When you're writing code, optimizing performance, and tackling complex features, the last thing you want to worry about is logging your hours. Yet, accurate time tracking is the backbone of a successful development career, whether you’re a freelancer billing clients, a team lead managing burn rates, or an individual contributor aiming to optimize your deep work sessions.
Choosing the right tool can mean the difference between guessing your effort and having crystal-clear data on project profitability, time spent on bugs vs. features, and personal efficiency.
Here are six must-have and one required project time trackers that every developer should consider integrating into their workflow.
TMetric: The All-in-One Powerhouse
TMetric is a reliable project time tracker built for accuracy and ease of use, making it an excellent fit for dev teams and individual contractors. It excels at integrating seamlessly with a massive array of developer tools and project management systems, eliminating the need to context switch just to hit 'Start.'
Key Features
- Extensive Integrations: Works directly inside tools like Jira, GitHub, Trello, Asana, GitLab, and dozens more.
- Billable Hours & Budgeting: Clearly marks hours as billable/non-billable and helps monitor project budgets to prevent scope creep.
- Screenshots & Activity Monitoring: Optional feature for proof of work, ideal for remote contractors needing accountability.
- Desktop & Mobile Apps: Native apps ensure tracking continues even when you're away from the browser.
Pricing
TMetric offers a Free plan with core functionality, a Business plan for advanced features like budgeting and project rates, and a Professional plan for teams.
💡 TMetric is best for development teams and freelancers who need proof of work and deep integration into their existing project management ecosystem.
Toggl Track: Simplicity and Speed
Toggl Track is famous for its clean interface and one-click tracking. Its primary strength is making the act of logging time so effortless that it actually gets done. For developers who switch tasks often, the ability to quickly start a timer is invaluable.
Key Features
- One-Click Timer: Start and stop tracking instantly from a desktop app or browser extension.
- Automatic Tracker: Detects when you forget to start a timer and offers to fill in the gap.
- Powerful Reporting: Simple, visual reports to quickly analyze how time is spent across projects and clients.
- Workspace & Project Structuring: Easily organize projects and assign team members for detailed tracking.
Pricing
Includes a generous Free tier for up to 5 users, with paid tiers unlocking features like billable rates, time audit, and advanced security.
💡 Toggl Track is best for developers and small teams prioritizing speed, simplicity, and excellent reporting without heavy corporate overhead.
Clockify: The Free Team Favorite
Clockify positions itself as a 100% free time tracking software for teams. It’s a powerful, cost-effective option that often rivals the features of paid competitors, especially for startups or bootstrapped development projects.
Key Features
- Unlimited Users, Projects, & Workspaces: The core time tracking functionality is completely free, making it ideal for growing teams.
- Time Sheet View: Allows quick manual entry of hours for the end of the day or week.
- Kiosk Mode: Allows for shared devices or simple check-in/check-out for in-office teams.
- Scheduling & Leave Tracking: Paid add-ons for a more complete workforce management solution.
Pricing
The basic time tracker is Free Forever. Paid plans (Basic, Standard, Pro, Enterprise) add features like required fields, reporting customization, and GPS tracking.
💡 Clockify is best for large development teams or consultancies looking for a robust, feature-rich tracking tool that offers unlimited free core functionality.
Harvest: Time Tracking with Integrated Invoicing
Harvest has been a longtime favorite, particularly among consultancies and agencies. Its standout feature is the seamless integration between time tracking and generating professional invoices, simplifying the entire billing pipeline for client-facing developers.
Key Features
- Expense Tracking: Log expenses alongside time for complete project cost visibility.
- Integrated Invoicing: Automatically pull tracked hours into customizable invoices.
- Forecasting & Budget Alerts: Monitors projects against budget and provides alerts before you go over the estimated time.
- Lightweight Integrations: Integrates with tools like GitHub and Asana, but remains focused on the core time-to-invoice flow.
Pricing
A Free plan is available for one person and two projects. Paid plans are per user per month and unlock unlimited projects and advanced features.
💡 Harvest is best for freelance developers and small agencies that need an easy, robust solution that directly connects tracked hours to professional client invoices.
RescueTime: The Automatic Productivity Tracker
RescueTime is different from the others on this list because it focuses on automatic monitoring rather than manual timer starting. It runs in the background, categorizing the time you spend on applications and websites, providing a detailed breakdown of your digital productivity.
Key Features
- Automatic Time Capture: No manual start/stop required; it just records activity.
- Productivity Scoring: Automatically assigns a productivity score to every site and app (e.g., VS Code is "Very Productive," Reddit is "Very Distracting").
- FocusTime: Blocks distracting websites to enforce deep work sessions.
- Detailed Metrics: Provides insights into your work habits, helping you identify and block out your most productive hours.
Pricing
Offers a Free plan with basic tracking and reports. The Premium plan adds features like FocusTime, unlimited history, and detailed reporting.
💡 RescueTime is best for developers focused on personal productivity optimization, minimizing distractions, and understanding how they spend their screen time rather than just billing clients.
Everhour: Built for Project Management Integration
Everhour shines because it was specifically designed to work within existing project management tools. Instead of opening a new app to start a timer, Everhour embeds its timer, reporting, and budget tools directly into your task views in platforms like Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and ClickUp.
Key Features
- In-Tool Tracking: The timer appears right next to the task name in your PM tool, making tracking feel native.
- Project Costing: Calculates labor costs and displays project health based on estimated vs. tracked time.
- Time Off & Leave Tracking: Integrated features to manage team availability.
- Customizable Reports: Generate detailed reports directly from your PM tool's data, filtering by team, task, and project.
Pricing
No free tier for teams, but a Free solo plan is available. Paid plans (Lite, Team, Enterprise) scale with advanced features like budgeting and invoicing.
💡 Everhour is best for development teams heavily invested in a specific project management tool who want time tracking to be a seamless part of their existing workflow.
Final Thoughts: Choosing Your Tracker
The best time tracker for a developer is the one that you will actually use. If you need iron-clad billing and proof-of-work, TMetric is a fantastic choice. If you constantly forget to start the timer, try RescueTime or Toggl Track.
Test a few of the Free plans, check which one integrates best with your primary IDE or project management tool, and start getting the most out of your billable hours and focused work sessions!
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