Rescue Your Time: Top 10 RescueTime Alternatives That Really Deliver

Are you tired of feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day? Do you find yourself constantly scrambling to meet deadlines and wondering where all your time went? 

Well, fear not! The answer to your problems might just be time tracking.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Time tracking? That sounds boring." But hear me out. Time tracking isn't just about making sure you're working the right number of hours. It's about being aware of how you're spending your time and finding ways to be more efficient and productive.

And let's face it, in today's world of remote work, time tracking has become more important than ever. When you're not physically in the same space as your team, it can be easy to lose track of time and feel disconnected from what everyone else is doing. But with time tracking, you can stay on top of your own schedule and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Now, you may have heard of RescueTime. It's a popular time tracking app that can help you keep track of how you're spending your time on your computer and phone. But let's be real, it's not perfect. While RescueTime is great for personal productivity monitoring, it lacks advanced features and capabilities that can help you grow as a business.

For example, if you really want to boost your team's productivity, you need more detailed time reports and insights. You need to know how much time each team member is spending on specific tasks and projects. You need to be able to see where there are bottlenecks and inefficiencies so you can address them head-on.

Wondering if there are any RescueTime alternatives that offer better features? Well, there are plenty of options out there. For your convenience, we’ve curated a list of the top 10 apps like RescueTime and, of those, selected the one that’s perfect in all aspects. (Psst! We’ll give our verdict towards the end of the blog. So keep reading.)

10 Best RescueTime Alternatives

Let’s start with a little bit about RescueTime. 

RescueTime is a great time tracking app for staying on track with your goals. Its tracking features allow you to see how much time you spend on specific tasks and websites, and help you identify areas where you can improve your focus. However, some users have noted that the mobile app could use some improvements and that the reports could be more visually appealing and organized. 

The following 10 RescueTime alternatives offer all of these features and more. Let’s take a look at each of them.

Time Doctor

Time Doctor is a cloud-based solution for time tracking, payroll integration, productivity improvement, employee monitoring, project management, budgeting, and more.

Time Doctor is one of the RescueTime alternatives that offers a more comprehensive set of features while maximizing productivity. This app offers a wide range of features, including payroll integration, data sharing, employee monitoring, project management, and budgeting. 

One point worth mentioning in our Time Doctor vs RescueTime analysis is that there's also a tool in Time Doctor that captures employees' screens randomly, so employers can see what they're working on. Additionally, Time Doctor tracks employees' website activities to find out if they visit any sites that hinder their productivity while they're at work. The daily and weekly productivity reports can also be useful.

There’s one problem, though. Time Doctor doesn’t have a free plan. There are three pricing plans, catering to different business needs. The Basic plan starts at $5.9 user/month (billed annually or $7 month-to-month), including features like basic reporting, team & individual dashboards, activity tracking, among others. The Standard plan includes additional features like payroll integration, client login access, and email notifications. It starts at $8.4 per user per month (billed annually or $10 month-to-month). The Premium plan includes advanced features like concierge onboarding, VIP support, and unlimited data storage, starting at $16.7 user/month (billed annually or $20 month-to-month).

Key Features:

• Focus on employee monitoring and productivity
• Useful time usage reports for employee
• Customized client access for project updates in Premium plan
• Offline monitoring supported

Cons:

• No free plan
• Optional screenshot monitoring can be invasive 
• Not recommended for freelancers, more suitable for businesses 

Not to be missed: 11 Best Time Doctor Alternatives in 2023

Everhour

Everhour is a free time tracker that offers a range of features to help individuals and small businesses maximize their productivity through effective time management.

Everhour is specialized software that focuses on time tracking and attendance management and is easily integrable with several project management applications, including Asana, Jira, and monday.com. It offers additional features like billing and budgeting with expenses and invoicing, and task management with visual planning.

Everhour provides a free plan for small teams with limited time tracking needs. It includes unlimited time tracking, projects, and reports that can be exported, along with mobile app support. However, it’s limited for up to five users only. For more advanced features, users can upgrade to Everhour's Lite and Team plans, which provide additional tools for budgeting and invoicing, including project rates and project cost tracking. 

Key Features:

• Keep projects on budget
• Free forever plan available for up to five users
• Monitor employee time per project

Cons:

• Minimum number of user requirements in paid plans (can be inconvenient)
• Unsuitable for larger teams

QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time, previously known as TSheets, is a software for tracking employee time and scheduling. 

One of the coolest RescueTime alternatives, QuickBooks Time is a product of the same company that created QuickBooks, which is a popular accounting software. With this app, you can create work schedules for your team, keep track of their work hours, and bill clients based on how long they worked. It has a GPS feature to help you manage mobile employees and remind them to clock in or out when they arrive or leave a job site.

With the help of automated employee time tracking, accurate records of working hours are maintained and seamlessly integrated into the payroll system, eliminating the need for manual data entry.

There’s no free plan, however, with a free 60-minute call, a QuickBooks Time expert can help users get their team ready to track time, connect with their payroll and set up job codes and time off.

Key Features:

• Efficient payroll system
• Time clock kiosk
• Free guided setup

Cons:

• No free plan
• Only suitable for small teams
• Expensive paid plans

See More: Employee Evaluation Checklist - Your Ultimate Guide to Avoid the Dark Side at the Time of Assessments

timegram

timegram is a non-invasive time tracking and productivity management tool that provides insights into individual, team, and project performances. 

How about an app that’s easy on your pocket, offers exciting features to bolster productivity AND not only respects your privacy but also prioritizes it? Check out timegram, the ultimate time tracking and productivity management tool that will knock your socks off! 

Let's face it, we've all had enough of those creepy time tracking apps that take screenshots of your every move, monitor your keystrokes, and record your voice like some kind of dystopian nightmare. Well, fret not, dear readers, timegram has got your back! With its commitment to user privacy, you can finally trust that your personal data won't fall into the wrong hands.

With timegram’s sleek and clutter-free interface, you can easily keep track of your team, tasks & projects, and revenue & cost, and never miss a beat. Moreover, you can accurately measure the time spent on each task and project and manage multiple projects with ease. Plus, with timegram’s notification features, you can be sure that nothing falls through the cracks.

But that's not all! timegram also allows you to generate detailed performance reports for each team member, so you can keep track of their productivity and work-related activities. And with the ability to automatically convert tracked time into invoices, billing has never been easier.

And the cherry on top? timegram offers a free version of its time-tracking and reporting software that includes all essential features, so you can try it out without worrying about breaking the bank. And if you're sold on it, you can choose from two paid plans, with discounts available for annual payments. Talk about a steal!

So say goodbye to disorganized projects and hello to increased productivity with timegram! 

Key Features:

• Privacy-first approach where employees have their recorded activity private to them and can log time to relevant tasks by themselves
• Automated time tracking allowing users to focus on work instead of worrying about manual timers
• User-friendly interface provides transparency in performance evaluation
• Generates detailed performance reports based on employee insights
• Automatically launches upon starting your computer, making it a breeze to use
• Prioritizes user privacy, so no real-time tracking or surveillance tactics like screenshots or webcam monitoring
• Accurately tracks billable hours, which can help generate invoices automatically
• Free plan available for up to 3 users, with all features and 7-day data retention for Insights reports

Cons:

• Some businesses may not consider its privacy-first policy a good thing
• Free plan is limited to three users

TimeCamp

TimeCamp is a time tracking software that allows users to monitor their work hours, track project progress, generate reports, and invoice clients all in one platform.

TimeCamp’s logs hours while also keeping track of the URLs and apps that you and your team are visiting. This allows you to gain insight into the activities that are taking up the most time, even when your team is working remotely. Moreover, the paid version of the app includes the option to take screenshots, providing an even more detailed look at how your team is spending their time.

Unlike RescueTime, TimeCamp offers powerful reporting features. With custom reports, you can generate in-depth analyses of your team's time usage across projects, tasks, and clients. These reports can be customized to show only the data that's relevant to you, so you can easily identify areas where you can improve efficiency or optimize workflows.

The app's free plan offers unlimited users, tasks, and projects, and you can easily add, filter, and categorize time entries by project, client, task, or tag. The paid plan includes unlimited integrations, billable time and budgeting, timesheet approvals, and more.

Key Features:

• Free plan available
• 10-plus in-built report templates
• Ideal for remote teams

Cons:

• No invoicing option on Free and Basic plans
• Some users have complained about slow UI
• Expensive paid plans

Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a nifty software that has made a name for itself thanks to its outstanding time tracking capabilities. 

If you’re looking for RescueTime alternatives solely based on how well the app tracks employee time, then Hubstaff is what you need to explore. It’s designed to provide employers with a bird's eye view of their team's performance based on solid, thorough data. 

For people who prefer automated time tracking tools that track employee activity rates without logging keystrokes, Hubstaff is the answer as it monitors mouse and keyboard usage, instead. Hubstaff boasts several solutions for time tracking, from basic work hour and project recording to more sophisticated automated solutions with productivity monitoring capabilities. 

It has a free plan that offers time tracking, timesheets, monitoring of activity levels and limited screenshots, reports and payments.

Key Features:

• Virtual achievement badges to boost morale
• Automated payroll feature
• Free forever plan available

Cons:

• Customizable screenshots may invade privacy
• Interface may not be very user-friendly
• An overabundance of reports and data may lead to confusion
• Free plan is limited to one user
• Highly invasive when it comes to employee monitoring

Read More: 5 Hubstaff Alternatives To Make Your Team More Productive

Timely

Timely uses AI to automatically capture your time and deliver valuable insights for smarter and more efficient work.

While both Timely and RescueTime capture everything you work on in the background, Timely offers more advanced project time tracking and task management features compared to RescueTime's personal productivity management focus.

Timely's design is centered around assisting you in reporting and invoicing specific projects with ease and accuracy. It also offers a native QuickBooks Online integration, which streamlines routine accounting and allows users to create accurate, professional invoices for all unbilled project work all at once.

The highlight of this RescueTime alternative is its ‘Memory Tracker,’ which operates in the background to keep a record of all the tasks you perform during your workday. By leveraging this feature, employees can effortlessly review their previous work and log the time spent on each task.

Key Features:

• Can track specific projects 
• The Memory Tracker 
• Native QuickBooks Online integration

Cons:

• No free plan
• Hefty paid plans
• Less mobile app features for some users

My Hours

MyHours offers an online time tracking software that simplifies tracking work hours and managing schedules for individuals and teams.

Tired of keeping track of your work hours on paper or messy spreadsheets? Want to impress your clients with sleek and detailed billing reports? Look no further than My Hours. 

With the free plan, you get unlimited team members and projects, plus convenient features like weekly and daily tracking time on tasks and projects, generating detailed reports and billable rates per project. Whether you're a team member or administrator, you'll have everything you need to stay organized and on top of your work.

But if you're ready to take your productivity to the next level, upgrade to the Pro plan starting at $8 per active team member, per month (billed annually). This premium plan comes with all the perks of the free plan, plus some seriously advanced features, including billable rates per task or team member, invoicing, and custom field tracking. And with the project manager role, you can delegate tasks and manage your team with ease.

Key Features:

• Free plan available
• Unlimited team members & projects
• Intuitive timesheets

Cons:

• Invoicing and priority support only in paid plan
• Mobile app can be a tad slow
• Only suitable for small teams or freelancers

Recommended For You: 5 Creative Ways That Employees Cheat Surveillance Methods - And How You Can Avoid Them

TrackingTime

TrackingTime enables companies to efficiently manage projects, tasks, and productivity by easily tracking working hours.

Another name in the list of free RescueTime alternatives is TrackingTime. The crux of the app is a simplistic yet potent task manager that facilitates impeccable organization while simultaneously providing real-time tracking of your working hours. The app's collaborative focus feature allows you to seamlessly arrange your clients, projects, and tasks on your dashboard while keeping an eye on the work being done by your team members.

TrackingTime has a ‘Time Cards’ option, which is a solution created to comply with legal requirements. With Time Cards, companies can easily gather, access, and store accurate clock-in/out data for their employees. Another feature called ‘Shared Reports’ simplifies the process of creating professional time reports with high visual impact in a few minutes. This feature enables freelancers and small and midsize businesses to display the status of their projects to clients and share insights effortlessly, in a transparent way. 

Key Features:

• Free plan available
• Both manual and automated time entries
• Unlimited tasks and projects

Cons:

• Invoicing only available in paid plans
• Only ideal for small teams

Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a free, comprehensive time tracking tool with apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, and browser extensions.

In case you're on the hunt for a good RescueTime free alternative that offers a much more varied plan, then Toggl Track should be on your list. Its free plan is perfect for small teams with up to five members, who need to monitor their time usage. Besides unlimited tracking and tagging, users can also access automated time tracking triggers, idle time detection, pomodoro timers, (comma-separated value) CSV imports, and personal desktop activity tracking. Moreover, the software generates exportable reports to help you keep tabs on your progress.

While the free plan may not suit larger teams or those who need to create and send invoices directly, users can upgrade to a paid plan to enjoy additional features. For instance, paid plans offer unlimited users, billable hour tracking, and unlimited tag creation, among others.

Key Features:

• Idle time detection helps users manage their logins
• Pomodoro timer boosts productivity
• Unlimited time tracking and project creation in the free plan

Cons:

• Free plan only accommodates up to five users
• Paid plans may not be budget-friendly for some users
• Inability to create and send invoices directly from the software
• May not be ideal for larger teams

Also Read: Toggl Track Alternative: Find the Best Time Tracking App for You

The Moment Of Truth: Which Is The Best Rescuetime Alternative?

Our verdict: timegram. Hands down.

It's a super powerful tool that helps you keep an eye on your team's productivity and attendance without having to micromanage them. And the best part? timegram is customizable to fit your specific needs, with options to set up alerts, notifications, and customized reports.

But let's talk about privacy, shall we? We know it's essential to build trust within your team, and that's why timegram follows a strict zero-surveillance policy. It doesn't engage in invasive monitoring tactics like keystroke tracking or webcam captures, and doesn't take screenshots either. With timegram’s features, you can rest assured that your team's privacy is protected while maintaining effective monitoring of their productivity.

Sign up for timegram today and see for yourself how it can help take your business to the next level!

FAQs

Is there a free version of RescueTime?

Yes, there is a free version of RescueTime available, but it's like a bike with training wheels - it'll get you moving, but you'll quickly outgrow it. The free version only offers limited features like automatic time-tracking and a weekly email report. If you want to unlock the full potential of time-tracking and productivity analytics, you'll want to invest in a premium tool like timegram.

Is RescueTime useful?

Well, it depends on who you ask. Some people swear by RescueTime and claim that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Others, not so much. Personally, I think RescueTime is like a GPS for your productivity - it can give you directions, but ultimately it's up to you to decide which route to take. So, while RescueTime can be useful in tracking your time and helping you identify areas where you may be wasting it, it's ultimately up to you to make the most of that information and use it to boost your productivity. Think of it as a helpful guide, rather than a magical solution to all your productivity problems.

What is the alternative to RescueTime?

Well, there are certainly plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to RescueTime alternatives — such as Toggl Track, Hubstaff, TimeCamp, among others — but if you're looking for the catch of the day, let me introduce you to timegram. This tool is the real deal, with innovative features that will have you reeling in success in no time.