Toggl vs Clockify in 2026: Price, Free Tiers & Linux
Toggl vs Clockify is one of the most common time-tracking comparisons, and in 2026 the honest answer shifted. Both are mature, well-built timers with optional activity-review layers, but Clockify's April 2026 free-plan changes narrowed an advantage it held for years. This is a fair, sourced look at how the two line up now — on tracking, price, free tiers, and platforms — without picking a winner you didn't ask for.
Here is the short version, then the detail behind each point.
How each one tracks time
Both tools are, at their core, manual timers. You press start when you begin work and stop when you finish. On top of that, each adds a way to recover time you forgot to log.
- Toggl Track pairs the manual timer with a local Timeline/autotracker that records the apps and sites you used, so you can drag those blocks into entries later.
- Clockify pairs its manual timer and timesheet with an auto tracker that does the same job, plus a kiosk mode and an approval workflow (approvals are a paid feature in 2026).
The important thing to be clear about: neither tool uses AI to sort your tracked time into the right project or client. Both have a private activity recorder, but a human still assigns and approves every entry. So neither is fully passive or automatic — if removing that manual sorting step is your actual goal, it helps to understand what real passive time tracking looks like before you choose, because both Toggl and Clockify stop short of it.
Pricing: Clockify is the cheaper one
This is the clearest, most verifiable difference. Clockify's paid seats cost less than Toggl's at every comparable tier. If sticker price is your deciding factor, Clockify wins that comparison outright.
| Plan level | Toggl Track | Clockify |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (limited users) | $0 (up to 5 active users) |
| Entry paid | Starter $9/user/mo | Standard $5.49/seat/mo |
| Mid paid | Premium $18/user/mo | Pro $7.99/seat/mo |
| Top published tier | Enterprise (custom) | Enterprise $11.99/seat/mo |
All paid prices are billed annually; monthly billing runs higher on both. Details as of June 2026 — confirm current numbers on each vendor's own pricing page — Toggl and Clockify — before you commit, because plans shift.
Two notes so the table is read correctly. Clockify's entry Standard plan ($5.49) is the one that includes invoicing, which makes the gap to Toggl's $9 Starter wider than it looks for anyone who bills clients. Clockify also lists a lower Basic tier (widely reported around $3.99/seat annual), but I could not confirm that exact figure on the primary pricing page, so treat it as approximate.
The free plans after April 2026
For years, the easy summary was "Clockify gives you unlimited free users, Toggl is nicer to use." The first half of that is no longer true.
As of April 21, 2026, CAKE.com (Clockify's parent) issued an official press release announcing changes to the Free plan. The free team is now capped at 5 active users, replacing the old unlimited-headcount model. Several features also moved onto paid plans: billable rates, Kiosk, shared reports, project time estimates, and CSV/Excel exports. Free reporting is now limited to a 31-day date range at a time, the API is throttled to 30 requests/hour with 3 webhooks, and PDF export stays free while CSV/Excel becomes paid. (I covered this in depth in Clockify's free-plan changes if you want the full breakdown.)
Toggl's free plan, by contrast, allows "a limited number of users" — widely reported as up to about five, though Toggl's own page does not state an exact figure. The practical effect: both free tiers now sit at roughly five users, so Clockify's longstanding headcount edge is effectively gone.
The invoicing detail people get wrong
A common claim is that "neither tool invoices on the free plan." That is false for Toggl, and worth correcting.
| Free-plan capability | Toggl Track | Clockify |
|---|---|---|
| Create a PDF invoice | Yes (carries a Toggl logo) | No — invoicing is Standard-plan+ |
| Billable-rate math | No (billable rates are Starter+) | No (billable rates moved to paid) |
| Active users | Up to about five | Up to 5 |
| CSV/Excel export | Limited | Paid plans only (PDF stays free) |
Toggl's official help confirms that free-plan users can create invoices, but the downloaded PDF carries a Toggl logo, and the auto-filled billable amount depends on billable rates — which are a paid (Starter) feature. Clockify free, after April 2026, has no invoicing at all; that lives on the Standard plan ($5.49/seat).
So the accurate shared takeaway is not "neither invoices." It is that neither gives you real client billing for free: Clockify removed invoicing and billable rates from its free tier entirely, and Toggl's free invoices are branded with no billable-rate calculation behind them. To actually bill from your hours on either, you are on a paid plan.
Platforms and Linux
If you work on Linux, this is the line that decides it — and it is the opposite of what many comparison articles assume.
- Clockify ships an official desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. A native Linux build is genuinely uncommon in this category.
- Toggl Track's desktop app is Windows and macOS only. Its Linux desktop app has been deprecated; the web app still runs fine in a Linux browser, but there is no current native Toggl Linux desktop client.
So for a Linux user who wants a real desktop tracker rather than a browser tab, Clockify is the one of the two that supports you natively.
Toggl vs Clockify: which should you pick?
A short decision guide, framing the consensus view honestly rather than as fact:
- Lean Clockify if price matters most, you want native Linux, or you need invoicing without paying Toggl's higher seat cost. Its Standard tier at $5.49 bundles billing for less than Toggl's $9 Starter.
- Lean Toggl if you value the reporting and the overall feel of the product. "Toggl wins on UX and reporting" is a widely held opinion, not a measured benchmark — but it is the common reason people pay the premium.
- Either way, expect to assign time to projects by hand, and don't expect free client billing.
Both are solid, supported products. For a lot of teams the real choice is temperament and budget, not a missing feature — which is why it is worth naming the one thing both of them leave on your plate.
Where a tool like BillNotch fits
The thread running through everything above is that both Toggl and Clockify still need a person in the loop — to start or review the timer, then sort entries into projects, then (on a paid plan) turn that into a bill. If that manual chain is the part you actually want gone, that is a different category of tool, and it is the one BillNotch is built for.
Be straight about price first: BillNotch is not the cheapest option here. Pro is $9/mo for one seat, which is more than Clockify's entry tiers. If lowest sticker price is your goal, Clockify wins and this isn't a close call.
What BillNotch trades that for is a different workflow. Its desktop app runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux and records your active window automatically — there is no timer to start. Keyword rules, with optional AI for the fuzzy cases, sort that activity into client projects, and billable status is inherited per project. The live billable total becomes a PDF invoice or a CSV export in the same app, and the Revenue Leak Finder flags billable time you tracked but never invoiced — the revenue leak problem that manual sorting tends to create. On privacy, window titles can stay on each device, every device connects with an API key you issue and revoke, data is processed on EU servers, and it is never sold. Pricing is flat — Pro $9/mo, Team $12/seat/mo — with a 14-day trial and no card.
The honest framing: if you want a cheap, familiar timer and don't mind the manual steps, Clockify or Toggl is a fine answer, and Clockify's free or Basic tier is hard to beat on cost. BillNotch is aimed at the person who would rather skip the timer entirely and have capture, categorization, and invoicing in one place. If you want the direct side-by-sides, here is BillNotch vs Clockify and BillNotch vs Toggl, with the full numbers on the pricing page. If neither fits, Toggl alternatives widens the field. Whichever way you go, confirm the current plan details on each vendor's site first — these change, and the right call depends on how you actually work.