Hour Cap vs Everhour
Everhour embeds time tracking inside project management tools like Asana and Jira. Hour Cap is built to get tracked time onto Xero invoices. Here's how they compare for Xero users.
Side-by-side comparison
Both tools track time and have Xero integrations. The difference is how deeply they integrate with Xero's invoicing workflow.
| Feature | Hour Cap | Everhour |
|---|---|---|
| Xero invoice grouping | Entry, project, date, member | Meta-tag system |
| Xero tracking categories | 3-level cascade | |
| Xero invoice status | Draft or approved | Draft only |
| Retainer management | Dedicated retainers | Recurring project budgets |
| Billable rate cascade | Project → Member → Org | Per-project or per-member |
| Minimum paid seats | 2 users included | 5-seat minimum |
| Void and re-invoice | ||
| PM tool integrations | Xero-focused | 50+ integrations |
| Activity log | Basic |
Xero-native vs Xero-compatible
Everhour can export invoices to Xero as drafts, but that is where the integration ends. There is no support for tracking categories, account codes, or Xero item mapping. Invoices cannot be pushed as approved, and partial payments do not sync back.
Hour Cap is built around the Xero workflow. Contacts sync automatically, tracking categories cascade from project to client to org, and you control exactly how line items appear on the invoice.
No 5-seat minimum
Everhour's Team plan requires a 5-seat minimum at $8.50/user/month, even if your team is smaller. A 3-person team pays $42.50/month for seats they do not use. Their free plan does not include Xero integration or invoicing.
Hour Cap's Team plan starts at $10/month with 2 users included and Xero integration from the start. Add extra users at $5/month each. You only pay for what you need.
Retainers, not just recurring budgets
Everhour has recurring project budgets that reset daily, weekly, or monthly. That works for internal budget tracking, but there is no concept of a client retainer with billing periods, alert thresholds, or one-click invoicing for the current period.
Hour Cap treats retainers as a first-class feature. Set an hours budget, pick a billing period, configure alerts, and invoice the current period directly from the invoice wizard.
- Weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or custom periods
- Real-time progress bars on your dashboard
- Alert thresholds when usage hits a percentage you set
When Everhour might be a better fit
We believe in being transparent. Everhour does things Hour Cap doesn't.
Project management integrations
Everhour embeds timers directly inside Asana, Jira, Trello, ClickUp, and 50+ other tools via a browser extension. Hour Cap is focused on the Xero workflow.
Budget protection mode
Everhour can auto-stop timers when a project budget is exceeded, preventing over-spending. Hour Cap alerts you but does not auto-stop the timer.
Resource planning
Everhour includes resource scheduling with plan-vs-actual comparisons, workload balancing, and leave integration for managing team capacity.
Pricing at a glance
Hour Cap
Built for XeroPrices in USD. Annual billing saves 17%.
Everhour
Prices in USD (annual). Cannot downgrade from Team to Free.
A 5-person team on Everhour pays $42.50/mo for Xero draft export and PM tool integrations.
The same team on Hour Cap Business pays $30/mo with full Xero invoicing, retainers, approvals, and activity logging.
Ready to switch?
Start tracking time in minutes. Connect your Xero account and your contacts sync automatically. No migration needed.