Best for
Best for teams that need billable timesheets on their own infrastructure rather than in a subscription cloud.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Time Tracking Comparison
actiTIME vs. QuickBooks Time
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small businesses with hourly or field staff that already run their accounting in QuickBooks Online.
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | actiTIME | QuickBooks Time |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value Free for 3 users; paid from $6 / user / month Billed yearly for 1 to 40 users, $5 per user and month for 41 to 200, a fixed cost for unlimited users above 200. The self-hosted edition is a one-time $120 per user. | From $20 / month base plus $10 / user / month Time Premium: $20 monthly base fee including one admin, plus $10 per user / month. Time Elite: $40 base plus $12 per user / month. An introductory 50 percent discount applies to the base fee for the first three months. A QuickBooks Online subscription is required. |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card required, plus a free version for up to 3 users | 30 days on the monthly base price; per-employee fees are not covered |
| Users | Free version up to 3 users | Not stated |
| API | Yes, a REST API on paid plans; the free version has none | Yes, a REST API with OAuth 2.0 |
| Hosting | Cloud on Amazon servers, or self-hosted on your own Windows or Unix server | Not stated |
| Made in | Canada | Not stated |
| Time tracking | Yes, weekly timesheet, calendar view with start and stop times, iOS and Android apps and a Chrome extension that logs online activity automatically | Yes, mobile clock in and out, a tablet or desktop Time Kiosk, location while on the clock and geofence reminders |
| Invoicing | Yes, branded PDF invoices from billing rates and recorded time, with leave and overtime costs and a QuickBooks export | No native invoicing, approved hours sync into QuickBooks Online for payroll and billing |
| Reporting and controlling | Yes, staff performance, time balances and overtime, estimated versus actual, detailed time-track and cost and billing reports, with charts and real-time widgets; the free version exports CSV only | Project tracking with estimates against actuals and an activity feed on the Elite tier |
| Integrations and API | Yes, a REST API on paid plans, plus QuickBooks, Zapier, the Chrome extension and actiPLANS | Yes, the QuickBooks Time REST API at rest.tsheets.com/api/v1, authenticated with OAuth 2.0, covering timesheets, users, jobcodes, schedule events, projects, geolocations, geofences, time off and payroll and project reports. Throttled to 300 calls per access token in any five-minute window, 200 results per page |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk | more entries Phone, Chat, Community forum |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars | Documentation and knowledge base, Live online demos and webinars |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries QuickBooks, Zapier, actiPLANS, Chrome | QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Payroll |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price actiTIME Free for 3 users; paid from $6 / user / month QuickBooks Time From $20 / month base plus $10 / user / month
- Free trial actiTIME Free trial, no credit card required, plus a free version for up to 3 users QuickBooks Time 30 days on the monthly base price; per-employee fees are not covered
- Deployment actiTIME Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise QuickBooks Time Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Company size actiTIME Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise QuickBooks Time Small and mid-sized
- Support actiTIME Email helpdesk QuickBooks Time Phone, Chat, Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
actiTIME
Strengths
- Self-hosted licence as a one-time payment, with the data on your own server
- Billing rates, cost-of-work rates and branded invoices are part of the product
- Free version for up to three users
- Chrome extension logs online activity and imports it into the timesheet
Limitations
- Major upgrades of the self-hosted edition cost 100 percent of the initial price
- The free version has no API and exports only CSV
- The per-user rate only drops above 40 users
QuickBooks Time
Strengths
- Approved hours flow straight into QuickBooks Online payroll and accounting
- GPS, geofencing and a shared tablet kiosk suit crews out on site
- Scheduling by job or shift is included on both tiers
Limitations
- Requires a QuickBooks Online subscription and cannot be bought on its own
- A monthly base fee on top of per-user fees is steep for very small teams
- GPS and geofencing amount to location tracking, which not every team accepts
Plans
Pricing
actiTIME
- Free $0 Up to 3 users, limited functionality, CSV reports, no API.
- actiTIME Online $6 / user / month Billed yearly for 1 to 40 users. $5 per user and month for 41 to 200 users, a fixed cost for unlimited users above 200.
- actiTIME Self-Hosted $120 / user One-time payment, installed on your own server, with direct database access. Minor upgrades are free, major upgrades cost 100 percent of the initial price. A fixed cost for unlimited users is also offered.
QuickBooks Time
- Time Premium $20 Monthly base fee including one admin, plus $10 per user / month. Introductory $10 base for the first three months.
- Time Elite $40 Monthly base fee including one admin, plus $12 per user / month. Adds mileage tracking, project tracking, estimates against actuals, activity feed and timesheet signatures. Introductory $20 base for the first three months.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
actiTIME
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
QuickBooks Time
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
actiTIME https://www.actitime.com · no check date recorded yet
QuickBooks Time https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/ · checked against the official source on 2026-09-06
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.