TimeCamp vs Timely (2026): Which AI Time Tracker Wins?

Pondering over TimeCamp vs Timely to know how much billable work goes unrecorded when a team reconstructs the day from memory? Timely Memory records background activity on a private timeline, and AutoSheet turns that context into draft entries for review. TimeCamp approaches the same problem through two tracking methods and connects the resulting data with budgets, invoicing, attendance, time off, and approvals.

For agencies, consultancies, IT firms, remote teams, and other service organizations, the choice depends on what happens after hours are captured. Some teams prioritize passive timesheets and capacity planning. Others need the same data for billing, labor costs, accounting, and workforce administration.

→ For a separate product overview, see What is Timely?

Pricing, profitability, integrations, security, and AI costs all influence the final choice, and neither platform serves every workflow equally well.

Key Takeaways:  Both products reduce manual entry, but their review and assignment workflows differ. Memory and AutoSheet give Timely a cohesive passive-capture experience. TimeCamp offers keyword-based assignment and pattern-based AI suggestions as separate methods. TimeCamp has a free plan without user or project caps; Timely limits selected plans. Timely provides dedicated capacity planning, while TimeCamp connects time data with more billing and workforce processes. Base subscriptions cost less in TimeCamp, although AI suggestions add variable token usage. Both platforms are GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001-certified; their deployment options differ.

 

Quick verdict:  Choose Timely for passive timesheets that require little daily input and for dedicated capacity planning. Choose TimeCamp when tracked hours must also support billing, attendance, time off, labor costs, approvals, and Xero. Compare the required plans and expected AI usage before judging price.

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How do TimeCamp and Timely compare at a glance?

Timely concentrates on passive timesheets and resource planning. TimeCamp combines automatic time tracking software with billing, attendance, costs, and approvals.

Note: Our team has tested Timely to provide an accurate product description, screenshots, and comparison with TimeCamp features.

TimeCamp: ⭐ 4.7/5

Timely: ⭐ 4.5/5

The table below compares how each platform works once testing turns into daily use.

Criteria	TimeCamp	Timely
Best for	Billing, attendance, costs, and approvals	Passive timesheets and capacity planning
Free option	Free; unlimited users and projects	14-day trial
Starting price with annual billing	$3.99/user/month	$9/user/month
Automatic tracking	Standard Desktop App + AI Time Tracker	Memory + AutoSheet
Profitability and budgets	Budgets, rates, labor costs, profitability	Budgets, rates, cost, profit
Invoicing and accounting	Invoicing, QuickBooks Online, Xero	Invoicing, QuickBooks Online
Attendance and time off	Dedicated workflow	Overtime, undertime, administrative projects
Timesheet review	Submit, approve, reject, lock	Configurable entry states
Capacity planning	Resource Planner: Premium+	Planning: Premium; capacity reports: Unlimited
User/project caps	None	Starter: 5 users/20 projects; Premium: 50 users
Desktop support	Windows, macOS, Linux for Standard App	Windows and macOS for Memory
Mobile support	iOS, Android	iOS, Android

What is the real difference between TimeCamp and Timely?

Passive capture sits at the center of Timely, alongside timesheets, budgets, and resource planning. TimeCamp extends automatic tracking into invoicing, attendance, time off, labor costs, accounting, and formal approvals.

How does each tool capture time automatically?

Timely Memory, the platform’s background activity-capture app, records websites, applications, documents, and meetings on a private timeline. AutoSheet uses this context to prepare draft time entries for the user to review.

TimeCamp uses two forms of automatic time tracking. The Standard Desktop App assigns activity through project keywords, while the AI Time Tracker prepares suggestions from recurring patterns, calendar events, previous entries, and corrections.

What happens after time is captured?

Both platforms convert captured activity into time tracking data used across timesheets, budgets, rates, and profitability reports.

In TimeCamp, recorded hours can also feed project budgeting and profitability, invoicing and billing, labor costs, accounting, attendance, time off, Resource Planner, and approvals.

How much setup and cost does each tool require?

Timely Memory requires little daily input once it starts collecting activity, although clients, projects, rates, budgets, and planning data still need configuration.

Using TimeCamp’s full reporting workflow requires more account-level setup. Projects, keyword rules, rates, integrations, attendance settings, and approval paths determine how recorded hours move through the account.

TimeCamp pricing plans start below Timely’s subscriptions. AI suggestions use separately billed tokens, while Timely applies user and project caps to lower tiers. Team size, plan requirements, and AI usage determine the actual monthly cost.

TimeCamp vs Timely feature comparison

Timely leads in passive capture and specialized capacity planning. TimeCamp covers more billing, workforce, accounting, and approval processes around each timesheet.

Requirement	Stronger option	Reason
Passive capture	Timely	Unified Memory-to-AutoSheet workflow
Tracking flexibility	TimeCamp	Rule-based and AI-assisted project tracking methods
Profitability workflow	TimeCamp	Budgets, labor costs, expenses, billing
Accounting	TimeCamp	QuickBooks Online plus Xero
Attendance and time off	TimeCamp	Dedicated workflow
Timesheet approvals	TimeCamp	Submission, review, rejection, locking
Capacity planning	Timely	Specialized planning and reporting
Integration breadth	TimeCamp	Native connections across more software categories
Desktop OS coverage	TimeCamp	Linux support in Standard Desktop App

Do TimeCamp and Timely track time without timers?

Yes and that’s how they do it: 

• Timely Memory records background activity, and AutoSheet turns it into suggested entries.
• TimeCamp assigns activity through keyword rules or prepares pattern-based AI suggestions.

Mobile apps do not reproduce the full desktop capture process, but they remain useful for timers, manual entries, location tracking, and reviewing existing records.

Is TimeCamp’s AI Time Tracker a practical Memory alternative?

Yes, but it is not a direct replica. Timely combines Memory and AutoSheet in a mature, low-setup workflow built around a private timeline.

TimeCamp separates predictable work from changing context: keyword rules within the Standard Desktop App suit recurring assignments, while AI suggestions in AI Time Tracker cover research, communication, meetings, and frequent task switching. Activity, time entries, notes, and tags stay in a local database on the user’s computer, and syncing them to a server is optional, especially since using AI Time Tracker doesn’t require signing up for TimeCamp.

When AI suggestions are enabled, the AI app sends the context required for entry classification to an external model provider. On-device processing keeps the suggestions private until the user adds them to the web timesheet (unless the user has already signed up to TimeCamp). 

How about AI providers in both tools? 

The provider in AI Time Tracker by TimeCamp is a separate setting. Users pick the model in the desktop app or connect their own OpenRouter key; they can also turn off AI suggestions entirely. Connecting the user’s own model via OpenRouter doesn’t consume tokens purchased in TimeCamp, making AI Time Tracker usage basically free. 

Timely takes the opposite approach: Memory uploads activity to a private timeline inside Timely. AI in Timely is not an optional layer. 

Timely offers the more polished, low-setup capture experience. TimeCamp becomes more relevant when teams need different assignment methods and want the resulting entries to feed billing, attendance, approvals, and cost reporting.

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Which tool provides more useful project budgeting and profitability data?

Timely supports time and money budgets, cost and billable rates, recurring budgets, revenue, profit, profitability views, and productivity insights across clients and projects.

TimeCamp adds estimates, fixed-fee projects, labor costs, expenses, and billing rates. Its advantage lies in keeping those inputs close to invoicing, approvals, attendance, and operational reporting.

How do invoicing and accounting integrations compare?

Both products create invoices from recorded work and connect with QuickBooks Online.

Timely makes the integration available on Premium and Unlimited.

TimeCamp offers invoicing from Starter. Premium plan allows one integration (including Xero), and Ultimate adds unlimited integrations, expenses, labor costs, and billing rates. Its accounting edge lies in native Xero support and the ability to keep expenses, labor costs, and billing rates in the same workflow.

Which tool handles attendance, time off, and approvals?

TimeCamp Starter covers attendance records, overtime, time off, and leave management. Ultimate adds a dedicated approval sequence with submission, review, rejection, and entry locking.

Timely handles overtime and undertime through reporting, records absences against administrative projects, and supports approval-style processes through configurable entry states. Those tools remain distributed across planning, reports, and project setup.

TimeCamp keeps attendance, leave requests, payroll preparation, and formal approvals in one workflow. Timely covers the component parts through separate planning, reporting, and project-management functions.

Which platform provides better capacity planning?

Timely combines team planning on Premium with capacity management and reporting on Unlimited. Managers can schedule work, define weekly capacity, and compare planned hours with actual time.

Resource Planner connects resource allocation data with budgets, estimates, attendance, and project costs. Timely offers a more specialized planning interface. TimeCamp keeps resource decisions closer to financial and workforce data.

Timely provides dedicated capacity planning and reporting. TimeCamp becomes more relevant when staffing decisions must also reflect attendance, labor costs, project budgets, and billing data.

Which tool integrates with more of your stack?

Integration labels need context:

• two-way sync,
• browser timers,
• Zapier workflows,
• passive app detection

They simply do not exchange the same data.

Timely offers advanced synchronization with selected tools such as Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Trello, and Linear. Other apps mainly provide contextual data for Memory.

TimeCamp integrations span project management, development, CRM, help desk, calendars, and accounting, including Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Trello, GitHub, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Salesforce.

Quick tip: TimeCamp connects natively with more categories of business software. Timely concentrates its most advanced synchronization features on a smaller group of services.

Which desktop and mobile apps are supported?

TimeCamp is available via:

• a web app,
• the Standard Desktop App (with Computer Activities) supports Windows, macOS, and Linux
• AI Time Tracker is available for Windows and macOS
• mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Timely provides web access and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Memory runs on Windows and macOS, and Linux users can access Timely through the browser. 

How much do TimeCamp and Timely cost?

TimeCamp has lower base prices, but team size, plan limits, and token-based AI usage affect the real comparison.

Rates below are per user, billed monthly, with annual billing.

Plan level	TimeCamp	Timely
Free option	Free: $0	No free plan; 14-day trial
Entry paid plan	Starter: $3.99	Starter: $9
Mid-tier plan	Premium: $6.99	Premium: $16
Higher standard plan	Ultimate: $9.99	Unlimited: $22
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Custom pricing

 

TimeCamp’s AI Time Tracker usage is billed separately, with typical costs of about $6 per user per month depending on token consumption.

What does each plan unlock?

Feature availability matters because similarly named plans unlock different workflows.

Requirement	TimeCamp availability	Timely availability
Attendance	Starter+	Overtime/undertime on Unlimited
Time off	Starter+	No dedicated request workflow
Project budgets	Premium+	Basic budgets; recurring budgets and cost tools on Premium+
Billable time	Premium+	Starter+
Invoicing	Starter+	Premium+
Approvals	Ultimate+	Entry states on Premium+
Billing rates	Ultimate+	Paid plans
Expenses	Ultimate+	No native expense module
Integrations	1 on Premium; unlimited on Ultimate	Sync and accounting tools on Premium+
Capacity planning	Resource Planner on Premium+	Planning on Premium; reports on Unlimited
AI suggestions	All plans; token-based	Included in paid plans
User/project caps	None	Starter: 5/20; Premium: 50/unlimited

What does each team size actually pay?

How much does a five-person team pay? 

• TimeCamp Free is $0 for five users (with unlimited projects included) and should be entirely sufficient for a five-person team. However, if their workflow requires unlocking Invoicing or Attendance features, the TimeCamp Starter plan costs them only $19.95 per month.
• Timely Starter costs $45 per month and reaches its five-user and 20-project limits.

What does a ten-person team using AI suggestions pay?

• Ten users can use TimeCamp Free (0$) or Starter ($39.90 per month), with estimated AI token usage adding about $60 per month, which is $99.90 per month.
• Timely requires Premium at $160 per month because Starter cannot accommodate the team.

What does a twenty-person billing-driven team pay?

• A 20-person team needing approvals, labor costs, expenses, billing rates, and unrestricted integrations pays $199.80 for TimeCamp Ultimate. Estimated AI usage raises the total to $319.80.
• Timely Premium costs $320 for 20 users and includes budgets, cost management, accounting integration, and team planning, but not an equivalent attendance, leave, expense, or formal approval workflow.

Adding AI-assisted tracking narrows the base-price advantage. Teams using rule-based capture continue to pay the lower base subscription cost.

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Is TimeCamp a good Timely alternative?

TimeCamp is a credible alternative to Timely when tracked hours must feed accounting, attendance, approvals, labor costs, and client billing. Xero, formal approvals, and uncapped workspaces strengthen its case. Timely remains attractive when passive capture and capacity planning take priority.

What are Timely’s strengths and trade-offs?

Timely minimizes daily input, but higher prices, plan limits, and the use of administrative projects for leave define the main trade-offs.

Strengths	Trade-offs
Private Memory timeline	Higher base price
AutoSheet drafts entries	Starter caps users and projects
Low reliance on manual timers	No native Xero integration
Dedicated capacity tools	Leave handled through administrative projects
No screenshots or keystroke logging	Tasks costs extra
Users review entries before sharing	Advanced capacity reports require Unlimited

What are TimeCamp’s strengths and trade-offs?

TimeCamp connects timesheets with billing, workforce administration, and project-cost reporting, but reliable reports depend on accurate project, rate, rule, and approval setup.

Strengths	Trade-offs
Rule-based and AI-assisted tracking	More setup across projects and workflows
Budgets, labor costs, expenses, billing	Variable AI token cost
QuickBooks Online and Xero	Some financial tools require Ultimate
Attendance, time off, approvals	Less specialized capacity planning
Linux Standard Desktop App	AI Time Tracker: Windows and macOS
No user or project caps	Suggested entries still require review

TimeCamp or Timely: which fits your workflow scenario?

Timely favors a focused capture-and-planning workflow. TimeCamp suits teams that move the same hours through billing and workforce administration.

Scenario A: which tool fits passive timesheets and capacity planning?

Memory, AutoSheet, and planned work form a continuous path in Timely. TimeCamp reaches similar stages through separate tracking, budgeting, and Resource Planner tools.

Requirement	Timely	TimeCamp
Passive capture	Memory	Standard App + AI Tracker
Setup	Low daily input	More project and workflow setup
Timesheet preparation	AutoSheet	AI suggestions and keyword rules
Team planning	Planned work and schedules	Resource Planner
Capacity reporting	Premium planning; Unlimited reports	Allocation with budgets and estimates
User caps	5 on Starter; 50 on Premium	None

 

Choose Timely when low setup and dedicated capacity reporting matter more than attendance, accounting breadth, or formal approvals.

Scenario B: which tool fits billing, margins, attendance, and approvals?

For billing-driven service teams, the surrounding approval, accounting, attendance, and payroll processes matter more than the capture interface alone.

Requirement	Timely	TimeCamp
Profitability	Budgets, cost, revenue, profit	Budgets, labor costs, expenses, margin
Invoicing	Premium+	Starter+
QuickBooks Online	Native, Premium+	Native
Xero	No native Xero integration	Native
Attendance and leave	Reports and administrative projects	Dedicated workflow
Approvals	Configurable entry states	Submission, review, rejection, locking
Labor costs	Cost rates and profitability reports	Project and payroll reporting
User/project caps	Starter and Premium limits	None
Linux capture	Memory: Windows and macOS	Standard Desktop App

 

Choose TimeCamp when one record must support client billing, Xero, leave requests, payroll preparation, and manager approval.

Does Scenario B fit your team?

Billable hours, margins per project, attendance, and approvals in one record. Bring together one client and one month of work, and check the numbers yourself.

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Are TimeCamp and Timely GDPR compliant?

Both platforms are GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001-certified. The practical differences lie in deployment control, data residency, customer-facing access controls, and screenshot policies.

Governance area	TimeCamp	Timely
GDPR	Compliant; deletion and portability rights	Compliant; access, download, deletion, DPA
ISO 27001	ISOCERT for ISO27001	ISO 27001:2022
SOC 2	SOC reports cover the underlying AWS infrastructure	SOC reports cover the underlying AWS infrastructure
Hosting	AWS; self-host/private cloud available	EU-based AWS
Data residency	Customer-selected AWS region on dedicated deployment	EU region
Encryption at rest	AWS RDS and encrypted backups	AES-256
Encryption in transit	TLS	TLS 1.2+
Data control	Deletion, portability, deployment choice	Memory download/deletion; no ad use
SSO/SAML	SSO login on Ultimate and Enterprise	Enterprise SAML via Okta/Azure AD
MFA/2FA	2-factor authentication is available on the Free plan and all paid plans	Mandatory MFA protects Timely’s administrative access
Screenshots	Optional; off by default	Absent by design

 

TimeCamp offers dedicated AWS regions (US and EU), private-cloud deployment, self-hosting, and an Enterprise audit trail. Timely keeps standard SaaS data in EU-based AWS infrastructure and uses AES-256 encryption at rest with TLS 1.2+ in transit.

Neither platform has an independent SOC 2 certification. Both tools’ SOC2 reports cover the underlying AWS infrastructure. TimeCamp is certified to ISO 27001.

Does switching to TimeCamp require screenshots or employee monitoring?

No. TimeCamp does not require screenshots for productivity monitoring, timesheets, budgets, invoicing, attendance, labor costs, or approvals.

Timely omits screenshots, keystroke recording, and audio capture by design. Memory records activity metadata on a private timeline that remains with the user until entries are shared.

TimeCamp makes screenshots configurable; Timely excludes them from the product.

What do TimeCamp and Timely users say?

Timely users often praise the platform for reducing the effort required to reconstruct a working day, although passive capture still needs review when tasks change quickly or work moves away from the screen. TimeCamp receives positive feedback for billing and integrations, but some users report a steeper learning curve when configuring features and managing timesheets.

What do Timely users say on G2?

We switch tasks frequently, which can make it challenging to keep track of all the work we do. Tricia F., Co-Founder Small business with 50 or fewer employees Rating: 5/5 Review date: February 20, 2026 G2 status: Current User, Validated Reviewer, incentivized review

 

(…) it can feel too passive and rigid. Stacy Makau S., Financial Analyst Small business with 50 or fewer employees Rating: 5/5 Review date: February 2, 2026 G2 status: Current User, Validated Reviewer, incentivized review

What do TimeCamp users say on G2?

(…) it syncs with Monday.com so that our data always matches. Heidi W., Chief Operations Officer Small business with 50 or fewer employees Rating: 4/5 Review date: May 6, 2025 G2 status: Current User, Validated Reviewer, organic review

 

Complexity in understanding the features and the editing and managing timesheet. Dhruv B., Founder Information technology and services Small business with 50 or fewer employees Rating: 2.5/5 Review date: June 5, 2025 G2 status: Current User, Validated Reviewer, organic review

How do you make the final call between Timely and TimeCamp?

Choose Timely when	Choose TimeCamp when
Passive capture is the priority.	Hours must support billing, labor costs, and margins.
Dedicated capacity reporting is required.	Attendance, time off, and approvals belong in one workflow.
QuickBooks Online is sufficient.	The accounting stack includes Xero.
Leave is managed elsewhere.	User and project caps would restrict growth.
Screenshots must be unavailable.	A Linux desktop app is required.
One passive workflow is preferred.	Teams need rule-based and AI-assisted methods.

 

Use the checklist above as a final filter:

• Timely centers on passive capture and capacity planning.
• TimeCamp carries tracked hours further into billing and operational workflows.

Final verdict: which tool should you pick in 2026?

Timely turns background activity into reviewed timesheets and capacity views with minimal daily input. It is designed for teams that prioritize passive capture and resource planning without adding attendance, leave management, or an expanded accounting workflow to the same platform.

TimeCamp carries recorded hours into labor costs, expenses, approvals, attendance, time off, Xero, budgets, and invoicing. The actual monthly spend depends on the selected plan and AI token consumption, so the comparison should reflect the full workflow rather than the listed subscription price.

Both have the AI, but only TimeCamp has Xero, Linux, approvals, and a free plan.

Everything else is close. Set up a project, connect your accounting, and see whether those four make the difference for your team.

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FAQ about TimeCamp and Timely

Is TimeCamp better than Timely for automatic time tracking?

These time tracking tools serve different workflows, so neither is universally better. Timely Memory and AutoSheet place passive capture and draft timesheets in one process. TimeCamp separates keyword-based assignment from AI-generated suggestions, then connects recorded hours with billing, attendance, approvals, and cost reporting.

Which is cheaper, TimeCamp or Timely?

TimeCamp has lower base subscription prices. With annual billing, its paid plans cost $3.99, $6.99, and $9.99 per user per month, compared with $9, $16, and $22 for Timely. AI Time Tracker usage adds a variable token-based cost, which can reduce the difference.

Does TimeCamp have an alternative to Timely Memory?

Yes, but it is not a one-to-one equivalent. The Standard Desktop App assigns activity through project keywords, and the AI Time Tracker prepares suggestions from recurring work patterns. Timely Memory and AutoSheet combine background capture and timesheet preparation in a single process.

Can TimeCamp and Timely track time without manual timers?

Yes. Timely Memory records computer activity and uses it to prepare draft entries for review, reducing the time management burden of reconstructing the day manually. TimeCamp either assigns activity through keyword rules or suggests entries based on work patterns. Manual time tracking remains available when users prefer to record hours directly.

Does TimeCamp include attendance and time-off management?

Yes. TimeCamp Starter includes attendance records, overtime, vacation balances, and time-off requests. Timely records vacation and sick leave through administrative projects and tags rather than a dedicated leave-request module.

Do TimeCamp and Timely support invoicing and QuickBooks Online?

Yes, although the invoicing workflows differ. TimeCamp creates invoices and integrates natively with QuickBooks Online and Xero. Timely prepares invoice drafts that are sent and managed through QuickBooks Online on Premium and Unlimited.

Which tool offers more integrations?

TimeCamp connects natively with more categories of business software, including accounting, CRM, project management, development, and help desk platforms. Timely concentrates its most advanced synchronization features on selected tools; other connections provide context for Memory or run through APIs and Zapier.

Does TimeCamp detect idle time?

Yes. After a configurable period of inactivity, the desktop application records away time. Users can leave it as a break or assign it to a meeting, lunch, or offline work.

Are TimeCamp and Timely GDPR compliant?

Yes. Both platforms are GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001-certified. TimeCamp also provides private-cloud and self-hosted deployment options, including customer-selected AWS regions. Timely keeps its standard SaaS data in EU-based AWS infrastructure.

Does Timely take screenshots, and are screenshots required in TimeCamp?

No on both counts. Timely Memory does not record screenshots, keystrokes, or audio. TimeCamp offers screenshots as an optional feature, so teams can use automatic tracking, billing, attendance, profitability reporting, and approvals without enabling them.

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Sources: 

TimeCamp and Timely websites

TimeCamp and Timely G2/Capterra Profiles 

Markdown

Wojciech Piwowarski Wojciech Piwowarski is an author covering time tracking, business operations, and productivity. He specializes in turning complex topics such as workflow efficiency, profitability, and performance measurement into clear, practical insights. His experience comes from years of working with SaaS, B2B, and operational content built for decision-makers and professional teams. His work focuses on the role time data plays in better processes, sharper decisions, and stronger business performance.

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