Clockify vs Timely
Side-by-side total cost of ownership: subscription fees, labor, hidden costs, and AI alternatives.
Published pricing
The subscription is only part of the cost.
| Clockify | Timely | |
|---|---|---|
| Published rate | $5/seat/mo | $16/seat/mo |
What the invoice doesn't show
Clockify
Monthly billing costs ~25% more at every tier: Basic $3.99 vs $4.99, Standard $5.49 vs $6.99, Pro $7.99 vs $9.99, Enterprise $11.99 vs $14.99. Every advertised price assumes an annual commitment.
The features billing teams actually need sit one and two tiers up: invoicing and QuickBooks sync arrive at Standard ($5.49/seat), labor cost, profit, and scheduling at Pro ($7.99/seat). Basic is mostly admin conveniences.
SSO/SAML and SCIM provisioning require Enterprise at $11.99/seat annual — a +50% jump over Pro paid by every seat the moment IT mandates single sign-on.
The CAKE.com Productivity Suite bundle ($12.99/seat) is anchored against a $27.97/seat sum of separate products — the bundle exists to upsell Plaky and Pumble alongside the tracker you came for.
Timely
Plan gates are hard user caps: Starter allows at most 5 users, Premium at most 50. The 6th hire forces every seat from $9 to $16/user annual (+78%); the 51st forces $16 to $22 (+38%). One hire reprices the whole team.
Starter also caps at 20 projects — agencies with many small clients outgrow it long before the 5-user limit bites.
Tasks — assigning and scheduling work — is an add-on 'for as little as $5 per person' on any plan, on top of the seat price.
The advertised yearly rates require a 12-month commitment; monthly billing is $11/$20/$28, up to 22% more.
What teams are switching to
Replacing Clockify
Rize
Basic $9.99/mo annual ($12.99 monthly), Pro $23.99/mo, Max $39.99/mo
AI-native tracker: automatic app and website tracking with AI auto-categorization and tagging from the base tier, AI automations and MCP access on Pro. Honest caveat: it is a single-user desktop tool — SSO, SOC 2, and mobile live in its custom Enterprise tier, so it replaces the personal timesheet, not a team system of record.
Solidtime
Solo free (cloud), Professional EUR 8/user/mo billed annually, self-hosted $0
Open-source time tracking (AGPL) with timers, timesheets, invoicing, and a self-host option that removes the per-seat meter entirely. The tool departing Harvest customers actually name in migration threads. Not AI-automatic — the savings story is open source and no usage fees.
Replacing Timely
Rize
Basic $9.99/mo annual ($12.99 monthly), Pro $23.99/mo, Max $39.99/mo
AI-native tracker: automatic app and website tracking with AI auto-categorization and tagging from the base tier, AI automations and MCP access on Pro. Honest caveat: it is a single-user desktop tool — SSO, SOC 2, and mobile live in its custom Enterprise tier, so it replaces the personal timesheet, not a team system of record.
Toggl Track
Free; Starter $9/seat/mo; Premium $14 first year then $18/seat/mo
The free plan carries calendar auto-tracking, keyword-triggered tracking, idle detection, and 100+ browser-extension integrations — automation that is rules-based rather than AI, but included at $0. Paid tiers add billable rates and reporting from $9/seat.
Solidtime
Solo free (cloud), Professional EUR 8/user/mo billed annually, self-hosted $0
Open-source time tracking (AGPL) with timers, timesheets, invoicing, and a self-host option that removes the per-seat meter entirely. The tool departing Harvest customers actually name in migration threads. Not AI-automatic — the savings story is open source and no usage fees.
StackCut doesn't sell or recommend any of these tools. We show them for context. The decision is yours.
Total Cost of Ownership
Subscription fees plus labor and error costs, modeled at $50/hr loaded rate (BLS ECEC). Both vendors are costed at the same team size so the two columns can be compared directly.
| Cost Component | Clockify | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| Annual subscription | $659 | $1,920 |
| Labor cost | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Error & rework cost | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Total Cost of Ownership | $12,659/yr | $13,920/yr |
| Est. AI alternative | $1,940/yr | $1,940/yr |
Labor rate based on BLS ECEC June 2025 ($45.65/hr private industry total compensation, rounded to $50). Your actual numbers depend on team size, role mix, and usage. Run it with your own data.
Which one fits your team?
Both Clockify and Timely cost more than their published pricing suggests. The right choice depends on your team size and how you weigh each tool's trade-offs.
Clockify starts at $5/seat/mo , but watch for Monthly billing costs ~25% more at every tier: Basic $3.99 vs $4.99, Standard $5.49 vs $6.99, Pro $7.99 vs $9.99, Enterprise $11.99 vs $14.99. Every advertised price assumes an annual commitment.
Timely starts at $16/seat/mo , but watch for Plan gates are hard user caps: Starter allows at most 5 users, Premium at most 50. The 6th hire forces every seat from $9 to $16/user annual (+78%); the 51st forces $16 to $22 (+38%). One hire reprices the whole team.
An AI-native alternative may replace the workflow at a fraction of the TCO.
See all SaaS cost comparisonsBrowse alternatives for every tool
FAQ
Clockify vs Timely: quick answers
Is Clockify or Timely cheaper?
On total cost of ownership, Clockify runs about $12,659/year (10-person team) versus $13,920/year for Timely (10-person team) once labor and hidden costs are counted, not just the published subscription. Adjust the inputs to your own team to compare them directly.
What can replace Clockify or Timely?
Clockify is often replaced by Rize and Solidtime; Timely by Rize and Toggl Track. StackCut shows the cost case for each AI-first alternative without taking referral fees.
What are the hidden costs of Clockify and Timely?
Clockify: Monthly billing costs ~25% more at every tier: Basic $3.99 vs $4.99, Standard $5.49 vs $6.99, Pro $7.99 vs $9.99, Enterprise $11.99 vs $14.99. Every advertised price assumes an annual commitment. Timely: Plan gates are hard user caps: Starter allows at most 5 users, Premium at most 50. The 6th hire forces every seat from $9 to $16/user annual (+78%); the 51st forces $16 to $22 (+38%). One hire reprices the whole team.
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