Chrometa vs ManicTime (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ManicTime grades higher than Chrometa: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Chrometa grades higher on platforms. ManicTime grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Chrometa
Automatic time tracking that sorts desktop activity into billable time
ManicTime
Automatic time tracker, in the cloud or on your own server
Which one is for you
Pick Chrometa if
- Fits if you bill by the hour and forget to start timers
- Works for lawyers and consultants already on Clio, QuickBooks or Xero
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $19 against $11.67 a month on yearly billing
- Skip it if you want screenshots or a team dashboard, as those start on Plus at $29
- Not for you if you need the API, which is Premium only at $49
- Watch out: the homepage mentions the Clio team adding features, so who owns it is unclear
Pick ManicTime if
- Fits if you want a record of your day without running a timer
- Works for companies that must keep tracking data on their own servers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, because the free version is Windows only with no timesheets, auto-tagging or server sync
- Not for you if you expect a license to cover every future version, as it comes with one year of upgrades
- Pricey if you want screenshots stored in the cloud, which takes Ultimate at $9 a month, or $13 a user for teams
- Watch out: cloud plans cap devices at 3 a user on Standard and 5 on Ultimate, and stop working when they lapse
- Skip it if you want a web app, or the Azure DevOps and Basecamp links outside Windows, as neither is offered
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAChrometaFair | 2.4GPAManicTimeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$19 a user a month, or $140 a year ($11.67 a month), where the middle of time tracking is $6.67 and the dearest tenth starts at $12. API access only arrives on Premium at $49. | CCloud Standard is $7 a month billed yearly for one person, $9 monthly, and teams pay $10 a user, all of which is middle of the road here. The $87 license looks like the way out, but it only carries a year of upgrades, so it isn't buying the future. |
| Free plan and trial | D30-day trial of the chosen plan, but the page does not say whether a card is needed, and there is no free plan. | CThere is a free version, and it's Windows only and stripped down with it: no auto-tagging, no timesheets, no stopwatch, no advanced search, no server sync. You'll hit that wall quickly. Every paid version has a 30-day trial. |
| Features | CPassive capture, keyword allocation, daily timesheets and invoicing, but Standard has no screenshots and limits clients and workspaces; the listing names those gaps. | BIt records apps, websites and documents in the background with no internet needed, and rules tag the repeat stuff for you. Then optional screenshots, away-time prompts, timesheets, reports and PDF invoices from approved timesheets, on the cloud or your own server. The job is covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Collectors for each computer and keyword rules for allocating time have to be set up first. | CNo store rating on record. Tracking looks after itself once installed, but the work comes after: you tag a timeline to clients and projects day by day until you've built rules that do it for you. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, an API on Premium and integrations with Clio, QuickBooks, Xero and others. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, with a REST API and links to Jira, GitHub, Asana, Harvest, FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online. No web app is listed, and cloud plans cap devices at 3 a user on Standard and 5 on Ultimate. |
| Best for | automatic time capture for hourly billing | automatic tracking kept on your own hardware |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Chrometa and ManicTime. How we grade
Price against what you get
Chrometa starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ManicTime starts at $7 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and ManicTime starts $12 a month lower. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 16 score higher than Chrometa for less, and 11 score higher than ManicTime for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- ManicTime is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- ManicTime can be bought with a one-time purchase.
At a glance
| Chrometa | ManicTime | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed monthly ($140 billed yearly) | $7 per month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free version of ManicTime for Windows, usable in any setting. It lacks auto-tagging, timesheets, away-time tagging, the stopwatch and pomodoro timer, advanced search, tag plugins and ManicTime Server. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial with full access to the chosen plan | 30-day free trial on all paid versions |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Chrometa | ManicTime |
| Price read from | chrometa.com | manictime.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Chrometa
- Standard limits client and workspace tracking and has no screenshots.
- Screenshots start on Plus and API access only on Premium.
- Yearly prices are per user per year and work out well below the monthly rate.
- The homepage mentions the Clio team adding features, so ownership is unclear from the site.
ManicTime
- The free version is for Windows only and leaves out auto-tagging, timesheets, advanced search and server sync.
- Cloud plans cap devices at 3 per user on Standard and 5 on Ultimate; cloud screenshots need Ultimate.
- A license covers one year of upgrades; newer versions need a renewal, and a cloud subscription stops working when it lapses.
- The Azure DevOps and Basecamp integrations are listed for the Windows client only.
Key features
Chrometa
- Passive time capture
- Collectors for Mac, Windows and Android log documents, emails, websites and calls without timers.
- Automatic allocation
- Assigns time to clients and projects by keywords, email addresses and phone numbers; AI allocation improves on Plus.
- Daily timesheets
- A generated timesheet is ready each day to review, edit and tag before billing.
- Budgets and alerts
- Sets time and budget alerts for projects, including a warning when billable time is at risk of under-billing.
- Invoicing
- Invoices clients from tracked time, with exports to accounting and practice management tools.
- Team tracking
- Plus and Premium add shared workspaces and a team productivity dashboard, with real-time monitoring on Premium.
ManicTime
- Automatic tracking
- Runs in the background and records apps, websites and documents on parallel timelines. Tracking needs no internet connection and syncs to the cloud or a server later.
- Tags and auto-tagging rules
- Recorded activity is assigned to clients, projects or tasks with tags. With a license or subscription, rules tag recurring activity automatically.
- Screenshots and away time
- Optional screenshots are anchored to the timeline as proof of work. When you return to the computer, ManicTime asks how to classify the time away.
- Timesheets, reports and invoices
- The same data produces timesheets, billable summaries, attendance, overtime and productivity reports. Invoices are generated from approved timesheets as PDFs.
- Cloud or self-hosted server
- ManicTime Cloud needs no server setup. ManicTime Server runs on your own infrastructure, including Docker and Azure, with direct SQL access to the database.
- Integrations, REST API and MCP
- Tasks come in from tools such as Jira, GitHub and Asana, and time can sync back. A REST API covers custom integrations, and an MCP server runs locally for AI tools.
Plans
Chrometa
Standard$19
per user / month, billed monthly ($140 per user billed yearly)
Passive time tracking, unlimited entries, basic AI categorization, daily summary emails and invoicing.
Plus$29
per user / month, billed monthly ($212 per user billed yearly)
Adds screenshots every 10 minutes, shared workspaces, team dashboard, unlimited projects and integrations.
Premium$49
per user / month, billed monthly ($360 per user billed yearly)
Adds API access, role-based access, screenshots every 5 minutes, real-time team monitoring and audit logs.
ManicTime
Free version (Windows)$0
ManicTime for Windows without the licensed features such as auto-tagging, timesheets, advanced search, tag plugins and ManicTime Server.
Cloud Standard, individuals$7
per month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly)
One person on 3 devices. All ManicTime Pro features on Windows, plus the Mac, Linux, iOS and Android apps, cloud backup and multi-device reports.
Cloud Ultimate, individuals$9
per month, billed yearly ($11 billed monthly)
Everything in Standard, plus 2 more devices (5 in total) and screenshots stored in the cloud.
Cloud Standard, teams$10
per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)
The Standard plan for teams, with 3 devices per user and multi-device reports on the cloud server.
Cloud Ultimate, teams$13
per user / month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly)
The Ultimate plan for teams, with 5 devices per user and screenshots stored in the cloud.
License (ManicTime Pro)$87
one-time per user, with a year of upgrades
Local install or your own ManicTime Server. Team licenses cost $80 each from 2 users, falling in steps to $20 each at 1,000.
Ways to pay less
Chrometa
- Annual discount
40% off with annual billing
Chrometa's pricing page states a 40% discount for an annual subscription on any plan.
ManicTime
- Annual discount
Lower cloud price with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Cloud Standard is $7 a month for individuals against $9 monthly, and $10 per user for teams against $12. Ultimate is $9 against $11, and $13 against $15.
- Lifetime license
One-time license from $87 per user
A license is a one-time payment with a year of support and upgrades. After that year the last version released within it keeps working indefinitely.
- Education
80% off the license for students and retirees
Students aged 27 or under and retirees get 80% off a license for non-commercial use, and faculty get 50% off, by emailing support with proof. Cloud plans have no discounts.
- Other savings
50% off early license renewal
The documentation says a license renewed before its year of upgrades is up gets a 50% discount on the renewal.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Chrometa or ManicTime?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Chrometa starts at $19 per user / month, billed monthly ($140 billed yearly), and ManicTime starts at $7 per month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Chrometa or ManicTime?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only ManicTime has a free plan. Chrometa does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Chrometa and ManicTime run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Chrometa lists a web app and only ManicTime lists a Linux app. Both list macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.