A Beebole alternative that stays free after the fifth user
Beebole has the deeper reporting: multi-level approvals, budgets, resource planning, and planned against actual views, on paid plans from the sixth user. Sandtime.io keeps approvals, locking, rates, and exports free for unlimited users and hosts its data in the European Union.
Beebole is a project time tracking and planning tool from Beebole s.r.l. in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 2008. It combines timesheets, resource planning, time off, billing rates, costs, budgets, and custom reports, with multi-level approvals on Essential and budgets, costs, and expenses on Advanced. Visit Beebole website
Sandtime.io vs Beebole: the short answer
Beebole is the stronger reporting and planning tool; Sandtime.io is the one that stays free for a whole team. Beebole Free stops at 5 users, and the features that turn hours into billing (rates, multiple currencies, and multi-level approvals) start on Essential at €9 per user per month billed annually. Budgets, costs, and expenses start on Advanced at €18. Sandtime.io includes approvals, locking, dated billing and cost rates, multiple currencies, and exports for unlimited users at no cost. Pick Beebole when you manage budgets, capacity, and time off in one place and will pay for it; pick Sandtime.io when you need closed, billable timesheets without a seat bill.
Choose Sandtime.io when the whole team has to close the month for free
Everyone submits a timesheet, an administrator approves it, the week locks, and reports use the rate that applied on the day, in the currency the client is billed in. None of that needs a paid plan, whether the team has 6 people or 60. Sandtime.io also ships native iPhone and Android apps, a REST API, and an MCP server.
Choose Beebole when reporting, budgets, and planning drive the business
Beebole adds approval workflows with several stages and six kinds of approver, budgets split by person or project, resource planning with Kanban and Gantt views, a Planned vs. Real report, time off with allowances, cost and profitability reporting, expenses, and custom roles. It also connects to Jira, Asana, QuickBooks, Xero, and BambooHR. For firms that run on those numbers, the Essential or Advanced price buys real depth.
Sandtime.io vs Beebole at a glance
Where each capability sits on Beebole's plans, as of September 29, 2026.
| Decision factor | Sandtime.io | Beebole |
|---|---|---|
| Price and free plan | Free for unlimited users and projects | Free for up to 5 users. Essential €9 and Advanced €18 per user per month billed annually, or €10 and €20 monthly |
| Timesheet approvals | Submit, approve, and reject in one administrator step, with email quick actions, included free | Multi-level approval workflows with project, people, and task managers as approvers on Essential and Advanced |
| Locking | Approved timesheets lock, and unlock requests go to an administrator, included free | Submitted and approved timesheets lock for their owner, and an account lock date freezes older records |
| Reminders | Automatic email reminders every Friday at 6 PM, before the week locks, included free | Automated reminders to submit and approve timesheets on every plan |
| Billable time and rates | Billable and non-billable time, dated cost and revenue rates, and a currency per rate, included free | Billing rates and multiple currencies on Essential, with a single currency on Free. Cost rates and profitability on Advanced or as an Essential add-on |
| Budgets and planning | No budgets or resource planning. Reports cover logged hours, billable time, and rates | Resource planning with Kanban and Gantt on Free. Project budgets split by person or project, with Budget Status and Planned vs. Real reports, on Advanced or as an Essential add-on |
| Reports and exports | Custom reports, print layout, and Excel and CSV export, included free | Custom reports, scheduled shared reports, Excel and Google Sheets add-ons, and Excel, CSV, TSV, JSON, and PDF exports on every plan |
| Roles | Administrator, Project Administrator, and User, included free | Admin, Employee, People manager, and Project manager on every account. Configurable roles and permissions on Advanced or as an Essential add-on |
| Time off and expenses | No built-in time off or expense tracking | Basic time off and public holidays on Free, allowances and balances on Essential, expenses on Advanced or as an Essential add-on |
| Automatic tracking | None by design. People start a timer or enter their hours | Opt-in desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux that drafts suggested entries from app and window names, stored on the computer until accepted |
| Apps | Web, native iPhone and Android apps, Chrome extension, and macOS and Windows desktop apps | Web app installable as a progressive web app on phones and computers, without an app store. Browser extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, installed manually for now |
| Integrations, API, and MCP | Slack, the Chrome extension, a public REST API with an OpenAPI schema, and an MCP server, included free | GraphQL API and integrations with Jira, Asana, Linear, monday.com, QuickBooks, Xero, BambooHR, and Google and Microsoft calendars, plus an MCP server and webhooks |
| Sign-in and SSO | Passwordless email links, or continue with Google, Microsoft, Apple, or Yahoo, on every account | Email codes, passkeys, and Google or Microsoft sign-in on every plan. Custom SSO on Essential |
| Hosting | OVHcloud in the European Union; self-hosting arranged case by case for Enterprise | Google Cloud, in the EU for EU companies and in the United States for US companies |
| Best fit | Teams of any size that need approved, locked, billable timesheets for everyone at no cost | Firms that manage budgets, capacity, costs, and time off alongside time, and will pay per user for it |
Why teams choose Sandtime.io instead of Beebole
No cap at five users
Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users. Beebole Free covers up to 5, so a sixth person moves the whole team onto a per-seat plan.
Rates and currencies without Essential
Each rate has a start date and its own currency, for both billing and cost, so a raise or a client billed in euros never rewrites last quarter. In Beebole, billing rates and multiple currencies start on Essential and cost rates on Advanced.
Approvals and locking for everyone
Submitting, approving, rejecting, and locking timesheets are free for every member. The approval is one administrator step, which is all most small firms need.
Native mobile apps
Sandtime.io has iPhone and Android apps from the app stores. Beebole runs on phones as an installable web app instead.
EU hosting with a self-hosting option
Sandtime.io runs on OVHcloud in the EU and publishes its subprocessors. Beebole also keeps EU customers' data in the EU, so the difference is the provider and the Enterprise self-hosting route.
A narrower product, on purpose
Sandtime.io has no budgets, resource planning, time off, or expenses. If you need those, Beebole covers far more ground.
Which product should your team choose?
Start with the workflow you cannot do without, then check which plan it sits on.
Choose Sandtime.io
Pick Sandtime.io when more than five people have to submit hours that are approved and locked, when reports need dated billing and cost rates in several currencies, and nobody wants a per-user bill for it.
Choose Beebole
Pick Beebole when approvals need several stages, when project budgets, capacity planning, or planned against actual reports run the business, or when time off, expenses, and margins should sit next to the timesheet.
Choose neither
Keep looking if you need payroll processing or GPS-verified clock-ins for field staff. Neither product is built around field attendance, so a dedicated attendance tool such as Jibble will fit better.
What Beebole costs once rates and approvals matter
Billing rates, multiple currencies, and multi-level approval workflows start on Beebole Essential, at €9 per user per month billed annually or €10 monthly. A sixth user also ends the Free plan. For a team of 10 that is €90 a month; Sandtime.io stays at €0 for any team size.
Sandtime.io
Rates, approvals, and locking for any team size
Freefor unlimited users, no credit card required
- 5 users€0 a month
- 10 users€0 a month
- 25 users€0 a month
- 50 users€0 a month
- Submit, approve, and reject weekly timesheets
- Approved weeks lock, with unlock requests
- Dated billing and cost rates
- A currency per rate
- Custom reports with Excel and CSV export
Beebole Free
Planning and reports for a team of five
€0for up to 5 users
- 5 users€0 a month
- 10 usersPaid plan
- 25 usersPaid plan
- 50 usersPaid plan
- Resource planning with Kanban and Gantt
- Reminders to submit and approve timesheets
- Custom reports and Excel, CSV, and PDF exports
- A single currency, without billing rates
Beebole Essential
Where rates and multi-level approvals start
€9per user per month billed annually, or €10 billed monthly
- 5 users€45 a month€50 billed monthly
- 10 users€90 a month€100 billed monthly
- 25 users€225 a month€250 billed monthly
- 50 users€450 a month€500 billed monthly
- Billing rates and multiple currencies
- Multi-level approval workflows
- Time off allowances and balances
- Custom SSO
- Costs, budgets, and expenses on Advanced at €18, or as add-ons
Monthly cost at list price in euros; Beebole lists the same figures in US dollars. Taxes, add-ons, scaling discounts from 50 users, nonprofit and education pricing, and negotiated terms are excluded.
Watch the 75-second Sandtime.io product tour
See the timer, timesheets, reporting flow, integrations, and mobile apps before creating an account. The video is served directly by Sandtime.io, so it does not contact a third-party player.
Prices and plans checked on September 29, 2026. If Beebole's pricing page disagrees, trust Beebole, and see Sandtime.io pricing for ours.
Beebole vs Sandtime.io: frequently asked questions
Direct answers about the free plans, paid tiers, approvals, budgets, hosting, and moving your data.
What is the best Beebole alternative?
Sandtime.io is the closer Beebole alternative for teams of more than five that need timesheet approvals, locking, billing and cost rates, multiple currencies, and Excel or CSV exports without a per-seat bill. Beebole is the better choice when multi-level approval workflows, project budgets, resource planning, planned against actual reports, time off allowances, or expense tracking should live in the same product.
How much does Beebole cost?
Checked September 29, 2026, Beebole Free was €0 for up to 5 users. Essential cost €9 per user per month billed annually or €10 billed monthly, and Advanced cost €18 or €20. Beebole lists the same figures in US dollars, offers a 30-day trial of every feature, and mentions add-ons, scaling discounts from 50 users, and special pricing for nonprofits and educational institutions.
Is Beebole free?
For up to 5 users. Beebole Free includes project time tracking, resource planning with Kanban and Gantt views, work schedules, basic time off, automated reminders, custom reports, data exports, the API, and integrations, in a single currency. Billing rates, multiple currencies, multi-level approval workflows, time off allowances, and the audit trail start on Essential. Costs, expenses, project budgets, custom roles, and custom fields sit on Advanced, or on Essential with an add-on.
Is Sandtime.io free for unlimited users?
Yes. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users and projects, with no per-user fee and no credit card required. Reminders, approvals, locking, roles, reports, Excel and CSV exports, historical rates, multi-currency support, the REST API, and MCP access are all included.
Does Beebole have budgets and planned against actual reports?
Yes, and they are its strongest reason to pay. Beebole budgets can set time, billing, and cost targets per project, split by person or by project, with a Budget Status report, and a Planned vs. Real report compares planned work with logged time. Project budgets sit on Advanced or as an Essential add-on. Sandtime.io has no budgets or resource planning; it reports logged hours, billable time, and rates.
Where do Beebole and Sandtime.io host data?
Both keep European customers' data in the EU. Beebole's sub-processor list says its current platform runs on Google Cloud, with an EU server for EU companies and a US server for US companies. Sandtime.io runs on OVHcloud infrastructure in the European Union, and self-hosting can be arranged case by case under an Enterprise agreement.
Can I move from Beebole to Sandtime.io?
Yes, but not automatically. Beebole reports export to Excel, CSV, TSV, JSON, and PDF, which make a good archive. Sandtime.io has no Beebole importer, so recreate active projects, members, and current rates, then run one weekly or monthly reporting cycle in both products before switching.
Is Sandtime.io or Beebole better for agencies and consultancies?
It depends on what the firm manages. Sandtime.io fits firms that need approved, locked timesheets and dated billing and cost rates in several currencies for every member at no cost. Beebole fits firms that plan capacity, track budgets and margins per project, and want time off and expenses in the same tool, and that will pay for Essential or Advanced to get them.
Comparing something else?
Teams weighing this one usually weigh these too.
Run one real reporting cycle in Sandtime.io
Invite the whole team at no seat cost, submit and approve one week or month, and compare the export with what Beebole produces for the same period.