Hour Cap vs Clockify
Clockify is a popular free time tracker with a massive feature set. Hour Cap is focused on one thing: getting tracked time onto Xero invoices. Here's why that focus matters.
Side-by-side comparison
Clockify tracks time well. The question is what happens when you need to bill through Xero.
| Feature | Hour Cap | Clockify |
|---|---|---|
| Xero integration depth | Deep (items, accounts, tracking) | Basic (push invoice only) |
| Xero contact sync | Auto-creates by name | |
| Xero tracking categories | 3-level cascade | |
| Xero revenue accounts | ||
| Retainer management | Dedicated retainers | Recurring estimates |
| Void and re-invoice | ||
| Timer across midnight | Auto-splits by day | No documented handling |
| Free tier users | 1 user | Unlimited users |
| Billable rate levels | Project, member, org | 5 levels |
| Desktop and mobile apps | Web app | All platforms |
Clockify pushes invoices. Hour Cap pushes accounting data.
Clockify's Xero integration sends invoices to Xero as drafts and syncs payment status back. That's it. There's no support for Xero tracking categories, revenue accounts, tax rates, or item codes. If you rely on these for your Xero reporting, you'll be editing every invoice manually.
Hour Cap syncs your Xero contacts, items, and tracking categories. When you push an invoice, line items carry the correct account codes, tax rates, and tracking category values. Your Xero reports just work.
Retainers, not just project estimates
Clockify has recurring project estimates that reset weekly, monthly, or yearly. But there's no rollover, no billing period management, and no connection between the budget and invoicing. You still have to manually create invoices for each period.
Hour Cap has dedicated retainer management. Set an hours budget, pick a billing period, configure alert thresholds, and invoice the current period directly from the invoice wizard.
When Clockify might be a better fit
We believe in being transparent. Clockify does things Hour Cap doesn't.
Generous free tier
Clockify's free plan supports unlimited users and unlimited projects with basic time tracking, reports, and all apps. Hour Cap's free plan is for 1 user with 1 project.
Desktop, mobile, and browser apps
Clockify has native apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, plus browser extensions that embed timers in 100+ tools like Jira, Asana, and Trello.
GPS and screenshots
Clockify's Pro plan includes GPS tracking, screenshot capture, and kiosk mode for field teams and remote monitoring. Hour Cap is focused on professional services billing.
Pricing at a glance
Hour Cap
Built for XeroPrices in USD. Annual billing saves 17%.
Clockify
Prices in USD (annual). Xero integration is basic on all plans.
A 5-person team on Clockify Standard pays $27.45/mo with basic Xero invoice pushing.
The same team on Hour Cap Business pays $30/mo with deep Xero integration, tracking categories, retainers, and approvals.
Time tracking that bills through Xero
Stop manually editing invoices in Xero after every push. Track time and push complete invoices with the right accounts and tracking categories.