Clio time tracking alternatives compared (2026)

Clio time tracking alternatives include Sixminute as the pick for automatic capture of the whole working day, MyCase for practice management, LeanLaw for QuickBooks-based billing and Bill4Time for billing-focused firms. Clockify offers a free starting point. The choice depends on whether the firm needs better time capture, different billing software or both.

Clio time tracking alternatives differ on billing costs

Clio Manage pricing plans currently start at $49 USD per user per month, with Starter, Core, Signature and Elite on the US pricing page, read in November 2026. Core, Signature and Elite require a quote. The page does not attach an annual or monthly commitment to the starting figure.

Clio's plan comparison includes time tracking, LEDES/UTBMS billing and built-in accounting across all four plans. QuickBooks and Xero integrations start with Core, so firms should compare the tier that covers their accounting workflow.

Clio Duo evolved into Manage AI. Clio now includes AI from Core upwards without a separate published Duo price; its current AI page describes draft bills generated from recorded time, with descriptions refined for review. Clio Work has quote-based pricing for research and drafting.

Clio also offers timers and manual entries. Its Windows and Mac desktop capture records activity outside Clio, but remains in pilot. Its draft entries include matter suggestions and private review. Firms should confirm access before including this feature in a buying decision.

How these tools were compared

These tools were compared on what gets recorded and what becomes a usable entry. The criteria were capture method, application coverage, matter matching, narratives, privacy, platforms, LEDES/UTBMS support, accounting and published pricing.

Vendor pages were opened on 8 November 2026. Prices below are in USD per user per month unless stated otherwise. Annual rates require an annual commitment. Quotes and add-on charges are identified separately.

This comparison uses published documentation. For example, Clockify's Auto tracker requires manual conversion of activities into entries, including a project and description. That remaining work is part of the comparison.

Whole-day capture addresses forgotten work

A manual timer leaves work unrecorded whenever the lawyer forgets to start it. Automatic time capture records activity for later review. In Primary Research Group's 2014 survey of lawyers at US firms with at least 25 lawyers, 57.7% had reduced recorded time because they could not remember a task's duration. The reported average reduction in the past month was 5.9 hours.

Sixminute

Capture: Sixminute records work in every computer application, phone calls and meetings through Outlook and Google Calendar. It provides passive capture, automatic matter matching and AI-written narratives: one entry per task, with client, matter and duration. Entries stay private to the lawyer, including from partners and administrators, until released into whichever system the firm uses.

Billing and accounting: The firm's existing software handles invoicing and accounting. Lawyers using Sixminute spend about 6 minutes a day reviewing and releasing their timesheet. Setup takes about 5 minutes, with no application integrations to configure.

Best fit and limit: The strongest choice for firms that want every hour on the computer recorded and written up without connecting individual applications, whichever billing system they use. It complements the billing subscription.

Privacy and platforms: Sixminute filters work on the device, takes no screenshots and logs no keystrokes. Data is encrypted with the firm's own key and hosted in the EU. It runs on Windows and macOS, with iOS and Android apps for calls.

Small-firm suites combine matters and billing

These suites suit firms choosing practice management software alongside billing; their capture features need separate inspection.

MyCase

Price, November 2026: Basic $50, Pro $100 and Advanced $130 per user per month with annual billing; monthly subscriptions are $60, $120 and $150 respectively.

Capture: Timers and manual entries, plus Smart Time Finder on Pro and Advanced. The finder passively tracks MyCase activities and includes unbilled emails from its Outlook add-in for review.

Billing and accounting: The pricing page lists LEDES billing and QuickBooks integrations on Pro and Advanced, with trust accounting in Basic. MyCase Accounting costs another $39 per user monthly on eligible plans.

Best fit and limit: Firms wanting matters, communications and billing together. Smart Time Finder lists supported activities; it does not document capture across every computer application.

PracticePanther

Price, November 2026: Solo $49, Essential $69, Business $89 and Business Pro $114 per user per month with annual billing, also described in PracticePanther's plan explanation.

Capture: Multiple timers and MoneyFinder, which flags unbilled activities. Entries can originate from calendar events and communications within the platform.

Billing and accounting: Business adds LEDES billing; the plan comparison documents UTBMS coding and QuickBooks Online. Business Pro includes PantherAccounting Plus for trust and operating accounting.

Best fit and limit: Firms wanting practice management with optional full accounting. MoneyFinder reviews activities already in PracticePanther; the lawyer still logs the missing time.

Rocket Matter

Price, November 2026: The plan grid lists Essentials $59, Pro $95, Premier $115 and Elite $145 per user per month with annual billing.

Capture: Timers, mobile entries and Rocket Matter Track, which the vendor describes as automatic tracking across office applications and devices.

Billing and accounting: The plan grid lists LEDES e-billing, trust accounting and QuickBooks Online integration. Elite adds built-in business accounting; QuickBooks integration is unavailable while using those accounting features.

Best fit and limit: Firms wanting billing and matter workflows together. Request confirmation of Track's price, included applications and plan entitlement before assuming the subscription covers automatic capture.

CosmoLex includes accounting; LeanLaw uses QuickBooks

CosmoLex offers accounting within its suite, while LeanLaw centres its published plans on QuickBooks Online.

CosmoLex

Price, November 2026: Launch $49, Core $99 and Pro $129 per user per month with annual billing; monthly rates are $59, $109 and $139.

Capture: Matter-linked timers, manual entry and Outlook timekeeping. Starting another timer pauses the previous one.

Billing and accounting: Launch includes trust ledgers; Core adds LEDES and split billing. Pro adds general ledger, payables and bank feeds, according to the pricing page.

Best fit and limit: Firms wanting legal accounting within their practice suite. Budget for Pro when general-ledger accounting is required; its documented timer still needs starting.

LeanLaw

Price, November 2026: Core $55 and Pro $75 per user per month; Contingency and Elite are custom-priced. LeanLaw leaves the billing term unlabelled; annual rates require a quote and onboarding fees may apply.

Capture: The Windows and Mac Desktop Tracker supports timers and manually written entries with client and matter selection.

Billing and accounting: Both priced plans include trust accounting and two-way QuickBooks Online sync. Pro adds LEDES files.

Best fit and limit: Firms keeping QuickBooks Online central to their books. QuickBooks is a separate subscription; desktop timers require starting and saving.

Bill4Time puts time and billing first

Bill4Time suits firms prioritising time entry, invoicing and payments over a broader practice-suite change.

Bill4Time

Price, November 2026: Time & Billing $39, Time & Billing Enterprise $69, Legal Pro $59 and Legal Enterprise $89 per user per month with annual billing. Monthly subscriptions are $49, $79, $69 and $99 respectively.

Capture: Timers and manual entries linked to clients and matters, with desktop and mobile access. The lawyer starts, pauses or stops the timer.

Billing and accounting: Legal Pro adds trust accounting, UTBMS codes and LEDES billing; Legal Enterprise adds custom LEDES functionality. QuickBooks integration is listed in Time & Billing.

Best fit and limit: Firms seeking billing-focused software with legal billing available above the entry tier. A firm requiring LEDES and trust accounting should compare Legal Pro's price with competitors, because the cheapest subscription omits those listed additions.

TimeSolv is another billing-focused option, with desktop time tracking and LEDES/UTBMS invoicing.

Actionstep and Filevine require quotes; CARET lists prices

Actionstep and Filevine publish no subscription amounts; CARET Legal lists annual rates plus implementation fees.

Actionstep

Price, November 2026: Not published; quote on request, with per-user pricing plus implementation fees. Trace is listed separately as an add-on.

Capture: Trace provides passive capture, automatic matter matching and AI-written narratives inside Actionstep. Its desktop documentation describes active-window application names, filenames, email subjects and content; unmatched work requires manual matter assignment.

Billing and accounting: LEDES/UTBMS support, with trust and core accounting documented on the pricing page.

Best fit and limit: Firms wanting configurable workflows and capture inside Actionstep. Obtain a combined platform, Trace and implementation quote.

CARET Legal

Price, November 2026: CARET Legal publishes Enterprise $79, Enterprise Plus $99 and Enterprise Insights $119 per user per month, billed annually, plus implementation fees.

Capture: CARET Capture offers passive capture, automatic matter matching and AI-written narratives. Its browser extension records approved-site domains and durations; an Outlook connection adds sent-email suggestions.

Billing and accounting: The plan page lists LEDES invoicing and accounting; CARET's product description includes trust accounting.

Best fit and limit: Firms wanting billing and accounting alongside case management. Browser capture excludes unapproved sites and page content, so assess coverage before relying on its suggestions.

Filevine

Price, November 2026: Not published; quote on request.

Capture: Multiple timers and email timekeeping within its case-management and billing offering.

Billing and accounting: That page documents LEDES codes and QuickBooks integration. Filevine's QuickBooks page describes trust-accounting data and three-way reports. Its separate Finance product advertises built-in trust accounting through early access.

Best fit and limit: Firms choosing case workflows and billing together. Confirm which finance product, trust functions and implementation services the quote includes; an early-access offering should be evaluated separately from the existing subscription.

Generic trackers need a separate legal-billing check

Harvest and Clockify can support basic project billing, but their published feature lists do not establish LEDES/UTBMS or trust-accounting support.

Harvest

Price, November 2026: Free for one seat and two projects; Teams from $9 and Enterprise from $14 per seat monthly with annual billing. Monthly starting rates are $11 and $17.50. Enterprise Plus is custom-priced; usage charges may apply.

Capture: Live timers and direct entries across browser, desktop and mobile.

Billing and accounting: General invoices, with QuickBooks Online and Xero links documented on the features page.

Best fit and limit: Simple project tracking with separate legal billing arrangements. The free plan's project ceiling limits ongoing matter administration.

Clockify

Price, November 2026: Free allows invitations for up to four people. Per seat per month with annual billing: Basic $3.99, Standard $5.49, Pro $7.99 and Enterprise $11.99; the CAKE.com Bundle is $12.99.

Capture: Timers and a private Auto tracker, available on Windows, Mac and Linux. It records application names, window titles and URLs; the lawyer adds a project and description when converting activity into entries.

Billing and accounting: The pricing page documents general invoicing and QuickBooks integration.

Best fit and limit: Low-cost activity review. Window titles identify documents but do not explain the work performed within them.

How Sixminute makes capture independent of the billing choice

Sixminute records and writes the working day whichever billing system the firm chooses. Every action on a computer produces events; Computer Event Reconstruction reads those events to reconstruct work across every application, without setting up individual integrations.

That coverage includes the practice-management system and court portals alongside other applications. Phone calls and calendar meetings complete the working-day record. The lawyer receives one entry per task, already matched to its client and matter, with duration and a client-ready narrative.

Smokeball AutoTime, for example, documents recording in Word, Outlook and Smokeball. Firms should test work in their other applications separately. Sixminute covers every application without separate connections, and setup takes about 5 minutes.

Sixminute also filters on the device, so only what the timesheet needs leaves the computer. The lawyer controls which entries reach the firm. In Sixminute's tests, lawyers billed 9 to 15% more hours for the same work. Sixminute also keeps firm data out of AI model training and uses zero data retention agreements with model providers.

Check billing, accounting and capture before switching

Test a complete matter through capture, review and invoicing before committing to a replacement. Keep the capture decision separate from the subscription negotiation.

1. Confirm the chosen plan, commitment, add-ons and implementation costs against the legal time tracking pricing comparison.
2. Run a sample invoice through the client's required LEDES billing process, including UTBMS codes where requested.
3. Have the bookkeeper demonstrate trust balances, reconciliation and the proposed accounting connection.
4. Trial migration of matters, opening balances and unbilled time before cancelling the current system.
5. Compare a normal working day with the generated timesheet. The automatic time capture guide explains what to inspect. Include work outside the practice suite and check whether each resulting entry has the correct matter, duration and narrative before release.