which plan holds what you need before you roll it out.
Pricing is per user
Paid plans are priced per seat, so cost grows with the team, and annual billing changes the rate. Count only the people who need to track, and check whether contractors or guests can join without a full seat.
Compare the alternatives
Clockify is the nearest alternative to compare. If you already live in a project suite, check whether it has time tracking built in before you add a second tool. Note that Toggl now also includes boards and a timeline, so compare it on the whole package, not just on the timer.