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Calendars · head to head

Clockify vs Microsoft OneNote

Clockify logo

Clockify

Calendars

Free time tracker for teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Productivity

Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Clockify the free plan stops at 5 users; Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • They diverge on capability: Clockify covers Timer & manual time entry, Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clockify and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where Clockify and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeClockifyMicrosoft OneNote
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Browser-extensionWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
CategoryCalendarsProductivity
Founded20171975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Clockify

  • Timer & manual time entry
  • Timesheets
  • Calendar view
  • Projects & tasks
  • Reports & analytics
  • Team dashboard
  • Kiosk mode
  • Offline mode

Only in Microsoft OneNote

  • Free-form page canvas
  • Notebook hierarchy
  • Indexed handwriting
  • Audio recording
  • Web clipper and Outlook capture
  • Shared notebooks
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Tags and cross-notebook search

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Clockify

  • Employee time trackingnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Project time budgetsnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Client billingnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Productivity analysisnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Payroll calculationnot Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote

  • Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Clockify
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Clockify
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Clockify
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Clockify

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Clockify

  • The free plan stops at 5 users
  • Free accounts are throttled to 30 API requests per hour and 3 webhooks
  • Reporting on the free plan only covers a 1 month range
  • Invoicing needs Standard at $5.49 per seat per month and GPS tracking needs Pro at $7.99
  • SSO, SCIM provisioning, a custom subdomain and the audit log are Enterprise only at $11.99 per seat per month

Microsoft OneNote

  • Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
  • Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
  • Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
  • There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.

Pricing, plan by plan

Clockify

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited time tracking
    • Up to 5 users
    • Timer, timesheet, auto-tracker, calendar
  • Basic$4.99/month
    • All Free features
    • Kiosk access, bulk editing, project templates
    • Time import/export
  • Standard$6.99/month
    • All Basic features
    • Invoicing, time-off management, approvals
    • QuickBooks integration, overtime tracking
  • Pro$9.99/month
    • All Standard features
    • Scheduling, forecasting, expenses, GPS tracking
    • Custom fields, labor cost analysis, budgeting

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Clockify if

  • You need timer & manual time entry.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Browser-extension.
  • You also want timesheets.
Clockify review

Choose Microsoft OneNote if

  • You need free-form page canvas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want notebook hierarchy.
Microsoft OneNote review

Questions people ask

Is Clockify or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. Clockify starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clockify or Microsoft OneNote?
Clockify starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free.
Does Clockify or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
Clockify runs on Web, Windows, Macos, Linux, Ios, Android, Browser-extension. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Clockify for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Clockify best used for?
Clockify is most often used for employee time tracking, project time budgets, client billing, productivity analysis. Of those, employee time tracking and project time budgets are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can Clockify do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
Clockify covers Timer & manual time entry, Timesheets, Calendar view, Projects & tasks. Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Clockify: How much does Clockify cost?

Clockify Free is free for up to 5 users with unlimited time tracking. Paid plans per-seat per-month are Basic $4.99, Standard $6.99, Pro $9.99, and Enterprise $14.99 (monthly). Annual billing offers 20% discount.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?

Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.

Clockify: Can I use Clockify for free?

Yes, Clockify Free offers unlimited time tracking, timer, timesheet, auto-tracker, calendar, and reports for up to 5 users.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?

The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.

Clockify: How much savings do I get with annual billing?

Annual billing saves 20% versus monthly. For example, Basic is $3.99/seat annually ($47.88/year) versus $4.99/seat monthly ($59.88/year).

Source
Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?

Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.

Clockify: What is the most expensive Clockify plan?

Enterprise plan is $14.99/seat/month (monthly) or $11.99/seat/month (annual) and includes SSO, custom subdomain, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, and account controls.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?

Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.

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