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Clockify vs Microsoft Excel

Clockify and Microsoft Excel are both personal productivity tools. Clockify is aimed at freelancers and agencies, while Microsoft Excel is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Clockify costs less, from $4.99/mo versus $9.99/mo for Microsoft Excel. Both have a free plan.

Clockify

Time tracker with a free plan for small teams

Microsoft Excel

The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting

PricingFreemium · $5Freemium · $10
Starting price$4.99/mo$9.99/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial7 days30 days
Built forFreelancers, AgenciesSmall businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers
Platformsweb, macos, windows, ios, androidweb, macos, windows, ios, android
CountryRS · 2017US · 1985
Rating——

Choose Clockify if

Small teams wanting free time tracking.

  • Free for small teams
  • Feature-rich paid tiers
  • Affordable

Look elsewhere if: Users prioritizing design (Toggl).

Choose Microsoft Excel if

Finance, accounting and analyst teams that need the deepest spreadsheet features and the industry standard file format.

  • Industry standard skills and file format
  • Unmatched depth for financial modeling and analysis
  • Handles large datasets on the desktop

Look elsewhere if: Teams that mostly collaborate live in the browser on simple sheets (Google Sheets) or need a relational database with views (Airtable).

Clockify vs Microsoft Excel pricing

Clockify

  • Free$0Up to 5 users; unlimited time tracking
  • Basic$4.99/seat/mo$3.99 billed annually; admin features
  • Standard$6.99/seat/mo$5.49 billed annually; timesheets, invoicing, time off
  • Pro$9.99/seat/mo$7.99 billed annually; scheduling, expenses
  • Enterprise$14.99/seat/mo$11.99 billed annually; SSO, control and security

Microsoft Excel

  • Excel for the web$0Free with a Microsoft account, reduced feature set
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/yr; 1 person, desktop apps, Copilot, 1 TB
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/mo$129.99/yr; up to 6 people, 1 TB each
  • Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99/mo$199.99/yr; higher Copilot limits and advanced AI
  • Office Home 2024$179.99/one-timePerpetual Excel, Word, PowerPoint for 1 PC or Mac

Clockify · Key features

  • Free plan for up to 5 users
  • Timer and timesheet modes
  • Kiosk for shared devices
  • Invoicing and expenses
  • Scheduling
  • Reports

Cons

  • UI less polished than Toggl
  • Advanced features paid
  • Data privacy considerations

Microsoft Excel · Key features

  • Dynamic array formulas including XLOOKUP, FILTER and LAMBDA
  • PivotTables, PivotCharts and a wide range of chart types
  • Power Query to import, clean and reshape data from many sources
  • Power Pivot data models for large multi-table analysis
  • Python in Excel for analysis and visualization in the grid
  • Copilot to generate formulas, analyses and summaries from prompts

Cons

  • Advanced features have a steep learning curve
  • Web version lacks some desktop features
  • Emailed copies lead to version chaos

Clockify vs Microsoft Excel: FAQ

Which is cheaper, Clockify or Microsoft Excel?

Clockify starts at $4.99/mo and Microsoft Excel at $9.99/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do Clockify and Microsoft Excel have a free plan?

Yes, both Clockify and Microsoft Excel have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Which is better for small businesses, Clockify or Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel lists small businesses as a core audience, while Clockify is aimed more at freelancers and agencies.

Not sure yet?