No cubicle, no boss looking over your shoulder, and no awkward water cooler conversations; the freelancer life may seem like a dream to many people. However, having such an open and flexible schedule can be the downfall of some looking to get into a freelancing gig.
As a freelancer, you know how important it is to keep track of your time and make sure that you are making the most out of every second. Knowing where your time goes can help you become more productive and maximize your earnings.
__That’s why a good time-tracking app will be your new best friend in 2025. __
Spoiler alert; IFTTT is one of the best time-tracking helpers out there. It does more than just track your time; you can use it to automate various aspects of your work life. From setting alarms and reminders to creating daily task lists, IFTTT has everything you need to make sure that you’re always on top of your freelancing game. Join IFTTT today!
This article will help readers find the best time-tracking app for their needs in 2025. We'll cover how IFTTT can help keep your eye on the clock, as well as other popular apps like Harvest and RescueTime that are great options for freelancers who want to stay organized and maximize their earnings. We'll also provide guidance about how to choose the right app
Table of Contents
- What makes a good time tracking app?
- Harvest
- Quality Time
- Rescue Time
- Timelines
- How to choose the best time tracking app for You
- What is the best free time tracking app?
What makes a good time tracking app?
A time-tracking app can significantly improve your productivity, accountability and help you stay focused on your goals. But for a user to fully benefit from a time tracking app, certain features and functionalities are necessary.
Here are some of the essential things that a time tracking app needs to make their users successful:
1. Simple and intuitive user interface: Users want an app that is easy to navigate and understand. The best time tracking software should have clear labels, easy-to-understand menus, and straightforward features that any user can easily use.
2. Time tracking on multiple devices: Whether it's your PC, laptop, tablet or phone, the app should be synchronized so that users can track their time across desktop and mobile devices.
3. Flexibility: Time tracking apps should be flexible enough to cater to various users' needs, whether they are freelancers, CEOs, students or entrepreneurs. A time tracking app that can be customized to fit every user's unique situation can make tracking time more effective.
4. Integration with other apps: A time tracking app that can integrate with other apps can make users more productive. For instance, integration with project management software or calendar apps can help users track time within their workflows.
5. Reporting: Reports will assist users to monitor their progress, identify areas where they're spending too much time, and help them to adjust their schedules.
6. Reminders and Alerts: Users must have an app that can provide them with reminders and alerts when they've been idle for too long, or when they need to take a break.
Our favorite time tracking apps for freelancers
1. Harvest
Harvest is one of the most popular time-tracking apps for freelancers. It offers an easy-to-use and intuitive interface with a straightforward design, making it simple to keep track of your time.
The app also has a number of features that make tracking time easier and more efficient, such as built-in timers, customizable reporting, and integration with invoicing software.
Harvest also has powerful collaboration features that make it easier for teams to stay on top of tasks and projects. It has a centralized dashboard that allows users to easily monitor all their projects and tasks in one place, as well as project templates and team chat capabilities that help ensure everyone is on the same page.
Looking for Harvest Integrations?
IFTTT is a popular automation tool that can help boost your productivity by automating repetitive tasks. With IFTTT, you can easily connect Harvest and other time management swith over 600 other services, allowing you to save time and automate tedious processes like data entry, invoicing, project management, and more. This will help you stay organized and maximize every precious moment.
Here are some of our most popular Harvest integrations: When Harvest Timer Started, Add a Check in Entry in Google Calendar If A Harvest Project is Created, Then Create a Folder in Dropbox If a New Task is Created in Todoist, Then Create a Task in a Harvest Project
2. Quality Time
Quality Time is an easy-to-use time tracking app designed specifically with freelancers in mind. It allows users to set up tasks and projects, add notes and tags, create timers, and even collaborate with other users to keep track of their progress. The app also offers comprehensive reporting that can be used to review how you’ve been spending your time.
Quality Time is great for freelancers who want to stay on top of their projects and tasks, as well as those who need to track their time for billing purposes. It also offers a unique feature for tracking how you’ve been using your phone, so you can get insights into how often you are picking up and using your device.
__Looking for Quality Time Integrations? __
Here are some of our most popular Quality Time integrations:
Stop Checking Your Phone If Today's Smartphone Usage Time Exceeds Your Limit, Be Polite and Put Your Phone Away Get an Email When QualityTime Publishes a New Trigger or Action
3. RescueTime
RescueTime is a comprehensive time-tracking and productivity app that helps freelancers keep track of their time spent on various activities. The app tracks your computer activity, so you can see which activities are taking up the most of your time. It also provides detailed reports for better analysis of your work habits and performance.
The RescueTime app is designed to be easy to use and highly effective. It offers project tracking, the ability to create tasks, daily goals, reminders, goal alerts, and browser plug-ins so you can track your time more efficiently.
The app also includes a suite of tools for better understanding how you spend your time and for taking action towards finding more productive ways to manage projects.
Looking for Rescue Time Integrations?
Here are some of our most popular Rescue Time integrations:
Block Distracting Websites at the Start of Each Day
RescueTime Daily Summary Saved to Day One
4. Timelines
Timelines is a simple yet powerful time-tracking and project management app designed to help freelancers stay productive. It offers task management, calendar sharing, project templates, team collaboration capabilities, and more.
The app also provides detailed reports and analytics on your work habits so you can keep track of how effectively you are using your time. It also includes features such as reminders, to-do lists, checklists, tagging and archiving options, time tracking for multiple projects, and more.
__Looking for Timelines Integrations? __
Timelines Integrations are in the works! For now, feel free to visit our Timelines landing page and consider creating your own Applet to share with the community.
How to choose the best time tracking software for you
When choosing the best time-tracking app for you, consider your specific needs. Start by asking yourself which features are most important to you. Do you need invoicing capabilities? Project management for multiple clients and projects? An intuitive interface that is easy to learn and use?
Once you have identified what features are most important, take a look at the different time-tracking apps available. Compare the features and capabilities of each app, paying special attention to ease of use and customer support options.
Make sure that any app you choose is reliable and secure, as well as compatible with your other applications.
Finally, consider if and how you will be able to integrate your time-tracking app with other apps. IFTTT can help you in this regard, as it allows you to connect your time-tracking app with the rest of your work tools.
With IFTTT’s wide selection of Applets, you can link popular apps like Evernote, Todoist, or Trello with your time-tracking tool. This will help you maximize productivity and save time when switching between apps.
What is the best free time tracking app for freelancers?
In our opinion, the best free time tracker for freelancers is the web app Harvest. One of the key features of Harvest is its time tracking system, which allows users to track time spent on various tasks and projects using desktop or mobile devices. With this feature, users can create timesheets, invoice clients, and pay team members based on the tracked hours.
Harvest also provides more advanced features such as detailed insights into a user's performance with robust reporting features, including project, task, and team reports.
Harvest offers a few pricing options, but for freelancers, we feel as though the "$0 Forever" plan covers most of the features an individual will need. The pro plan includes more functionality for teams such as hosting unlimited users, but as a freelancer, it's likely overkill.
TLDR; Choose Harvest. It offers the most ideal package as a time tracker curated directly towards freelancers, at a price point that we think is fair. Plus, IFTTT can offer a plethora of integrations to make your life that much easier.
Integrate your scheduling software with IFTTT
What is IFTTT?
IFTTT (If This Then That) is our web-based service that allows users to connect apps and services and create custom workflows that automate tasks. The platform provides users with a set of simple building blocks or “recipes” that allow different apps to work together using “if this, then that” statements.
Users can also create custom “applets” using various triggers and actions from over 600 supported services, including popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Dropbox, and more.
With its highly customizable and straightforward interface, IFTTT provides users with unparalleled flexibility and control over their digital workflows.
Why should freelancers choose IFTTT?
IFTTT is the perfect tool for freelancers looking to save time and energy by automating their workflow. With IFTTT, you can easily integrate your favorite applications with your scheduling software, providing you with an efficient solution for tracking time and managing your tasks.
Through IFTTT’s Applets, you can quickly connect your time-tracking app with other popular apps like Todoist, Trello, Evernote, and more. This integration allows you to get the most out of your time tracking by automating tedious tasks and streamlining your workflow.
Business
The 4 best time tracking apps for freelancers in 2025
November 20, 2024
