A Toggl Track alternative that stays free as the team grows
Toggl Track charges per seat beyond a small free plan and puts timesheet approvals and locking on Premium. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users with reminders, approvals, and locking included.
Toggl Track is a well-established time tracker from Estonia, known for a polished tracking experience and a large integration catalog. Its free plan covers a small team, and timesheet approvals and locking are Premium plan features. Visit Toggl 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 Toggl
| Feature | Sandtime.io | Toggl |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan size | Free for unlimited users | Free for a small number of users; paid plans are charged per seat |
| Timesheet approvals | Included free | Premium plan feature |
| Timesheet locking and required fields | Included free | Premium plan feature |
| Fill-timesheet reminders | Included free, by dashboard, email, and popup | Premium plan feature, triggered by hours below a target |
| Billable rates | Included free, with historical rates | Starter plan feature |
| Multi-currency reporting | Included free | One currency per project, chosen from the workspace list |
| Automatic tracking | Self-reported hours only | Optional desktop app and website timeline |
| Employee surveillance | No screenshots or keystroke logging | No screenshots or keystroke logging |
| Company base | Poland, hosted in the European Union | Estonia |
| Best fit | Free timesheet completion for a whole team | Polished tracking with a large integration catalog |
Why teams switch from Toggl to Sandtime.io
Growth does not trigger a bill
Toggl Track’s free plan covers a small team only. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users, so headcount does not decide whether time tracking has a budget line.
Approvals without the top plan
On Toggl Track, timesheet approvals and locking sit on the Premium plan. On Sandtime.io the whole completion workflow, including reminders, is free.
Multi-currency and historical rates
Rate changes preserve history and reports settle in multiple currencies, so international client billing stays accurate without an upgrade.
Trust-based on both sides
Neither product watches your team, and that is worth saying plainly. Sandtime.io additionally has no automatic app or window tracking at all.
Where the difference actually shows up
This is not a case of one tool being modern and the other dated. Toggl Track is a good product with a longer track record. The difference is what a growing team pays, and which plan the timesheet completion workflow lives on.
Choose Sandtime.io when
The team is past the free tier, or heading there, and needs reminders, approvals, locking, historical rates, and multi-currency reporting without those sitting on the most expensive plan.
Keep Toggl Track when
The integration catalog, the desktop tracking experience, or an existing workflow built around Toggl Track matter more than the per-seat cost. It is a mature product and switching has a real cost.
Both are European
Toggl Track is Estonian and Sandtime.io is Polish and hosted in the EU, so data residency is not the deciding factor here. Compare on price at team size and on where approvals live.
Pricing and plan details checked August 19, 2026
Toggl Track’s pricing page lists the current per-seat plans and which plan unlocks billable rates, approvals, and locking. Plan limits and prices move, so check it before deciding.
Toggl alternative FAQs
Short answers about pricing, migration, and product fit.
Is Toggl Track free for teams?
Toggl Track’s free plan is limited to a small number of users. Beyond that every seat is charged, including the ones that were previously free.
Is Sandtime.io free for unlimited users?
Yes. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users with no seat charge, no feature gate, and no credit card. Approvals, reminders, locking, reports, exports, multi-currency, and historical rates are all included.
Which plan do I need for timesheet approvals?
On Toggl Track, timesheet approvals and locking are Premium plan features. On Sandtime.io they are free, together with the fill-timesheet reminders that get the timesheets submitted in the first place.
Can Sandtime.io import Toggl Track data?
Not automatically. Keep Toggl Track as the historical archive, recreate active clients, projects, people, and rates in Sandtime.io, then reconcile one full reporting cycle before cutting over.
Does Sandtime.io monitor what my team does?
No, and neither does Toggl Track. Neither product takes screenshots or logs keystrokes. Sandtime.io goes further by having no automatic app or window tracking at all, since hours are self-reported declarations.
Is Toggl Track still the better choice for some teams?
Yes. Toggl Track has a larger integration catalog, a longer track record, and a polished tracking experience. If those matter more than free unlimited users and a free approval workflow, it remains a strong choice.
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