Legal time tracking software: 13 tools compared

The best legal time tracking software for automatic capture of the whole working day is Sixminute: it records every computer application without integrations and writes the entries. Firms replacing their billing and matter system should consider Clio; TimeSolv suits separate billing, while Intapp Time adds enterprise billing controls.

Legal time tracking software differs most in what it records

Capture method determines which work reaches a timesheet and how much the lawyer must reconstruct. A manual timer depends on the lawyer starting it. Integration-based capture records work in connected applications, so its coverage follows the integration list.

An activity tracker such as WiseTime records window titles, including file names and email subjects. A title identifies an open document but does not show the work done inside it. Screen capture collects visible content, which can include confidential material unrelated to the task.

Sixminute uses Computer Event Reconstruction to reconstruct work across every computer application, with no integrations to set up. In a vendor-run 2017 survey of 31 Dutch firms by TIQ and Clocktimizer, an average 12% of billable hours went unrecorded, mainly because lawyers forgot work. In Primary Research Group's 2014 survey of lawyers at US firms with 25 or more lawyers, 57.7% had cut recorded time because they could not remember its duration: an average 5.9 hours a month.

How these tools were compared

The comparison follows work from capture to a usable time entry. Each tool is assessed on capture method and coverage, Word and Outlook support, client and matter matching, narratives, privacy, platforms and published pricing. The evidence comes from vendor pages read on 8 November 2026; recommendations are editorial judgements rather than results of comparative accuracy tests.

An integration listing does not establish automatic duration capture. Clio's Outlook add-in, for example, offers an optional time entry when an email is filed. The entries below distinguish those workflows and give each tool's best fit and practical limit. Monthly figures retain the vendor's currency and stated billing basis; setup fees appear separately.

Automatic capture tools reduce forgotten time and entry writing

Automatic time capture is the strongest starting point for firms losing work between tasks. The useful comparison is what gets recorded and how much of the entry is already written. Matter matching and AI narratives help turn that record into usable entries, but their usefulness depends on the work captured.

Sixminute

What it is and capture: Sixminute provides passive time tracking through Computer Event Reconstruction, with matter auto-tagging and AI narratives. It records work in every computer application without integrations and writes one entry per task with its client and matter, duration and client-ready narrative. Setup takes about 5 minutes.

Coverage and privacy: Word and Outlook are covered alongside every other computer application. The mobile app covers phone calls, while Outlook and Google Calendar cover meetings. Sixminute runs on Windows and macOS, with iOS and Android apps.

It takes no screenshots, logs no keystrokes and filters work on the device. Data is encrypted with the firm's own key and hosted in the EU. Firm data never trains AI models; model providers operate under zero data retention agreements.

Price: No public price list. Best fit and limit: The strongest choice for firms wanting every hour on the computer recorded and written up without connecting a single application, whichever billing system they use. Nobody can read another lawyer's day. Entries stay private until the lawyer reviews and releases them into the firm's existing system, spending about 6 minutes a day. Billing continues there.

WiseTime

What it is and capture: WiseTime records active window titles into a private timeline, with matter auto-tagging and AI narratives.

Coverage and privacy: Word document titles and Outlook subjects are recorded; the FAQ says it cannot view content inside applications. Windows, macOS and Linux are supported. Its DPA specifies EU hosting for EU customers.

Price: Not published. Best fit and limit: Teams wanting a private activity timeline, including Linux users. Capture records titles without document content; Professional requires at least five users.

TIQ Time

What it is and capture: TIQ uses integrations, an Office add-in and a desktop app to suggest time entries.

Coverage and privacy: Word and Outlook feature in its add-in documentation. Hosting is in Amsterdam with Dublin fallback, and customer terms include a DPA.

Price: Essentials lists €31 per user per month plus €12,500 setup, for firms with 20-plus fee-earners. Professional adds AI Narrative Assistance at €47 plus €35,000 setup. Best fit and limit: Established firms whose applications match TIQ's integration list; capture coverage depends on those integrations.

LegalTime AI

What it is and capture: LegalTime AI drafts entries from computer activity, holding them for lawyer review.

Coverage and privacy: Its plan includes email and document capture with on-device OCR. It says it signs a DPA with every firm; its subprocessor list describes US processing, including inference over screen images.

Price: Not published. Best fit and limit: Firms evaluating task-level drafts for their existing billing system. Its image-based processing requires assessment against the firm's confidentiality duties.

Practice-management suites combine timekeeping with billing

A practice-management suite fits firms buying matter records and billing together. Its timer or capture feature then becomes part of that wider purchase. Smokeball's plans show why the capture edition matters: AutoTime is included in Prosper+ and offered as a Grow add-on.

Clio

What it is and capture: Clio Manage combines matter management, time entries and billing.

Coverage and privacy: Its Outlook add-in offers optional time entries when filing emails; desktop capture outside Clio remains a pilot. European hosting and an EMEA data protection addendum are documented.

Price: Starter is advertised from $49 per user per month. Best fit and limit: Small firms wanting billing and matters in one system; desktop automatic capture requires pilot access.

MyCase

What it is and capture: MyCase combines practice management with Smart Time Finder, which flags unbilled activity.

Coverage and privacy: The documented scope includes MyCase activities and unbilled Outlook add-in emails. “Track Time” flags activities without a time entry; the lawyer must record their duration. The vendor publishes security documentation.

Price: Basic lists $50 per user per month billed annually; Smart Time Finder starts with Pro at $100. Best fit and limit: Small firms working within MyCase; activity reminders still leave some time reconstruction to the lawyer.

PracticePanther

What it is and capture: PracticePanther combines billing, timers and MoneyFinder, which flags unbilled activity.

Coverage and privacy: Its plans list Outlook email and calendar sync. It documents US Azure hosting and states GDPR compliance.

Price: Solo displays $49 per user per month. Best fit and limit: Small firms seeking law firm time billing software with mobile timers. Those timers depend on the lawyer starting them.

Smokeball AutoTime

What it is and capture: AutoTime automatically assigns recorded activity to matters within Smokeball's practice suite.

Coverage and privacy: Its documented automatic coverage includes Word, Outlook and Smokeball. The privacy policy lists servers in the UK, US and Australia.

Price: Not published. Best fit and limit: Firms wanting automatic Word and Outlook capture inside their suite. Its integration-based coverage follows the documented applications.

Separate billing tools and generic timers suit simpler needs

A separate billable hours tracker can suit firms keeping their case system. TimeSolv provides legal billing, while Toggl offers general project tracking and a free plan.

TimeSolv

What it is and capture: TimeSolv provides legal time and billing tools with timers and manual entries. It also lists integrations with AI capture tools.

Coverage and privacy: Its plans list Outlook and Microsoft 365 integrations. The iOS and Android app supports offline entry and dictated descriptions. Its privacy statement addresses US transfers and EU rights.

Price: Core subscription pricing is not published. Best fit and limit: Firms wanting separate billing and an attorney timekeeping app for phone-based entry. The mobile timer still needs starting.

Toggl

What it is and capture: Toggl offers timers and desktop activity tracking organised by clients and projects. This entry covers current Toggl, distinct from legacy Track.

Coverage and privacy: Windows and macOS desktop apps provide an activity timeline; Outlook calendar integration is listed. EU hosting and DPA coverage apply to current Toggl, excluding legacy Toggl Track.

Price: Free covers up to three users; Starter lists $9 per user per month billed annually. Best fit and limit: Solos seeking inexpensive time tracking software for billable hours. Billable rates require Starter. Lawyers select desktop activity to turn into entries and organise matters as projects; the free plan includes manual and real-time timers.

Enterprise tools add billing controls and financial visibility

Large firms can assess capture alongside billing requirements and finance workflows. Intapp Time and Aderant iTimekeep document checks at entry. These products and Laurel describe broad application coverage but do not explain their collection method on the linked pages.

Intapp Time

What it is and capture: Intapp Time constructs entries from recorded work and browser activity, recommending clients and engagement details.

Coverage and privacy: Cross-device and offline workflows are documented, and Intapp publishes a DPA.

Price: Not published on the linked product page. Best fit and limit: Large firms assessing timekeeping alongside point-of-entry billing controls and financial visibility. A demonstration should establish Word and Outlook coverage and what information reaches each entry.

Aderant iTimekeep

What it is and capture: iTimekeep Premium says it captures across all applications and generates coded narratives.

Coverage and privacy: Outlook integration, offline review and user controls for editing or rejecting entries are documented.

Price: Not published on the linked product page. Best fit and limit: Firms assessing timekeeping with billing compliance. Automatic capture requires Premium; the page does not explain its collection method.

Laurel

What it is and capture: Laurel describes capture across applications and cloud connections, with matter assignment and narratives.

Coverage and privacy: Its timekeeping page covers Word and Outlook. Its security page states GDPR compliance and in-region storage.

Price: Not published on the linked product pages. Best fit and limit: Enterprise firms wanting timekeeping alongside work intelligence. Its published application claims do not explain the collection method; test specialist applications during a demonstration.

European firms need processing terms alongside EU hosting

WiseTime and TIQ publish EU hosting and processing agreements, giving European firms concrete terms to assess. WiseTime's DPA covers EU customers, TIQ lists Amsterdam and Dublin and current Toggl offers a Belgium deployment.

GDPR Article 28 requires a binding contract or other legal act under EU or Member State law when a processor acts for a controller. The firm should establish hosting and backup locations, overseas support access and subprocessors. AI terms should specify training use and retention, including any exceptions to zero data retention.

Article 5 requires data minimisation, so the material collected matters too. A screen image can contain another client's information. Sixminute filters on the device and sends only what the timesheet needs. The client-confidentiality guide gives further review questions.

How Sixminute records a lawyer's working day

Sixminute is the strongest choice for whole-day automatic capture because coverage extends to every computer application without an integration project. Its Computer Event Reconstruction reads the computer's own events and reconstructs what the lawyer worked on. That covers specialist applications as well as Word and Outlook, without screenshots or keystroke logging.

Coverage also extends beyond the desk: the mobile app records phone calls and Outlook and Google Calendar cover meetings. Sixminute writes one entry per task with its client and matter, duration and client-ready narrative. The lawyer reviews the entries and releases them into whatever practice-management or billing system the firm uses, spending about 6 minutes a day on that review.

In Sixminute's tests, lawyers billed 9 to 15% more hours for the same work. Setup takes about 5 minutes, so the firm can quickly compare captured tasks with its existing timesheets. The automatic time capture comparison examines the approaches in more detail.

Test the shortlist against a week of actual work

A working-week trial should measure missed work and the effort needed to produce usable entries. Run it with lawyers whose work spans different applications and matters.

1. List the applications used daily, then test Word and Outlook alongside a specialist tool such as a court portal.
2. Compare captured work with existing timesheets. Count missing tasks and wrong matter assignments, then measure time spent correcting narratives.
3. Test phone work separately. Sixminute is the pick for automatic phone-call capture; TimeSolv offers a mobile timer and offline entry for lawyers who prefer to enter time themselves.
4. Obtain processing terms and a quote covering the capture edition, billing commitment, minimum seats and setup fees.
5. Follow a reviewed entry into the billing system. Check that its matter, duration and narrative arrive ready for finance to use.