The Intuitive Alternative to RescueTime

Looking for a simpler and more intuitive way to track time – without intrusive monitoring features? Then you’ve come to the right place.

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RescueTime vs. timeBuzzer

Software

RescueTime is a time tracking software that focuses on productivity tracking and helping improve work habits by analyzing how much time you spent on apps and website.

Best for: Knowledge workers, remote professionals, and individuals who want personal insights into their productivity.

Feature highlights:

Detailed app and website tracking, daily focus and distraction reports, goal setting, focus sessions with website blocking, productivity analytics

RescueTime offers a desktop app for macOS and Windows. There was a Linux app available in the past but it is no longer actively supported by RescueTime.

The desktop app mainly records your computer activities like apps and website URLs in the background. To enable this core functionality, users are required to allow the app to control their computer in the Privacy & Security settings of their operating system. All recorded program activites and durations are sent to RescueTime’s servers for further processing and analytics.

The desktop app also offers the possibility to start a simple timer and assign time to a certain projects and tasks, and to start “Focus Sessions”. While focus sessions, websites that you’ve categorized as distracting are blocked. Apart ffrom that you can also setup alerts and reminders or join a digital workspace for guided focus sessions.

In your web account all your activities are displayed in a vertical timeline view (day view) where you also have the option to assign recorded programs to certain projects. Also you can categorize all your used apps to “Neutral”, “Focus Work”, “Other work” and “Personal/ Distracting”. You can also categorize all activities in a subcategories like “Business > General, Accounting, Intelligence, Operations” or “Social Networking > General, Professional Networking” etc. You can even create your own categories, but RescueTime recommends to stick to the pre-defined categories.

RescueTime also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android, however the Android app is no longer actively supported by RescueTime. You can only install an old “RescueTime Classic” app from the Playstore, which last update was 2023.

Similar to the desktop app, the iOS app allows to start fous sessions and assign them to projects and tasks. Also it tracks focus session streaks and let it share with your friends on social media.

Unlike the desktop app, the mobile app can’t track your time spent on apps and websites on your phone due to Apple restrictions.

So features on mobile differ and are way more limited, compared to the desktop app.

timeBuzzer is a time tracking software with optional hardware that focuses on accurate project-based time tracking by making it effortless, intuitive, and hard to forget.

Best for: Freelancers, agencies and small to medium-sized service businesses that want to track and bill their projects.

Feature highlights:

Effortless project time tracking, customizable layer system, clear reports, easy-to-use team & role management & member assignments

timeBuzzer’s desktop app is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, ensuring support across all major platforms.

Instead of silently monitoring computer activities, timeBuzzer puts the user in control of his time and provides a simple timer (that can also be easily controlled with their hardware add-on) and an intuitive timeline that displays all time entries, giving users a clear overview of their day.

The app allows users to enable notifications and reminders and supports users with an helpful idle detection feature, in case users forget to stop the timer.

Users can also edit time entries in the app via drag and drop or easily add further time entries via click and drag.

Compared to RescueTime, timeBuzzer is more focused on tracking projects instead of monitoring users app usage for productivity insights. So timeBuzzer doesn’t track app usage and send it to their servers, as it can contain sensitive information. In teams that can be perceived as intrusive and can raise privacy concerns. At timeBuzzer we believe successful time tracking is built on trust and simplicity, not surveillance.

For on the go, timeBuzzer also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android. Both are supported by timeBuzzer and actively developed.

Similar to the desktop app, it provides a simple timer that lets users easily start and stop tracking time, as well as manage recorded time entries. The mobile app also allows to manage clients, projects and tasks as well as to create new ones on the go.

Generally the app is focused on the most essenstial time tracking features, with advanced reporting and management features intentionally kept in the web app to avoid disctractions and maintain focus. Its functionality matches that of the desktop app, ensuring a consistent and seamless user experience across both apps.

Hardware

RescueTime is entirely software-based and does not support dedicated hardware for time tracking.

Users must manually start and stop timers in the app to log time on specific tasks. To enable its productivity monitoring features, users are required to grant Security and Privacy permissions on their operating system, including access to documents and browsers.

timeBuzzer offers a unique physical buzzer device as an optional add-on to its software that is designed to make time tracking effortless and fun.

Learn more about physical desktop buzzer

Integrations

RescueTime offers an open API and various integrations, making it easy to connect with your existing tool stack.

timeBuzzer offers an open API and various integrations, making it easy to connect with your existing tool stack.

Pricing

RescueTime’s software subscription plans cost up to $12 per user per month, with a 46% discount on annual billing for the individual Premium plan and a 33% discount on annual billing for the Team plan.

A 14-day free trial of paid features is offered without requiring credit card details. There is also a free Lite plan with limited features and 12 months of historical data.

Cancellation: You can cancel your subscription at any time; it will remain active until the end of the billing cycle. After cancellation, your account will revert to the free Lite plan, and your past reports for the last 12 months will remain accessible.

timeBuzzer’s software subscription plans cost up to $10 per user per month, with a 20% discount for annual billing. The optional hardware buzzer device costs $59 and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try it risk-free.

A free 15-day trial of all the paid software features is available, and no credit card details are required. If you order atleast one desktop buzzer hardware for testing, your software trial even extends to 30 days!

Cancellation: You can cancel your subscription at any time; it will run until the end of the billing cycle, after which you will be downgraded to the limited free version. All your data is securely stored even after cancellation, and you will regain full access upon resubscribing.

Support

RescueTime, based in USA, offers support in English via email, chat widget, and phone messages. According to RescueTime, response times are typically within a few hours, though specific business hours are not stated.

A Help Center is available in English and includes detailed documentation, FAQs, and video tutorials for self-service.

Support levels depend on the plan, with scheduled phone support provided exclusively to paid users.

timeBuzzer, based in Germany, EU, offers support in English and German via email and scheduled calls within 24 hours, during business hours from Monday to Friday, 9 am–6 pm CET you usually can expect much faster response times.

A Help Center is available in English and German, offering detailed documentation, FAQs, and video tutorials for self-service.

All users receive equal, personalized assistance, and user feedback is actively incorporated into product development.

Real people. Real results.

See how timeBuzzer makes a difference.

“Roughly speaking, we save about 3–4 hours per employee per week. We also tend to bill more — around 10% — because we can now record activities more accurately”

Christian Euler
HOCH3 GmbH

“We used to track our time with spreadsheets, which was a pain and often forgotten. With timeBuzzer, our time tracking is now more flexible and yet easier to use. Especially the billing of projects has never been so easy and reliable.”

Katrin Schuler
KP PressConsulting

“We save around 30–60 minutes per employee per day. Billing has also become significantly more precise – we can clearly show which services were delivered and avoid any uncertainties.”

Marc Lübbers
beeNoord Marketing