So from 15 June 2026 the free plan is going to become so crippled it is almost useless. Why are Clockify not being open about this - you promised it as free forever - and now you are nixing it. The API in particular is being totally crippled - currently 180,000 requests per hour .. down to 30. Shame
Thank you for your honest feedback! I understand that there might be some confusion and I’ll gladly clarify this further for you.
We are still keeping the Free version of Clockify for individuals and small teams. However, to make sure we can continue to provide improved security, the continuing development, and maintenance of the application, we had to limit the scale of the free plan.
Please note that the Free Plan still includes core time tracking features. You will still have access to the features you’ve previously used for time tracking, such as Time tracker, Timesheet, Calendar, unlimited projects and tasks. It’s still there and it will not go away. It’s just in a different shape.
However, it will be available to workspaces with up to 5 active users.
Also, features like permissions, billable amounts, or shared reports will require an upgrade to a paid plan. Furthermore, our team is constantly adding new options and improvements to the existing features.
In the UK at least rules regarding advertising veracity also apply to websites - so “Unlimited users, free forever” would necessarily need to mean just that (not “5 users, free until we change or minds”).
But the real underhand part of this change is not even covered by your “You will still have access to the features you’ve previously used for time tracking” statement - what Clockify are doing is holding our data hostage - the ability to report on and export the data we have recorded (over years previously in my case) is being drastically curtailed and the non-coincidental crippling of API access by an unbelievable cut in the rate limit on the API (which works out to be from 180,000 requests per hour down to just 30) means users who were on the free plan have no realistic way to extract the data they have previously recorded (and of course also have limits on extracting what they record in future). So the only way to access that data (much of which was recorded prior to this change) in future is to take out a paid plan. So taking something I own (my data) and then not letting me have it without paying is extortion.
I can understand that the free plan might have become unsustainable and the present ownership may be regretting promises they or their predecessors made in the past. But the ransoming of data and masking this in any post about what changes are occurring is dishonest to say the least and in many jurisdictions quite possibly illegal. How exactly would you comply with a GDPR request for such data now? And how would I comply with a GDPR request from someone I have made reference to in my data that you now hold hostage?
I accept that I will probably have to move to a paid plan now - but your organisation should be more honest about what it is doing and offer people a way to take back their data if they don’t wish to continue with a paid plan.
Thank you for following up, and we sincerely appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective with us regarding the free plan changes.
The team put a great deal of thought into this before finally deciding on the updates. By moving to a more sustainable model, we can keep the app running smoothly at a high quality service, while continuing to build new features and improvements that our users need.
We also want to make sure that your past data remains accessible. All of your historical time entries will always be available to you even on the new Free plan.
While you can still utilize the Reports page in the free version, you can also perform a yearly export of your data in your Workspace Settings > Import tab
You can also find the detailed instructions about exporting your data here.
I hope this helps, and if you have additional concerns, we’re always here for you!
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