ToolTime alternativeLooking for a ToolTime alternative? Here it is.
ToolTime is a well-made app — mobile-first, friendly to use, fast to start. But it stays rented: the right of use ends with the subscription, it is operated in the vendor's cloud, and the tariff is tiered by the number of employees (vendor's own figures, as of August 2026). krafteq Handwerk is standard software for trade businesses too — except you buy it once, get your own installation, and are billed per business rather than per head. We are currently rolling krafteq Handwerk out with the first businesses: you test it free of charge, receive an individual offer afterwards, and we set up your business together with you.
Bought, not rented. Your own installation, on request without internet. Fine-tuning after go-live included.
ToolTime strengthsWhat ToolTime does well
We take competitors seriously. ToolTime has earned its place in the German trades market for good reasons — particularly with smaller mobile teams. Before we look at the model, here is an honest take on what makes ToolTime strong.
Built from the building site
ToolTime was built for the smartphone from day one. The app feels natural on a job site — open a job, attach photos, log hours in a few taps. If your work happens mostly outside the office, that is a real advantage.
Fast to start
Create an account, fill in some master data, you are running. Onboarding is lean and the learning curve is shallow. For a small team that wants to start tomorrow, that matters.
Friendly interface
Clear icons, little jargon, tidy menus. ToolTime is one of the trades apps where less software-savvy team members do not bounce off immediately. In the trades, that is worth a lot.
Finished for the usual processes
Job management, time tracking and invoicing are covered. For a team that is happy with that and needs nothing of its own, ToolTime is a sensible choice.
Limits of the rental modelWhere renting gets expensive for your business
The points below are not criticism of the app but properties of the contract model ToolTime describes on its own pricing page (as of August 2026): rented instead of bought, tiers by number of employees, a twelve-month minimum term, operated in the vendor's cloud. For businesses that plan long term, these are the friction points that come up most often.
The tariff is tiered by employees
Per its pricing page ToolTime costs €79 per month on the SOLO tier when paid annually, €89 paid monthly — net, with a twelve-month minimum term. SOLO covers one employee. Above it sit TEAM at €149 for up to five and MAX at €299 for up to ten employees (annual payment; as of August 2026). So your first journeyman moves you up a tier — even if he only opens the software occasionally. Our perpetual licence covers the business, however many people work in it.
The rent never ends
In year 6, 7 or 10 you keep paying. When the subscription ends, the right of use ends — no value stays in the business. With a perpetual licence you buy the right of use once, and it never expires. What you pay after that is the operation of your installation, and you can take that over yourself.
A standard product from the vendor's cloud
Per the vendor's own description, ToolTime is operated as a cloud service (as of August 2026). In a standardised operation serving many customers, customer-specific changes are typically more tightly bounded; how far a vendor goes is a commercial decision and one to ask them about. That is also what the low entry price rests on. With us one installation runs per business — which is what makes a change for your business possible at all.
Operation in your own network is not on the menu
Your jobs, customer data and invoices sit in the vendor's cloud — that is how ToolTime describes the product itself (as of August 2026). On that description, an installation on your own server is not part of the offering. For businesses with security requirements or poor connectivity, this is where the models part ways.
The data comes with you, the right of use does not
ToolTime documents its exports in detail: quotes, working hours, customer data, invoices and invoice line items as CSV or Excel, plus a DATEV export as a ZIP with the posting batch and a dedicated GoBD data export for tax audits (as of Aug 2026). So you can take your data with you. What ends is the use of the software itself: it is tied to the running subscription.
Price source (list prices, net, as of August 2026): ToolTime pricing page — SOLO €79, TEAM €149, MAX €299 per month paid annually; €89 / €169 / €329 paid monthly; twelve-month minimum term
Head-to-headkrafteq Handwerk and ToolTime — the dimensions that matter
Both are standard software for trades businesses, both from serious vendors. The difference lies in the model behind them — so you can decide deliberately rather than by gut feel.
| krafteq Handwerk | ToolTime | |
|---|---|---|
| How you acquire it | Purchase: a perpetual licence per business, paid once | Subscription per the vendor, twelve-month minimum term |
| Entry list price | A fixed price in your offer, no monthly licence fee | €79 per month (SOLO, paid annually, net) or €89 paid monthly |
| Employees per tier | Every role in your business — office and site | SOLO 1, TEAM up to 5 (€149), MAX up to 10 (€299) |
| When you hire | price stays the same | the next tier up; extra employees can only be added on MAX (€29 paid annually) |
| Use after the contract ends | unlimited — your version keeps running | tied to the subscription term |
| Where the software runs | Your own installation per business: own database, own domain, own configuration | The vendor's cloud |
| Operation in your own network | on request, also without an internet connection | not part of the offering per the vendor's description |
| Data export per the vendor | A database dump and file archive of your installation, at any time on request | CSV/Excel for quotes, hours, customers and invoices, a DATEV ZIP with the posting batch, a dedicated GoBD data export |
| Adaptation to your business | Switch areas off, rename processes and statuses to your own terms, settings per installation — plus fine-tuning after go-live | Settings within the standard product; the vendor states the actual scope |
| Point of contact | A named German-speaking contact in Leverkusen, on-site meetings possible | Vendor support, based in Berlin |
Evidence for the ToolTime column (net, as of August 2026): ToolTime pricing page — tiers, employee counts, minimum term, ToolTime help centre — data exports from ToolTime — krafteq amounts deliberately do not appear in this table — they belong in the individual offer. The ToolTime rows reproduce the list prices and statements on the vendor's own pages (net, as of August 2026); time-limited promotions are not included. We list the export deliberately: ToolTime documents it thoroughly, and that works in your favour when switching. Your data belongs to you under either model — the difference is where it sits and how long you are allowed to use it.
Try it with your own data
The most honest comparison is the one against your own processes. You get your test instance of krafteq Handwerk — set up for your trade, ready for your own data. Usually within three working days, no sales call and no obligation.
- No subscription
- No sales call
FAQSwitching from ToolTime to krafteq Handwerk — straight answers
Looking at other subscription vendors? Here are our comparisons against plancraft and HERO.
We look at the other major vendors with the same method: what they do well, where the rental model hits its limits, and what a bought perpetual licence with your own installation changes about it. So you decide deliberately rather than by gut feel.
To the plancraft comparisonReady to stop renting?
Tell us briefly what your business does — we set up your test instance of krafteq Handwerk, usually within three working days. You try with your own data whether it fits, before cancelling ToolTime. Afterwards you receive an individual written offer; we set up your business together with you. For trade businesses. Not a trade business? Then write to us via the contact form.
- No subscription
- Per business, not per head
- Your own installation
- No sales call