The Intuitive Alternative to Timely

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Timely vs. timeBuzzer

Software

Timely is a time tracking software that automatically records all web and desktop activites on users browsers to automatically generate timesheets.

Best for: Consultants, agencies, and knowledge workers who want to track projects who don’t mind sending all their computer activities to the cloud and retroactively correct AI suggested timesheets.

Feature highlights:

Automatic tracking of desktop and web activites, AI-powered timesheet creation, project and task management

Timely offers a desktop app called “Memory” for macOS and Windows. For Linux there is currently no app available.

The app records users web and desktop activities and sends this data to the Timely web app. In order to be able to do that, users must grant a lot of permissions in their Privacy and Security settings of their operating system.

Apart from that the app offers different settings to schedule the time for activity recording, setup idle detection, blacklisting and rewrite rules.

The app doesn’t provide any timer or timeline feature. Visualisation and editing are done in the Timely web app.

For on the go, Timely offers a mobile app for iOS and Android.

The mobile app displays your computer activites but doesn’t support automatic tracking on the smartphone. The mobile app allows you to manually create time entries, but doesn’t include a timer feature for real-time tracking. Unlike the Memory desktop app, the mobile app also allows to manage projects and view reports.

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 accurately track their time in real-time to stay in control and avoid retroactive corrections and tracking.

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.

Unlike Timely, which passively records computer activity and processes it in the cloud with AI, timeBuzzer focuses on real-time in the moment.

With a simple timer (optionally controlled via hardware for extra ease) and a clean horizontal timeline, users get a clear overview of their day. Entries can be quickly adjusted with drag & drop, or created by clicking and dragging. This makes time tracking fast, accurate, and based entirely on the user’s intent—no tedious corrections or guesswork at the end of the day or week needed.

AI time tracking may sound convenient, but it often requires heavy oversight, a steep learning curve with rule-based settings and other different options for programs and can expose sensitive data (emails, documents) to external servers. timeBuzzer keeps tracking intentional, values privacy of users, and takes less than a minute per day. (Way less than supervising and retroactively correcting timesheet sugesstions.)

The app also includes smart features like notifications, reminders, and idle detection, ensuring users can easily fix entries if they forget to stop a timer, take a break, or get interrupted.

For on the go, timeBuzzer also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android.

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

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

Users must manually create time entries retroactively based on a “Memory Timeline” which displays captured activities on the computer of the user. To enable its activity capturing feature, users are required to grant Security and Privacy permissions on their operating system, including access to documents and browsers.

timeBuzzer offers an optional desktop buzzer alongside its software, turning time tracking into something simple and fun — and making it easy to capture even short activities like e‑mails or phone calls that often go untracked.

Learn more about the desktop buzzer

Integrations

Timely offers an open API and various integrations, including automation platforms, making it easy to connect with your existing tools.

timeBuzzer offers an open API and various integrations, including automation platforms, making it easy to connect with your existing tools.

Pricing

Timely’s software subscription plans cost up to $28 per user per month, with up to a 22% discount available for annual billing. Three pricing plans are offered with various features and optional add-ons.

A 14-day free trial is available without requiring credit card details.

Cancellation: You can cancel your subscription at any time; it will remain active until the end of the billing cycle. According to Timely, all data is securely stored even after cancellation, and you will regain access if you resubscribe.

timeBuzzer‘s software subscriptions cost up to €10 per user per month, with a 20% discount for annual billing. The optional desktop buzzer costs a one-time fee of €59 per device and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it risk-free. Volume discounts are available when purchasing multiple devices.

A free 15-day trial of all the paid software features iis available without requiring credit card details. If you order at least one desktop buzzer to test, your software trial is automatically extended to 30 days!

Cancellation: You can cancel your subscription at any time. It will remain active until the end of the billing cycle, after which you’ll smoothly transition to our free limited version. Your data remains securely stored and fully accessible again the moment you resubscribe.

Support

Timely, based in Norway, offers support in English via email and live chat widget Monday to Friday, 6:00 AM – 5:00 PM CET and 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET.

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

Support levels vary by plan, with paid users potentially receiving faster response times and enhanced assistance.

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.

Conclusion

Timely is a solid choice if you prefer not to track time as you work but instead have your computer activities recorded automatically, with AI suggesting time entries to review later. You and your team should be comfortable that your app and web usage – which can also contain sensitive data – are sent to Timely’s servers. Also you should note that automatic time tracking sounds like less work – but it often creates the opposite of “effortless tracking”. If you switch frequently between programs, the timeline quickly becomes cluttered, and reviewing and correcting auto-entries can take much more time than manually tracking in real-time.

timeBuzzer could be the perfect fit if you’re looking for a time tracking tool designed specifically for project-based in real-time – helping your team avoid the guesswork of logging hours at the end of the week. It emphasizes simplicity and usability, making accurate tracking effortless and even enjoyable, all while respecting your team’s privacy.

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