Both TimeApp and Clockify have free plans with no credit card required. The difference is what you can actually do on the free plan as a freelancer who needs to invoice clients.
Why Freelancers Need More Than a Timer
Most time tracking tools were built for teams — not for a solo freelancer juggling three clients at different rates. The workflow is fundamentally different:
- You bill by the hour (not by project milestone)
- Each client has a different rate ($50/hr for Client A, $120/hr for Client B)
- You need an invoice at the end of the month — not a Slack report
- No one's watching you — you don't need screenshot monitoring
Clockify was built for team managers who want visibility into employee time. TimeApp was built for freelancers who want to get paid faster. That distinction matters more than any feature list.
Head-to-Head: TimeApp vs Clockify
| Feature | TimeApp | Clockify |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| No credit card to start | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Unlimited time entries | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Multiple billing rates (per client) | ✓ Free plan | ✗ Paid only ($6.99+/mo) |
| Invoice generation | ✓ Free plan | ✗ Paid only ($6.99+/mo) |
| PDF invoices | ✓ Free plan | ✗ Paid only |
| Billable/non-billable tagging | ✓ Free plan | ✓ Free plan |
| Client management | ✓ Free plan | ✓ Free plan |
| Screenshot monitoring | ✗ Not available | ✗ Enterprise only |
| No employee surveillance | ✓ Always | ✓ Free plan (paid adds it) |
| Mobile app | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Offline tracking | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Reports & analytics | ✓ Pro ($9/mo) | ✓ Free plan (basic) |
The Invoicing Difference: This Is What Matters
Here's the thing Clockify doesn't advertise: their invoicing feature requires a paid plan starting at $6.99/user/month. If you're a freelancer tracking time to invoice clients, you hit this wall immediately.
TimeApp includes invoice generation on the free plan. Track your hours, select the entries you want to bill, and generate a PDF invoice. No upgrade required. This single difference is why freelancers switch.
What TimeApp's Free Invoicing Includes
- PDF invoice generation from tracked time entries
- Auto-calculated totals (hours × rate = amount due)
- Client details, billing period, line items with descriptions
- Invoice numbering (INV-0001, INV-0002, etc.)
- Payment terms and notes field
- Draft → Sent → Paid status tracking
What Clockify's Free Plan Includes for Billing
- Time tracking ✓
- Billable hours tagging ✓
- Export to CSV (then build your own invoice) ✓
- Actual invoice generation ✗ (requires $6.99+/mo)
If you bill 5 clients per month and spend 20 minutes manually creating each invoice from a CSV export, that's 1.67 hours/month wasted on admin. At $75/hr, that's $125 in lost productivity — every single month.
Stop building invoices from CSV exports
TimeApp tracks your time and generates invoices in one click. Free plan, no credit card.
Start Free — No Card Needed →Clockify's Pricing Trap for Freelancers
Clockify's free plan is genuinely generous for teams. But as a solo freelancer, the features you actually need sit behind the paywall:
- Basic ($6.99/mo): Invoicing, billing rates per project
- Standard ($9.99/mo): Billing rates per task, expense tracking
- Pro ($14.99/mo): Profit tracking, labor cost reports
To get Clockify's invoicing, you're paying $6.99/month minimum. That's fine if invoicing is polished — but Clockify's invoicing is functional, not beautiful. You can't add your logo on the Basic plan. You can't set custom payment terms.
Where Clockify Wins
This isn't a hit piece. Clockify is excellent software with legitimate advantages:
- Better free reporting: Clockify's free plan includes more detailed analytics than TimeApp's free tier
- Bigger team features: If you're growing to a team of 5+, Clockify scales better
- Browser extension: Clockify's Chrome extension is more mature
- Integrations: Clockify has 50+ integrations (Trello, Asana, Jira, etc.)
If you work in a team that uses Jira and needs to track time against tickets, Clockify is the better choice. But that's not most freelancers.
Who Should Choose TimeApp
TimeApp is the right choice if you:
- Invoice clients directly (and want invoices to look professional)
- Have multiple clients at different hourly rates
- Work solo or in a team of 1–3 people
- Want to track time AND send invoices in the same tool
- Don't want to pay $6.99/mo just to unlock billing features
Who Should Choose Clockify
Clockify is the right choice if you:
- Work in a team and need project-level visibility for managers
- Already use Jira, Asana, or Trello and want native integration
- Want detailed analytics on the free plan (Clockify wins here)
- Don't mind exporting to CSV for invoicing
Full Market Comparison: Freelancer Time Tracking with Invoicing
| Tool | Free Invoicing | Starting Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| TimeApp | ✓ Yes | Free / $9/mo Pro | Solo freelancers who invoice |
| Clockify | ✗ No ($6.99+) | Free / $6.99/mo | Teams, project managers |
| Toggl Track | ✗ No | Free / $9/mo | Minimalist individual tracking |
| Harvest | ✗ No (free = 1 project) | $12/mo | Agencies, project budgeting |
| FreshBooks | ✗ No | $17/mo | Full accounting + invoicing |
| Wave | ✓ Yes (invoicing only) | Free | Accounting-first freelancers |
Verdict: TimeApp for Freelancers Who Invoice
If your workflow is track hours → send invoice → get paid, TimeApp wins on the free plan. Clockify wins if you're managing a team and need project visibility. Most solo freelancers don't need that — they need to bill clients fast and get back to work.
Making the Switch from Clockify
If you're already on Clockify, switching to TimeApp takes about 10 minutes:
- Export your Clockify data as CSV (Settings → Export)
- Sign up at TimeApp — no credit card required
- Create your clients and projects (takes 5 minutes)
- Start the timer on your next piece of work
- Generate your first invoice when the month ends
You don't need to import historical data. Your existing Clockify exports are your records. Start fresh with TimeApp and build from there.
Free time tracking with invoicing built in
No credit card. No upgrade required for invoicing. Set up in 10 minutes.
Start Free → Full Feature ComparisonTrack time smarter. Try TimeApp free.
No surveillance, no lock-in. Just accurate hours and clean invoices.