Previously, we had covered the best time-tracking Android apps for freelancing. But the problem with a smartphone app is that you should have the device alongside — which can be a distraction. That is why we need a desktop time tracking app, with features like automated tracking.
In this article, we will be talking about the best time-tracking apps for Mac. Some of these are dedicated Mac apps while others are fully-fledged services. Anyway, regardless of who you are — a freelancer or a project manager —, you will find a suitable app on the list. Shall we start?
Also Read: Best Timer Apps for Mac For Every Need
Oct 01, 2019 An all-in-one freelancers dream. Simple PayPal/Stripe business setup to receive payments, contract generation based on the template from the Freelancers Union, Expense tracking, Client & Project management, Task & Time tracker, Invoice generation and best of all, a real human CO that can advise through async messaging. Dec 24, 2019 The systems which are best only for freelancers or individuals include Clockify and Bonsai. The ones that are best for both freelancers, as well as teams, include Toggl, RescueTime, Harvest, Tick, Everhour, TimeCamp, and TopTracker. TMetric is one of the.
Toggl was also present when we covered the best Android apps for time-tracking, remember? Well, Toggl is a cross-platform app available as a Mobile app (iOS, Android), Desktop app (Win, Mac, Linux) and even as Browser Extensions for Chrome and Firefox. So, if you are looking for time tracker that works everywhere, Toggl is a good place to start.
Toggl works like most time tracker apps, you open the app, create a new entry for the project you are working on, and start the timer. Toggl will start counting seconds and minutes. Once you are done, press the stop button, and the total amount of time is saved to your Toggl account. There are a few advanced features too if you’re interested.
The UI has been kept as clean as it can be. It displays a list of the activities you’ve done and are doing right now. At the same time, if you are looking for a detailed report, Toggle has a fully-fledged web interface — a quite feature-rich one.
Coming to Team Integration, most features in Toggl are available in the Enterprise version. Thanks to Team Dashboard, however, you can easily manage team members, their projects and insider activities.
In the free version you get, core time-tracking tools, idle detection, and you can manage up to five teams. The paid plans start at $9 per month. You can find the pricing details here.
Pros: Impressive & Simple UI, Integrates well with macOS, Pomodoro timer,
Cons: None worth noting
Who is it for: While Toggl is made for both teams and individuals, we think freelancers would find the tool more appropriate. Compared to other time-trackers for Mac, Toggl has a cleaner interface and offers an easy way to manage time-slots.
Check Out Toggl (Free; Paid Plans start at $9/Month)
Harvest is undoubtedly one of the fully-fledged time tracking software for macOS. It has primarily been built for Teams, but individual use is also fine. Just so you know, Harvest for macOS is a part of the overall Harvest package. You can access and modify your data from multiple devices, including Windows, Android, and iOS. As far as the macOS app is concerned, it doesn’t have a proper window by default.
You can access the Harvest app from the menu-bar of macOS. In a single click, you can provide all the details and start a certain project. Harvest would be showing the elapsed time on the menu-bar as long as the task is running.
In order to access features like Invoicing and Expense Management, you will have to visit the web interface of Harvest. There, you can get comprehensive reports as well, subject to the plan you’re running. The best part about Harvest is that it keeps all the necessary features behind an intuitive UI. Like, a user can decide not to use the features if they want something simple.
Pros: An intuitive UI, Better invoicing and Timesheet support, Menu-bar integration
Cons: Not-so suitable for individuals
Who is it for: Unlike Toggle, Harvest is the better choice for teams out there. It ticks all the necessary boxes when it comes to enterprise-level features and still offers a simple UI for managing everything. So, if you have a team and you want them to have the best time-tracking experience, go for Harvest.
Check Out Harvest (Free; Team plans start at $12/Person/Month)
Timing is one of the best apps I’ve personally loved using on my Mac. It really helps in automating the time-tracking process. You don’t have to worry about starting or stopping the timers. Everything you do on Mac would be tracked and analyzed. At the end of the day, you’d know where you spent your time. Timing also automates the labeling process.
There isn’t anything fancy about the UI of Timing. Once you have opened the app, you can see an icon with a timer on the menu-bar. It works as a quick menu for starting and stopping certain tasks. It’s completely up to you to create the task beforehand; Timing works otherwise too.
Probably the best part about Timing is that it provides an overview of your time. You’d know where every second of yours was spent. At the end of the day, you can drag and drop time-slots to individual projects or tasks. You can even add tasks that you did outside the Mac, you know. Last but not the least, Timing offers some superb reporting features as well.
Pros: Fully automated; deeper, app-level tracking, native macOS app
Cons: None worth noting
Who is it for: Timing is the perfect time-tracking app for freelancers. I, for one, have been using it for a long time, probably due to the automation feature. Despite the deep tracking features, Timing is quite flexible as well.
Check Out Timing (Freemium; Basic version starts at $39)
It’s tough to find a completely free time-tracking app for teams. Clockify is indeed an exception here. You’d be able to use the service and the apps for tracking hourly time, as much time as you want. Unlike some of the other free plans, Clockify does not have limits on the number of users. While it’s predominantly a SaaS, the macOS app is pretty good too.
You can easily add the task and start working on it. You can minimize the window and have a look at overall spent time via the menu-bar itself. It should be noted that the whole UI is pretty minimal. Most of the work take place under the hood.
Clockify Desktop as a simple client for time-tracking. You and your team can visit the web-based interface to do reporting and analysis. From the visual breakdown of time consumption to time-sheet data export, a lot of features are available in this package. It’s also one of the most used team time-tracking solutions out there in the market.
Pros: Completely free, simple UI, Sufficient features
Cons: The Desktop client is too basic.
Who is it for: We’d recommend Clockify to everyone who needs a completely free macOS time-tracker for teams. If you have an office with a few iMacs for work, you should consider getting Clockify — it comes with no limits.
Check Out Clockify (Free)
There are times when you want to not just track time but schedule how you spend it. Timely is the best way to do both. It packs enough features for planning your tasks ahead and tracking where you spend your daily time. It should be noted that Timely works automatically — from suggesting you the project names to adding the entries, everything is as per schedule.
The UI of Timely does not have anything fancy to offer. Everything has been kept as minimal as possible. The UI even resembles that of Timing, another automatic time-tracking app we listed above. You can go through the different tabs to explore different sections of tracking.
We think it’s like having Timing for a team. In Timely, everything is synced with the server and your team. It can really help when it comes to team-based project management. Even if you’re a solo performer, there is a lot of options for scheduling. Thanks to the power of AI, Timely can track even the slightest activities that you are doing inside each app.
Pros: Completely automated, scheduling options, AI-powered
Cons: Learning curve is steep
Who is it for: If you want to improve the accuracy of time-tracking, enable scheduling and make things better altogether, Timely is a great option for you. It’s not the most affordable tracker out there, though. However, you are getting a fully-fledged macOS client.
Check Out Timely (Plans start at $7/month for an individual)
Depending on what exactly you are looking for, you can pick one from the above options. If you happen to be a busy freelancer, the choice is pretty easy, since you can go for Toggl. On the other hand, if you want an automated system, we’d recommend Timing or Timely — based on whether you’re a team or a one-player army. All these apps can offer standard time tracking features on macOS. Nevertheless, we recommend picking one that suits your requirements.
Whether you’re a professional or not, time is everything. It’s great that we now have timer apps that easily manage time. Recently, we had covered the best Apple Watch Timer Apps. Most of those apps offered a built-in tool for the timer. This time, however, we are focusing on timer apps for Mac in general. You will find options from categories like Task timer apps, Pomodoro Timer apps, Countdown timer apps etc. We have also included Reminder timers and some time-tracker timers for freelancers.
Read: Top 10 Free macOS Apps to Boost Your Productivity
First, we will have a look at some task timers. These apps allow you to list out all your tasks and allocate time for everything. Simply run the timer to get things moving.
Activity Timer is a simple task timer app for Mac without any fully-fledged window. You can access the Activities and Timer sections from the menu-bar interface. Activity Timer lets you add multiple activities at once and run them individually.
To run the app, you can choose between time presets (like 3, 5, 25 minutes) or make your own custom intervals. Once the timer starts, it shows the remaining time on the icon itself. At any time, you can pause/stop the activities or start a new one. There is a good amount of customization such as the sound played when a timer is done or a custom message when the timer has finished.
Like most Mac Apps, Activity Timer has an iOS app as well. Activity Timer for Mac is a perfect choice if you love minimalism. It’s a simple app with both presets and custom-made timers.
Check Out Activity Timer (Free)
Like the first one, hr is an ultra-simple timer app for Mac. It too functions from the menu bar, which is great. Compared to Activity Timer, however, hr app offers a lot of features like Task categories and Tasks. You can use gestures to manage the to-do list-based activities list.
Unlike most of the tools here, hr app offers multiple viewing modes, session management, and stats that are completely accurate. You can use the app for basic time-tracking needs as well. The best part is that you have a nice way to look at the to-do tasks.
hr for Mac is probably the best timer app for managing and tracking tasks. The design is simple and you can customize almost every part of the program.
Check Out hr for Mac (Paid, $5.99)
Pomodoro is a time-management technique involving certain breaks at set times. To get started, you choose a task and then work on it for 25 minutes, next take 5 minutes break and again start the 25-minutes session. Once you have taken four 25-minutes sessions, take a long break. Here are the best Pomodoro apps for Mac.
focus booster is an incredibly simpler Pomodoro timer app for Mac. However, despite the simple interface, focus booster lets you customize things like length of session, break duration etc. You can also sign into an account and sync time-tracking data between your macOS, iPhone, and Android.
Nevertheless, we wished there was a menu-bar icon for the app. You will have to open the app to know how much time you have left. Also, focus booster does not let you add multiple tasks at once. On the bright side, you can have the better workflow, thanks to multi-platform apps.
The app is free, but it does come with some limitation, for instance, advanced analytics are web-only, and the limited number of sessions (20) in the free version
Overall, focus booster is the best choice if you need a simple Pomodoro timer with analytics. It’s useful when you have multiple clients and want to track time.
Check Out focus booster (Freemium, $2.99/month)
Pomotodo, as the name suggests, combines an excellent Pomodoro timer and a task-management list. You can add tasks to the simple interface and also start the Pomodoro timer. However, both these things aren’t integrated i.e. you cannot run the timer for a specific task.
However, when the timer is running, you can mark the tasks complete. Pomotodo has options like Analytics, Stats, Goals, and History. You can go to Preferences and customize the way this timer app works. In addition, Pomotodo also brings multi-device sync and a fully-fledged time management system.
Pomotodo is more than a simple Mac timer app. It offers ample options for time management as well as Pomodoro technique use.
Check Out Pomotodo (Free, Pro starts at $2.9/month)
There are important things that you wait for. The following Mac timer apps will let you set a countdown and bring the visual impact.
WaitingList does exactly what its name says. It lets you create amazing countdown timers that you can find in the menu bar. Just click on the WaitingList icon and there will be a list of things that you’re waiting for. As opposed to other apps, WaitingList prioritizes visual appeal over anything.
The point is that you can create eye-pleasing countdowns easily. WaitingList lets you choose the style as well as the background. You can also get reminders about an approaching event. Last but not the least, the app offers iCloud Sync feature as well.
WaitingList is an awesome choice when you need interactive timers and reminders. It’s a count-down app that makes your events look more exciting.
All you need to do is to choose which one is compatible with your Operating System and hit the download button. HP ePrint Software for Network and Wireless Connected PrintersThis HP ePrint Software makes it easy to print from a desktop or laptop PC to any HP ePrinter. You can easily print your digital content wirelessly to supported HP printers on a local wireless network (Wi-Fi), HP printer enabled Wireless or WiFi Direct, or over the wired LAN.
Well, Before and After for the iPhone is the app for you.All you need to do is load your Before photo into the app it'll appear as a silhouette when taking your After photo. Before and after photo app for mac download. Ever wanted to take that perfect before and after shot, but could never get it just right?
Check Out WaitingList ($4.99)
Timer for Mac is a general timer app but works awesome for almost all needs. You can use this app to set a stopwatch timer, normal timer or alarms. It also offers a section named Clock, where you can see the current time.
In the free version, you can set reminders along with actions. It focuses on accuracy and ease of use, but an awesome set of features are also there. Going Pro, Timer for Mac can bring you full-screen mode, a better set of programmed actions etc.
Timer for Mac does many jobs beautifully when you need to set a timer. That having said, you’d need the Pro version if you need some awesome features listed above.
Check Out Timer for Mac (Free, Pro at $29.95)
Do you want to be reminded at certain times? Or, for certain needs? You can count on the following apps to do that.
It’s very important to take frequent breaks — for your health and productivity. Time Out for Mac allows you to run a timer to remind you. When it’s time for the break, Time Out will show you a full-screen message on the Mac screen.
While setting up Time Out, you can decide the desired amount of breaks. You also get features like Micro Breaks and advanced scheduling. Customization is the key of this timer app. From the time to how take-a-break messages are shown, everything can be changed.
Overall, Time Out is the best companion for those who spend hours in front of the PC. It lets you take a break without compromising productivity. Don’t forget to come back on time, though.
Check Out Time Out (Free)
Stand for Mac is a wonderful Mac timer app for all users. It reminds you to stand up once in a while. The app does not come with any bells or whistles. Instead, you can decide how often you want to be notified about standing up.
The idea of Stand for Mac is amazing indeed. The app does not have a fully-fledged window but Preferences are available from the icon menu. Stand for Mac also plays a sound when it’s time to stand up, but further customization isn’t available.
Pros: Extremely simple and straightforward, no complex set-ups
Cons: None
The Verdict: If you think you have an unhealthy lifestyle of sitting all the time, use Stand for Mac. It comes at no cost, which is great.
Check Out Stand for Mac (Free)
If you don’t want to buy a dedicated kitchen timer gadget, you can use this app. It’s one of the best cooking timers among the very few apps you’ll find.
Cooking Timer is an awesome Mac timer app for chefs out there. It’s pretty simple to use if you’re into some BBQ events or some other cooking. Cooking Timer lets you run three timers at the same time. You can make use of them for different needs.
Coming to the timers, you can use them as Stopwatches or timers itself. In the latter case, choose the desired length from the menu. The single-tap technique makes it easy to manage the timers so that you can focus on what’s being prepared.
Cooking Timer is the simplest solution out there, for all the good reasons. You can use this timer without concerns when you want to focus on the cooking process.
Check Out Cooking Timer (Free)
Here is an awesome app that you can use to track how much time you spend on Mac. If you are a freelancer, you can know how much team each project requires.
Timing is a wonderful time-tracking app for Mac. Compared to the competitors, Timing is automated when it comes to actions. You don’t have to press the Start or Stop buttons. Instead, Timing app will observe and analyze where you are spending most of your time.
At the end of the day, Timing provides a proper report of time consumption. If you are a professional, you can use this data to create invoices and reports. The best part is that you can automate this process too. It’s going to let you set up some rules for report generation.
Timing for Mac is perhaps the best time-tracker for almost every freelancer. You cannot use the app for normal countdown or anything, but the time-tracking part is excellent.
Check Out Timing ($29 for Productivity, $49 for Professional and $79 for Expert)
Yet another extremely minimal timer app that won’t even make you feel its presence. No extra features than the exact job it needs to execute. The app is available on the macOS App Store and takes a few seconds to get installed. The app is so light on the system that even summoning Siri to know weather updates might take more space on the RAM.
Once installed, you’ll see the ‘hour glass’ shaped app icon on the menu bar. Click on the icon to reveal the tiny app interface wherein you just insert the time and press the play button. That’s it, the timer will start on the count-down display is visible on the menu bar.
The good part about the app is that you can continue with other tasks while the timer would still be visible on the menu bar. And even if you work in full screen it had you covered. It plays a tone upon finishing. You can even change the tone and set a timer creation shortcut in premium version which doesn’t cost as much.
Download Horo (Free, $2 for full version)
The 10 Mac timer apps we have covered are made for unique needs. As it happens, you cannot fulfill all your needs with a single app. For instance, hr, our pick for task management, would be less useful if you need to get reminders on time. In that case, you should go for something like Time Out. By the way, do let us know which tool do you use for timers and time-tracking.
Also Read: Must Have Paid Mac Apps