Toggl vs Harvest vs Clockify: Best Time Tracking Software for NZ Small Business (2026)
If you bill clients by the hour and you're still tracking time in a spreadsheet, you're almost certainly undercharging. Studies from Harvest's own user data suggest that freelancers and agencies recover 20-30% more billable hours after switching to dedicated time tracking. For a 5-person NZ consultancy billing at $150/hour, that's a meaningful number.
Three tools dominate this space: Toggl Track, Harvest, and Clockify. They look similar on the surface but are built for completely different businesses. This guide breaks down which one fits NZ small business owners, freelancers, and agencies in 2026.
At a glance
| Toggl Track | Harvest | Clockify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Up to 5 users | 1 user, 2 projects | Unlimited users |
| Paid from | USD $9/user/month (NZD ~$15) | USD $9/seat/month (NZD ~$15) | USD $5.49/seat/month (NZD ~$9) |
| Invoicing | No | Yes | Yes (Standard plan+) |
| Best for | Consultants, agencies | Freelancers, client services | Budget-conscious teams |
| Xero integration | Yes (via Zapier) | Yes (direct) | Yes (via Zapier) |
Toggl Track: the one most people start with
Toggl Track's free plan is genuinely free for up to 5 users, with browser extensions, desktop and mobile apps, and integration with 100+ tools. That's the hook, and it works. Most small NZ teams use the free plan for months before upgrading.
The Starter plan (USD $9/user/month, roughly NZD $15) unlocks billable rates, project estimates, and revenue reporting. That's where Toggl becomes a business tool rather than a timer. You can see, for instance, that a client project is 80% of its budget with three deliverables still to go.
The Premium plan (USD $18/user/month, NZD ~$30) adds profitability analysis, timesheet approvals, and scheduled reports. It's overkill for most businesses under 10 people.
Where Toggl falls short: there's no native invoicing. You track your time in Toggl and then export it to Xero, FreshBooks, or another tool to actually bill the client. That's fine if you already have invoicing sorted, but it adds friction.
[!TIP]
Toggl's browser extension works on top of project management tools like Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and ClickUp. If your team already uses one of those, the extension lets them start a timer without switching tabs.
Start Toggl Track free (up to 5 users) → toggl.com/track
Harvest: the one that pays for itself
Harvest is the only tool in this comparison that covers the full cycle from time tracked to invoice paid. You log hours, the system creates an invoice based on those hours, the client pays via Stripe, and the money lands. That's a meaningfully shorter loop than tracking in one tool, invoicing in another, and reconciling in Xero afterwards.
Pricing: the free plan covers 1 user and 2 projects, which works fine for solo freelancers who just need to track hours for one or two regular clients. The Teams plan is USD $9/seat/month (NZD ~$15) billed annually, or USD $11/month if paid monthly. The Enterprise plan (USD $14/seat/month annually) adds advanced reporting and admin controls most small businesses don't need.
Harvest integrates directly with Xero for accounting, which is the most useful NZ-specific feature here. Hours tracked in Harvest flow into Xero without a Zapier middleman. That alone saves 20-30 minutes per client invoice for most agencies.
Where Harvest falls short: the free plan is very limited. Two projects is not enough for any active freelancer with multiple clients. And the paid plan's cost adds up quickly for larger teams: a 10-person agency pays USD $90/month (NZD ~$148) on the Teams plan. That's material.
[!INFO]
Harvest's Stripe integration means clients can pay invoices directly from the email they receive. You don't need to chase payments or set up a separate payment portal.
Try Harvest free (30-day trial, no credit card) → getharvest.com
Clockify: the one that's actually free
Clockify offers unlimited users on its free plan. No seat limits, no project limits, no time limit. You can run a 20-person team on Clockify for $0/month, which makes it the default choice for businesses that just need time tracking without the bells.
The free plan tracks time, generates basic reports, and exports to CSV. That's enough for many NZ businesses that track hours for internal visibility (project scoping, staff allocation) rather than client billing.
The Standard plan (USD $5.49/seat/month billed annually, or USD $6.99 monthly, NZD ~$9-$12 per seat) adds invoicing, timesheet approvals, time-off tracking, and QuickBooks integration. The Standard plan is notably cheaper than Toggl or Harvest at the equivalent tier.
Where Clockify falls short: the interface is functional but not polished. Teams that care about the daily experience of logging time often find Toggl more pleasant. The Xero integration requires Zapier rather than a native connector, which adds cost and setup overhead.
[!WARNING]
Clockify's free plan doesn't include invoicing or Xero integration. If you need either of those, factor in the Standard plan cost (NZD ~$9/seat/month) before comparing it to Harvest.
Start Clockify free → clockify.me
Which one should NZ businesses use?
The right answer depends on how you bill:
If you bill clients directly from tracked time and want the whole cycle in one tool, use Harvest. The Xero integration is direct, the invoicing is clean, and USD $9/seat/month (NZD ~$15) is reasonable for 1-5 people. The free plan works for solo freelancers with one or two regular clients.
If you already have invoicing sorted (in Xero, or through your accountant), use Toggl Track. The free plan covers teams up to 5 people, and the Starter plan at NZD ~$15/user/month is solid value for the reporting depth you get.
If you just need basic time tracking for a larger team without spending money, use Clockify. The free plan is genuinely unlimited. Upgrade to Standard (NZD ~$9/seat/month) when you need invoicing or timesheet approvals.
If you're a solo freelancer starting out: Harvest's free plan (1 user, 2 projects) is hard to beat. It lets you track time, invoice clients, and get paid via Stripe, all in one tool, for free. That's a full billing workflow at zero cost.
What about connecting time tracking to your other tools?
Most NZ businesses using Xero for accounting will want their time tracking to export cleanly. Harvest wins here with a direct Xero integration. Toggl and Clockify both work via Zapier, which costs an additional USD $20-$50/month depending on your Zapier plan.
If you're using a CRM like HubSpot or Pipedrive alongside your time tracking, both Toggl and Harvest connect via Zapier to push deal activity into time entries automatically. This is particularly useful for agencies that track time against client projects created in their CRM.
The bottom line
Three tools, three use cases:
- Harvest for freelancers and small agencies who invoice clients directly, especially with Xero
- Toggl Track for teams who want reliable tracking with strong reporting and already have invoicing sorted
- Clockify for cost-conscious teams that need basic time tracking without a monthly bill
None of them require a long implementation. Toggl and Clockify are set up in under 30 minutes. Harvest takes slightly longer because you're also configuring invoicing templates and payment settings, but it's still an afternoon's work, not a week.
Pick based on whether you bill from time tracked. If yes, Harvest. If no, Toggl or Clockify.
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