15 Greatest Time Trackers for Windows

Are you tired of losing track of time while juggling tasks on your Windows device? Thankfully, technology offers a lifeline in the form of time tracking tools designed specifically for Windows. These handy applications enable you to dissect your day, boost your productivity, and ultimately gain control over your schedule.

No matter what you do – work on a tiny personal project or run a large international business – the right time tracker can make all the difference. So, join us as we explore the 15 best time trackers for Windows that are bound to enhance the way you manage your time and help you tackle your to-do list with newfound efficiency!

Desktop Time Trackers for Windows vs. Cloud-Based Solutions

When deciding between desktop time trackers for Windows and cloud-based solutions, it’s essential to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each to determine what best fits your needs and work habits.

Desktop Time Trackers for Windows

Pros:

• Offline accessibility: If you need to track time when you don’t have an internet connection, a Windows-based time tracker can be more convenient.
• Performance: Generally, desktop applications can be faster and more responsive since they run locally on your machine rather than relying on internet bandwidth.
• Enhanced privacy: With data stored on your device, you have more control over your information, which minimizes the risk of data breaches.

Cons:

• Limited device access: You’re typically tied to your specific workstation, making it tough to track time on the go.
• Installation hassle: Setting up software can be challenging as the process involves downloads and installations that some users may find cumbersome.
• Updates and maintenance: You’ll need to regularly check for updates and manage backups yourself, which can be a drag.

Cloud-Based Solutions

Pros:

• Access anywhere: Whether you’re at home, in the office, or halfway around the world, you can access your time tracking tools from any device with an internet connection.
• Automatic updates: Cloud solutions are typically updated automatically, so you always benefit from the latest features without lifting a finger.
• Collaboration-friendly: If you work in teams, cloud-based time trackers foster easier collaboration by allowing multiple users to track and share their progress via the same platform.

Cons:

• Internet dependency: You’re reliant on your internet connection, which can be a dealbreaker in remote areas or during outages.
• Data security concerns: Storing your information in the cloud can raise worries about privacy and unauthorized access if adequate security measures aren’t in place.
• Subscription costs: Many cloud-based solutions require monthly subscriptions, which can add up over time compared to one-time software purchases for desktop apps.

What Makes the Best Time Tracker for Windows

When choosing a time tracker for Windows, particularly if you’re leaning towards a self-hosted desktop application, there are several key factors to consider that can really enhance your experience and productivity.

• Data security: This is paramount, especially if you’re handling sensitive information. Make sure the software has strong encryption and supports secure data storage options. Self-hosting gives you control, but it’s essential to choose a tool that prioritizes security features, such as regular updates and security patches.
• Automation: Look for a time tracker that offers automated time tracking features. This can save you tons of time and provide more accurate insights into how you spend your day. Features like automatic start and stop, or reminders for breaks, can help you maintain productivity without the manual effort.
• Flexible settings: A good time tracker should adapt to your specific needs. Whether you want to track time by project, task, or client, having customizable settings will make the software more user-friendly. Check if it allows for different time formats, billing rates, and even seasonal adjustments.
• Cross-platform compatibility: Even though you’re focusing on a Windows application, it’s worth considering how it integrates with other devices and platforms. If you sometimes work from a Mac or a mobile device, having a time tracker that syncs across platforms ensures you won’t miss a beat, regardless of where you’re working.
• Robust reports: A time tracker is only as good as the insights it provides. Look for tools that generate detailed, easy-to-understand reports. These can help you analyze your productivity patterns, allocate resources better, and make informed decisions moving forward.

15 Best Time Trackers for Windows

1.   actiTIME

Key features:

• Weekly timesheets
• Project management
• Powerful reporting
• Billing and payroll
• Time off tracking
• Mobile app
• Browser extensions

actiTIME is a time tracking and project management tool. It is available as a cloud solution and an on-premise package for both Windows and Unix. Its downloadable edition runs as a web application on the company’s internal server, with users accessing it via their web browsers.

Here’s how actiTIME helps individuals and teams log work hours, manage projects, and analyze productivity:

• Customizable timesheets: Choose between the timesheet view and the intuitive calendar view, catering to different preferences and workflows. You can sort and filter your data in multiple ways, which lets you track hours against tasks without feeling overwhelmed.
• Detailed project reports: Generate in-depth performance reports to get insights into time spent and resources used. This feature allows you to analyze project results, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions to enhance productivity.
• Task management: Keeping track of tasks is a breeze with actiTIME. You can set deadlines and prioritize work effectively, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks. This feature empowers you to maintain focus on what’s important and manage your workflow with ease.
• Cost and billable time tracking: Whether you’re a freelancer or part of a larger team, actiTIME gives you peace of mind when it comes to financial management. Just set your cost of work and billing rates for tasks and start tracking time. Afterward, you will be able to invoice clients accurately and manage budgets without any hassle.
• Collaboration tools: Teamwork is crucial, and actiTIME gets this right with a variety of collaboration tools, including a Kanban board. This feature promotes transparency and enables your team to stay aligned on tasks, making project management more enjoyable and efficient.

Click here to learn more about actiTIME Self-Hosted.

Best for:

The tool fits both companies and self-employed individuals, who can run it on their personal computers. Should the need arise, the data can be safely transferred to the cloud.

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2.   ActiveCollab

Key features:

• Task management
• Time tracking
• Team collaboration
• Email notifications

ActiveCollab is a high-quality tool for Windows time tracking, task management, and team collaboration. You can run its self-hosted version or use it on a web server.

ActiveCollab stands out as an excellent time tracker for Windows for several reasons:

• Stopwatch: Track hours spent on tasks in real time. Simply start the stopwatch when you begin a task and pause it when you take a break or switch activities. It’s intuitive and helps you get an accurate picture of how your time is allocated throughout the day. Plus, no more guessing how long a project took – your stopwatch does the work for you.
• Billable time tracking: For freelancers and agencies, tracking billable hours is crucial. ActiveCollab simplifies this with its billable time tracking feature. You can easily mark which hours are billable, categorize them by project or client, and quickly generate invoices. This ensures you get compensated for every minute of your expertise, all while keeping your clients in the loop about how their money is being used.
• Task dependencies: Managing multiple projects can be daunting, but ActiveCollab’s task dependencies feature gives you clear visibility into how tasks are connected. You can set up tasks that are dependent on one another, allowing you to prioritize effectively and streamline your workflow. Knowing which tasks need to be completed before others helps you avoid bottlenecks and keeps your projects on track.

Best for:

Small to medium-sized teams that require simple yet effective tools for project management and collaboration.

3.   ManicTime

Key features:

• Time tracking
• Reporting
• Project management

ManicTime automatically tracks your activity on the computer and creates reports based on the collected data. The app is installed locally on your PC, Mac or Linux machine, syncing your activity data with the server at regular intervals. It can also work offline and send your data to the server as often as you need.

Here’s what makes ManicTime so great:

• Automated activity tracking: By monitoring how long you spend using your computer, ManicTime gathers data in real time, allowing you to get an accurate picture of where your time goes. Say goodbye to manual time entries – this smart tool does the heavy lifting for you, so you can focus on what truly matters.
• Detailed reports: You can delve into your productivity patterns and identify where you excel and where you might need to tighten up the reins. The beauty of these reports lies in their customizability – whether you’re looking for daily, weekly, or project-specific insights, you can easily generate tailored reports that suit your needs.
• Time off tracking: Log your vacations, sick days, and other absences from work seamlessly. This feature ensures that your reports reflect accurate work hours, making it easier to manage your workload and keep your work-life balance in check.

Best for:

Freelancers who need to monitor their work hours and invoice clients accurately.

4.   TimeWriter

Key features:

• Leave planning
• Time tracking
• Billing
• Budgeting

TimeWriter is a time tracking tool for Windows and Mac that combines time tracking with some valuable accounting features. It is very easy to install and maintain and does not require a lot of time for user onboarding, so you and your team can get started within a day. Thanks to the mobile app available for iOS and Android, users can track their time even when away from the computer.

Here’s what TimeWriter offers:

• Weekly grid view: See your entire week at a glance, helping you identify how you allocate your time across various tasks and projects. The layout is user-friendly, making it easy to spot patterns, adjust schedules, and ultimately boost productivity while keeping your time management efficient.
• Manual time entries: This feature gives you the freedom to input time spent on tasks whenever it suits you.
• Manual cost tracking: Link your time entries directly to cost analysis, enhancing your ability to see how much your time is truly worth.

Best for:

TimeWriter can work equally well for both individual users and teams who need a very simple time tracking solution.

5.   Paymo

Key features:

• Task management
• Kanban board
• Invoicing
• Employee leave management

Paymo is a time tracking tool for Windows that can solve multiple problems at once. And as you may guess, Paymo has a free desktop widget that you can download on Windows to run automatic timers in the background while working.

Here’s what makes Paymo stand out:

• It has a valuable task planning feature that helps to set work priorities and keep everything organized.
• It includes the Kanban board that allows for easy progress monitoring.
• It provides your team members with a convenient space to collaborate on projects, plan days off, and review colleagues’ workloads on a beautiful timeline.
• Automated invoicing is another prominent feature of Paymo. With its assistance, you will create invoices in merely a few clicks, export them in multiple formats, and get paid faster thanks to payment gateway functionality.

Best for:

Freelancers who need a streamlined solution for time tracking, project management, and invoicing.

6.   Hubstaff

Key features:

• Billing
• Team management
• Performance reports
• Budget management

Hubstaff is a multifunctional time tracker that informs business decision-making and helps to boost productivity.

To install the Hubstaff app for Windows, you need to have an active account. Single users can subscribe to Hubstaff for free, while teams will have to pay at least $7 per user a month.

Here’s what this time tracker for Windows has to offer:

• You can apply it to track employees’ progress and see how effectively they utilize their working time.
• With Hubstaff, it’s also possible to set project budget limits and collect data for client billing in a streamlined and error-free way.
• Apart from that, Hubstaff contains robust reporting functionality that lets you see how well you dispose of various resources, how profitable your business is, and whether your team meets the defined time estimates.

Best for:

Remote teams seeking an efficient solution for collaboration and project management.

7.   OfficeTime

Key features:

• Cost tracking
• Time tracking
• Billing and invoicing

OfficeTime is an easy app with basic time tracking and billing functionality that runs on Windows and Mac.

Here’s how this time tracker for Windows works:

• You track your time with a simple timer that is quickly accessible from the system tray.
• The app automatically detects idle time and offers several options on how to process it.
• You can also add expenses to your projects, keep track of billable amounts, and generate invoices for your customers.
• If you need to save your records for a specific period, you always export them as a spreadsheet or create a chart.

Best for:

Freelancers and small teams.

8.   Timely

Key features:

• Task planning
• Automated activity tracking
• Simple reports

Timely is a time tracking solution for Windows and Mac that helps employees and managers keep track of their time expenses and project budgets.

Here’s how Timely works:

• All entered hours are automatically organized in a clear timeline by a module called Memory.
• All tasks performed within a week are displayed as a simple and easy-to-read overview, with time totals and planned hours.
• The app offers several features that make planning and entering time a bit more convenient. For instance, you can copy repeating tasks from one day to another, and export your scheduled meetings and other plans to Outlook, Office 360, or Google Calendar.

Best for:

Freelancers who juggle multiple projects at once.

9.   Chrometa

Key features:

• Time tracking
• Integration with accounting tools
• Simple reports

Chrometa is a sleek time tracking for Windows and Mac. By automatically recording how much time you spend on various applications and websites, it provides invaluable insights into your habits and routines.

Here’s how Chrometa works:

• It runs in the background and captures the time you spend in different apps, so there’s no need to enter anything manually or start and stop timers.
• The app automatically categorizes your activities by keywords, which is especially convenient if you need to know which portion of your time went to specific types of tasks or activities.
• Chrometa can integrate with multiple project management and accounting tools to help you avoid re-entering your data.
• According to its developers, using the app can increase your billable time by up to 20% while actually reducing your working hours.

Best for:

Legal practitioners and accountants.

10.   Monitask

Key features:

• Employee monitoring
• Website tracking
• Task management
• Data analytics

Monitask is a time tracking tool for Windows that allows employers to understand when their employees commence and end their work days.

Here’s what makes this time tracker stand out:

• Screenshot monitoring: Keep your team productivity in check by capturing periodic screenshots of your employees’ work. This feature provides a visual overview of your team activities and is perfect for ensuring accountability (just remember not to use this feature to spy on your team).
• Activity levels: Ever wondered how productive you really are? Monitask gives you insights into your activity levels, allowing you to identify trends and adjust your workflow for maximum efficiency.
• Project management: Organize your tasks and projects all in one place! You can create projects, assign tasks, and set deadlines, ensuring you stay on top of everything without feeling overwhelmed.
• Reporting and analytics: Get detailed reports on how much time you spend on different tasks and projects. These analytics are great for understanding your work habits and making necessary adjustments to improve your time management.

Best for:

Remote and hybrid teams with frequent and persistent performance issues.

11.   Toggl Track

Key features:

• Time tracking
• Task tracking
• Reminders
• Idle time detection

Toggl Track is an automated time tracker for Windows 10 that helps you see how productive you are and analyze your efficiency in-depth.

So, what’s good about Toggl Track?

• It includes Pomodoro timers and an idle time detector.
• It captures your desktop activities and reports on them via a beautiful timeline chart.
• And the best part of all, this software can be downloaded on Windows for free. It’s compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Best for:

Freelancers and small teams in need of a simple and effective way to track their time.

12.   Klok

Key features:

• Time tracking
• Invoicing
• Powerful reports

Klok is a time tracking tool for Windows 10 designed to help you master project management and resource allocation, regardless of whether you work alone or as part of a team.

Here’s what Klok can do for you:

• It lets you track working hours and create highly accurate invoices.
• It also includes insightful reports that foster effortless productivity analysis, support you in task estimation, and inform your business decision-making.

Best for:

Klok offers both the free and paid versions. The former is best suitable for individual users who need a straightforward time tracker, while the latter is appropriate for any team that wants to streamline accounting, collaborate on projects, and simplify progress tracking.

13.   Clockify

Key features:

• Powerful reports
• Time tracking

Clockify is a free time tracking app for Windows 10 with a strong focus on ease of use, and extensive reporting capabilities. It’s available as an online desktop app for Windows, Mac, and Linux that supports offline mode, and as a self-hosted solution that you can deploy on your company servers for better security, privacy, and legal compliance.

Clockify combines functionality with ease of use, which makes it an excellent time tracker for Windows:

• Stopwatch: An intuitive stopwatch is a lifesaver when you’re deep in the zone and don’t want to break your flow. You can start, pause, and stop the timer with just a click, allowing you to capture every minute spent on tasks effortlessly.
• Expense tracking: You can log all your project costs, categorize them, and even add receipts. This feature ensures that you have a complete overview of your finances, making invoicing a breeze and helping you stay within your budget.
• Calendar view: Want a bigger picture of how your time is allocated? The calendar view presents your tracked hours in a visually appealing format, helping you quickly spot patterns and adjust your schedule as needed. With this feature, you can effortlessly navigate your past and upcoming tasks, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
• Visual charts: Data is easier to understand when it’s visualized, and Clockify’s charts do just that. With various formats available, including pie charts and bar graphs, you can see how much time you’ve spent on different projects or clients.

Best for:

Freelancers who need a straightforward and effective way to track their time.

14.   Harvest

• Timer
• Task tracking
• Time logs

Harvest is a free time tracking app for Windows 10 that you can download from the Microsoft Store. The app comes in the form of a small window with a task list and timers.

Here’s how it works:

• You can switch between the days and review your time tracking history.
• Hotkey will help you minimize clicks and start a timer from any place, browser tab, and software.
• Harvest also records idle time that you can remove from the log in a few clicks.

Best for:

Harvest users who look to make their time tracking process distraction-free.

15.   DeskTime

• Automatic time tracking
• Activity tracking
• Productivity reports

DeskTime is a time tracking app for Windows that automatically records your activity across apps and software.

What can DeskTime do for you?

• Automatic time tracking: DeskTime automatically records the time spent on each application and website. Just install the app and let it do the heavy lifting while you focus on your tasks.
• Visual progress reports: Who doesn’t love a good visual? With colorful graphs and charts, you can quickly identify trends, see which tasks are consuming your time, and plan your days more effectively. It’s not only informative, but it also feels rewarding to watch your productivity metrics improve over time.
• Employee monitoring: The good news is that DeskTime detects idle time, providing you with the most accurate productivity reports. The bad news is that the software may feel privacy-invasive, especially if you use it for team tracking because productivity is not about mouse clicks and keyboard taps (which DeskTime also tracks) but about the work output.

Best for:

Remote and hybrid teams that struggle to meet high-quality performance standards.

Conclusion

In the end, the choice of a perfect desktop time tracker for Windows boils down to your specific needs and working habits. Balancing accessibility and privacy with performance and cost will help you land the perfect time tracking solution for your workflow.

If you’re looking for a seamless experience that combines simplicity with excellent results, give actiTIME a try. It offers automation and a plethora of productivity-boosting features that make it an excellent solution for anyone serious about optimizing their time management.

Dive in, start tracking your time wisely, and become more efficient at work with actiTIME.