Productive alternative
A simpler Productive.io alternative for teams
Productive is agency operations platform: projects, budgets, resource planning, time tracking and billing in one system. Hourtick focuses on the core: a Mac menu bar timer, tasks, timesheets, approvals and billable reports. Free for your whole team.
- Free for your whole team, forever
- No credit card
- Every feature included
- Team of 10
- $100–$250
- $0 a month
- Free plan
- 14-day free trial, no free plan
- Unlimited people, every feature
- Approvals
- Professional plan
- On every plan
Productive prices from their pricing page, checked September 2026. Hourtick is free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month.
The real product
What you get instead of Productive
The whole app, free for your whole team: timer, timesheet, tasks, chat and reports.
Why teams look for a Productive alternative
- A full agency system with a lot to set up before it pays off
- Billable time approvals need the Professional plan
- More than you need if the team mainly wants tasks and time
Where Productive shines
- Budgets, profitability and revenue forecasting for agencies
- Resource planning and time tracking in the same system
- Docs, tasks and an AI assistant
Where Hourtick is different
Productive is a full agency operating system. Hourtick covers the everyday core (tasks, chat, time, approvals, budgets and billable reports) with nothing to configure first, plus AI agents that take tasks and bill their time.
Try Hourtick next to Productive
Sign up free, add a project and run the timer for a day. Nothing to cancel.
- Free for your whole team, forever
- No credit card
- Every feature included
Hourtick vs Productive at a glance
| Criteria | Hourtick | Productive |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month. $29/month for 5 GB. Every feature on both plans, no per-seat fees. | Essential $10 and Professional $25 per user/month billed yearly; Ultimate is quote-based. All plans need at least 3 seats, and there's a 14-day free trial without a credit card. |
| Team of 10, per month | $0 on Free · $29 on Pro (5 GB) | $100–$250 (Essential or Professional, yearly) |
| Free plan | Unlimited people, every feature, 500 MB of usage a month | 14-day free trial, no free plan |
| Task board and list | Board and list, assignees, chat, files, checklists. Every plan | Yes (projects, tasks and docs) |
| Built-in timer | Mac menu bar and web, offline. Every plan | Yes, with AI-suggested entries from calendars |
| Timesheet approvals | Included | Professional plan |
| Mac menu bar timer | Native menu bar timer with live time | See their site |
| Screenshots / activity monitoring | None — no screenshots or activity tracking | See their site |
| Best for | Teams that want tasks and time tracking together, simple enough to use every day, free for everyone. | Agencies that want budgets, forecasting and resourcing in one platform. |
Productive pricing from their pricing page, checked September 2026.
Productive pricing in 2026
| Plan | Per person/month, billed yearly | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $10 | Budgeting, resource planning, projects and tasks, docs, time tracking, expenses, reporting, AI assistant and AI time tracking |
| Professional | $25 | Adds billable time approvals, expense approvals, rate cards, invoicing and HRIS integrations, recurring budgets, teams, advanced reports |
| Ultimate | Let's talk | Adds revenue forecasting, Scenario Builder, multiple subsidiaries, HubSpot integration, SSO/2FA enforcement, webhooks, agents and connectors |
- Prices are per user per month billed yearly, as shown on Productive's pricing page for 10 users. The page says yearly billing saves up to 17%, so monthly billing costs more; it doesn't list the monthly prices.
- Every plan needs at least 3 seats. Contractors and freelancers are charged like employees; inviting clients is free.
- Companies with 50 or more users can get a volume discount on Professional and Ultimate.
- A team of 10, per month: $100–$250 (Essential or Professional, yearly).
- Hourtick: Free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month. $29/month for 5 GB. Every feature on both plans, no per-seat fees.
From Productive's pricing page, checked September 30, 2026. Prices change; check theirs before you buy.
The board you'd move to
Hourtick's real Tasks page: drag cards, open a task, add files, link tasks and mention them in chat, with a timer on every card.
Drag a card between To do, In progress, In review and Done. The timer and the hours stay on the card.
Switching in an afternoon
- 1
Sign up free and add your clients and projects (task types are created for you).
- 2
Mark which task types are billable and set project rates and budgets.
- 3
Invite the team with a link. There is no per-seat price to approve.
- 4
Install the Mac menu bar app and track your first hour.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hourtick cheaper than Productive?
For a team of 10, Productive lists $100–$250 (Essential or Professional, yearly) per month on the relevant plan (September 2026). Hourtick is free for unlimited people with 500 MB of usage a month, or $29/month for 5 GB.
How much does Productive cost?
Essential $10 and Professional $25 per user/month billed yearly; Ultimate is quote-based. All plans need at least 3 seats, and there's a 14-day free trial without a credit card. (Productive's pricing page, September 2026.)
Can I import my Productive data?
There's no one-click import yet. Most teams recreate clients and projects in a few minutes (an admin's AI assistant can do it over Hourtick's MCP server), start tracking from a clean date, and keep Productive's exports as the record of past hours.
When should I stay with Productive?
If you rely on budgets, profitability and revenue forecasting for agencies, Productive may still be the better fit.
Keep comparing
Track your first hour in a minute.
Free for your whole team, forever. Every feature included.