BigTime vs Laurel
A detailed comparison of BigTime and Laurel covering features, pricing, integrations, strengths, and weaknesses to help you choose the right tool.
Quick Overview
BigTime
Professional Services Automation
BigTime is a professional services automation platform offering unified time and expense tracking, flexible billing and invoicing, AI-driven resource management, and real-time dashboards. It is purpose-built for professional services firms including accounting, engineering, architecture, IT services, and consulting.
Laurel
Enterprise Time Intelligence Platform
Laurel (formerly Time by Ping) is an enterprise-grade AI time intelligence platform primarily serving large law firms, Big 4 accounting firms, and major consulting organizations. It uses firm-specific Small Language Models to passively capture work activity and generate billing narratives that match each timekeeper's individual writing style.
Feature Comparison
BigTime Features
Unified time and expense tracking
Flexible billing supporting time and materials, fixed fee, retainer, and blended rates
AI-driven Smart Staffing for resource management
Real-time dashboards and financial forecasting
Customizable standard and advanced reporting
Data Hub for BI integration with Power BI and Tableau
BigTime Wallet built-in payment processing
Project budgeting at company, project, or task level
Laurel Features
Passive background activity capture across all devices and applications
AI narrative generation matching individual timekeeper writing styles
Firm-specific Small Language Models (each firm gets its own)
Automatic billing code assignment
Real-time compliance engine for client billing rules
Automatic activity reconciliation for overlapping activities
Time analytics and insights dashboard
Pricing Breakdown
BigTime
$20/user/month
Essentials: $20/user/month. Advanced: $35/user/month. Premier: $45/user/month. Projector: $60/user/month. All billed annually. 14-day free trial.
Laurel
Contact sales (enterprise only)
Enterprise custom pricing with white-glove deployment. No self-serve tiers. Positioned well above $29/user/month competitors. Contact sales for quotes.
Strengths & Weaknesses
BigTime
Strengths
Intuitive interface with high ease-of-use ratings
Excellent customer support rated 4.7/5 on Capterra
Strong QuickBooks integration
Comprehensive flexible billing supporting multiple project types
Robust reporting capabilities
SOC 2 Type 2 certified with bank-level encryption
Weaknesses
Mobile app is less polished and reliable than desktop
Steep learning curve for complex approval workflows
Occasional syncing issues between modules
Limited invoice formatting customization
Confusing terminology can cause implementation errors
Issue resolution for invoicing problems can be slow
Laurel
Strengths
Measurable ROI: 4-11% profitability increase, 7.5% hours billed increase
80% reduction in manual time entry
Firm-specific AI models that continuously learn
Strong security: SOC II Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, BYOK encryption
Rapid 4-week deployment
Well-funded with $155.7M raised at $510M valuation
28+ additional billable minutes per timekeeper per day
Weaknesses
English language support only
Inconsistent support quality reported by some users
No public pricing transparency
Desktop monitoring may raise privacy concerns
Limited training resources with no video or webinar content
Not suitable for solo practitioners or small firms
Operational complexity at scale
Integrations
BigTime (10 integrations)
Laurel (9 integrations)
Target Market
BigTime
Professional services firms: accounting, engineering, architecture, IT services, consulting, government contractors. 5 to 500+ employees.
Laurel
Large enterprise law firms (Am Law 100), Big 4 accounting firms, and major consulting firms
The Verdict
Both BigTime and Laurel are solid time tracking tools, but they serve different needs.
BigTime (Professional Services Automation) is best suited for professional services firms: accounting, engineering, architecture, it services, consulting, government contractors. 5 to 500+ employees.. It starts at $20/user/month and offers 8 key features.
Laurel (Enterprise Time Intelligence Platform) is best suited for large enterprise law firms (am law 100), big 4 accounting firms, and major consulting firms. It starts at Contact sales (enterprise only) and offers 7 key features.
If neither tool quite fits your needs, consider comparing BigTime with TimeSentry or comparing Laurel with TimeSentry. TimeSentry offers AI-powered time capture from 20+ integrations, built-in invoicing, multi-company workflows, and dedicated onboarding support.
The TimeSentry Guarantee
Free 7-day trial with full access to every feature. No credit card required.
White-glove onboarding so your team is set up correctly from day one.
AI that learns your patterns and gets more accurate the longer you use it.
Cancel anytime with no contracts, no lock-in, and no hidden fees.
Dedicated support from real humans who respond within hours, not days.
Need something better than both?
TimeSentry combines the best of AI-powered time tracking with built-in invoicing, multi-company workflows, and 20+ integrations. Try it free and see for yourself.