The WakaTime Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about WakaTime in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
WakaTime
The Insider’s Guide
Automatic coding time tracking and AI usage analytics
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among time tracking apps, read from WakaTime’s own pages.
Made by WakaTime · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from WakaTime’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on WakaTime’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 4 of the 42 other time tracking apps we grade
WakaTime tracks programming time automatically through plugins for code editors, IDEs and terminals, then shows it on dashboards by project and language. Newer reports cover AI coding tools: which models developers use, how much code is AI-generated and the estimated spend. Individuals get a free plan with a week of history, and Team and Business plans add shared dashboards and commit and pull request insights.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about WakaTime, taken from its own pages and our grades.
A desktop app covers time in other apps.
- 1
Best for automatic time tracking for programmers
It only sees work at a computer, though, and there's no phone app.
- 2
Paid plans start at $8.25 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $8.25 per month, billed yearly ($99); $9 billed monthly.
- 3
There is a free plan
1 week of dashboard history, unlimited projects, shareable project charts, weekly coding reports, 1 programming goal and the public leaderboard.
- 4
It runs on 4 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows and Linux, with a browser extension too.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 4 of 42
That is against the other time tracking apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
The plain part of WakaTime you could make: time tracking, reports, goals and invoicing. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
WakaTime at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $8.25 per month, billed yearly ($99); $9 billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial of the Team and Business plans; no credit card required for Team
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, Browser extension
- Made by
- WakaTime, since 2013
- Category
- Time Tracking
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for automatic time tracking for programmers
WakaTime is time tracking for programmers: editor plugins log coding time by project and language with no timer, and newer reports show how much code AI wrote and what it cost. It only sees work at a computer, though, and there's no phone app. The free dashboard shows one week of history, Basic at $8.25 a month shows two, the full record needs Premium at $12.83, and teams pay $19.25 a developer.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Basic is $8.25 a month billed yearly ($99), or $9 monthly, and on history all that buys is 2 weeks. Your complete coding history, the AI insights and invoices need Premium at $12.83, and teams pay $19.25 a dev, three times what this category charges. |
| Free plan and trial | C | The 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, so last month's work is simply gone. Team and Business get a 14-day trial. |
| Features | C | Open source plugins for 100+ editors log time by project, language and file, with AI adoption and spend reports, goals, leaderboards, invoices from code stats and team dashboards. It does coding time fully, and that's a narrower job: no clients, no attendance, nothing off the keyboard. |
| Ease of use | B | No store rating on record, but setup is one plugin: add it to your editor and it tracks from then on, with no timer to start and nothing to categorise. A desktop app covers time in other apps. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web dashboards, plugins for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Vim and Xcode among 100-odd editors, browser extensions, and a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux. GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Slack connect and there's an API. No phone app is listed. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who WakaTime is for
- Fits if you're a developer who wants coding time logged by project and language without a timer
- Works for engineering teams measuring AI coding tool use and spend, from $19.25 a developer
Who it is not for
- Tight if you stay free, because the dashboard only shows the last week of history and allows 1 goal
- Pricey if you want your complete history or invoices, which need Premium at $12.83 a month
- Not for you if your work isn't on a computer, as tracking depends on editor plugins, browser extensions or the desktop app
- Pricey if you're a team, at $19.25 a developer a month, about three times what this category charges
- Watch out: SSO, OIDC and SCIM need Business at $22 a developer, and Team stops at 100 developers
Good to know
Good for
- 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
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$8.25
A month to start. There is a free plan too
WakaTime has a free plan. Paid plans start at $8.25 per month, billed yearly ($99); $9 billed monthly.
The free plan logs coding time across unlimited projects and sends weekly reports.
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.
The free plan
1 week of dashboard history, unlimited projects, shareable project charts, weekly coding reports, 1 programming goal and the public leaderboard.
Trying it first
14-day free trial of the Team and Business plans; no credit card required for Team
Read from wakatime.com on Oct 5, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on wakatime.comEducation
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.
Stated on wakatime.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
5
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux and Browser extension
Automatic coding time tracking and AI usage analytics. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, time tracking, goals, invoicing, reports.
It does coding time fully, and that's a narrower job: no clients, no attendance, nothing off the keyboard.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- Browser extension
What it works with
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
- Slack
- Google Calendar
- Office 365
- Zoom
- Beeminder
WakaTime is made by WakaTime, and has been around since 2013.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
4/42
Other time tracking apps it is graded above
WakaTime's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 4 of the 42 other time tracking apps we grade, and level with 3.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 23 of 42) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $8.25 a month, against a middle price of $6.55 for the category: 24 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 10 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 43 time tracking apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. WakaTime’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 42
- CFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 42
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 42
- BEase of useAbove 23 of 42
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 11 of 42
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 39 time tracking apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. WakaTime is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of WakaTime you could make: time tracking, reports, goals and invoicing. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 35 of the 42 other time tracking apps grade higher. It costs $99 a year.
What you could make
- Time tracking, reports, goals and invoicing: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. WakaTime’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
ActivityWatch, RescueTime, Rize and Toggl
The 4 tools WakaTime is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
ActivityWatch
Free
Free, open-source automatic time tracker that keeps data local.
- Only WakaTime lists a web app.
- Only ActivityWatch lists an Android app.
- ActivityWatch is open source, according to its own site.
- 2.8GPA
RescueTime
Free plan · from $7/mo
Automatic time tracking with distraction blocking and timesheets.
- Only WakaTime lists a Linux app.
- Only RescueTime lists iOS and Android apps.
- WakaTime also covers invoicing.
- 2.2GPA
Rize
Free trial · from $9.99/mo
Automatic time tracker with focus tools and AI reports.
- WakaTime has a free plan. Rize does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only WakaTime lists a web app.
- Only WakaTime lists a Linux app.
- 3.0GPA
Toggl
Free plan · from $9/mo
Team time tracker with billing reports and capacity planning.
- Only WakaTime lists a Linux app.
- Only Toggl lists iOS and Android apps.
- WakaTime also covers goals, invoicing and reports.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
16
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is WakaTime free?
WakaTime has a free plan. 1 week of dashboard history, unlimited projects, shareable project charts, weekly coding reports, 1 programming goal and the public leaderboard.
How much does WakaTime cost?
WakaTime lists 5 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does WakaTime work on?
WakaTime is available on Web, macOS, Windows and Linux. It also has a browser extension.
Does WakaTime offer any discounts?
WakaTime publicly lists the following: About 8% off with yearly billing; Student discount available.
Does WakaTime have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. WakaTime is listed for Web, macOS, Windows and Linux.
Does WakaTime have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. WakaTime is listed for Web, macOS, Windows and Linux.
Is WakaTime open source?
WakaTime is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does WakaTime have an API?
Yes. WakaTime offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does WakaTime integrate with?
WakaTime's listing names GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Slack, Google Calendar, Office 365, Zoom and Beeminder.
Does WakaTime have a student discount?
Student discount available. The pricing FAQ says a student discount is available.
Does WakaTime have a free trial?
Yes. 14-day free trial of the Team and Business plans; no credit card required for Team.
Who makes WakaTime?
WakaTime is made by a company of the same name. It dates from 2013.
What are the alternatives to WakaTime?
The closest alternatives to WakaTime in our directory are ActivityWatch, RescueTime, Rize and Toggl.
How does WakaTime compare with other time tracking apps?
WakaTime's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 4 of the 42 other time tracking apps we grade, and level with 3.
Is WakaTime good value for money?
ToolGPA grades WakaTime D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $8.25 a month, against a middle price of $6.55 for the category: 24 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of WakaTime?
The plain part of WakaTime you could make: time tracking, reports, goals and invoicing.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from WakaTime’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from WakaTime's own pages on 5 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-04-09.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by WakaTime. Prices change, so check wakatime.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- WakaTime, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/wakatime
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "WakaTime: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/wakatime
Know someone choosing between time tracking apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/wakatime/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded time tracking apps after WakaTime, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Time Tracking Insider's GuideEvery one of the 43 time tracking apps we grade, compared
- Jibble Insider's GuideFree time clock and attendance tracker with GPS and face recognition3.4 GPA
- Clockify Insider's GuideTeam time tracker and timesheets with a free plan for 5 users3.2 GPA
- TimeCamp Insider's GuideTime tracking with attendance, billing and a free plan for any team3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what WakaTime’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. WakaTime is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by WakaTime. Prices and plans change: check wakatime.com before you buy.