A free time clock that doesn't hold features back.

What "free" means in a free time clock app

Almost every free time clock app is a free plan of a paid product, and each one draws the line somewhere different. Before you set up your crew on one, find out which limit applies:

• People. Free for a handful of users, then every user is billed.
• Locations, kiosks or devices. Unlimited users, but one kiosk or a couple of job sites.
• Features. Clocking in is free; overtime rules, GPS, approvals or exports are on paid tiers.
• History. Recent timesheets only, with older records behind an upgrade.
• Admins. One manager free; each extra supervisor is a paid seat.
• The employee's phone. The app is free, but every worker needs a smartphone to use it.

None of these are tricks; a company has to earn money somewhere. But the limit decides whether "free" fits your crew. The best free time clock apps roundup lists what each one includes.

What's free on TrackBadges

The free plan's only limit is people: up to 3 active people. Every feature is included, and scanners and locations are unlimited.

Archived people don't count, so a seasonal worker who has left doesn't take up a spot.

Who the free plan is enough for

Three people on the clock covers more than you might expect:

• An owner-operator with two helpers on a truck.
• A small cleaning business with three part-time cleaners.
• A shop with a couple of employees and a tablet by the door.
• Anyone trying the system with a few people before rolling it out.

You can also try it with your whole crew before you sign up. Add the business and your real team, pair your phone and scan a badge, with no account or card. Signing up keeps everything you set up.

When you outgrow free

The day you add a fourth person, you move to Pro at $10.50 a month. After that, each person adds $1.50.

Billing is monthly, with no contract, hardware, setup fees or per-supervisor seats. See pricing for the details.

The costs a free plan doesn't show

The subscription is only part of what a time clock costs:

• Hardware. A wall clock or a kiosk tablet at every entrance. Badges and a phone you already own cost close to nothing.
• Rollout time. Installing an app and setting up logins on every employee's phone, then again for every new hire.
• Phone reimbursement. Requiring personal phones can mean paying part of the bill in California and Illinois; see can employers require personal phones?
• Buddy punching. Ten minutes of padded time a day, five days a week, is about 40 hours a year for one worker.
• Payroll math. Adding up paper hours every week. If you're not ready for a time clock yet, the free timesheet calculator helps.

What a time clock costs breaks all of this down further.

Questions to ask any free time clock

Whichever free plan you're looking at, these six questions show whether it fits your crew:

1. 1How many people does it cover, and what happens the day you add one more?
2. 2Are overtime, rounding and approvals included, or only clocking in and out?
3. 3How many locations, kiosks or supervisors can use it?
4. 4Does every employee need a smartphone and the app?
5. 5Does it need hardware, like a wall unit or a dedicated tablet?
6. 6Can you export your timesheets as a CSV file for payroll?

Write the answers down for two or three options and the right one is usually obvious. For TrackBadges: 3 people, then Pro; everything is included; scanners and locations are unlimited; no phones for employees; no hardware; and yes, CSV export is on both plans.

When a free time clock app isn't what you need

If you're a freelancer tracking billable hours by client or project, you want a project timer with invoicing, which TrackBadges doesn't do. And if each of your workers starts alone at a different place, a GPS app on their own phone fits better than badges, free or not. For crews that start together, see how the QR code time clock works.