Best for
Best for teams that need billable timesheets on their own infrastructure rather than in a subscription cloud.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Time Tracking Comparison
actiTIME vs. RescueTime
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for individuals and small teams who want automatic time tracking and focus tools rather than client billing.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | actiTIME | RescueTime |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value Free for 3 users; paid from $6 / user / month Billed yearly for 1 to 40 users, $5 per user and month for 41 to 200, a fixed cost for unlimited users above 200. The self-hosted edition is a one-time $120 per user. | Free (Lite); Solo Focus from $7 / month Solo Focus billed annually ($84 / year); $9 billed monthly. Solo+ (with timesheets) $12, Team Focus $10 and Team+ $16 per user and month. |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card required, plus a free version for up to 3 users | Free tier (Lite), plus a 14-day trial of paid plans |
| Users | Free version up to 3 users | Not stated |
| API | Yes, a REST API on paid plans; the free version has none | Not stated |
| Hosting | Cloud on Amazon servers, or self-hosted on your own Windows or Unix server | Not stated |
| Made in | Canada | Not stated |
| Time tracking | Yes, weekly timesheet, calendar view with start and stop times, iOS and Android apps and a Chrome extension that logs online activity automatically | Yes, automatic tracking of apps, websites and documents in the background |
| Invoicing | Yes, branded PDF invoices from billing rates and recorded time, with leave and overtime costs and a QuickBooks export | No native invoicing; billable rates and client/project timesheets on Solo+ and Team+ |
| Reporting and controlling | Yes, staff performance, time balances and overtime, estimated versus actual, detailed time-track and cost and billing reports, with charts and real-time widgets; the free version exports CSV only | Yes, productivity reports, daily patterns and team reports |
| Integrations and API | Yes, a REST API on paid plans, plus QuickBooks, Zapier, the Chrome extension and actiPLANS | Yes, an API plus integrations (Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, GitHub) |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk | more entries Email helpdesk, Community forum |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | QuickBooks, Zapier, actiPLANS, Chrome | Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, GitHub |
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Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price actiTIME Free for 3 users; paid from $6 / user / month RescueTime Free (Lite); Solo Focus from $7 / month
- Free trial actiTIME Free trial, no credit card required, plus a free version for up to 3 users RescueTime Free tier (Lite), plus a 14-day trial of paid plans
- Deployment actiTIME Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise RescueTime Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Company size actiTIME Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise RescueTime Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- Support actiTIME Email helpdesk RescueTime Email helpdesk, Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
actiTIME
Strengths
- Self-hosted licence as a one-time payment, with the data on your own server
- Billing rates, cost-of-work rates and branded invoices are part of the product
- Free version for up to three users
- Chrome extension logs online activity and imports it into the timesheet
Limitations
- Major upgrades of the self-hosted edition cost 100 percent of the initial price
- The free version has no API and exports only CSV
- The per-user rate only drops above 40 users
RescueTime
Strengths
- Fully automatic tracking, no timers to start
- Strong focus and distraction-blocking features
- Free Lite tier for individuals
- Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux as well as iOS, Android and the major browsers
- States it never records keystrokes, typed text or page content
Limitations
- Built for personal productivity more than client billing
- No native invoicing
- Free tier limited to two weeks of history
- Timesheets and billable rates only on the Solo+ and Team+ plans
Plans
Pricing
actiTIME
- Free $0 Up to 3 users, limited functionality, CSV reports, no API.
- actiTIME Online $6 / user / month Billed yearly for 1 to 40 users. $5 per user and month for 41 to 200 users, a fixed cost for unlimited users above 200.
- actiTIME Self-Hosted $120 / user One-time payment, installed on your own server, with direct database access. Minor upgrades are free, major upgrades cost 100 percent of the initial price. A fixed cost for unlimited users is also offered.
RescueTime
- Lite $0 Free, with up to two weeks of history.
- Solo Focus $7 Per month, billed annually ($84 / year); $9 monthly.
- Solo+ $12 Per month, billed annually ($144 / year); $15 monthly. Adds timesheets and billable rates.
- Team Focus $10 Per user and month, billed annually ($120 / year); $12 monthly.
- Team+ $16 Per user and month, billed annually ($192 / year); $18 monthly. Adds timesheets with shared projects and role-based access control.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
actiTIME
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
RescueTime
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
actiTIME https://www.actitime.com · no check date recorded yet
RescueTime https://www.rescuetime.com · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.