How to track time in Trello

1. Write the time on the card by hand

The oldest method: put the hours in the card title, a comment, or a custom field (“Hours: 3.5”). It needs nothing installed.

It breaks down quickly. You have to remember to do it, there is no record of when the time was spent or by whom, and adding up a week means opening every card. Custom fields are also not available on every Trello plan.

2. Add a time tracking Power-Up

A Power-Up adds a timer to the card itself. You press Start, do the work and press Stop; the Power-Up keeps the sessions and adds them up. Because it runs inside Trello, there is nothing else to open.

FairHour is a Power-Up of this kind. It is free, needs no account, and keeps the records in Trello’s own storage on your board.

3. Use a separate time tracker with a Trello button

Tools such as Toggl Track, Clockify, Harvest and Everhour are full time trackers with their own apps. Most connect to Trello through a browser extension or a Power-Up that puts a start button on the card and sends the time to their service.

This is the right choice when you need what those tools add: invoices, billable rates, budgets, or tracking across several tools besides Trello. The cost is another account for everyone and, beyond their free plans, a price per user. We compare them one by one on the comparison pages.

4. Track outside Trello and reconcile later

Some teams keep a spreadsheet or a stopwatch app and match it to cards at the end of the week. It works for one person and gets worse with every person you add.

Which one to choose

• You want hours per card and a weekly timesheet, and your work is in Trello: use a Power-Up.
• You invoice from tracked time or track across many tools: use a separate tracker.
• You track time twice a month: writing it on the card may be enough.

Set up FairHour in a minute

1. Open your board, choose Power-Ups and search for FairHour.
2. Click Add.
3. Open any card and press Start. Write a note for what you are doing.
4. Press Stop. The session is saved on the card.
5. Click the FairHour button at the top of the board to see your week and open the timesheet.

Add to Trello

Common questions

Does Trello have a built-in time tracker?

No. Trello has due dates and, on paid plans, custom fields, but no timer. Time tracking comes from a Power-Up or from a separate tool.

What is the simplest way to track time in Trello?

Add a time tracking Power-Up to the board. With FairHour that is three clicks, and then every card has a Start button.

Can I track time in Trello for free?

Yes. FairHour is free for any number of people, cards and boards, and it works on Trello’s free plan.