Clockify's free plan just got much smaller — what changed, and what to do about it
· David Peralta
For years, Clockify's headline pitch was simple: free time tracking for unlimited users. That era is over. In 2026 the free plan was cut back sharply, and if your team relied on it, the features you actually depend on may no longer be free.
Here's what the free plan now looks like, based on Clockify's published pricing at the time of writing (July 2026).
What changed
The free plan is capped at 5 users. Previously the free tier's big draw was unlimited users. Teams of six or more now need a paid plan for everyone.
Client-billing features moved to paid tiers. Billable rates and invoicing — the core of freelancer and agency workflows — now require a paid subscription.
Exports are PDF-only on free. Excel and CSV export, the formats you need to get data into payroll or a spreadsheet, are paid features now.
Approvals, time off and kiosk mode are not on the free plan. If a manager signs off timesheets, or staff book holiday through the tool, those workflows now need a paid tier.
Reports are limited to one month at a time. Longer date ranges — a quarter, a holiday year — require upgrading.
What it costs to get those features back
Clockify's paid tiers start at $3.99 per user per month (Basic, billed annually — monthly billing costs roughly 25% more). But the features most small teams lost — invoicing, billable rates, approvals, time off — mostly sit in the Standard tier at $5.49 per user per month billed annually, with Pro at $7.99 and Enterprise at $11.99.
So a 10-person team that used Clockify free for timesheets, approvals and holiday booking is now looking at roughly $55–$80 a month, depending on tier and billing period.
Who the free plan still suits
To be fair to Clockify: if you're a solo user or a team of five or fewer who just needs a timer, a timesheet and the occasional PDF export, the free plan still does that. The people affected are exactly the ones who grew into it — teams who added approvals, holiday booking and payroll exports over time and suddenly find them behind a paywall.
What to do about it
If you've been caught by the change, you have three options:
- Stay and pay. If you use Clockify's project-based tracking deeply, Standard at $5.49/user may be worth it. Check which tier actually contains the features you use before assuming Basic is enough.
- Trim your usage back into the free tier. Workable for very small teams, but you lose approvals and time off — the things that made it a team tool rather than a personal timer.
- Switch to a tool that includes everything at one price. This is, transparently, where we come in.
TS@BigRock is timesheets, annual-leave booking with live balances, approvals, overtime rules and payroll-ready exports — plus UK working-time compliance records — at £1 per user per month, everything included. No tiers, no add-ons, and no features moving behind a paywall later, because there is no higher tier to move them to. You can see how we compare or try it free.
Prices and plan details verified against Clockify's published pricing on 29 July 2026. Vendors change pricing — check clockify.me for the current position.