Chronoid vs RescueTime

Chronoid

• Mac freelancers and consultants who bill by the hour
• People who want tracked data to stay on their own Mac
• Buyers who prefer a lifetime license to a subscription

RescueTime

• People who want to see where computer time goes without running timers
• Blocking distracting sites and apps during set focus periods
• Freelancers who want timesheets filled in from tracked activity
• Teams that want aggregated reports on tools and focus trends

Chronoid

• Chronoid runs only on macOS 14 or later; iPhone and iPad activity comes in through Screen Time import, not an app.
• There is no free plan: a license is needed after the 7-day trial.
• Each license covers one person on up to 3 Macs; team and company pricing is by contacting the vendor.
• Fees for hosted AI providers are separate from the license; the assistant can also run on local models.

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.

Chronoid

Automatic tracking

Runs in the background and captures foreground apps, window titles, browser URLs and documents, with idle detection so time away is not counted. No timers to start.

Smart rules and projects

Rules assign activity to client projects by app or keyword. Clients and projects are organized in a hierarchy, with time targets and scheduled tracking hours.

Invoices and reports

Projects carry hourly rates and a billable status. Unbilled hours load into an invoice editor with tax, currency and payment terms, and export as a PDF.

AI insights and MCP server

A chat answers questions about your hours, using local models through Ollama, LM Studio or Apple Intelligence, or a cloud provider. A local MCP server serves AI agents.

Pomodoro timer and website blocker

Focus sessions run on a Pomodoro timer and can be scheduled, and distracting websites can be blocked on demand while you work.

Meetings, calendar and Screen Time

Detects meetings and logs their time, reads Apple Calendar for titles and project suggestions, and imports iPhone and iPad sessions from Screen Time.

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.

Chronoid

• Annual$8

  per month, billed yearly at $96

  All features for one person on up to 3 Macs, with premium support and updates while subscribed.

• Monthly$15

  per month

  The same subscription billed month to month: all features for one person on up to 3 Macs. Cancel anytime.

• Lifetime$149

  one-time payment

  All features for one person on up to 3 Macs, with lifetime access and updates.

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.

Chronoid

• Annual discount

  $96 a year instead of $15 a month

  The pricing page shows the subscription at $8 a month billed yearly at $96, against $15 a month billed monthly, which would be $180 over a year.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime license for $149

  A single payment of $149 gives one person lifetime access and updates on up to 3 Macs.

• Education

  50% off education licenses

  The pricing page tells students to email Chronoid support for 50% off education licenses.

• Other savings

  50% off bulk lifetime licenses

  Orders of at least 5 lifetime licenses are listed at $75 per license instead of $149, from $375 for 5, arranged by contacting the vendor.

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.