How to choose an hours tracker app for iPhone

Searching for the “best” hours tracker turns up a lot of lists. Most of them are written by people who don't work shifts. This page is different in one way: we make Shiftly, so instead of ranking apps we'll tell you what actually matters when you track hours on an iPhone, and show plainly where Shiftly fits and where it doesn't.

The checklist

Judge any hours tracker, including ours, on these points. They come from the ways manual tracking usually goes wrong.

Fast to start a shift. If clocking in takes more than a tap or two, you'll skip it on busy days and the record falls apart.
Breaks are subtracted. Unpaid breaks are the most common reason a total doesn't match a pay stub. The app should handle more than one break per shift.
Editable after the fact. You will forget to clock out. Adjusting times later should be normal, not a workaround.
Pay estimate, not just hours. Hours are only useful once they become a number you can compare with payday. Tips and overtime should be part of that number.
Multiple jobs stay separate. Different rates, different colors, no mixing.
History you can check. A pay dispute happens weeks later. Shift records should be easy to find and, ideally, export.
Clear pricing. Know what is free and what the subscription adds before you invest a month of data.
Privacy. Check the App Store privacy label. Hours and pay are personal.

How Shiftly measures up

Against that list, here is what Shiftly does today, taken from the current App Store listing rather than a roadmap:

One-tap clock in with a live view of the running shift and its estimated earnings
Multiple breaks per shift, tips, and manual overtime on any shift
Scheduled shifts whose times you can adjust afterwards
Hours, wages, overtime, tips, and total earnings in one place, with history in Insights
Separate jobs with their own hourly rate, currency, and color
App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected

Shiftly Pro adds unlimited jobs, Apple Watch tracking, recurring schedules, automatic overtime rules, and PDF, CSV, or Excel export. Pricing is on the free vs. Pro page.

Where Shiftly is not the right choice

You need an Android or web version. Shiftly is Apple-only.
You need an employer-side time clock, scheduling for a team, or payroll processing. Shiftly is a personal tracker.
You want net pay after taxes. Shiftly estimates gross earnings from the rate you enter.
You want automatic overtime without a subscription. Manual overtime is free; automatic rules are Pro.

Try it against the checklist

The download is free, so the cheapest way to decide is to track one week. If the live shift, breaks, and totals fit how you work, keep going. If not, you've lost nothing. Either way, the work hours calculator on this site is free to use without the app.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shiftly the best hours tracker for iPhone?

We make Shiftly, so we are not a neutral judge. The honest answer is that the best app is the one you will open every shift. Use the checklist on this page, try the free download, and keep it if it fits how you work.

Should I use the built-in Clock or Notes app instead?

They work for a few days. They do not subtract breaks, total a week, estimate pay, or keep history you can check against a pay stub, which is where a dedicated tracker earns its place.

Do I need to pay to track hours on iPhone?

Not with Shiftly. Shift tracking, breaks, tips, manual overtime, earnings estimates, and history are free. Shiftly Pro is an optional subscription for unlimited jobs, Apple Watch tracking, recurring schedules, automatic overtime rules, and export.

Which iPhones does Shiftly support?

Any iPhone running iOS 18.6 or later. It also runs on Apple silicon Macs, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple Watch (watchOS 11 or later, with Pro).

Run Shiftly through the checklist

Track one week for free and see whether it fits how you work.

Free download for iPhone. Shiftly Pro is optional.