Best Project Management Software With Time Tracking in 2026

Time tracking is a crucial part of project management. While there are software solutions that are primarily time tracking tools, as well as other time tracking methods including spreadsheets, notes, and good-old pen and paper, having this functionality built into your project management system makes managing and monitoring your team’s productivity even more efficient. In this guide, we will explore some of the important aspects of a time tracking project management software to help you make an informed decision on which application is the best fit for your business needs.

One of the best ways to learn about a product is by signing up for free trials, free demos, as well as free versions if available. This gives you first-hand experience of what a timeline project management software is like using the tools that come with the free trial or free plans. Keep in mind, however, that these versions are typically offered within a given timeframe, number of users, and/or with tools limited only to the basic features.

Despite the restrictions, free trial, demo, and free versions can help you understand how project management software time tracking works. This is particularly helpful in helping you figure out if the interface, functionality, integration capabilities, and scalability offered match what you are looking for in the software in this category. You can start with the top apps in our list, such as monday.com, Wrike, Smartsheet, Polaris PSA, Connectwise PSA and Zoho Projects.

Project management with time tracking functionality is useful to businesses and teams that aim to improve productivity and efficiency by having a comprehensive view of the project timeline and the performance of their team members or employees. These types of businesses include the following:

• Small businesses. Small businesses can use project management software with time tracking tools for monitoring the time spent on tasks and projects.
• Medium-sized businesses. Businesses handling multiple teams need a good time tracking tool for gathering and analyzing performance insights. This helps in continuously improving productivity and efficiency and maintaining a good reputation to grow their client base.
• Large enterprises. Project management with time tracking capabilities helps large businesses streamline various processes from scheduling to payroll processing.
• Freelancers. Individual professionals working on hourly rates can benefit from the time tracking feature of project management solutions for issuing invoices to clients.

Enterprises have a larger volume of projects and more teams that need to be managed. These projects are also often more complex and the teams more diverse, which require project management with time tracking tools that allow flexibility to help them adapt to sudden changes in priorities. Furthermore, the technology infrastructure of large enterprises is composed of interoperable software systems. This means the type of project management with a time tracking solution they need must be capable of seamlessly integrating with the rest to streamline various processes, such as employee scheduling, attendance checking, payroll, and more.

Here are some of the popular project management solutions with time tracking capabilities:

• monday.com. An award-winning management system, monday.com comes with a time tracking tool that you can include as an additional column in your project board.
• Wrike. Wrike’s time is readily available to help record the time spent on tasks by users under the Business and Enterprise plans.
• Smartsheet. Unlike the first two, Smartsheet provides businesses with a time tracker and customizable time tracker templates. These templates include a time tracker for clients with a web form or rate table templates.
• Polaris PSA. This AI-powered resource and project management solution comes with time tracking capabilities that support time-off and mobile time tracking.
• Connectwise PSA. Connectwise PSA is a comprehensive business application equipped with project management, time tracking, and billing features.

This category of project management software can be divided into the following:

• Individual software. This type of project management solution often comprises cloud-based tools typically used by freelance or individual professionals for handling solo projects and tasks.
• Medium-sized solutions. Also web-based, these cater to businesses that need a centralized project management and time tracking platform for their growing teams.
• High-end systems. Software solutions under this type are designed to streamline complex project management and time tracking for large organizations and business enterprises.
• Self-hosted software. Also known as in-house or on-premise software, these are the software solutions hosted in company servers.

Choosing the ideal project management tool with time tracking can be challenging. This is especially true when there are a lot of options available all promising the same thing. But one way to determine a good software solution is by the features it offers. Below are some of the essential tools for good project management software with time tracking capabilities.

• Time tracker. This is used for tracking the time by users on specific tasks in real time.
• Task creation and assignment. This feature covers the capability to add the necessary tasks to accomplish different projects, assign them to designated users, and set appropriate due dates.
• Collaboration tools. This feature allows users to communicate in real time, as well as leave comments or updates on tasks or projects.
• Notifications and reminders. Automated reminders for upcoming or overdue tasks.
• Reports and analytics. This gives project managers a detailed view of their team members’ productivity.

Time tracking in project management offers various advantages such as the following:

• No need for third-party time tracking software. You no longer have to invest in a separate time tracking solution because the project management platform already has this as a built-in feature
• Keep track of different types of work hours. Time tracking tools show you the number of hours worked by an employee, by task, as well as by project.
• Real-time monitoring of employee productivity. Time tracking integrated into your project management platform helps you monitor the progress of a task or a project, as well as how your team members utilize their work hours.

Time tracking in project management continuously evolves and many of the emerging trends are shaped by the disruptions in business operations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the latest developments in project management and time tracking technology:

• AI adoption to enhance automation. With the help of AI, project managers spend less time on critical but time-consuming tasks, such as resource allocation, risk analysis, data visualization, interpretation, etc.
• Mobile time and location and tracking. This is beneficial to companies that have an on-field crew. Not only does this help managers keep track of their employees’ productivity while on the field, but this also helps them assign the workers closest to a job site where they are needed with the help of real-time location tracking.
• Attendance and time-off tracking. Time tracking systems that also record paid time off (PTO) make it easier for project and payroll managers to keep track of attendance, leave requests and approvals, accrued time and availed time offs, etc.

While adopting project management technology with time tracking tools is ideal to improve business operations, it is not an easy decision to make, and among the considerations are potential issues that come with it. Below are some of these potential challenges:

• Cost. Modern software solutions can be costly and that includes project management systems integrated with time tracking capabilities. There, however, are free project management software solutions that cater to businesses that are not yet ready to make a significant financial investment.
• Learning curve. Adopting or transitioning to a new software solution means learning how it works and figuring out how it best works for your business. While a lot of project management solutions, especially cloud-based ones, are designed to be user-friendly, some still require training on how to utilize project management and time tracking tools effectively.
• Finding a “one-size-fits-all” solution. Different businesses have their unique project management and time tracking needs. And although there are software systems that can be tailored specifically to project management and time tracking requirements, they are sometimes on the more expensive side.

Below are the major types of deployment for project management systems in this subcategory:

• On-premise. Also called self-hosted systems, project management solutions under this type of deployment are purchased by license and hosted on the company server. On-premise project management solutions are typically used by companies that want more control over the software’s infrastructure, data, maintenance, etc.
• Cloud-based. Project management solutions deployed on the web are currently more popular due to their accessibility, flexibility, ease of use, and cost-efficiency.
• Hybrid. This is the least common type of deployment and includes project management solutions that have both on-premise and web-based platforms that work in sync with one another.

How much software costs and how often you have to pay for it are important factors to consider when choosing a project management solution with a time tracking tool. Here are the usual pricing models offered by service providers:

• Free. Free project management solutions are typically offered as basic versions of premium packages. They are often equipped with standard project management and time tracking capabilities and only accommodate a small number of users.
• Monthly or annual subscription. This type of payment plan is common among cloud-based software solutions. You can choose from different levels of subscription packages, each includes different tools and capabilities, as well as whether you have to renew your subscription monthly or yearly.
• One-time payment. This payment scheme often applies to on-premise solutions that offer perpetual licenses of their software for a one-time fee.

Time tracking is an integral part of project management and having it integrated into your project management system is more cost- and time-efficient compared to using separate software solutions. Keep in mind, however, that not all project management software with time tracking capabilities are suited to your needs. This is why it is important to make sure that you understand your project management requirements and the tools you need to make this process more efficient. 

Furthermore, knowing the direction your business is heading is another significant factor to consider when choosing project management software with time tracking. This helps you gauge the adaptability of a software solution and the long-term benefits it can offer as your business expands and deals with more complex project management goals and priorities.