Honest Review (2024)

Toggl Track

By Asim Qureshi, CEO Jibble

April 8th 2024

As a CEO of a time tracking software company, I need to know what my competitors are up to — thus, this Toggl Track review. 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 Toggl Track review. And in it, I try to be honest, fair, and insightful.

This review covers:

• Overview
• What Users Like
• What Users Don’t Like
• Pricing Plans
• Standout Features
• Positive User Highlights
• Negative User Highlights
• Ratings from Other Reviews

Overview

Toggl Track is a cloud-based time tracking software that is part of a trinity of work and productivity software developed and offered by Toggl OÜ. Functioning mainly as a time tracker, the software is intended for individuals and teams who want to know where their working hours go, replacing messy and dreadful paper-based time tracking systems that are error-prone and time-consuming to create and collate.

Aside from being a reliable time tracker, Toggl Track also has some pretty useful organizing, task managing, reporting, and invoicing capabilities that allow users to analyze and maximize productivity using a simple, easy-to-use, and non-invasive tool.

What I really love about Toggl Track is that it can be used across a variety of devices either on a PC as a web app, desktop app, or browser extension, or on mobile — even on smartwatches! And with over 100+ integrations, Toggl Track really is on track in its mission to simplify time tracking and improve productivity by leaps and bounds.

However, as promised, I will be very honest in this review, and I regret to say that Toggl Track falls off the track in some areas, particularly in pricing, in comparison to similar or more powerful software. Aside from the pricing, the manual toggling when starting or ending tasks can also be counterintuitive and become time-consuming, especially when bugs pop up and disrupt the user’s experience when switching workspaces, or the software simply crashes. Syncing issues have the risk of losing tracked time as well.

What Do Users Like About Toggl Track?

• Project/Client segmentation
• Reports and analytics can be customized according to the required level of detail
• Well-integrated with other apps
• Friendly and pleasant user interface
• Lots of labels to apply to tracking to organize work/time

Find more on what users love about Toggl Track.

What Pricing Plans Does Toggl Track Offer?

Toggl Track has four pricing tiers: Free, Starter, Premium, and Enterprise. All paid plans have a free trial period where businesses can experience Toggl Track Premium for 30 days.

Toggl Track Free Plan

The free plan is designed with freelancers in mind and is best for time tracking and reporting by individuals or microteams of up to 5 users. The features for this tier include unlimited time tracking, unlimited projects, clients, and tags, exportable reports, web, mobile, and desktop apps, automated time tracking triggers, idle time detection, Pomodoro timer, CSV imports, personal desktop activity tracking, and the ability to track time in 100+ popular tools.

Toggl Track Starter Plan

The Starter Plan is designed for small teams who need Toggl Track to work fast and smart.  At $9 per user per month annually or $10 monthly, this plan has all the features of the free plan, plus billable rates, time rounding for reports, favorite time entries, project time estimates and alerts, tasks (sub-projects), pre-populated project templates, and the abilities to connect multiple calendars to one Track workspace, view tracked time in the preferred calendar, and create saved reports for quick online access.

Toggl Track Premium Plan

The Premium Plan is Toggl Track’s best value offer, and it’s built to help keep growing teams aligned and agile with a set of powerful tools that build on the features of the previous tiers. For $18 per user per month annually, or $20 monthly, businesses will get archive clients feature, fixed fee projects, team time tracking reminders, time tracking audits, centralized control of labor costs and billable rates for team members, project forecasts and analysis, historical billable rates, single sign-on (SSO), native Jira and Salesforce integrations, and the abilities to schedule saved reports via email, lock time entries and add time for team members, and set required fields for time entries.

Toggl Track Enterprise Plan

The Enterprise Plan has custom pricing depending on team size and needs. It allows businesses to have tailored solutions for large and complex operations. This tier has all the features of the previous tiers, as well as unlimited users, priority support, expert training, and assistance, customizable solutions, the ability to manage multiple workspaces under one organization, and volume discounts for large teams on the annual plan.

Click here to read 5 things you MUST know about Toggl Track’s pricing.

Standout Features of Toggl Track

1. Detailed Reporting

Toggl Track’s reporting feature gives businesses deeper insight into how time is used by their companies. Beyond the expected summary, detailed, and weekly time tracking reports that can be filtered to accommodate any level of detail, Toggl Track also offers profitability projections, earnings-per-client,  ROI, milestone setting, and more. These insights help influence future action in order to help businesses be at their most profitable.

And since humans are hard-wired to process data visually, Toggl Track thoughtfully designed how this data is presented through clear-cut visuals that are helpful to both teams and clients.

Toggl Track offers a variety of export options including Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, and CSV files. This allows businesses not only to generate reports quickly, but also to view their data in a multitude of formats for any need imaginable.

2. Actionable Insights

Toggl Track Insights is a suite of analytics tools for the Premium and Enterprise tiers that allow businesses to gain deeper insights into their team’s productivity and project profitability. What I truly like about this feature is that it complements the reporting feature solidly, giving businesses an added edge in analyzing company performance from various angles.

With this feature, users can get more detailed information on how their projects are performing and which team members are contributing the most to their success. Toggl Track’s Insights provides top-level analytics into performance trends over time as well as comparisons between different team members.

The data processed by Toggl Track’s Insights such as trends in project profitability, employee profitability, and comparative analysis can be viewed as easily understandable visuals and can be exported into CSV or Excel in a matter of clicks.

3. Flexible Time Tracking

With multiple app versions that can be used on almost any Internet-connected device — from PC to mobile and even smartwatches — TogglTrack helps employees track hours anytime, anywhere. The flexibility provided by this variety of apps and the extensions, plug-ins, and integrations ensure that location or device preference is never an issue when tracking time.

Toggl Track also works offline, giving users the ability to track time even in environments with low to no Internet connection, with the option to sync offline-tracked time when a reliable connection is available. Users can also choose to use the timer or manually add hours.

Time entries can be viewed in a calendar format through integrations with Google and Outlook calendars.

4. Lots of Integrations

Toggl Track integrates with more than 100 productivity tools such as Asana, Evernote, GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Notion, Google Calendar, Outlook Email and Calendar, Salesforce, Slack, Zapier, Xero, and more.

By installing the browser extension, users can embed the Toggl Track timer on the interface of the online app so that starting the timer won’t require switching tabs anymore. This also has the positive effect of allowing users to have an almost zero-disruption experience when onboarding TogglTrack into existing workflows, reducing setup friction.

The REST API allows users to build their own integrations to further enhance Track’s adaptability to businesses’ IT ecosystems, and several exciting examples of this are BeeMinder, CData, Domo, and Zoho Desk.

5. Pomodoro Timer

The Toggl Track Pomodoro Timer is a thoughtful addition that busts procrastination and helps in maintaining a healthy work experience. It is a mental health must-have for individuals concerned about having a balanced and non-toxic work experience, as it allows users to set a timer for productivity with accompanying rest intervals. Studies have shown that these intervals significantly increase productivity and reduce stress.

The Pomodoro Timer can be used via the desktop app where it can be configured according to users’ needs or preferences, or through the browser extension, which will continually show break reminders as long as the browser window is open.

Selected Positive User Feedback:

• “Toggl Track is so easy to use, and it has every feature I could possibly want to ensure I’m accounting for and billing for every bit of my time appropriately.” Danielle V. (Source G2)
• “The Toggl app works on my phone, tablet, and PC. It reminds me to turn on the timer so that I can track my time by client and project. Plus, it’s easy to add tracked time after the fact, or if you are meeting with a client or doing work that doesn’t involve electronics.” Amy C. (Source G2)
• “Toggl track is easy to use, login and start a timer to track your hours. Also able to tag keywords, define by project or client, and category. I can easily export reports or import the file by CSV.” Kristina O. (Source G2)
• “Toggl allows me to learn from my past projects and estimate better for future projects. I can learn through metrics and improve time estimates.” Lorena M. (Source G2)
• “My favorite feature of Toggl is the multiple combinations of time registry categorization allowed; you can combine a tag along with task name, clients, projects, and descriptions. Highly customizable.” Gabriel V. (Source G2)
• “Cloud-based tracking from your phone and computer is super convenient and one of the best features of this service!” Vanessa D. (Source G2)
• “We always use Toggl to manage our project’s time and timesheets. I like how simple it is to use and how it syncs information between devices.” Jose J. G. (Source Capterra)
• “Toggle is an integral contribution that helps us in the supervision of billable hours, how time is being used, and if they can be improved in certain aspects to make it even more useful.” Juliana A. (Source GetApp)
• “I love that Toggl, when configured, can automagically pull time spent in all windows on your computer. This means that at the end of the day, you can check your activity to help you track time for work, etc.” Nathan B. (Source Capterra)
• “The two stand out things for me in Toggl are it’s simplistic straight to the point functionality, and the very helpful idle time reminder that means you don’t have to remember to clock in and out meticulously.” Ryzim. (Source App Store)
• “I was recommended Toggl when I started working as a graphic design contractor and needed to track my hours and keep an organized log of all my projects. Toggl does that perfectly for me.” Logan L. (Source App Store)
• “I liked how easy it was to install and use Toggl Track on my Mac, in Google Chrome, as well as to generate invoices.” Jeff J. (Source GetApp)
• “Toggl’s browser extension reminds me to actually clock my time. I’ll be on a website working on a project and it reminds me to actually push the button and track what I’m doing.” Danielle M. (Source GetApp)

What’s My Final Verdict on Toggl Track?

Toggl Track is a time tracking software designed for businesses and freelancers who want to know where their hours go. Aside from its reliable time tracking function, it also has some really helpful features that boost productivity and assist in evidence-based decision-making for optimal profitability. Its easy-to-use and intuitive interface coupled with its wealth of integrations makes Toggl Track compatible with most businesses’ existing workflows and IT environments, reducing setup friction and allowing seamless user experiences, even for first-timers.

However, Toggl Track might not be the best choice for businesses looking for more detailed reports that get into the nitty-gritty of things, as its reporting scope can be limiting for some users. The repetitive process required in toggling the timer on and off in between tasks can feel counterintuitive and cumbersome as well, and the manual processes of time entry can be time-consuming. There have also been significant reports of the apps and extensions bugging and crashing, leading to unsatisfactory experiences that include the risk of losing tracked time. And for the steep price of its paid plans, Toggl Track can easily be replaced by lower-priced or free software that has similar or even better features.

Overall, I think Toggl Track is fine to use if you’re not particularly concerned about the price of its plans or its limitations and the challenges encountered by other users. But before you toggle the switch, I’d like to reiterate that value for money is a significant concern that you should seriously consider, so that you get the best experience your budget can buy.