Short answer
Pick Toggl Track if you mainly want a fast, familiar timer with a free plan for up to three users, or if you work with QuickBooks.
Pick Half5 if you want your workday to suggest your hours, want rides registered automatically, or invoice through Moneybird, WeFact, e-Boekhouden or Exact Online.
Half5 and Toggl Track side by side
Toggl, based in Tallinn, Estonia. The pricing page now sells 'Toggl' (Toggl 2.0); Track remains for existing users. 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 | Toggl Track |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Desktop apps for macOS and Windows record apps and websites open for more than 10 seconds. No screenshots. |
| 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. Toggl says other workspace users, including admins, do not have access to it. |
| 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 | Not found No GPS or mileage tracking found. |
| Calendar import | Yes Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. | Yes Google and Outlook, also on the free plan. |
| 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 | Not found Not found on the pages we checked. The timeline shows your activity; suggestions per client or project are not described. |
| 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 Yes, on Premium. |
| 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 | Partly Build an invoice from a report and download it as PDF; the template can't be customised. QuickBooks Online from Starter. |
| 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 and Xero are listed as legacy integrations. |
| 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 | Yes Official MCP server and CLI (@togglhq/mcp) for Claude, Cursor and Codex; can create and update time entries. For Toggl 2.0 workspaces. |
| Data location | Yes DigitalOcean Amsterdam; files and email via AWS Frankfurt. AI features use Google Gemini, OpenAI or Anthropic when you turn them on. | No Google Cloud in Iowa, USA. No EU region option found. |
| Platforms | Yes Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. No Linux. | Yes Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. |
| 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. | Yes Free plan for up to 3 users. 30-day trial on paid plans. |
| List price per user per month | Yes Basic for freelancers, Premium for teams. See pricing | Yes In USD, annual / monthly: Free $0, Starter $9 / $12, Premium $16 / $24, Enterprise custom. |
Where Toggl Track is stronger
- A free plan for up to three users. Half5 has no free plan.
- A well-known, polished timer that has been around for years, with many integrations. Half5 is younger.
- An official MCP server and CLI that let Claude, Cursor and Codex create and update time entries.
- A QuickBooks Online integration from Starter. Half5 does not connect to QuickBooks or Xero.
- Activity on your computer is private, including from admins.
Where Half5 is different
- Your personal timeline is end-to-end encrypted: not even Half5's server can read it. Project matching runs on your own device.
- Half5 suggests hours per client or project, from work blocks, calendar events, agent sessions and visits. You confirm and save.
- The phone app detects rides on its own and knows the tax rules for NL, BE, DE and FR. You can bill rides per client.
- You create invoices in Half5 itself, with drafts, credit invoices and email, and integrations with Moneybird, WeFact, e-Boekhouden and Exact Online.
- Data is stored in Amsterdam and Frankfurt, not in the USA. The app is available in Dutch, English, German and French.
Switching from Toggl Track
- Export your clients, projects and the hours you want to keep from Toggl Track, 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 Toggl Track for a week or two. Compare Half5's suggestions with what you registered there, and cancel Toggl Track only once the hours match.
Frequently asked questions
Is Toggl Track cheaper than Half5?
Toggl has a free plan for up to three users; Half5 does not. For paid plans, compare Toggl's list prices (Starter $9 and Premium $16 per user per month, billed annually) with Half5's pricing page.
Can my employer see which websites I visit in Toggl or Half5?
Not in either. Toggl says other users, including admins, have no access to your timeline. In Half5 the timeline is end-to-end encrypted so only you can read it; your team only sees the hours and rides you register.
Can I import my hours from Toggl into Half5?
No, Half5 has no importer. Export your hours from Toggl as an archive and add your clients and projects to Half5 yourself.
Which of the two works with Moneybird or Exact Online?
Half5 connects to Moneybird, WeFact, e-Boekhouden and Exact Online. We found none of these in Toggl's list of integrations.
Sources
- Toggl Track pricing (toggl.com)
- Toggl pricing (toggl.com)
- Toggl: the Timeline feature (support.toggl.com)
- Toggl: automated time tracker (toggl.com)
- Toggl: creating invoices (support.toggl.com)
- Toggl Track integrations (toggl.com)
- Toggl MCP and CLI docs (docs.toggl.com)
- Toggl MCP (toggl.com)
- Toggl security (toggl.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.