What time tracking really costs
In Germany, time tracking software is billed almost universally per person per month, usually 2 to 8 euros. On top of that come one-off items: terminal hardware, setup, data migration. What decides the arithmetic is not the list price but the time that currently goes into timesheets each month.
As of:September 2026
The three pricing models on the market
Almost all providers bill per active person per month. Alongside that there are two variants that look cheaper at first glance and rarely are: tiered prices with a minimum purchase, and packages with a fixed monthly price up to a certain number of people.
The comparison only works via the total price for your own size of business. A package at 49 euros a month for up to 10 people is more expensive than 5 euros per head at seven employees, cheaper at twelve, and with the next hire it jumps to the next tier.
| Model | How it is calculated | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Per person per month | The price is multiplied by the number of active people. | Whether inactive and departed people still count, and whether there is a minimum number of licences. |
| Tiers | The price per head falls from certain sizes onwards. | The first tier is often above your own size, so the discount never arrives. |
| Package | A fixed monthly price up to an upper limit. | The jump to the next tier. One more person can double the price. |
Per person per month
- How it is calculated
- The price is multiplied by the number of active people.
- What to watch out for
- Whether inactive and departed people still count, and whether there is a minimum number of licences.
Tiers
- How it is calculated
- The price per head falls from certain sizes onwards.
- What to watch out for
- The first tier is often above your own size, so the discount never arrives.
Package
- How it is calculated
- A fixed monthly price up to an upper limit.
- What to watch out for
- The jump to the next tier. One more person can double the price.
As of 15/09/2026. The usual range in Germany for small and medium-sized businesses: 2 to 8 euros per person per month.
The items that are not in the monthly price
The monthly price is rarely the whole price. Four items regularly come on top, and three of them are one-off.
- Terminal hardware, where people clock in at a business without work phones. One-off per device, plus cards or fobs per person.
- Setup and training, sometimes as a mandatory package, sometimes optional.
- Data migration from the old system, often charged by effort.
- Surcharges for features people take for granted: an interface, evaluations, a change history, several sites.
Knowing the rules is one thing, keeping to them day to day another. MetronHR checks breaks, rest periods and maximum working time automatically as time is recorded.
The calculation that really counts
Software does not replace work, it replaces time. So the honest calculation does not start from the list price but from the hours that currently go each month into collecting, typing up and chasing.
An example with round numbers for a business with 15 employees: anyone spending four hours a month on timesheets and costing that hour at 35 euros fully loaded is spending 140 euros a month without it appearing on any invoice. Software at 5 euros per head costs 75 euros. So the question is not whether it pays off, but how much of those four hours it actually saves.
On top of that comes an item nobody budgets for: faulty records. Under section 22(2) ArbZG fines of up to 30,000 euros are possible, under section 21 MiLoG up to 30,000 euros, and the ministerial draft of 18/06/2026 provides for up to 50,000 euros for the electronic record-keeping duty.
Free is rarely without cost
There is free time tracking, and for a business with three people it can be enough. The price then sits elsewhere: a limit of a few people, no evaluations, no support, advertising, or data processing outside the EU that makes the data processing agreement a problem.
The Excel spreadsheet is the most widespread free solution and the one with the highest follow-on costs: it satisfies the record-keeping duty formally, but it can be changed afterwards without anyone noticing, and that is exactly the point at which it proves nothing in a dispute.
Further reading:Section 22(2) ArbZG · Section 21 MiLoG · Ministerial draft amending the ArbZG of 18/06/2026
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Frequently asked questions
What we are asked about this most often.
In Germany usually 2 to 8 euros per person per month, depending on the range of features. Terminal hardware, setup and data migration come on top as one-off costs. What matters is whether inactive people are counted and whether a minimum number of licences applies.
Yes, with limits: few people, no evaluations, no support or advertising. For very small businesses that can be enough. What needs checking is where the data sits and whether a data processing agreement is offered, because working time data is personal data.
Depending on the model, a wall terminal costs a one-off three-figure sum, plus cards or key fobs per person. It is worth it where not everyone has a work phone or where clocking is to happen at the entrance.
It depends less on the number than on the effort: from the point where somebody spends several hours a month collecting, typing up and chasing, the effort costs more than the licence. In practice that is often already the case at eight to ten employees.
Surcharges for interfaces and evaluations, minimum terms of twelve or twenty-four months, costs for data migration, and licences for people who are no longer with the business. So a look at the price list should always be a look at the total price for your own size.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Knowing the rules is one thing. Keeping to them is another.
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