# Dayflow review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Open-source Mac app that logs your workday automatically Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Dayflow is a macOS app that records the screen, then uses AI to turn the recording into a readable timeline of what you worked on, sorted into categories such as coding, research and distraction. Recordings stay on the Mac. The AI can be a local model, your own API key or a managed service on the paid plan. - **Category:** Time Tracking - **Made by:** Teleport Labs Inc. - **Website:** https://www.dayflow.so - **Runs on:** macOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you use Windows or Linux, as only macOS 14 or later runs it. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Dayflow has a free plan, and paid plans start at $20 per month, billed monthly. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free: automatic activity capture, AI summaries with a local model or your own Gemini, OpenAI or Anthropic key, and the open-source app. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 per month | Local recordings and database, automatic capture, AI summaries via a local model or your own API keys. | | Pro | $20 per month, billed monthly | Managed AI analysis with no provider setup, and no draw on your Claude or ChatGPT usage. | | Enterprise | Custom | Pro plus SSO or SAML, data-retention controls and internal AI gateway support; sold through sales. | Read from https://www.dayflow.so/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Dayflow before buying. ## Key features - **Automatic activity capture:** Records what is on screen in the background and builds a timeline without starting or stopping a timer. - **AI-written timeline:** Summarizes each block of work and sorts it into categories such as coding, research, planning, communication or distraction. - **Choice of AI provider:** Run a supported local model on the Mac, use your own Gemini, OpenAI or Anthropic key, or pay for managed analysis. - **Local recordings:** Recordings and the database are stored on the computer. Cloud options process selected screenshots, not the full recording. - **Open-source app:** The code is public on GitHub, so the app can be inspected and run yourself on the free plan. - **Enterprise controls:** Enterprise adds SSO or SAML, data-retention policies and rollout support for teams. ## Good for - Mac users who want a record of their day without manual timers - People who want screen data analyzed by a local model - Individuals comfortable bringing their own AI API key ## Worth knowing - It runs on macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later only; a Windows version is on a waitlist. - It works from screen recordings, so it fits individual self-tracking more than client billing or team timesheets. - With your own API key or Pro, selected screenshots are sent to a cloud AI provider for analysis. - The pricing page says to check the current annual offer inside the app; no annual price is shown on the page. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Dayflow is an open-source Mac app that records your screen and writes a daily timeline, free with a local model or your own AI key. It needs macOS 14, it's for logging your own day rather than billing clients, and the managed AI is $20 a month. - **Value for money: A.** Free and open source, so anyone can download and run it. The managed AI plan is $20 a month. - **Free plan and trial: A.** The app, capture and AI summaries are free with a local model or your own key. No cap is stated. - **Features: C.** Automatic capture and an AI timeline. It's for self-tracking, with no timesheets, billing or team view. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You pick a local model or paste an API key, and need macOS 14. - **Platforms and integrations: D.** Mac only, on macOS 14 or later. A Windows version is only a waitlist. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Dayflow's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among time tracking apps - Dayflow's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 66 of the 98 other time tracking apps we grade, and level with 15. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 91 of 98) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $20 a month, against a middle price of $6.99 for the category: 74 of the 80 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 78 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/time-tracking ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** The plain part of Dayflow you could make: time tracking. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 66 of the 98 other time tracking apps we grade. It costs $240 a year. Dayflow is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself. - You could make: Time tracking: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: Recording the screen with its sound, and somewhere to keep the video. - You could not: A native app living in the menu bar. - You could not: A real app for macOS. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Time tracking, AI features, Open source, Screen recording, Menu bar app ## Alternatives - [Rize](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rize): Automatic time tracker with focus tools and AI reports. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dayflow-time-tracker-vs-rize) - [RescueTime](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rescuetime): Automatic time tracking with distraction blocking and timesheets. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dayflow-time-tracker-vs-rescuetime) - [Timing](https://toolgpa.com/tools/timing): Automatic time tracking for Mac with no timers to start. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dayflow-time-tracker-vs-timing) - [Memtime](https://toolgpa.com/tools/memtime): Automatic desktop time tracker that keeps activity data offline. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dayflow-time-tracker-vs-memtime) - [ActivityWatch](https://toolgpa.com/tools/activitywatch): Free, open-source automatic time tracker that keeps data local. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/activitywatch-vs-dayflow-time-tracker) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.dayflow.so/pricing/ - https://www.dayflow.so/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/dayflow-time-tracker Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).