Honest Review:
Clockify

Clockify is an affordable and easy to use time tracking software although its mobile app could use some improvements in terms of usability.

Written by Asim Qureshi
By Asim Qureshi, CEO Jibble

As a CEO of a time tracking software company, I need to know what my competitors are up to. That means I’m often researching about and/or playing around with their products… you know, it’s part of the job. Here, I share my findings from that research, giving credit to those competitors where credit is due and being honest about which products I believe you really need to avoid. And so, there you have it, this Clockify review. And in it, I try to be honest, fair, and insightful.

This Review Covers:

Overview

Clockify is a time tracking software that helps teams easily track, bill, and schedule their work hours. It is one of three apps offered by CAKE.com in its modern productivity suite. It is advertised as the world’s leading time tracker and timesheet software for teams and touts amazing features to help boost productivity, make billing easier, manage teams better, and streamline workflows and processes.

Among all of its many uses, I personally think that Clockify’s full potential shines through when used as a time and productivity tracker for teams of all sizes, helping businesses see where hours go, who’s working on what, what sites and apps users visit and use on the clock, and analyze the data gathered in time tracking to help influence future decisions based on actual numbers. 

But aside from its great usability for teams, Clockify can also be used by freelancers who want to monitor their productivity levels and maintain a robust work-from-anywhere lifestyle. Plus,  with flexibility foremost in mind, Clockify was designed to work across various devices — it has desktop apps for Mac, Windows, and Linux, as well as browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. For workers on the go with mobile devices, Clockify has apps for both iOS and Android. Shared devices on physical sites can also be equipped with Clockify Kiosk that works on any internet-connected device.

With five pricing tiers, Clockify offers an array of features tailored to users’ specific needs for their businesses. But its free version also packs quite a powerful punch, allowing users to access core features such as time tracking for unlimited users, unlimited projects, reports, kiosk mode, apps and time tracking integrations, support, and API access.

I am delighted by Clockify’s very simple, easy-to-use, and polished interface that helps streamline workflow and processes, which is also intuitive and very user-friendly, even for absolute beginners. All of these earn Clockify an excellent reputation, with glowing reviews across different platforms.

However, despite all these praises for Clockify, we must also look at some of the challenges plaguing the software. After all, I promised you an honest review, didn’t I?

Some of the issues I have encountered while testing Clockify are glitches, crashes, and very slow loading times. And despite having an offline mode, it doesn’t work efficiently in environments with low or no internet connection, which is a major concern for teams and employees who may be constantly working under those conditions such as service, construction, and field workers. 

Clockify Web layout showing time tracking, calendar and reports.

What Do Users Like About Clockify?

  • Effective time tracking
  • Rich free version
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Good customer service
  • 80+ integrations

Find more on what users love about Clockify.

What Don't Users Like About Clockify?

  • Reporting issues
  • The mobile app needs some work
  • App synchronization issues
  • Slow processing
  • Glitchy with low internet

Find more on what users hate about Clockify.

What Pricing Plans Does Clockify Offer?

Clockify has five pricing tiers: the Free plan which we briefly discussed earlier, and four paid plans, namely the Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. Paid plans begin at US$3.99 per user per month, and the features vary depending on your level of need, scaling up in quantity and quality with each tier.

Clockify Free

Clockify Free is the software’s offer for users who don’t want to shell out for their services or are exploring its features before committing to a paid option. Its time tracking features include unlimited tracking with the Clockify time tracker on the desktop and mobile apps or kiosk, timesheets, auto tracker, calendar, Pomodoro timer, idle detection and reminders, and tracking integrations. 

It allows users to generate reports and give visibility of team activity, billable rates, and project status, which can be exported and shared with others in CSV, PDF, and Excel formats via live links. It also allows project data exports in CSV and Excel formats and enables the pushing and pulling of data to and from Clockify with API and Webhooks.

Clockify Free also has solid management features for unlimited users and projects that allow admins to project imports from files, control project access, communicate with team chats, and use the software in seven languages, all for the sweet, sweet price of $0.00, forever.

Clockify Basic

At $3.99 per user per month for an annual plan or $4.99 per user per month for a monthly plan, Clockify Basic is tailored for administration and has all of the features of Clockify Free, plus more advanced time tracking features such as break tracking, required fields, and the ability to add time for others and import time from files.

Clockify Basic also allows users to enter time in a decimal format, audit time entries, customize exports, and use historical rates to apply new hourly rates to past time entries.

Management-wise, Clockify Basic allows admins to hide time & pages, bulk edit time entries, projects, and users, edit profiles, use project templates, and add a layer of security with a kiosk PIN.

Clockify Standard

Clockify Standard Plan builds on Clockify Basic and adds more features focused on streamlining timesheeting and billing. At $5.49 per user per month on the annual plan or $6.99 per user per month with a monthly plan, this tier improves time tracking with time off tracking, targets and reminders that automatically notify users via email when they forget to track time or track too much, and the ability to lock timesheets so they can’t be edited by anyone other than admins. 

With Clockify Standard, insights are amplified by reports that show attendance and overtime, and the ability to round time entries, enter specific hourly task rates, and integrate with Quickbooks.

On the management end, security is enhanced with forced 2FA, and customizability is enhanced with the ability to add a company logo to the kiosk and determine how long it operates from the time of launching. Invoicing, timesheet approval, and the ability to define manager roles also become available at this tier.

Clockify Pro

Clockify Pro is the most popular plan among the options. For $7.99 per user per month on the annual plan or $9.99 per user per month with a monthly plan, users get to enjoy all the features of the previous tiers, plus better time tracking with custom fields, GPS tracking, screenshots, and the ability to prevent manual time addition or editing of start and end times with the force timer.

Greater visibility into the health of operations is achieved with reports that tackle labor cost and profit, budget & estimates, expenses, assignments, and progress forecasting. Managers will also be notified with alerts once projects reach allocated budget limits or estimates, and receive weekly custom reports on important details via email. They can also add user fields to improve analysis.

Management is also improved with a scheduling feature that allows admins to plan projects, manage resources, and give assignments to individual employees. The expenses feature also allows the recording of fixed fees on projects and enables users to attach receipts. Plus, at this tier, account holders can choose which country they wish to hold their data in.

Clockify Enterprise

Clockify Enterprise is the highest tier and is designed for optimal security and full control of enterprise-level operations. At $11.99 per user per month on an annual plan or 14.99 per user per month on a monthly plan, clients get all the previous tiers’ features, plus improved security with Single Sign-on (SSO), streamline workspaces with a custom subdomain, manage and edit user accounts with control accounts, and improve accountability with an audit log.

Read 5 things you MUST know about Clockify’s pricing.

What are the Standout Features of Clockify?

1. Time Tracking

Clockify offers a comprehensive time tracking experience with the web app, desktop apps for Mac, Windows, and Linux, mobile apps for Android and iOS, browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and on-site kiosks. All data is synced online, so time can be tracked using any of the above-mentioned options and viewed using any internet-connected device as well. 

Using the Clockify timer is fairly straightforward. Users only need to open Clockify, navigate to the “What are you working on?” box, input the desired task, select the project to work on, add tags, mark if the time is billable, and click the start button. Alternatively, users can click the timer icon on the top right corner of the time tracker page, select the project to work on, add details like in the previous method, and click start. After making progress or accomplishing the task, the timer can be stopped by clicking the stop button. This automatically logs the time tracked against the task on the timesheets. 

It’s important to note that the timer will continue running unless it is stopped, and new tasks can’t be tracked unless the tracker on a running task is stopped. The favicon in the browser serves as a visual cue and turns blue when actively tracking and reverts to black when not. Additionally, the amount of tracked time will also be displayed on the tab when the timer is active. 

To continue tracking time on a task previously worked on in Clockify, simply navigate to the time entry containing the chosen task and click the play icon. After making progress, time can be stopped as usual. 

Additionally, time can be entered manually in Clockify by starting the timer and changing the start time and end times, or by switching to manual mode and manually inputting hours worked. 

For more intuitive time tracking that allows users to see exactly how their time is utilized across the day, the Clockify desktop app’s auto tracker offers a solution that unobtrusively records programs and websites used throughout the day. By clicking the A icon at the top of the interface and toggling the subsequent start recording button, the software will begin to record all apps and URLs visited for more than 10 seconds or according to a period defined by administrators. These records are visible only to the individual user and are stored in the user’s computer — nothing is sent online, and their private computer usage and browsing habits are kept private. They are stored for up to 45 days, and past data viewing goes back up to a week.

The recorded activities can be used to create time entries by simply clicking the plus icon to its right.  Users can also select multiple activities for bulk adding, bulk merging into a single entry, or for permanent deletion from the Clockify system.

To enforce accountability and ensure that employers are only paying for actual worked hours, Clockify has several guardrails in place. The idle detector detects when there is no mouse or keyboard activity after a period defined by the administration, and marks the elapsed period and subsequent time as idle which can then be removed from the timesheets. The targets and reminders feature automatically sends emails to employees and their managers when they fail to fulfill their quota of hours or track more time than needed. Timesheet locking prevents users from editing their previous time entries or adding new time entries to past days. The force timer disables manual time entries for more transparent time tracking. 

Additionally, screenshots allow managers to monitor the work being done by employees by taking images of the user’s screen at random intervals while the timer is running. And last but not least, GPS tracking allows admins to monitor the location of on-site workers and their location history throughout the day while they are logged in on Clockify.

Clockify kiosk showing login and details of user

2. Break Tracking

In addition to tracking time spent on work, Clockify also allows users to track their breaks to help ensure that businesses stay compliant with state and federal laws that safeguard employees’ rights to meal and rest periods during workdays. 

The break tracking feature is available on kiosks for users of the Clockify Basic tier and above. It can be enabled by administrators via the Workspace settings.

Using the break tracker is fairly straightforward. On the kiosk, users have to select their profile, enter their PIN if required, and toggle the start break option. This will cause them to be clocked out if they’re locked in, and the break timer will begin automatically. An orange dot will also appear next to their name as a visual cue of their on-break status. This status will also reflect on the team dashboard on the web app that shows which employees are currently clocked in and which ones are on break.

The duration of breaks can be defined by admins to comply with the laws governing their territory. This is a very helpful feature to avoid costly legal repercussions, which could be made even better if Clockify somehow reworks it to enforce mandatory breaks, during which employees are required to step out and enjoy a meal or take a rest as prescribed by the law, with an attestation feature that provides proof for employers and employees alike that a break has indeed been taken.

When the break period is up, employees have to select their profile on the kiosk again, enter their PIN if required, and toggle the finish break option. This automatically stops the break timer, signs the employee back in, and begins a new clock-in timer. The time tracked for the break period will appear in the Clockify time tracker, detailed report, and approval as an entry with a gray break tag, visually differentiating it from other entries.

Screenshot of Clockify kiosk break interface

3. Time Off Management 

On the other hand, the time off tracking feature allows businesses to set up and manage different kinds of leaves and holidays that employees can request. But that’s just a nutshell description, and time off gets quite detailed when we take a closer look at how it is planned, requested, approved, and tracked. This feature is available on the Clockify Standard tier and above. but before anyone could request any time off, admins must first enable time off in the Workspace setting and define time off policies and accrued time off balances for specific months or the entire year. 

Think of time off policies as sets of information and instructions that define the nature, usage, period, and duration of leaves. It has several fields that administrators must fill in with the required information so Clockify can implement it, namely the title of the policy (such as vacation, maternity, and sick leaves), assignees or the people who can request the leave, and the time unit by which the policy is to be tracked — days for leaves like vacation, or hours for shorter periods such as time off in lieu. Administrators can also define if policies require approval and from whom, if negative balance is allowed, if half-day leaves are possible and if it can be done across multiple days, and if hourly time off is allowed and if it can be done across multiple days as well. 

Holidays can be created, managed, and edited in the same way as time off, with the addition of the option to define it as recurring, and the ability to assign a specific color to it.

Users can request leaves by selecting a policy from the request time off dropdown on the Clockify time off page, specifying the period, adding a note, and submitting it for approval. This will then automatically send an email notification to the person responsible for approval, who can then approve or reject it in the requests tab. Requested leave periods that cover weekends and holidays will only use up the balance for working days. Policies that don’t allow for negative balances cannot be selected by persons who don’t have enough days or hours in their accrued time off. If a person with insufficient days requests for time off exceeding their limit on a policy that doesn’t allow negative balances, the request will display a red total and can’t be approved.

These nitty-gritty details may seem daunting at first, but they are essential to keeping organized policies and ensuring that even with employees on leave, businesses can operate with an adequate amount of workers at all times. I love the amount of thought that Clockify developers poured out on this feature, as the policy input fields cover all bases and leave no consideration hanging. The fact that they can be easily edited, archived, or deleted earns them extra points in my book as well.

Composite image of Clockify time off dropdown menus

4. Insightful Reporting

Clockify generates a variety of reports that give insight into how time and resources are utilized by businesses, and help in positively influencing future decisions with data-backed courses of action.

The summary report groups time entries by factors such as project, date, client, user, group, and tags so data can be presented exactly according to analysis needs. The weekly report displays some more detail by limiting date ranges to seven days, and is useful for verifying productivity levels on a weekly basis. The detailed report provides more granularity by showing the details of time entries one by one and not in groups and also allows for admins to edit time entries with this report. And if the Clockify report templates don’t quite give the structure required by certain unique analysis needs, admins can customize reports by exporting the detailed report to CSV and creating the required presentation using pivot tables in Excel or Google Sheets.

For even more specificity, reports can be generated for individual employees so admins can drill down on their numbers and identify areas where they excel and areas where they might need some help. For accounts on Clockify Basic and above, managers can view and edit employees’ hours directly on their time sheets. These can even be saved as PDFs and printed if needed. 

Another important tool for insight gathering is the team dashboard. It displays key information about employees and projects at a glance, including the previously-discussed logged-in and on-break employee statuses, what they’re currently working on, what their last activity was, and time elapsed on ongoing tasks and latest activities. It also shows each employee’s total tracked time for a date range, which is helpful in quickly determining who didn’t track time or who didn’t reach the quota for the selected period.

Screenshot of Clockify summary report

Selected Positive User Feedback: 

  • “Clockify integrates seamlessly with our tools, and their reports and reviewing make time tracking a breeze.” – David M. (Source G2)
  • “Clockify excels at providing project teams with deeper insight into where time is being spent.” – Scott M. (Source Capterra)
  • The great thing about it is the free option, works well and has a lot of the needed capabilities of other higher priced software.” – Jackson Gordon (Source TrustRadius)
  • It’s easy to track the time of the different projects and to know who is working on what.” – Julie-Ann L. (Source G2)
  • Ease of use, reliability, fast response from customer service even when I was using only a free version of the software.” – Verified viewer in Mechanical Engineering (Source Capterra)
  • Clockify offers a great plugin for chrome that allows to easily track time from anywhere and even integrate with some web apps such as Google Workspace.” – Daniel Eduardo V. (Source G2)

Selected Negative User Feedback: 

  • Android app continues to have synchronization issues.” – Marcin Blazejewski (Source Google Play Store)
  • It can be glitchy when the internet connection is weak, requiring you to log back in.” – Sam R. (Source GetApp)
  • I appreciate that they have tried to go as multi-platform as possible, but their apps are often buggy” – Verified Reviewer in Information Technology and Services (Source Capterra)
  • Works, but slower than it should be.” – Eric Haliewicz (Source Google Play Store)
  • Project organization can get messy without proper planning and forethought. This makes reporting especially challenging, as the drill-down UI isn’t particularly intuitive. Clients and projects are in their own separate dropdowns, making things clunky.” – Kevin C. (Source G2)
  • The app is quite limited as an admin and on your phone, the browser redirects to the app, so a lot of features need the webpage on a computer. This is not so handy on the fly.” – Emiel G (Source Capterra)
  • Integrating clockify with Jira gave me some inaccurate time tracking issues.” – Shamsu Deen A. (Source G2)

    What are Clockify's Review Ratings from Review Sites?

    As of December 2023

    • Capterra: 4.7/5
    • G2: 4.5/5
    • TrustRadius: 8.4/10
    • GetApp: 4.7/5
    • Play Store: 4/5
    • App Store: 4.6/5

    What's My Final Verdict on Clockify?

    Clockify is a time tracking software that helps track work hours and manage billable hours through an easy-to-use system. Having a straightforward UI with many of its core features already available on the free version, Clockify presents itself as a good app overall. It is usable for businesses with on site, on-the-go, and remote operations, and can be used on PC, web, and mobile. The software also offers a time kiosk that works on any internet-connected device for users to clock in and out on-site, along with pretty nifty scheduling features, expense tracking, and integrations with over 80 web applications. 

    The flexibility built into Clockify’s time tracking feature is commendable, and the concern for employee privacy is worth noting as well. Its time off management features can be daunting to navigate at first, but it does cover a whole lot of ground and ensures that all factors are accounted for and businesses are never lacking in operations even when some employees are on leave. The break tracking feature is quite useful for ensuring that employees take mandated meal breaks and rest periods during workdays, but it could be made even better by making breaks mandatory, and providing proof for both employer and employee that breaks were indeed complied with. The reporting options are great and I love that there are so many options to present data with filters and there’s even an option to create custom reports, but the drill-down UI is not particularly intuitive and can become a challenge especially when project organization isn’t at its best.

    In addition, Clockify has very serious issues with its clunky Android app and is plagued by frequent bugs and slow processing. The software’s offline versions on both web and mobile also have some undesirable inconveniences, such as very limited functionality and the risk of losing data, which make it less than ideal for teams on the go.

    But listen, given Clockify’s affordable pricing and wide variety of features, the software is a very viable time tracking solution for most businesses. If users can overlook the issues in its Android app and the other deficiencies I’ve discussed, I’d recommend that they give it a whirl and perhaps try the free plan to see if it would fit their workflows.