My Hours in 2026: Are You Tracking Your Work Hours the Right Way?

Searching “my hours” usually means one of two things: you want the My Hours time-tracking app, or you want a straightforward way to log your own work hours. This guide covers both. It includes a manual counting method, an honest comparison of the free apps people actually use, what the law says an employer has to record, and how to turn tracked hours into a real number on a paycheck or invoice.

You don’t need special software skills for any of it. A spreadsheet and ten minutes are enough to get a working system running.

What Does “My Hours” Mean When People Search It?

“My hours” usually means one of two things: the specific My Hours time-tracking app, or a general request to log personal work hours. My Hours (built by Spica) is a project-based time tracker aimed at freelancers and small teams, while most other searches are just people trying to count their own hours, with or without an app.

If you landed here looking for the app itself: My Hours offers a free plan capped at five active users, a Basic plan, and a Pro plan with budgeting and approval workflows, priced per user per month with a discount for annual billing. If you landed here trying to just count your hours for pay or a project, skip to the next section — you don’t need to sign up for anything.

How Do I Track My Hours By Hand?

A notebook or spreadsheet works: record start time, end time, and any unpaid break for each work session. Total the entries at the end of the week. The Department of Labor built its own tracking tools around this same method.

The Weekly Log Format

A simple weekly log needs four columns — date, time in, time out, unpaid break length. Subtract the break from the gap between time in and time out to get hours worked that day. Add the daily totals for a weekly figure. Here’s what a completed week looks like:

Hours worked = (End time − Start time) − unpaid break, converted to decimal (30 minutes = 0.5, 15 minutes = 0.25).

The Spreadsheet Formula

Time subtraction breaks without the right formatting. Using B2 for time in, C2 for time out, and D2 for unpaid break minutes, the formula is:

=(C2-B2)*24 - (D2/60)

The *24 converts Excel or Google Sheets’ internal day-fraction time format into decimal hours before subtracting the break.

Edge Cases That Trip People Up

• Overnight shifts: log the shift as two entries, split at midnight, so each calendar day gets its correct total.
• Split shifts: log each block separately rather than one combined start-to-end time — an unlogged gap in the middle can look like an error later.
• Short rest breaks (5–20 minutes): under federal law, these count as paid work time; don’t subtract them from your hours the way you would a genuine meal break.
• Meal breaks (30+ minutes): unpaid only if you’re fully relieved of duties. Answer a call or check email during a “break,” and that time becomes legally compensable.
• Multiple jobs or clients: track each one in a separate column or sheet — combining them makes it harder to catch billing or pay errors later.

A Free Backup: the DOL Timesheet App

For a no-cost, no-signup version of this, the U.S. Department of Labor publishes a free Timesheet app for iOS and Android. It calculates overtime automatically once a pay rate is entered, and the agency built it as a way for workers to keep an independent record if they suspect their employer’s hours don’t match reality. The trade-off: records live only on the device, with no cloud sync, so a lost or wiped phone takes the log with it. Export a CSV backup periodically as a safeguard.

Manual tracking works well for one person on one job, but it becomes inefficient once you split work across multiple clients, projects, or approval workflows. Time-tracking software earns its keep at that point — it automates timers, project allocation, reporting, and timesheet sign-off instead of leaving that work to a spreadsheet.

Which Free Apps Can Actually Track My Hours?

Three free options cover most needs: the DOL Timesheet app for personal wage records, My Hours’ free tier for project- and client-based tracking, and Clockify’s free tier for straightforward team time logs. Each imposes different practical limits on what “free” includes, so match the limit to the actual job rather than the price tag.

Caveat worth flagging on Clockify specifically: its free-plan user cap has reportedly changed more than once, and third-party reviews from 2026 disagree on the exact current number — some describe it as unlimited, others put it at five seats. If the seat count is decisive for your team, confirm it on Clockify’s own pricing page immediately before you commit, not from a review site.

The DOL app never charges but stays personal. My Hours and Clockify both cap their free tier around five people, then move to per-seat pricing once billing, exports, or approval workflows come into play. None of the three gives you everything for nothing.

Is My Employer Legally Required to Track My Hours?

Yes — but only for certain employees. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), covered employers must keep accurate hour and pay records for every non-exempt employee. The law doesn’t require any specific format, so paper, spreadsheets, or software all count.

What Records Employers Must Keep

The required records include your name and address, your pay rate and basis (hourly, weekly, etc.), the day your workweek starts, hours worked each day, total hours each week, and every addition or deduction from your pay. What most guides skip: the retention period isn’t one number. Employers must keep core payroll records for three years, and the backup records used to calculate pay — actual timecards, schedules, and work logs — for two years only, under separate FLSA recordkeeping regulations. If your employer can’t produce either, raise it with them directly, or with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Who This Protects — and Who It Doesn’t

This requirement applies to non-exempt employees. Exempt (typically salaried) employees have lighter recordkeeping rules — your employer still has to keep payroll basics but generally doesn’t need to log your daily hours. Independent contractors and freelancers fall outside FLSA entirely. If you’re a 1099 worker, this protection simply doesn’t apply to you, and any hour tracking you do is for your own billing purposes only.

State laws often add requirements on top of the federal floor — extra rest-break rules, different retention windows, or lower thresholds for overtime. Treat the federal rules here as a minimum, not the full picture in every state.

Overtime Exceptions to Know

Overtime isn’t always a flat 40-hour rule. Under federal law, non-exempt employees generally earn 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Two notable exceptions change that math. Hospitals and residential care facilities can use the “8 and 80” system instead, paying overtime for hours over 8 in a single day or over 80 in a fixed 14-day period, when both employer and employee agree to it in advance. California adds its own daily-overtime rule on top of the federal floor for most non-agricultural workers — generally overtime after 8 hours in a single workday, even when the weekly total stays under 40, a rule the federal FLSA doesn’t require anywhere else.

Paid vs. Unpaid Breaks

Paid vs. unpaid breaks is a common wage-theft trap. Under 29 CFR § 785.18, employers must count and pay short rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes as hours worked, no matter what they call them. Only genuine meal periods of 30 minutes or more, where the employer fully relieves the employee of duties, can legally go unpaid. Clocking employees out for coffee or bathroom breaks under 20 minutes is a wage violation, not a legitimate deduction.

Rounding Rules

Rounding rules have a specific cutoff. Employers may round time punches to the nearest quarter hour under 29 CFR § 785.48(b), but the rounding has to average out over time rather than consistently favor the employer. The DOL’s own guidance sets the threshold at the 7-minute mark: 1 to 7 minutes past a quarter-hour rounds down, 8 to 14 minutes rounds up. A policy that only ever rounds down, or that always rounds start times up and end times down, isn’t neutral and isn’t legal.

How Do I Turn My Hours Into Pay?

To convert an hourly rate to an annual salary, multiply your hourly wage by 2,080 (the standard 40-hour, 52-week work year): a $40/hour rate works out to roughly $83,200 a year before taxes, before accounting for unpaid time off or overtime.

To go the other direction — turning a salary into an hourly figure — divide the annual number by 2,080. A $60,000 salary works out to about $28.85 an hour on that same standard schedule. Both numbers are estimates: they assume a full 40-hour week for 52 weeks, so unpaid leave, part-time schedules, or unpaid overtime will shift your real hourly rate up or down. If you’re paid overtime, remember that math sits on top of, not instead of, the base conversion above — non-exempt employees are generally owed 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week under the FLSA.

Freelancers and contractors billing clients rather than drawing a salary get more value from billable-rate tracking (My Hours’ Pro tier, or Clockify’s paid tiers): a timer running in the background turns directly into an invoice-ready number instead of a manual spreadsheet step.

Which Time Tracking App Should I Actually Choose?

The review score matters less than the job it needs to do. My Hours’ free tier makes the most sense for a solo freelancer billing a handful of clients, since it supports up to five active users before a paid plan kicks in. Clockify fits an internal team that just wants a shared log without billing attached — though the current seat limit is worth confirming directly before signing anyone up. And for a worker who wants a personal, tamper-proof record, especially anyone who suspects an employer’s hours don’t match reality, the DOL Timesheet app is the better call: free, government-built, and built for that one job alone.

No single tool wins outright. A team billing multiple clients will outgrow Clockify’s free reporting fast, and a worker who just needs a private log doesn’t need My Hours’ project structure at all.

Where AI Fits Into Time Tracking Now

None of the three tools above use AI to build the timesheet for you — you’re still the one starting a timer or writing down a start time. That’s changing fast in the tools sitting one tier up.

Automatic trackers like Rize run in the background on desktop and use AI to categorize each work session by project without a timer ever being started. The tool claims to recover 15–40% more billable hours than manual logging catches, mostly by closing the gap a forgotten timer leaves behind. Toggl Track takes a lighter version of the same approach: its timeline feature records app and website activity automatically, then an AI suggestion engine proposes time entries from that activity plus calendar events, leaving final categorization to the user. Timely goes further still, drafting full timesheet entries from calendar events, meetings, and documents for a human to approve rather than build from scratch.

For workers who care less about billing and more about where the day actually went, RescueTime uses the same background-activity approach to generate a daily productivity score and flag distraction patterns, rather than a client-ready invoice.

AI categorization removes the manual step across all of them, but it runs on desktop activity monitoring, and none of it is free the way My Hours or Clockify’s core tiers are. For a worker who just needs an accurate personal wage record, or a freelancer tracking one or two clients, that’s usually more machinery than the job requires. It becomes worth the cost once forgotten timers are actually costing billable hours.

FAQs

Q. What is the best app to track my work hours?

The best app depends on what you need to track. For a personal record of hours worked, the U.S. Department of Labor’s free Timesheet app is designed for wage tracking. Freelancers and small teams can use My Hours for project and client-based tracking, while Clockify is suited to shared team time logs.

Q. How can I track my work hours for free?

You can track work hours for free with a spreadsheet, the DOL Timesheet app, My Hours, or Clockify’s free plan. A spreadsheet is enough for simple start-and-end times, while dedicated apps can add timers, projects, reports, and other time-tracking features.

Q. How much does the My Hours app cost?

My Hours has a free plan for up to five active users. Its paid plans add features such as budgeting, approval workflows, and audit logs. Pricing can change, so check the current My Hours pricing page before subscribing.

Q. How do I use My Hours to track time?

To track time with My Hours, create a project or client and either start a timer while working or enter your hours manually. You can then assign billable rates, submit timesheets, and generate reports from your recorded hours.

Q. Is there a free Google Timesheet app?

Google does not offer a dedicated app called Google Timesheet. Instead, you can use Google Sheets to create or use a timesheet template for tracking work hours. Google Workspace also supports third-party time-tracking integrations.

Q. Is Clockify really free?

Yes, Clockify offers a free time-tracking plan, but some features are limited to paid plans. The free tier includes core time tracking, while features such as certain billing, invoicing, editing, and export capabilities may require a subscription. Because plan limits can change, check Clockify’s current pricing before choosing it for a team.

Q. What is the best free app for tracking work hours?

There is no single free app that fits every type of worker. The DOL Timesheet app is designed for personal wage records, My Hours supports project and client tracking, and Clockify provides shared time tracking for teams. Choose based on whether you need personal records, client billing, or team collaboration.

Q. How do I calculate my hourly wage from my salary?

To estimate an hourly wage from an annual salary, divide the annual salary by 2,080, assuming a 40-hour workweek for 52 weeks. For example, a $60,000 annual salary divided by 2,080 equals approximately $28.85 per hour.

Q. Do 5- to 20-minute breaks count as hours worked?

Yes. Under U.S. federal rules, short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes generally count as hours worked and must be paid. Genuine meal periods of at least 30 minutes can generally be unpaid when the employee is completely relieved of work duties.

Q. Can my employer round my clock-in and clock-out times?

Yes, federal rules allow certain time-rounding practices, including rounding to the nearest quarter hour, provided the method is neutral over time. A system that consistently rounds in the employer’s favor may not comply with federal requirements.

Q. How do I calculate hours worked?

Subtract your start time from your end time, then subtract any unpaid meal break. Convert the result into decimal hours if you need it for payroll, billing, or a spreadsheet. For example, an 8-hour shift with a 30-minute unpaid break equals 7.5 hours worked.

Q. How do I track hours for freelance work?

Freelancers can track hours with a spreadsheet or a time-tracking app. Record time by client and project, mark billable hours separately, and review the total before creating an invoice. Tools such as My Hours can automate timers, project allocation, and reporting.

Q. What is the easiest way to track work hours?

The simplest method is to record your start time, end time, and unpaid break for every work session. For occasional tracking, a spreadsheet is usually enough; if you regularly manage multiple projects or clients, a dedicated time-tracking app can reduce manual work.

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