Clockify vs memtime
Clockify and memtime approach time tracking from opposite ends of the spectrum. Clockify is built for organizations prioritizing team oversight and budgeting features. memtime is the leader in passive, privacy-first automatic time logging. It's a choice between organizational control and billable accuracy.
Powerful time tracking meets strict billing practices.
We found Clockify to be a highly competitive time tracker, offering strong free features and robust paid plans suitable for scaling teams. Overall, its comprehensive functionality and user-friendly design make it an excellent choice, tempered only by strict billing policies that frustrate some users.
Pros
- Generous free plan supports unlimited users and tracking.
- Intuitive interface makes adoption quick and painless for teams.
- Detailed tracking supports robust financial clarity and budgeting.
- Ability to group time entries by custom categories (a differentiator from competitors).
Cons
- Strict no-refund policy causes friction for billing errors or early cancellation.
- Difficulty reducing paid seat counts during annual renewal periods.
- Some users experience recurring bugs with auto-tracking features or logging visibility.
- Incompatibility or complications when the application is accessed via VPN.
Accurate tracking that pays for itself.
We found memtime to be a robust, privacy-first automatic time tracker that excels at capturing every minute spent on billable work. It runs non-intrusively in the background, fundamentally removing the need for error-prone manual timers and significantly reducing administrative burden. Overall, this is an essential tool for consultants and professionals reliant on accurate utilization data and billable hour recovery.
Pros
- Automatic, non-intrusive time logging (runs quietly in background).
- Highly accurate tracking, even when switching contexts (contact switching).
- Recovers significant missing billable time, increasing revenue.
- Strong privacy focus with data stored locally on the device.
Cons
- Transferring historical data between personal devices is challenging.
- Minor reported loss of reporting functionality in newer versions.
- Can require significant attention for extremely granular timesheet submissions.
AboutClockify
Clockify is widely known time tracking software trusted by millions of users worldwide. It functions as a comprehensive time tracker and timesheet app. This platform is perfect for teams, offering unlimited users and remaining free forever. Users have given it an excellent 4.8 rating based on thousands of reviews. The app lets you track time from anywhere, syncing data across web, desktop, and mobile devices automatically. ✨
Aboutmemtime
memtime is an automated desktop application designed to solve the struggles of tedious manual time tracking. This tool eliminates the need for distracting start/stop timers entirely. Instead, it runs passively behind the scenes, memorizing the time you spend in various programs throughout the workday.
It allows you to go back to any day and review precisely what you focused on, when, and for how long. This is especially valuable for anyone who bills by the hour, including consultants, legal services, agencies, and accountants, because it connects to your existing project software for instant time entry export. ✅
Highlights
Feature Comparison
Features Overview
We highlight the main differences and pick a winner for each feature.
Core Tracking Method
memtime excels in passive, automatic tracking that maximizes billable capture. Clockify focuses on traditional manual timers and detailed timesheets.
Clockify relies primarily on users remembering to click the start/stop Timer. Clockify also offers Kiosk mode or detailed weekly Timesheet entry for flexibility. If users forget to track time, they must enter it manually in Clockify later. memtime fixes this manual effort by running automatically in the background all day. memtime eliminates manual tracking, ensuring zero interruption to the workflow. The user reviews their activity timeline and assigns time at the end of the day. The key difference is proactive versus reactive logging. Clockify is better if you prefer active control over every time entry. Memtime's automation guarantees you stop losing those small pockets of time that manual tracking always misses.
Privacy and Security
memtime uses unique local storage for privacy; Clockify is full-featured cloud-based team monitoring.
memtime was specifically designed with user privacy as a priority. All automatic activity data is stored locally on the user's desktop device. This local storage prevents memtime from feeling like oppressive employee monitoring. Clockify is a cloud solution offering greater centralized team oversight. Paid plans in Clockify allow for optional features like screenshots and GPS tracking. While Clockify offers data region selection on PRO plans for security, memtime’s local storage is inherently more private. Choosing memtime means giving up centralized reporting for enhanced user security. For businesses handling highly sensitive client data, memtime offers a distinct privacy advantage over Clockify.
Pricing Model
Clockify offers an unmatched free plan for unlimited team members. memtime requires a paid subscription starting at €10/user/month.
Clockify has an extremely generous FREE plan for unlimited users and unlimited tracking. Paid plans are structured hierarchically based on administrative need, starting at $3.99/user/month. memtime has no permanent free tier; it is designed as a premium, automatic service. memtime starts at €10 per user/month, requiring a 2-year commitment for the best price. Clockify offers phenomenal initial value, especially for small, growing, or budget-conscious teams. memtime requires an upfront investment, but the cost is offset by billable hour recovery. If cost is the deciding factor, Clockify is the undisputed winner due to its robust, free-for-unlimited-users offering.
Team Management Tools
Clockify offers rich team features like attendance and time-off functionality. memtime provides no internal personnel management.
Clockify is a comprehensive organizational tool, not just a time tracker. Clockify includes Attendance, Overtime calculation, and Time Off management. Clockify's STANDARD plan handles timesheet approvals and locking for data integrity. memtime strictly focuses on accurate time tracking and activity logging for billable recovery. memtime does not provide integral scheduling, time off requests, or holiday tracking. If you need a unified HR/Time platform, Clockify is superior for managing a team's availability and attendance. memtime users must rely on separate software for resource planning. Clockify is ideal for agencies or operations that require strict oversight of employee shifts and availability.
Financial Control and Billing
Clockify generates professional invoices and manages project budgets internally. memtime focuses on exporting accurate time data for use elsewhere.
Clockify provides dedicated functionality for end-to-end financial control. The STANDARD plan in Clockify allows you to generate professional Invoices from tracked, billable time. PRO plans include expense tracking and labor cost calculation. memtime excels at gathering accurate billable hours but acts as a data pipeline. memtime's Connect plan exports the clean time entries into external project software (like XPM) for billing. Clockify is better suited for businesses wanting to handle billing automation within the tracking tool itself. memtime requires existing billing software to finalize client payments. For a full software suite that converts tracking directly into client payment documents, choose Clockify.
Profitability Data
Clockify calculates profit based on internal rates and expenses; memtime improves profit via guaranteed billable hour recovery.
Clockify PRO allows users to define labor costs and calculate profit and expenses against project budgets. Clockify gives managers high-level financial oversight across departments. memtime provides insight by accurately capturing hours spent versus hours planned. This detailed data helps users confidently adjust future pricing and estimates. Both Clockify and memtime offer distinct paths to increased profitability. Clockify provides centralized cost accounting for the business. memtime ensures consultants and lawyers simply stop losing money through forgotten tracking, often recovering 15% or more of billable revenue.
Integration Focus
Clockify integrates with 80+ apps for tracking control; memtime integrates primarily to push time entries directly into PM software.
Clockify offers browser extensions that detect task names across 80+ web applications (Jira, Trello, Asana). Clockify is strong in its ability to start tracking from within your favorite project application. memtime focuses on back-end data export via the Connect plan. memtime pushes perfectly logged time entries into tools like XPM and Teamwork seamlessly. Clockify is easier for triggering the start/stop timer manually across many different platforms. memtime is excellent for automating the synchronization of final time data. If integration means having a start button widely available, Clockify wins. If integration means automated data push, memtime is extremely effective.
Learning Curve
memtime is easier to use daily since it requires almost zero workflow changes. Clockify requires active user training on reporting and timesheet submission.
Clockify has an intuitive interface but requires active user discipline to start timers and fill out timesheets completely. Clockify's robust team features add complexity for administrators setting up approvals. memtime provides immediate value upon installation because it starts tracking automatically in the background. memtime users only interact with the application when they review the daily timeline. For reducing administrative burden and staff friction, memtime offers a much smoother daily experience. The setup for Clockify is simple, but the usage requires buy-in. Teams resistant to manual tracking methods will experience far faster adoption with memtime than with Clockify.
Our Verdict
The decision between Clockify and memtime hinges entirely on *how* you want to track time. Clockify offers powerful manual controls and administrative tools for large teams. memtime perfects passive, automatic tracking necessary for hourly billers. It’s truly a choice between organizational complexity and guaranteed billable accuracy. Clockify is the administrative powerhouse built for organization-wide governance and team oversight. Clockify offers robust scheduling, attendance, and time off management in paid plans. You can generate professional invoices and manage project budgets within Clockify seamlessly. The generous free plan of Clockify means unlimited users can start tracking today without financial commitment. memtime is the best solution for recovering lost billable time, which happens with manual logging. memtime works silently in the background, making it non-intrusive and highly accurate. Critically, memtime also maximizes privacy by keeping all activity data stored locally on your desktop device. If your primary requirement is centralized budgeting, project scheduling, and team oversight, Clockify is the clear choice. If you are a consultant or an agency whose profitability depends entirely on capturing every minute accurately, memtime pays for itself quickly. Use Clockify if you run a growing team and need a single, comprehensive platform offering a $0 entry point. Choose memtime if you want guaranteed accuracy, high privacy, and need to export time entries straight into your existing accounting software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for consultants billing by the hour: Clockify or memtime?
memtime is generally better for hourly consultants because of its automatic tracking. memtime guarantees recovery of lost billable hours that manual timers often miss. Clockify’s manual timer requires too much discipline for busy professionals constantly switching tasks.
Does Clockify offer a privacy-focused feature like memtime's local storage?
No, Clockify operates on a centralized cloud system, although enterprise users can select a data region. memtime offers a unique privacy advantage by storing all automated activity data locally. memtime ensures employees avoid the feeling of being monitored while working.
Is it possible to manage team time off and schedules using memtime?
No, memtime focuses exclusively on passive automatic time entry and data export. Clockify provides comprehensive features for team management, including time off requests and resource scheduling tools. Clockify is better if you need a unified HR/Time tracking solution.
How do Clockify's manual timesheets compare to memtime's automatic logs?
Clockify's timesheets allow detailed control over task descriptions and project codes. memtime’s automatic activity log replaces the timesheet with an accurate, passive timeline view. You simply assign time from the memtime log to the appropriate project, saving administrative effort.
Which tool is cheaper for a team of ten users?
Clockify is significantly cheaper for a smaller team, as the base tracking features are free for unlimited users. memtime will cost a minimum of €100 per month for ten users, requiring a significant commitment. However, memtime often generates more revenue than it costs.
Which software has better integration options with existing project software?
Clockify has tracking integrations with 80+ apps to start/stop the timer from a task. memtime Connect excels at exporting accurate, verified time entries directly into PM software. The best choice depends on whether you need a start button or better data flow.
Ready to Choose?
Both tools have their strengths. Choose based on your specific needs.