Hoursmith vs Paymo
An honest comparison — who Hoursmith is best for, who Paymo may suit better, the tradeoffs, and a direct import path from Paymo.
Paymo and Hoursmith overlap on time tracking, projects, and invoicing, so they're often compared. The useful question isn't which is "better" overall — it's which matches how you work. We'll keep claims about Paymo general and focus on what's true about Hoursmith. Helpfully, Hoursmith has a direct Paymo importer, so trying it doesn't mean re-entering your data.
Who Hoursmith is best for
Hoursmith tends to fit better if you want a focused, opinionated path from time to payment:
- Flat-fee pricing, not per-seat as your team grows. See Flat-fee vs per-seat.
- Payments into your own Stripe account — Hoursmith never holds your money. See Connect Stripe.
- Invoices from your own email domain. See Email settings.
- Money-blind, project-scoped contractors. See Money-blindness.
- A real API, an MCP server, and webhooks for automation.
Who Paymo may be better for
Paymo offers a broader feature set across project work. It may suit you better if your team relies on capabilities outside Hoursmith's focus — for example, heavier project-management features. Hoursmith is deliberately not a full project-management suite (no Gantt, forecasting, or dependencies). If those are core to your day, check Paymo's current materials and weigh them against what you actually use.
The tradeoffs
| Consideration | Hoursmith | Paymo (general / confirm on their site) |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Time + invoicing, focused | Broader project work — confirm |
| Pricing model | Flat fee per plan | Confirm on vendor site |
| Where payments land | Your own Stripe account | Confirm |
| Invoice email sender | Your own domain | Confirm |
| Contractor visibility | Money-blind, project-scoped Members | Confirm |
| Automation | REST API, MCP server, webhooks | Confirm |
| Project management | Not a PM suite (by design) | Confirm |
Migration notes — the direct path
This is where Paymo is a special case: Hoursmith imports your Paymo data directly using your Paymo API key, so you can switch without starting over.
Set up and invite your team first
Create your workspace and invite the teammates you'll map Paymo users to — nobody is auto-invited. See Set up your workspace and Invite your team.
Run the Paymo import
Paste your Paymo API key and follow the wizard. It brings across clients, contacts, projects, tasks, time, and invoices, and asks you to map your team. See Import from Paymo.
Recreate what doesn't import, then verify
Some things don't come across — including expenses, attachments, and Stripe/SMTP credentials — so set those up fresh and check your numbers in Reports.
For the full field-by-field list of what does and doesn't import, see the migration guide.
Try it for yourself
Because the import is direct and free on every plan, the low-risk move is to import and look around. Start a trial, or read the migration guide first.
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