Short answer
Pick Timely if your agency mainly wants strong automatic capture with AI-drafted timesheets and you invoice through QuickBooks, Xero or FreshBooks.
Pick Half5 if you also want rides registered on the phone, invoice through a Dutch package, or want your AI assistant to log hours via MCP.
Half5 and Timely side by side
Timely (timely.com), by Memory, based in Oslo, Norway. Each point is what we found on the official pages. 'Not found' means we didn't see it there, not that it is definitely missing.
| Topic | Half5 | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic capture of apps and websites on desktop | Yes Desktop apps for macOS and Windows capture apps, window titles, websites, file changes, git commits and Claude Code, Codex and Cursor sessions. | Yes The Memory app (macOS 14+, Windows 10+) records window titles, URLs and timestamps. No screenshots or keystrokes. Since May 2026 also Claude Chat, Cowork and Code sessions. |
| Who can see the raw activity | Yes Only you. The personal timeline is end-to-end encrypted: neither your employer nor Half5's server can read it. Your team only sees what you register. Trust center | Yes Only you. Timely: 'only you can see your private activity timeline'. |
| Phone: ride and mileage detection | Yes The iOS and Android apps detect rides and visits automatically; you confirm them afterwards. Tax rules for NL, BE, DE and FR, trip log as CSV. Rides | Partly GPS via the mobile apps is listed on the pricing page, but those apps are no longer actively developed. |
| Calendar import | Yes Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. | Yes Google, Outlook and Office 365. |
| Suggestions per client or project | Yes Built from work blocks, calendar events, agent sessions and visits, matched to a client or project. You take a suggestion, adjust it and save; nothing is booked on its own. Timeline | Yes AutoSheet uses AI to draft timesheets from your recorded activity. |
| Hour approval (which plan) | Yes Optional per organisation: approve or decline with a reason, by admins or department managers. You can't approve your own hours unless you're the only approver. Rides have their own approval. Plan: see pricing | Yes Through time entry states, on Premium and Unlimited. |
| Invoicing from hours (which plan) | Yes Half5 creates invoices from (approved) hours itself: drafts, credit invoices, PDF and sending by email, optionally with a copy to your accountant. Plan: see pricing | Yes A native Invoices tab. Invoicing through QuickBooks Online on Premium and Unlimited. |
| Dutch accounting: Moneybird, e-Boekhouden, Exact Online, WeFact | Yes Moneybird, WeFact, e-Boekhouden and Exact Online. No Twinfield, SnelStart, AFAS, Yuki, Visma, Xero or QuickBooks. Integrations | No Not listed. QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks are listed. |
| AI agents and MCP | Yes Remote MCP server with OAuth for Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor: log, search, list, update and delete entries. What an agent logs stays pending until you approve it. Agent sessions also become suggestions. Agents | Partly No MCP server found. The Memory app does record Claude sessions as activity. |
| Data location | Yes DigitalOcean Amsterdam; files and email via AWS Frankfurt. AI features use Google Gemini, OpenAI or Anthropic when you turn them on. | Yes EU-based AWS. |
| Platforms | Yes Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. No Linux. | Yes Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android (mobile apps in maintenance). |
| Free plan or trial | Partly No free plan. 30 days free on your first subscription; Half5 asks for payment details when you choose a plan. | No No free plan. 14-day trial. |
| List price per user per month | Yes Basic for freelancers, Premium for teams. See pricing | Yes In USD, annual / monthly: Starter $9 / $11 (max 5 users, 20 projects), Premium $16 / $20 (max 50 users), Unlimited $22 / $28, Enterprise on request. |
Where Timely is stronger
- AutoSheet uses AI to draft whole timesheets from your activity. Half5 suggests per work block; you take them one by one.
- Longer on the market with automatic capture, and a private timeline your employer can't see.
- Integrations with QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks. Half5 has none of those.
- The Memory app also records Claude sessions as activity.
Where Half5 is different
- The timeline is end-to-end encrypted: not even Half5's server can read it. Project matching runs on your device.
- A phone app that is actively developed and detects rides on its own, with tax rules for NL, BE, DE and FR.
- Invoices into Moneybird, WeFact, e-Boekhouden and Exact Online.
- An MCP server that lets Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor log hours; they stay pending until you approve them. Claude Code, Codex and Cursor sessions also become suggestions.
- Data in Amsterdam and Frankfurt; the app in Dutch, English, German and French.
Switching from Timely
- Export your clients, projects and the hours you want to keep from Timely, for example as a CSV report. Half5 has no importer; that export is your archive and your checklist.
- Start your trial at app.half5.com and add your clients and projects. If you use Moneybird, WeFact, e-Boekhouden or Exact Online, connect it straight away.
- Install the desktop app (macOS or Windows) and the phone app, and connect your calendar. From then on Half5 builds your timeline.
- Run it next to Timely for a week or two. Compare Half5's suggestions with what you registered there, and cancel Timely only once the hours match.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest difference between Timely and Half5?
Both capture your work automatically and privately. Timely lets AI draft whole timesheets; Half5 suggests per work block and adds rides on the phone, Dutch accounting integrations and an MCP server.
Does Timely have a free plan?
No. Timely has a 14-day trial, Half5 a 30-day trial on your first subscription. Neither has a free plan.
Can I register rides in Timely?
Timely lists GPS via its mobile apps, but says those apps are no longer actively developed. Half5 detects rides automatically on iOS and Android.
Can I bring my data from Timely to Half5?
Half5 has no importer. Export your hours from Timely as an archive and add your clients and projects to Half5 yourself.
Sources
- Timely pricing (timely.com)
- Timely: can my boss see my data? (timely.com)
- Timely: Memory app (timely.com)
- Timely: AutoSheet (timely.com)
- Timely integrations (timely.com)
- Timely: GPS tracking (Android) (timely.com)
- Timely: time entry states (timely.com)
- Timely: invoices (timely.com)
- Timely security (timely.com)
- Timely product update, 7 May 2026 (timely.com)
Checked on 16 October 2026. Prices and features change; check the vendor for the current state.
Compare for yourself
30 days free on your first subscription. Run Half5 next to your current tool for a week.