RescueTime vs Timing

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

Timing

• Mac users who want time recorded without starting timers
• Freelancers who bill clients from a record of apps and documents used
• People who want tracked data kept on their own Mac by default

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.

Timing

• The tracker runs only on macOS; phones and other computers are limited to the web app.
• There is no free plan: a subscription is needed after the 30-day trial.
• Each seat covers a set number of personal Macs: 1 on Professional, 2 on Expert and 3 on Connect.
• Team features, the Web API, Zapier and MCP integration are limited to the Connect plan.

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.

Timing

Automatic tracking

Records the apps, documents and websites used on the Mac without timers. Private and incognito browser tabs are discarded, and an exclusion list keeps chosen items out.

Timeline and rules

An interactive timeline shows the day's activity and lets you add offline time. Option-dragging an activity onto a project creates a rule that assigns similar work from then on.

Calls, meetings and Screen Time

Tracks time spent on phone calls, meetings and calendar events, prompts you when a video or voice call ends, and can import mobile app usage from Screen Time.

AI summaries and MCP

AI summaries group related activities and highlight the main topics of a day. The Connect plan adds MCP integration so an AI agent can work with your time data.

Reports for billing

Timesheets export as PDF, XLSX, CSV or HTML, with rounding and billing status tracking. A GrandTotal integration passes tracked time to that invoicing app.

Web app and teams

A web app syncs with the Mac app and can be installed on a phone to start and stop timers. On Connect, teams share projects and admins review members' times.

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.

Timing

• Professional$9

  per month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly)

  1 Mac for one person. Automatic tracking, timers, basic reports for clients and limited web app access.

• Expert$11

  per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly)

  2 Macs for one person. Adds filters, customizable reports and full web app access.

• Connect$16

  per user / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)

  3 Macs per user. Adds teams with shared projects, AI integration via MCP, the Web API, Zapier and two-way ClickUp, Linear and Clio sync.

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.

Timing

• Annual discount

  Save 18% or more with annual billing

  The pricing page labels annual billing "Save 18%": Professional is $9 a month billed annually against $11 monthly, and Expert is $11 against $14.

• Other savings

  Referral program: a free month each

  Subscribers get a personal referral link. When a new customer signs up through it, both receive an extra free month, up to six months of credit per calendar year.