Toggl API Limitations
Toggl has recently restricted the number of API requests per hour – this can cause problems when loading your time entries. Here's what's behind it and what alternatives are available.
What happened?
Toggl has introduced strict limits for API requests depending on account type. These limits vary by subscription:
- Free: 20 requests per hour
- Starter: 240 requests per hour
- Premium & Enterprise: higher limits
When you reach the limit, Toggl shows this error message:
→ Go to subscriptions page
How does this affect you?
To display your last 500 time entries in GrandTotal, 12 API requests are needed. This means:
- Free account: only about 2× loading per hour possible
- Starter account: about 20× loading per hour possible
The Free plan has thus become practically unusable for use with GrandTotal.
Why this restriction?
Toggl claims on their support page that the limits protect server resources and ensure fair usage.
However, the error message reveals the true intention: "Please upgrade to a paid plan for increased access." This isn't about server protection – it's about forcing free users to upgrade.
20 API requests per hour is ridiculously low for modern APIs. Toggl could easily set much higher limits if server protection was the real concern.
Instead, they're deliberately making the free plan unusable for third-party integrations – a classic dark pattern tactic to push users into paid subscriptions.
Alternatives to Toggl
Instead of giving in, you can take the opportunity and consider these alternatives:
Important note: Free products always carry the risk that the rules can change overnight. If you choose another free service, be aware that the same situation could happen again at any time.
| Tool | Monthly Price (EUR) | API Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clockify | free | Generous (~10 req/s) | ||||||
| Keeping | free (Solo) | Fair-use principle | ||||||
| Kimai | free (Self-Hosted) | No limits | ||||||
| SpikeTime | ab 3,00 € | No known limits | ||||||
| Clockograph | ab 4,90 € | No fixed limits | ||||||
| Tyme | 4,99 € | No known limits | ||||||
| Clockodo | ab 5,00 € | No fixed limits | ||||||
| mite. | 5,00 € | No fixed limits | ||||||
| Everhour | ab 9,00 € | No known limits | ||||||
| LogMyTime | 9,50 € | 500 calls/day/user | ||||||
| Toggl Track Starter | 10,00 € | 240 requests/h | ||||||
| Timing | 20,00 € | 500 req/h, max. 200/min | ||||||
| Toggl Track Premium | 20,00 € | 600 requests/h | ||||||
| Tick | projektbasiert | No known limits |
Prices per user/month, as of November 2025. API integration with GrandTotal available. No guarantee – details on respective provider websites.