Chrometa vs RescueTime (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick RescueTime: it is second in our ranking of time tracking apps, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
RescueTime grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
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
RescueTime
Automatic time tracking with distraction blocking and timesheets
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 RescueTime if
- Fits if you want to see where your computer time goes without running timers
- Works for people who want the same few distracting sites blocked for a set period
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Lite, with 2 weeks of history, 1 goal, no blocking, no alerts and no iOS app
- Pricey if all you want is client timesheets, which need Solo+ at $12 a month or Team+ at $16 a user
- Skip it if you work on Linux, because it isn't on the supported systems list
- Watch out: Solo at $7 covers the focus features only, so billing work means paying for a plus plan
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAChrometaFair | 2.8GPARescueTimeGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CSolo is $7 a month billed annually ($84), or $9 monthly, which is the middle of this category, and it buys the focus side only. Timesheets with clients, projects and billable rates mean Solo+ at $12, and teams pay $16 a user for the same thing. |
| 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. | CLite is free and keeps tracking in the background, with reports and weekly summaries. The caps bite quickly though: 2 weeks of history, 1 goal, no Focus Sessions, no alerts and no iOS app. Paid plans have a 14-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 logs apps and websites with no timers, asks about offline work, scores the day and blocks distracting sites during Focus Sessions, with goals, alerts and team reports. Timesheets that suggest a client for each activity are there too, on Solo+ and Team+. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Collectors for each computer and keyword rules for allocating time have to be set up first. | BNo store rating on record, but there is nothing to set up: install it and it tracks and categorizes by itself. You can pause it or keep it to your work schedule, and that's about the extent of the fiddling. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, an API on Premium and integrations with Clio, QuickBooks, Xero and others. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and a browser extension, plus an API and hooks into Slack, Asana, GitHub, Gmail, Outlook and Spotify. Linux isn't on the supported list, and the iOS app isn't available on Lite. |
| Best for | automatic time capture for hourly billing | seeing where your computer time goes |
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 RescueTime. 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. RescueTime starts at $7 a month and scores 3.3.
RescueTime scores higher and starts $12 a month lower. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 16 score higher than Chrometa for less, and none scores higher than RescueTime 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
- Chrometa also covers invoicing.
- RescueTime also covers site & app blocker and goals.
At a glance
| Chrometa | RescueTime | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed monthly ($140 billed yearly) | $7 per month, billed annually ($84) |
| Free plan | None | Lite plan: automatic app and website tracking, activity reports, weekly summaries and 1 goal, with 2 weeks of report history. No Focus Sessions, alerts, offline time or iOS app. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial with full access to the chosen plan | 14-day free trial on all paid plans; no payment is charged until the trial ends |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Chrometa | RescueTime |
| Price read from | chrometa.com | rescuetime.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 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.
RescueTime
- The free Lite plan keeps 2 weeks of history and 1 goal, with no Focus Sessions, alerts or offline time.
- The iOS app is not available on the Lite plan.
- Timesheets, clients, projects and billable rates need Solo+ or Team+.
- The supported systems list covers Windows, macOS, iOS and Android; Linux is not on it.
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.
RescueTime
- Automatic activity tracking
- Logs time in apps and websites without timers. Idle detection prompts you to record offline work, and tracking can be paused or limited to a work schedule.
- Focus Sessions
- Blocks distracting sites and apps for a set period on paid plans. Connecting Slack mutes notifications during a session, and Spotify can start a focus playlist.
- Goals and alerts
- Set goals for how time is spent, a daily target for focused time, and alerts that fire as you work. Lite allows 1 goal and has no alerts.
- Reports and productivity scores
- Breaks time down by app, website and category with daily, weekly or monthly productivity scores. Paid plans keep unlimited history; Lite shows 2 weeks.
- Timesheets
- Solo+ and Team+ add a timeline with suggestions for which client, project or task each activity belongs to, plus billable rates, time rounding and CSV or Excel export.
- Team reporting
- Team plans add aggregated reports on chosen key tools, categories and daily patterns, with owner, admin, manager and member roles controlling who sees what.
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.
RescueTime
Lite$0
Automatic tracking, activity reports, weekly summaries and 1 goal, limited to 2 weeks of report history.
Solo$7
per month, billed annually ($84); $9 billed monthly
Focus features for individuals: Focus Sessions, unlimited goals and alerts, offline time, detailed reports and unlimited history.
Team$10
per user / month, billed annually ($120); $12 billed monthly
Focus features for teams, with team and individual reports, key tools, shared categories and role-based access.
Solo+$12
per month, billed annually ($144); $15 billed monthly
Solo plus Timesheets for individuals: timeline, clients, projects and tasks, billable rates, project goals and exports.
Team+$16
per user / month, billed annually ($192); $18 billed monthly
Team plus Timesheets: shared clients, projects and tasks, a team weekly calendar view and billable rates.
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.
RescueTime
- Annual discount
Lower monthly rate on annual plans
Annual plans cost less per month than monthly ones: Solo is $84 a year ($7 a month) against $9 month to month, about 22% less, and Team+ is $16 against $18 per user.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Chrometa or RescueTime?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Chrometa starts at $19 per user / month, billed monthly ($140 billed yearly), and RescueTime starts at $7 per month, billed annually ($84). 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 RescueTime?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only RescueTime has a free plan. Chrometa does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Chrometa and RescueTime run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only RescueTime lists a browser extension. Both list a web app and 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.