Chrometa vs Timely (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Timely grades higher than Chrometa: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Timely grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and 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
Timely
Automatic time tracking with AI-drafted timesheets for teams
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 Timely if
- Fits if you bill by the hour and would rather approve a drafted timesheet than run timers
- Works for managers who follow project budgets and team capacity, from Premium up
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, because a subscription is needed once the 14-day trial ends
- Tight if you're on Starter and growing, since it stops at 5 users and 20 projects, and Premium at 50 users
- Pricey if you need budgets or integrations, which start on Premium at $16 a user, or $20 billed monthly
- Watch out: Timely's handbook says the iOS and Android apps are no longer actively developed
- Not for you if you work on Linux or an older computer, as Memory needs macOS 14 or Windows 10 or later
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAChrometaFair | 2.6GPATimelyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | DStarter is $9 a user a month billed yearly, $11 monthly, and it's capped at 5 users and 20 projects. Integrations, budgets and planning need Premium at $16, and Unlimited is $22, which is two to three times what a time tracker typically costs. |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial with access to all the features, though whether it asks for a card isn't on record. Once it ends you need a subscription to get back in. |
| Features | CPassive capture, keyword allocation, daily timesheets and invoicing, but Standard has no screenshots and limits clients and workspaces; the listing names those gaps. | BThe Memory app records your work to a private timeline and AI sorts it into projects as a draft timesheet. Around that sit project dashboards, time or money budgets, planning, capacity reports and invoices that go to QuickBooks Online. 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. | BNo store rating on record, but the whole point is that there's nothing to run: no timers to start or stop, just a drafted timesheet to look over and approve. A manual timer is there if you want one. |
| 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 and Android, with an API and links to Asana, Jira, Trello, Linear, ClickUp and GitHub. Two catches: Timely's handbook says the phone apps are no longer actively developed, and no Linux app is listed. |
| Best for | automatic time capture for hourly billing | timesheets drafted for you by AI |
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 Timely. 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. Timely starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Timely scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 16 score higher than Chrometa for less, and none scores higher than Timely 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
At a glance
| Chrometa | Timely | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed monthly ($140 billed yearly) | $9 per user / month, billed yearly ($11 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial with full access to the chosen plan | 14-day free trial with access to all features |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Chrometa | Timely AS |
| Price read from | chrometa.com | timely.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.
Timely
- There is no free plan: a subscription is needed once the 14-day trial ends.
- Starter is capped at 5 users and 20 projects, and Premium at 50 users.
- Timely's handbook says the iOS and Android apps remain available but are no longer actively developed.
- Memory apps are offered for macOS 14 or later and Windows 10 or later; no Linux app is listed.
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.
Timely
- Memory tracker
- The Memory app for Mac and Windows records your work automatically to a private timeline, so there are no timers to start and stop. A manual timer is also available.
- AI timesheets
- AI drafts a timesheet from the recorded activity and sorts it into projects, leaving the user to review and approve the entries.
- Projects and budgets
- A project dashboard shows team and budget activity as it happens, with billable rates and time or money budgets. Recurring budgets need Premium or Unlimited.
- Planning and capacity
- Premium lets managers plan work for their teams. Unlimited adds capacity management and reporting along with overtime and undertime tracking.
- Reports and invoicing
- Reports export as PDF, CSV or XLS and can be shared as live or snapshot links. Invoices are built from tracked time and can be sent to QuickBooks Online.
- Tasks add-on
- An optional add-on for assigning, scheduling and tracking progress on deliverables, available on any plan from $5 per person.
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.
Timely
Starter$9
per user / month, billed yearly ($11 billed monthly)
Up to 5 users and 20 projects, with automatic time tracking, AI categorization, billable hour reports and API access.
Premium$16
per user / month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly)
Up to 50 users and unlimited projects. Adds project management and accounting integrations, team management, budgets and costs, and planning.
Unlimited$22
per user / month, billed yearly ($28 billed monthly)
Unlimited users and projects. Adds capacity management and reporting, overtime and undertime, Azure user management and 50+ currencies.
EnterpriseCustom
All Unlimited features plus tailored onboarding, team training, monthly or quarterly reviews and priority support.
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.
Timely
- Annual discount
Up to 22% off with yearly billing
Timely's pricing page lists savings of up to 22% for a yearly subscription: Unlimited is $22 per user a month yearly against $28 monthly, and Starter is $9 against $11.
- Education
Student discount on request
The pricing FAQ offers student discounts through support chat or email to people with a valid student ID and student email address. No amount is stated.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Chrometa or Timely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Timely is cheaper to start with: $9 a month for each person, against $19 a month for each person for Chrometa. Chrometa starts at $19 per user / month, billed monthly ($140 billed yearly), and Timely starts at $9 per user / month, billed yearly ($11 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Chrometa or Timely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Chrometa nor Timely has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.