Best Timely alternatives in 2026, compared

Timely records your work in the background with its Memory app, and AI drafts timesheet entries that you approve. People still look for a Timely alternative, usually for one of three reasons. The price is per user, Starter stops at 5 users and 20 projects, and invoicing starts on Premium. There is no Linux app. And while Memory now reads Claude and Codex window titles on Mac, it does not show what your AI tools cost.

The short answer: pick Timing if you are on a Mac and want local data, RescueTime or Rize if focus matters more than billing, ManicTime for a one-time license, WakaTime if you only need coding time, Toggl Track if you bill clients and do not mind a timer, and TimeUno if you want projects and timesheets filed for you on Mac, Windows or Linux, including the time your AI tools work. Prices below are as of October 2026, from each company's own pricing page.

What Timely still does well

Timely is built for agencies and consultancies that bill. Every plan includes automatic tracking, AI timesheet drafting and billable rates. Memory never records keystrokes, screenshots or audio, your activity timeline is visible only to you, and colleagues see only the entries you log to your timesheet. There are iOS and Android apps. Since May 2026, Memory on Mac reads the real window titles from Claude and Codex, so AI sessions show what you worked on.

Why people look elsewhere:

• Price. Starter costs $9 per user a month billed yearly ($11 monthly), capped at 5 users and 20 projects. Project management sync, accounting integrations and invoicing through QuickBooks Online start on Premium at $16 ($20 monthly, up to 50 users). Unlimited costs $22 ($28 monthly).
• Platforms. Memory runs on Mac and Windows. There is no Linux app.
• AI. Memory shows which AI session you were in, not its tokens or cost, and the Claude and Codex titles are Mac only for now.

What each tool costs a team of 1, 5 and 15

Yearly billing, cheapest plan that fits each size.

Basis: the yearly-billed monthly prices in the sections below x 12 x people. Timely Premium ($16) is needed above 5 users. Toggl's free plan covers up to 3 users, so 5 and 15 use Starter. ManicTime's one-time license instead: $87 for one user, $65 per user at 5 to 19 users ($325 for 5, $975 for 15), with a year of upgrades. Enterprise: on request for Timely, Rize and Toggl Track.

Timing

Timing is a Mac app that records every app, document and website, including the full file path or URL, with no timer. Data stays on your Mac unless you turn on sync.

Better than Timely: local data, and a flat price for one person instead of a per-user plan. You build rules by dragging activities onto projects, AI summaries group your day and suggest time entries, and Timing prompts you to record time after calls. No screenshots. The Connect edition adds a local MCP server, so tools like Claude Code can file unassigned activity into projects.

Where it falls short: Mac only, macOS 14 or later. No Windows, Linux or mobile app, only a web app and Screen Time import for iPhone. No built-in invoicing. AI summaries are processed by OpenAI when you opt in.

Price: Professional $9 a month billed yearly ($11 monthly), Expert $11 ($14 monthly), Connect $16 per user a month ($20 monthly). 30-day trial.

RescueTime

RescueTime records the app in focus, the window title and the URL, and turns your day into a Productivity Pulse score from 0 to 100.

Better than Timely: Focus Sessions that block distracting sites and apps, goals and alerts, and a solo price of $7 a month. It never takes screenshots or logs keystrokes. Solo+ adds a timeline, projects and billable rates, with suggestions you review.

Where it falls short: Solo Focus gives you a score, not a timesheet: projects need Solo+ at $12. With AI suggestions on, app and website names may be sent to OpenAI. Its current help page lists Linux as not supported. The free Lite plan is what an account falls back to when a paid plan ends, not a plan you pick at sign-up.

Price: Solo Focus $7 a month billed yearly ($9 monthly), Solo+ $12 ($15 monthly), Team Focus $10 per user ($12 monthly), Team+ $16 per user ($18 monthly). 14-day trial.

Rize

Rize records the active window's app, title and URL on Mac and Windows, then sorts it with AI. Since August 2026 it also sells to agencies, with client profitability, timesheets and invoicing.

Better than Timely: a Focus Time metric, a Distraction Blocker, focus music and smart breaks. AI categorization and tagging file your time, and Pro adds AI agents and an MCP server.

Where it falls short: no Linux, and a mobile app only on Enterprise. The AI runs on monthly credits (500 on Basic). The team plan costs $29.99 per seat with a 2-seat minimum, more than three times Timely Starter. Data is hosted on Google Cloud in the US, and Rize's security page does not say which AI company processes it.

Price: Basic $9.99 a month billed yearly ($12.99 monthly), Pro $23.99 ($29.99 monthly), Team $29.99 per seat ($39.99 monthly). 7-day trial.

ManicTime

ManicTime records apps, documents and away time into a detailed timeline that you tag with projects and tasks.

Better than Timely: data can stay on your own computer or server, and there is a free version for Windows. It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. You can buy a license instead of a subscription and host your own server, and an MCP server lets you ask AI tools about your tracked work in plain language.

Where it falls short: auto-tagging, timesheet reports and server sync are licensed features, not part of the free version. Tagging rules are work you set up, not AI drafts. Optional screenshots make it a monitoring tool in some companies.

Price: Cloud Standard $7 a month billed yearly ($9 monthly), Ultimate $9 ($11 monthly), team plans $10 per user a month yearly ($12 monthly). Or a one-time license from $87 per user, with a year of upgrades. 30-day trial.

WakaTime

WakaTime tracks coding through open source plugins for more than 100 editors, IDEs and terminals, plus a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux for work outside the editor.

Better than Timely: it knows the project, branch and language from the editor, with no review step. It sends file paths, never file contents. It tracks AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor and Copilot, and Premium shows AI model usage and spend. Premium can also generate invoices from code stats.

Where it falls short: built around code: its reports show projects, branches, languages and commits, with no client timesheets for meetings or design work. The free plan keeps one week of history, Basic two weeks.

Price: Basic $8.25 a month billed yearly ($9 monthly), Premium $12.83 ($14 monthly), Team $19.25 per developer ($21 monthly).

Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a timer, not an automatic tracker. It is here because many Timely users mostly need billable hours.

Better than Timely: a free plan for up to 3 users, and approvals and profitability reports on Premium. The desktop Timeline records apps and sites privately, and autotracker rules can start an entry when a matching window is in front. Admins can import time entries, projects and clients from a CSV file.

Where it falls short: your timesheet still comes from timers you start or blocks you convert. Toggl AI is a chat that logs time when you ask, not a drafted timesheet. No Linux app is listed.

Price: Starter $9 per user a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), Premium $16 ($24 monthly). 30-day trial.

TimeUno

TimeUno is our product, so read this section with that in mind. It records the app or site in front of you, the window title, idle time and the project you are in, then sorts every stretch into a project and a category and marks it productive or unproductive. It never records what you type.

Better than Timely: projects are detected from the folder open in your editor or from keywords you set for a client, so most of the filing is done before you look. When it gets one wrong, you correct it once and it remembers. Timesheets for this week, last week or this month export as CSV with a client name. AI tools, including agents like Claude and Cursor that work in the background, get their own timeline with tokens and cost, and a server agent picks up AI coding sessions on a remote server. It reads metadata only, never prompts, answers or code. It runs on Linux (beta, AppImage for Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora). Data is stored in Germany and never sold.

Where it falls short: no billable rates, which every Timely plan has, no invoices, and no mobile app. No free plan. Screenshots and on-screen text are on by default (you can turn them off per computer), while Memory takes no screenshots. Windows and Linux are still in beta. There is no import of your Timely history.

Price: Individual $10.49 a month billed yearly ($14.99 monthly), Team $13.99 per seat a month billed yearly ($19.99 monthly). 14-day trial.

How to choose

• Solo developer on Linux who sends clients a weekly hours sheet. Timely has no Linux app. Pick TimeUno ($125.88 a year): it files time by the project folder open in your editor and exports a CSV timesheet with the client name. If you would rather tag time with your own rules and pay once, ManicTime also runs on Linux.
• Freelance designer on a Mac paying a per-user price for one person. Pick Timing Professional ($108 a year). Data stays on your Mac and your rules file the work into projects.
• Agency of 5 that invoices through QuickBooks Online. Stay on Timely, on Premium ($960 a year for 5), since invoicing is not on Starter. If your team accepts a timer, Toggl Track Starter costs $540 and imports time entries from CSV.
• Team of 15 developers whose coding agents run while they do other work. If only coding time matters, pick WakaTime Team ($3,465 a year), which shows AI model usage and spend. If you want the whole working day plus AI tokens and cost, with admins seeing worked time but not apps or sites, pick TimeUno Team ($2,518.20).
• Team of 5 that wants to stop paying a subscription. Pick ManicTime licenses ($325 once for 5 users, with a year of upgrades). It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and can use your own server.
• One person who cares more about focus than billing. Pick RescueTime Solo Focus ($84 a year) for a focus score and site blocking, or Rize Basic ($119.88) if you want AI categorization and focus music too.

Switching from Timely

1. Export your history first. Timely exports reports as PDF, CSV or XLS.
2. Check what the new tool takes in. Toggl Track admins can import time entries, projects, clients and tags from CSV (tasks only on paid plans). TimeUno has no import: it starts tracking the day you install it, so keep the Timely export for old data.
3. Set up projects and clients before day one. In TimeUno that means the client keywords; projects from your editor folders are detected on their own. In Timing and ManicTime it means your rules.
4. Run both for a week. Timely's trial is 14 days, and so is TimeUno's; Timing, ManicTime and Toggl Track give 30, Rize 7. Compare the totals for the same days before you stop paying for Timely.

Questions people ask

Is there a free Timely alternative?

Toggl Track has a free plan for up to 3 users, ManicTime a free version for Windows, and WakaTime a free plan with one week of history. RescueTime has a free Lite plan that accounts fall back to after a paid plan ends. Timing, Rize and TimeUno have trials only, like Timely.

Which Timely alternative works on Linux?

TimeUno (beta, AppImage for Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+ and Fedora), ManicTime and WakaTime's desktop app. Timely does not offer a Linux app.

Does Timely track AI tools like Claude?

Since May 2026, Timely's Memory on Mac reads the window titles from Claude and Codex, so those sessions show what you worked on. It does not show tokens or cost. TimeUno gives AI tools their own timeline with tokens and cost, and WakaTime tracks AI coding inside the editor.

Can I move my Timely history?

Not into TimeUno, which starts tracking the day you install it. Export your Timely reports as CSV or XLS for the old data. Toggl Track can import time entries from a CSV file.