Best time tracking software for Canadian freelancers and small teams

Canadian freelancers do not need a surveillance suite. They need hours they can put on a CAD invoice, with GST/HST if they are registered, and a handoff that does not force a second set of books. A US timer that only exports a CSV is fine — as long as you do not pretend the subscription is billed in loonies.

This comparison is six honest options: Toggl Track, Harvest, Clockify, time tracking inside FreshBooks, QuickBooks Time Canada, and Hubstaff. Time-tracking prices checked against public vendor pages, 6 September 2026. Buttons are official marketing URLs, not affiliate trackers.

Where those hours become a client PDF: invoicing software for Canadian freelancers. Wave vs FreshBooks (Wave is not a timer-first product): FreshBooks vs Wave. The ledger that still owns the GST/HST return: accounting software for Canada. If the hours sit on a deal in a pipeline: CRM for Canadian small businesses.

Who this page is for

• A sole prop who bills time in CAD and may need 13% Ontario HST on the invoice.
• A two- to ten-person studio that needs billable rates, not screenshot surveillance — unless Hubstaff is the actual job.
• Someone who was told Clockify is “unlimited free” without reading the five-user Free row.

Snapshot (public pages, 6 September 2026)

Toggl Track — USD/EUR, PDF invoices

Toggl’s public pricing page (6 September 2026) lists a Free plan at $0 for a limited number of users, Starter at US$9 per license per month on the annual display, and Premium at US$14 per license per month for the first year of annual billing, then US$18. Starter monthly starts at US$12 per license/month (Toggl help). Help lists Premium monthly US$20 and Premium annual US$18 Toggl’s pricing help (updated 15 July 2026): payments in EUR and USD only. European customers can pay in EUR; everyone else is billed in USD. No published CAD list. Confirm GST/HST on the USD invoice at checkout. Sources: https://toggl.com/track/pricing/, https://support.toggl.com/en-us/article/basic-information-on-toggl-track-pricing-1jk9e2l/.

Create invoices / download PDF invoices is on the public feature compare (paid billing features sit on Starter+) One-way QuickBooks integration listed on the feature compare That is a handoff, not a Canadian ledger. Put HST on the invoice in FreshBooks, Wave, QBO, or Xero if Toggl’s PDF is not enough.

Harvest — timer plus invoice, USD

Harvest prints All prices in USD (printed on getharvest.com/pricing). Free is Free $0 forever: 1 seat, 2 projects, time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking. Teams is Teams from US$9/seat/month billed annually (US$108/seat/year) (Teams from US$11/seat/month on monthly billing). Enterprise is Enterprise from US$14/seat/month billed annually (Enterprise from US$17.50/seat/month monthly). Teams and Enterprise: base rate includes core features; additional invoices, projects, clients, and tasks are billed on usage (pricing page) Source: https://www.getharvest.com/pricing.

Harvest is the usual pick when the timer is the invoice tool and you will still apply GST/HST yourself. One seat and two projects is a real free forever plan — not Clockify’s five-user free row, and not Toggl’s “limited users” free plan. Confirm tax on the USD subscription.

Clockify — cheap seats, not a CAD list

Official clockify.me/pricing (6 September 2026): Free plan: up to 5 users on the public compare table; unlimited tracking on those seats. Basic US$3.99/seat/month billed annually (US$4.99 monthly). Standard US$5.49/seat/month billed annually (US$6.99 monthly) — invoicing and QuickBooks sync listed here. Pro US$7.99/seat/month billed annually (US$9.99 monthly) — multiple currencies listed here clockify.me/pricing does not print CAD. Clockify help: subscription cost is displayed in USD, EUR, or CHF based on country/state in customer info — CAD is not on that list. Do not invent a CAD SKU. Sources: https://clockify.me/pricing, https://clockify.me/help/administration/payment-process.

Standard is the plan that lists invoicing from tracked time and a QuickBooks sync (help on that page says it works for QuickBooks Online unless QBO Payroll is active — confirm on a Canadian file). Do not tell a ten-person shop they can stay on Free.

FreshBooks — time tracking already in the CAD invoice

Unlimited time-tracking listed on every marketed Canadian plan (Lite through Select). Regular Canadian prices: Lite $26 CAD/month (five clients), Plus $42 CAD/month, Premium $72 CAD/month. Source: https://www.freshbooks.com/en-ca/pricing.

If you already invoice in FreshBooks, a second timer is usually waste. Head-to-head with Wave (Wave is books and invoices, not a Toggl competitor): FreshBooks vs Wave. Wider invoice field: invoicing software.

QuickBooks Time — Canadian URL, confirm the live widget

Intuit publishes a Canadian Time page at https://quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/time-tracking/pricing/. Official CA Time pricing offer terms (retrieved 6 September 2026): after the intro, monthly charges are $30 + $10/user for Premium, or $55 + $15/user for Elite. Sales tax may apply. Confirm CAD at checkout on the Canadian URL. Marketing copy: first admin included with the monthly base fee A direct retrieve of the pricing widget on 6 September 2026 returned HTTP 500. Confirm live numbers on the CA Time page before you buy. This site does not invent a standalone CAD SKU from a US TSheets blog.

This is the pick when the bookkeeper already lives in QBO and you need employee hours for payroll or client billing — not a freelancer’s first timer. Ledger context: accounting software for Canada. Payroll is still a CRA product: payroll software for Canada.

Hubstaff — public info, USD-shaped, monitoring-weighted

Hubstaff’s marketing pricing page did not print a clean CAD table on 6 September 2026. The official Hubstaff blog review (25 August 2026) and the pricing FAQ do publish dollars: Starter US$4.99/seat/month billed annually (US$7 monthly) — official Hubstaff blog review table, 25 August 2026. Grow US$7.50/seat/month annual (US$9 monthly). Team US$10/seat/month annual (US$12 monthly). The public pricing FAQ uses the same US$10 Team example.. Enterprise US$25/seat/month (annual-only on that table). Official review: paid tiers have a two-seat minimum except Enterprise hubstaff.com/pricing and the official August 2026 Hubstaff blog review print dollar prices without a CAD label. Treat them as USD. Confirm tax at checkout. This site does not invent a CAD list. Sources: https://hubstaff.com/pricing, https://hubstaff.com/blog/hubstaff-review/.

Hubstaff is relevant when you want activity levels, optional screenshots, and payroll-ish workflows for a remote crew. It is the wrong default for a Smithville sole prop who just needs hours on a FreshBooks invoice. Do not invent Interac, a Canadian data centre, or a CAD SKU.

A practical pick

1. Already on FreshBooks: stay. Track time there. See FreshBooks vs Wave if you are still choosing the ledger.
2. Want a free forever timer plus invoices, one person, two projects: Harvest Free (USD).
3. Want a cheap team timer and you will invoice in QBO or Clockify Standard: Clockify, then apply HST yourself.
4. Want billable rates and reports, USD is fine: Toggl Starter.
5. Bookkeeper in QBO, staff hours: QuickBooks Time — confirm the live CA widget.
6. Remote crew, proof of work: Hubstaff, and tell the team before you turn on screenshots.
7. Hours attached to a project board: project management for Canadian small businesses. Hours attached to a pipeline, not a timesheet: start at CRM, then invoice from the ledger.