RescueTime vs WakaTime
We give RescueTime a 3.4 GPA and WakaTime a 3.0, out of 4.0. RescueTime grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RescueTime
Automatic time tracking with distraction blocking and timesheets
WakaTime
Automatic coding time tracking and AI usage analytics
How we grade them
| 3.4GPARescueTimeVery good | 3.0GPAWakaTimeVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BSolo is $7 a month billed annually ($84), or $9 monthly, which is about the going rate. That buys the focus side. For timesheets with clients, projects and billable rates you need Solo+ at $12, and teams pay $16 a user for the same. | CBasic is $8.25 a month billed yearly ($99), or $9 monthly, and on history all that buys is 2 weeks. Your complete coding history, AI insights and invoices need Premium at $12.83. Teams pay $19.25 a dev. That's dear for what the lower plans give. |
| Free plan and trial | BLite is free and keeps tracking in the background, with reports and weekly summaries. But you see just 2 weeks of history and get 1 goal, with no Focus Sessions, no alerts and no iOS app. Paid plans have a 14-day trial. | BThe free plan logs coding time across unlimited projects and sends weekly reports. But the dashboard keeps only 1 week of history, and you get 1 goal. Team and Business come with a 14-day free trial. |
| Features | AIt logs apps and websites with no timers, asks about offline work, scores your productivity and blocks distracting sites during Focus Sessions. Add goals, alerts and team reports. Timesheets that suggest a client or project for each activity come with Solo+ and Team+. That's automatic tracking done with depth. | AIt does coding time fully. Open source plugins for 100+ editors log time by project, language and file. On top come AI adoption and spend reports, goals, leaderboards, invoices from code stats on Premium, and team dashboards with commit and pull request insights. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. There's nothing to start or stop. Install it and it tracks, and you can pause it or keep it to your work schedule. | BWe have no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Add a plugin to your editor and it tracks from then on, with no timer to start. A desktop app covers time in other apps. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb dashboards, plugins for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Vim, Xcode and more, browser extensions, and a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux. It links to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Slack, and there's an API. No phone app is listed, as it centers on computer work. |
| Best for | seeing where your computer time goes | automatic time tracking for programmers |
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: RescueTime and WakaTime. How we grade
Where they differ
- RescueTime starts at $7 per month, billed annually ($84). WakaTime starts at $8.25 per month, billed yearly ($99); $9 billed monthly.
- Only RescueTime lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only WakaTime lists a Linux app.
- RescueTime also covers site & app blocker.
- WakaTime also covers invoicing.
At a glance
| RescueTime | WakaTime | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7 per month, billed annually ($84) | $8.25 per month, billed yearly ($99); $9 billed monthly |
| Free plan | 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. | 1 week of dashboard history, unlimited projects, shareable project charts, weekly coding reports, 1 programming goal and the public leaderboard. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on all paid plans; no payment is charged until the trial ends | 14-day free trial of the Team and Business plans; no credit card required for Team |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | RescueTime | WakaTime |
| Price read from | rescuetime.com | wakatime.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
WakaTime
- Developers who want coding time logged automatically by project and language
- Engineering teams measuring adoption and cost of AI coding tools
- Freelance developers who bill from time spent in the editor
Worth knowing
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.
WakaTime
- The free dashboard shows only the last week of history; the complete history needs Premium.
- Tracking depends on editor plugins, browser extensions or the desktop app, so it centers on computer work.
- The Team plan covers up to 100 developers; larger organizations are pointed to Business.
- SSO, OIDC and SCIM provisioning are limited to the Business plan.
Key features
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.
WakaTime
- Automatic coding time
- Editor plugins send heartbeat events while you work, so time is logged by project, language and file with no timer to start. File contents stay on your computer; file paths are sent.
- Plugins for 100+ editors
- Open source plugins cover VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Vim, Neovim, Xcode and more, with browser extensions and a desktop app that tracks time in any other app.
- AI coding insights
- Premium and team plans report AI adoption, per-model usage and estimated spend, and compare AI-generated with human-written code across tools such as Claude Code, Cursor and Copilot.
- Goals and leaderboards
- Set programming goals (1 on Free, 3 on Basic, unlimited on Premium) and compare coding time on the public leaderboard or on private ones.
- Reports and history
- Coding reports arrive weekly on Free and daily from Basic. Premium opens the complete history, export of stats and invoices generated from code stats.
- Team dashboards
- Team and Business plans add shared dashboards, commit and pull request insights and exportable team reports. Only developers shown on dashboards need a paid seat.
Plans
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.
WakaTime
Free$0
1 week of dashboard history, unlimited projects, shareable project charts, weekly coding reports and 1 programming goal.
Basic$8.25
per month, billed yearly ($99); $9 billed monthly
2 weeks of dashboard history, daily and weekly coding reports, basic integrations, 3 goals and private leaderboards for 5 devs.
Premium$12.83
per month, billed yearly ($153.96); $14 billed monthly
Complete coding history, AI adoption and spend insights, unlimited goals, premium integrations, stats export and invoices from code stats.
Team$19.25
per dev / month, billed yearly ($231); $21 billed monthly
Up to 100 developers. Team dashboards, team-wide AI adoption and estimated spend, commit and pull request insights, and exportable reports.
Business$22
per dev / month, billed yearly ($264); $24 billed monthly
For 100 to 1,000 developers. Adds SSO, OIDC and SCIM provisioning, guided onboarding, custom integrations and priority support.
Ways to pay less
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.
WakaTime
- Annual discount
About 8% off with yearly billing
Yearly plans are billed at 11 times the monthly price: Basic is $99 a year ($8.25 a month) against $9 monthly, and Premium is $153.96 a year against $14 monthly.
- Education
Student discount available
The pricing FAQ says a student discount is available. The page with its terms requires signing in, so the amount is not recorded here.
