A TMetric alternative without a seat count
TMetric is free for two seats and keeps free-plan activity data for a week. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users and keeps your records as long as the account exists.
TMetric is a time tracker for freelancers and teams with a large integration catalog covering Jira, Redmine and ClickUp. Its free plan covers two seats and retains activity data for seven days, while billable rates and invoicing sit on Professional and team timesheet management and screenshot capture on Business. Visit TMetric website
Best for teams that bill against time and need trust
Sandtime.io fits agencies, freelancers, consultants, and other service teams that need client-ready reports, project visibility, and cleaner invoicing without the seat tax or surveillance that often comes with legacy trackers.
Sandtime.io vs TMetric
| Feature | Sandtime.io | TMetric |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan size | Free for unlimited users | Free for 2 seats; paid plans are charged per seat |
| History on the free plan | Kept for as long as the account exists | Free tier keeps activity data for 7 days |
| Team timesheet management | Included free | Included on the free plan |
| Billable rates and time rounding | Included free, with historical rates | Professional plan feature |
| Employee surveillance | None, and none planned | Screenshot capture on the Business plan |
| Invoicing and expenses | Invoice-ready reports and exports | Client invoicing and expenses on paid plans |
| Integrations | Slack, Chrome extension, public API, and MCP server | 50+ integrations including Jira, Redmine, and ClickUp |
| Best fit | Whole teams that need the record to survive | Individuals and pairs, then teams willing to pay per seat |
Why teams switch from TMetric to Sandtime.io
Two seats is a very short runway
TMetric's free plan covers two seats. That is a freelancer and one collaborator, and a third person turns a free tool into a per-seat subscription. Sandtime.io has no number to cross.
History that outlasts the week
On the free TMetric plan, activity data is kept for seven days. A timesheet you cannot look back at is not really a record, and month-end billing needs to reach further back than last week.
The team workflow is not a tier
Team timesheet management sits two tiers up on TMetric. Reminders, approvals and automatic locking are free here, which is the whole point of keeping a timesheet in the first place.
Read the retention line, not only the seat count
Most free plans limit how many people can use them. TMetric's free plan also limits how far back you can look, keeping activity data for seven days. That is a quieter limit than a seat cap and it matters more, because a time record exists precisely so somebody can check it later.
Choose Sandtime.io when
More than two people track time, the record needs to survive past last week, and approvals and locking should not require the second paid tier.
Keep TMetric when
Its integrations are load-bearing, especially Jira, Redmine or ClickUp, or you bill clients directly from the tracker. Sandtime.io has neither that catalog nor an invoicing engine.
For one or two people
TMetric's free plan is genuinely usable at that size if a week of history is enough. The seat limit only becomes the deciding factor when a third person joins.
Pricing and plan details checked August 19, 2026
TMetric alternative FAQs
Short answers about pricing, migration, and product fit.
How many people does each free plan cover?
TMetric is free for two seats. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users, with no seat charge, no feature gate and no credit card, so team size never decides the bill.
How long is time data kept?
On TMetric's free plan, activity data is retained for seven days. Sandtime.io keeps time records for as long as the account exists, and they can be exported to Excel or CSV at any point.
Which plan includes team timesheets and approvals?
TMetric puts team timesheet management on its Business plan, two tiers above free. On Sandtime.io reminders, approvals and locking are included at no cost.
Does Sandtime.io replace TMetric invoicing and expenses?
No. TMetric offers client invoicing and expense tracking on paid plans. Sandtime.io produces invoice-ready reports and exports but has no invoicing engine and no expense tracking.
Can Sandtime.io import TMetric data?
Not automatically. Keep TMetric as the historical archive, recreate active clients, projects, people and rates in Sandtime.io, then reconcile one full reporting cycle before cutting over.
Is TMetric still the better choice for some teams?
Yes. TMetric has a much larger integration catalog, including Jira, Redmine and ClickUp, plus invoicing and expenses. For a solo user or a pair those integrations may matter more than the seat count ever will.
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