TimeMagick vs Teamwork: time-first or project-first
Teamwork.com is a mature project-management platform for client work. TimeMagick starts from the tracked hour and follows it through the budget, billable-hour approval, the invoice and client profitability.
Comparison last reviewed: October 2026
At a glance
TimeMagick
Time tracking software for project-based teams. Every hour is tracked against a client, project and task, and the same hours drive the project budget, billable-hour approval, Project Billing, invoices and client profitability, with activity data without screenshots and every feature on every plan.
Teamwork.com
A project-management platform for client work, with Gantt and board views, templates and automations, timers and timesheet approval, budgets, invoicing, resource scheduling and profitability reporting. Several financial and resource features sit on its Accelerate and Optimize plans.
Feature comparison
Teamwork plan names show where a feature sits on its plans; several rows favour Teamwork.
| Feature | TimeMagick | Teamwork |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking and activity | ||
| Timer and logged time | Yes; start a timer on a project and task, or add manual time with a written reason for approval | Yes; timers on tasks and projects, plus logged time in My timesheet |
| Automatic (background) time tracking | No; a person selects a project and task and presses Start, and activity is recorded during tracked time | No; timers are started and stopped by the user |
| Platforms | Web, Windows desktop, iOS and Android | Web, a Timer app for Windows, macOS and Linux, iOS and Android |
| Timesheets | Yes; member and personal timesheets | Yes; My timesheet and a Company timesheet |
| Activity % | Yes; Activity % from keyboard activity, mouse clicks and mouse movement, with a configurable calculation | No native activity levels identified |
| App and URL tracking | Yes; classified productive, neutral or unproductive per role or member | No native app and URL tracking identified |
| Screenshots | No, by design: activity data instead of screen images | No native screenshots identified |
| Idle handling | Yes; configurable threshold, plus Private Time | Timer app can pause the timer when the computer is idle |
| Projects and planning | ||
| Board view | Native drag-and-drop board with custom and automatic statuses | Yes; Board view with column automations |
| Gantt | Native; per project and across the client portfolio | Yes; dependencies and milestones |
| Portfolio view | Yes; every client's projects on one interactive timeline | Portfolio boards (Kanban view of projects) |
| Templates | Default task templates | Project templates, including automations |
| Resource planning | Native project scheduling and resource planning | Workload Planner (Accelerate); resource scheduling, skills and placeholders (Optimize) |
| Project budgets | Yes; budget vs spent on cards, overview, Gantt, approvals and dashboards | Time budgets (Accelerate); financial, fixed-fee and retainer budgets (Optimize) |
| Collaboration and clients | ||
| Project chat | Native; a channel inside every project | Project channels in Teamwork Chat |
| Client access | Native CLIENT workspace: Dashboard, Projects, Timesheets, Report, Message Channels, Sensai | Client users in projects: messages, files and comments |
| Plan required for client access | Included on every plan | Free client users on paid plans, up to 5 active projects each |
| Billing | ||
| Billable time and rates | Yes; client rates in their own currency | Yes; billable checkbox per entry, rates by project, client role, role or user |
| Approvals | Manual time, tracked time with billable percentage, expenses and recurring invoices | Timesheet approval, weekly or monthly; approved timesheets lock |
| Billable % during approval | Yes; e.g. 5 worked hours approved at 80% become 4 billable hours | No billable-percentage adjustment identified; entries are billable or not |
| Billable vs billed hours | Project Billing: billable vs billed hours per client and project | Billable and non-billable totals; invoice status reports |
| Invoices | Duration and quantity lines, tax, notes, PDF, status, multiple entities and billing accounts | From logged time or milestones (Accelerate); margins, tax and discounts (Optimize) |
| Expenses | Project-linked, custom categories, approval, Lunch | Budget expenses (Accelerate and above) |
| Profitability | ||
| Project and client profitability | Profit and margin by client and project | Profitability report by project and client (Optimize and Enterprise) |
| Utilisation | Yes; Utilisation % as a headline KPI | Basic report (Accelerate); against billable targets (Optimize) |
| Client retention metrics | Yes; Repeat Client %, Retention %, Avg Cooperation and Avg Project Gap | No equivalent identified |
| Client Health | Active, warm or cold status per client | No equivalent identified |
| Plans | ||
| Free plan | No; 1-month free trial on the Business plan | Yes; up to 5 users |
| Every feature on every paid plan | Yes; no feature tiers or add-ons | No; budgets, invoicing, resource scheduling and profitability are tiered |
Teamwork information reviewed October 2026 from Teamwork.com's support centre and product pages. Features and plans change; verify before purchasing.
Which one fits your team?
Both serve companies that deliver client projects. The difference is where each product starts: Teamwork from the project plan, TimeMagick from the tracked hour.
TimeMagick is likely the better fit when
- Time tracking is the centre of the workflow, and you want activity data without screenshots during tracked time
- Approvers decide billable hours per entry with a billable percentage
- Project Billing shows billable against billed hours before you invoice
- Client margin, effective rate, retention and Client Health on every plan
- A client workspace with timesheets, reports and project channels
- Every feature on every plan, priced per user
Teamwork may be the better choice when
- Your main need is project and work management: dependencies, milestones, templates with automations and portfolio boards across many teams.
- You price work as retainers or fixed fees and want those budget types managed as such, with cost rates and a billable-rate hierarchy by project, client role, role and user.
- You schedule people by skill, with placeholders, public holidays and billable targets, across a large delivery organisation.
- You want a free plan for a small team, or a desktop timer on macOS or Linux.
- Your clients mainly need to work inside project tasks, messages and files with you.
Time tracking is the core, not a module
In TimeMagick a person selects a project and task and presses Start in the Windows desktop app or on mobile, or adds manual time with a written reason that goes to approval. Each member's day shows worked, idle, manual and private time, and every entry carries its client, project and task.
Teamwork also tracks time against tasks and projects, with timers, My timesheet, a Company timesheet and a Timer app for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Explore TimeMagick time trackingActivity context without screenshots
During tracked time, the TimeMagick desktop app records activity levels from keyboard activity, mouse clicks and mouse movement, and the apps and websites used, classified productive, neutral or unproductive. TimeMagick does not take screenshots, and Private Time is recorded separately and not counted as worked time.
TimeMagick
Activity data, not screen images
- Activity % from keyboard activity, mouse clicks and mouse movement
- A configurable activity calculation
- Active app and URL, with time per item
- Productivity classification per role or member
- Idle time with a configurable threshold
- Private Time: recorded separately, not counted as worked time
- No screenshots are taken
Teamwork
Timers without activity monitoring
Teamwork's timers are started and stopped by the user, and its Timer app can pause when the computer is idle. No native activity levels, app and URL tracking or screenshots are identified in its documentation.
Decide what is billable, then bill it
When tracked time is approved, the approver sets a billable percentage for each entry: 5 worked hours approved at 80% become 4 billable hours. The project budget is shown beside the billable total during approval. Project Billing then shows billable against billed hours per client and project, and invoices support duration and quantity lines, tax, notes, PDF download, multiple legal entities and scheduled recurring invoices with approval.
Teamwork marks each entry billable or non-billable, approves timesheets weekly or monthly and locks them once approved, and creates invoices from logged time or milestones from its Accelerate plan.
Explore billing and invoicingClient profitability on every plan
TimeMagick's KPI module shows Revenue, Profit, Avg Client Margin, Effective Rate, Utilisation, Projects Over Budget, Repeat Client %, Retention % and Revenue Concentration, with Low-Profit Projects, Uninvoiced Hours and a Client Health ledger, from the hours, rates, invoices and expenses already in the product.
Teamwork's profitability report covers projects and clients from billable rates, cost rates and expenses, on its Optimize and Enterprise plans.
TimeMagick illustration (demo data).
A client workspace built around hours and reports
Client Members sign in to their own workspace with a Dashboard, Projects, Timesheets, Report, Message Channels and Sensai, separate from your team's workspace and included on every plan.
Teamwork client users work inside projects with messages, files and comments; they are free on paid plans and can be on up to 5 active projects each.
See the client portalPlans
TimeMagick
- Freelancer$4.50/month, or $3.80 billed yearly; up to 2 users
- Business$9.50/user/month, or $7.60 billed yearly; 1-month free trial
- EnterpriseCustom pricing for 30+ users
Every TimeMagick plan includes the full feature set:
- Time and activity tracking
- Project board and Gantt
- Resource planning
- Budgets, alerts and forecasting
- Billable-hour approval
- Invoicing and recurring invoices
- Client workspace
- Profitability KPIs
Teamwork.com
- Free: Up to 5 users
- Basics: Per user; core project management
- Accelerate: Adds time budgets, Workload Planner, basic invoicing and utilisation
- Optimize: Adds financial, fixed-fee and retainer budgets, resource scheduling and profitability
- Enterprise: Custom
Teamwork prices are per user. Its published figures differed between its own pages when we reviewed them in October 2026, so check teamwork.com/pricing for current prices.
One chain from tracked hour to client margin
In TimeMagick the hour a person tracks is the same hour that burns the budget, is approved as billable, appears in Project Billing, is invoiced and ends up in the client's margin.
Track. Time against a project and task, with activity detail.
Control. Hours spent against the project budget.
Approve. The approver sets the billable percentage.
Bill. Project Billing, then the invoice.
Understand. Project and client profitability.
Choose TimeMagick when the hours are the business
For engineering firms, consultancies, agencies and software teams that sell their people's time, TimeMagick keeps tracking, budgets, billable-hour approval, invoicing and client profitability on one set of hours, on every plan. If your priority is deep project and workflow management across a large delivery organisation, Teamwork is worth a serious look.
Where Teamwork has an edge: Project templates, dependencies and automations · Retainer and fixed-fee budget types with cost rates · Skill-based resource scheduling · A free plan for up to 5 users.
See how TimeMagick fits engineering firms, consulting firms and agencies, or compare TimeMagick vs Harvest and TimeMagick vs Clockify.
TimeMagick vs Teamwork: key facts
- TimeMagick is time tracking software that connects tracked hours to projects, budgets, billing and profitability.
- TimeMagick does not track time automatically; a person selects a project and task and presses Start.
- During tracked time, the Windows desktop app records activity levels and app and website usage; TimeMagick does not take screenshots.
- Approvers set a billable percentage per tracked entry, and Project Billing shows billable against billed hours.
- TimeMagick's KPI module and Client Health are included on every plan.
- Teamwork.com is a project-management platform for client work, with timers, timesheet approval, budgets, invoicing, resource planning and profitability, several of them on higher plans.
- Teamwork information reviewed October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How TimeMagick compares with Teamwork.com. Teamwork information reviewed October 2026.
Is TimeMagick a Teamwork alternative?
Yes, for project-based teams whose main questions are about time, budgets, billable hours and profitability. TimeMagick keeps time and activity tracking, projects, budgets, billable-hour approval, invoicing and client profitability on the same project data, with every feature on every plan.
Does TimeMagick include project management?
Yes. TimeMagick has a drag-and-drop Projects board with custom statuses, tasks with assignees and hour budgets, an interactive Gantt per project and across clients, resource planning, and budgets with alerts and forecasting, on the same projects your team tracks time against.
How does TimeMagick decide which hours are billable?
When tracked time is approved, the approver sets a billable percentage for each entry, so 5 worked hours approved at 80% become 4 billable hours. Project Billing then shows billable against billed hours for each client and project before invoicing.
Does TimeMagick track activity without screenshots?
Yes. During tracked time in the Windows desktop app, TimeMagick records activity levels from keyboard activity, mouse clicks and mouse movement, and the apps and websites used. It does not take screenshots. Activity data is optional context next to the project and task, not the purpose of the product.
Is profitability reporting included on every TimeMagick plan?
Yes. Every TimeMagick plan includes the KPI module: revenue, profit, client margin, effective rate, utilisation, projects over budget, uninvoiced hours, low-profit projects and Client Health.
Can clients access TimeMagick?
Yes. Client Members are external accounts linked to one or more of your clients, with their own workspace: Dashboard, Projects, Timesheets, Report, Message Channels and Sensai. Client access is included on every plan.
Follow every hour to the client margin
Start a 1-month free trial of the Business plan with every feature included.