actiTIME vs TimeLive (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, TimeLive grades higher than actiTIME: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
TimeLive grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
actiTIME
Timesheets with project budgets, billing and a self-hosted option
TimeLive
Timesheets, expenses, time off and attendance in one workforce app
Which one is for you
Pick actiTIME if
- Fits if you run projects and want budgets and profit tracked down to the task
- Works for companies that must keep timesheet data on their own server
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, as it stops at 3 users and approvals, overtime, budgets and the API are switched off
- Skip it if you want a desktop app with a timer, because actiTIME Online is browser only
- Pricey if you self-host for years, as each major upgrade costs the full $120 a user again
- Watch out: self-hosting puts maintenance on your own IT staff, engineer sessions are $40 an hour, and prices exclude taxes
- Too light for teams that connect lots of tools, as the integrations are QuickBooks Online, Zapier and actiPLANS
Pick TimeLive if
- Fits if you are a very small team that wants a free timesheet and leave tracker
- Works for firms that want an on-premises option
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 3 projects or 3 users on the free plan, and the page itself disagrees on 2 or 3
- Skip it if you want one flat price, because the cost depends on modules ticked
- Not for you if you want Kanban and scheduling in Standard, as those are add-ons
- Watch out: on-premises licences need a support contract and a sales quote
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAactiTIMEFair | 2.4GPATimeLiveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | COnline is $6 a user a month billed yearly for up to 40 people, $5 above that, which is the middle of what time tracking charges. The one-time Self-Hosted license is $120 a user, but every major upgrade costs the full $120 again. | C$3 a user a month per module on annual billing. The total depends on the modules you pick, so a team of five with two modules lands mid-range. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree takes 1 to 3 users, and the list of what's switched off is long: approvals, overtime, task estimates, budgets, custom fields, the API, the Chrome extension, Zapier and QuickBooks. A 30-day card-free trial covers the full product. | BA free plan with all four basic modules for 3 users and 3 projects, enough for a tiny team. The page's FAQ says 2 users. |
| Features | COn the accounting side it has weekly timesheets with approvals, tasks with estimates and a Kanban view, time, cost and billing budgets, profit and loss reports, invoices and a QuickBooks hand-off. But there's no desktop app with a timer at all, so tracking happens in a browser tab, on a phone or in a Chrome extension. | CTimesheets, attendance, leave and expenses. Advanced project management and the advanced calendar are upgrades. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and this is the kind of tool somebody sets up: customers, projects, tasks, billing rates, budgets and an approval workflow all have to be in place before the numbers mean anything. | CNo store rating on record. Modules, policies and approvals take setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BBrowser, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension, with a REST API on the paid plans. No desktop app on any operating system, and the integrations list is short: QuickBooks Online, Zapier and actiTIME's own actiPLANS. | BWeb, iOS and Android with QuickBooks, Xero, Asana, Jira and calendar links. No desktop app. |
| Best for | timesheets tied to project budgets | timesheets, expenses and attendance in one app |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: actiTIME and TimeLive. How we grade
Price against what you get
actiTIME starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. TimeLive starts at $3 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and TimeLive starts $2 a month lower. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 14 score higher than actiTIME for less, and 2 score higher than TimeLive for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- actiTIME is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- actiTIME can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- actiTIME also covers tasks.
- TimeLive also covers expense tracking, time clock, time off and dashboards.
At a glance
| actiTIME | TimeLive | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed yearly ($6 for up to 40 users) | $3 per user / month per module, billed annually ($4 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free actiTIME Online for 1 to 3 users with limited functionality: no approvals, overtime, task estimates, budgets, custom fields, API, Chrome extension, Zapier or QuickBooks integration. | 3 users and 3 projects with the timesheet, expense, time-off and attendance modules and the mobile app. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | 30-day trial of Standard on annual billing, 14 days on monthly billing |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | actiTIME Inc | Livetecs |
| Price read from | actitime.com | livetecs.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
actiTIME
- The free version stops at 3 users and omits approvals, overtime, budgets, task estimates, custom fields, the API and the Chrome extension.
- actiTIME Online is browser-only: there is no desktop app, only iOS and Android apps and a Chrome extension.
- Self-Hosted maintenance falls to your own IT staff, major upgrades cost 100% of the initial price, and engineer sessions are $40 an hour.
- Listed prices exclude taxes.
TimeLive
- The pricing page computes a total from the modules and users you tick, so the real monthly cost depends on that selection.
- The page's free-plan limits conflict: the table shows 3 users, while an FAQ on the same page says up to 2 users.
- Advanced calendar and advanced project management are upgrades, not part of Standard.
- On-premises licensing requires a support contract and is quoted by sales.
Key features
actiTIME
- Timesheets and calendar
- Time is entered in a weekly timesheet or as start and stop time cards on a calendar, with comments, overtime and leave. Timesheets can be locked and sent for approval.
- Task management
- Tasks carry estimates, deadlines, priorities, assignments and custom workflow statuses, and a Kanban view shows progress across a project.
- Budgets
- Time, cost and billing budgets can be set for tasks, projects and customers, over a date range or the lifetime of the work, in any number.
- Reports
- Reports cover staff performance, overtime, leave balances, estimated against actual time, billing summaries and profit and loss, with charts and CSV export.
- Billing and invoicing
- Billable amounts come from billing rates and logged time, and invoices are generated from them. A QuickBooks Online integration passes time data to accounting.
- Online or self-hosted
- actiTIME Online runs in a browser on Amazon servers with daily backups. The self-hosted edition runs on an internal server, and both offer a REST API.
TimeLive
- Timesheets and timer
- Staff log hours with a timer or weekly timesheet against clients, projects and tasks, with approval workflows for managers.
- Attendance and geofencing
- Clock in and out with shifts, attendance policies and geofence areas, including polygon boundaries.
- Time off and expenses
- Separate modules handle leave policies, requests and approvals, plus expense sheets with types and approval.
- Billing and reports
- Project, billing and user reports, an audit trail, custom dashboards and scheduled report delivery.
- Advanced project management
- An add-on module with Kanban boards, project scheduling and forecasting. It is not part of Standard.
- Hosted or on-premises
- Run it in the vendor's cloud or buy an on-premises license and keep the data on your own infrastructure.
Plans
actiTIME
Free$0
1 to 3 users on actiTIME Online with limited functionality, unlimited customers, projects and tasks, and CSV reports.
Online, 41-200 users$5
per user / month, billed yearly ($6 billed monthly)
The full online product at the lower rate that applies to accounts with 41 to 200 active users.
Online, 1-40 users$6
per user / month, billed yearly ($7 billed monthly)
Full functionality in the cloud, with the API, QuickBooks and Zapier integrations, the mobile app, the Chrome extension and daily backups.
Self-Hosted$120
one-time per user
Installed on your own Windows or Unix server, with direct database access. Minor upgrades are free; major upgrades cost 100% of the initial price.
Online, 200+ users$1,250
per month for unlimited users, billed yearly ($1,500 billed monthly)
A fixed cost for accounts with more than 200 users, in place of per-user pricing.
TimeLive
Free$0
3 users, 3 projects (1 project on the monthly tab), all four basic modules and the mobile app.
Standard$3
per user / month per module, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)
Unlimited projects and a basic Google or Outlook calendar; total depends on the modules and users you pick.
EnterpriseCustom
For 200 or more users: all modules plus the advanced calendar and advanced project management; sold through sales.
On-premisesCustom
One-time license fee with a required support contract, hosted on your own servers; sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
actiTIME
- Annual discount
$1 less per user a month with yearly billing
The pricing calculator shows $6 per user a month billed yearly against $7 billed monthly for up to 40 users, and $5 against $6 for 41 to 200 users.
- Nonprofit
Discounted rates for nonprofits
The pricing FAQ says actiTIME offers discounted rates for nonprofit organizations that contact support. No percentage is published.
- Lifetime license
One-time Self-Hosted license at $120 per user
actiTIME Self-Hosted is a one-time payment of $120 per user in place of a subscription, with a fixed-cost option for unlimited users.
TimeLive
- Annual discount
Lower per-user rate with annual billing
The pricing page's annual tab uses a $3 per module rate against $4 per module on the monthly tab.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, actiTIME or TimeLive?
As of Nov 13, 2026, TimeLive is cheaper to start with: $3 a month for each person, against $5 a month for each person for actiTIME. actiTIME starts at $5 per user / month, billed yearly ($6 for up to 40 users), and TimeLive starts at $3 per user / month per module, billed annually ($4 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, actiTIME or TimeLive?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both actiTIME and TimeLive have a free plan.
Which platforms do actiTIME and TimeLive run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only actiTIME lists a browser extension. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.