--- title: "RescueTime Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about RescueTime Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Time Tracking products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/103317/RescueTime/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-10-19" --- # RescueTime Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on October 19, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) RescueTime ## What is RescueTime? Web-based time management and analytics tool for workers who want to be more efficient and productive. Prevents distractions and possibilities of becoming scattered in your digital life. RescueTime helps you understand daily habits so you can focus and be more productive. It runs securely in the background on your computer while keeping track of time spent on applications and websites giving you a clear depiction of your day. ## What is RescueTime used for? [Time Tracking](https://www.capterra.com/time-tracking-software/)[Employee Monitoring](https://www.capterra.com/employee-monitoring-software/)[Nonprofit Project Management](https://www.capterra.com/project-management-software-for-nonprofits-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 141 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 96% Neutral 4% Negative 1% Starting price $6.5 Flat Rate, Per Month Free trial available Includes Free Version Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for RescueTime?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/rescuetime/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### RescueTime 4.6 (141) VS. [4.6 (5,322)](https://www.capterra.com/p/153140/Connecteam/reviews/) Starting Price $6.5 Flat Rate, Per Month Starting Price $29 Flat Rate, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.6 (141) Ease Of Use 4.7 (9,275) Value For Money 4.5 (101) Value For Money 4.5 (6,947) Customer Service 4.5 (63) Customer Service 4.6 (6,240) ## RescueTime alternatives [4.6 (628)](https://www.capterra.com/p/151338/WebWork-Time-Tracker/reviews/) Starting price $6.39 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (6,134)](https://www.capterra.com/p/147657/monday-com/reviews/) Starting price $9.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 94% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (3,046)](https://www.capterra.com/p/76113/Wrike/reviews/) Starting price $10.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 89% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [4.8 (253)](https://www.capterra.com/p/142813/Insightful/reviews/) Starting price $8.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/103317/RescueTime/alternatives/) ## FAQs about RescueTime Overview ### What problems does RescueTime solve? RescueTime solves hidden time waste, unreliable manual time logs, and poor visibility into how work hours are divided across apps, websites, and devices. Automatic activity tracking, categorized reports, goals, and focus controls help freelancers, consultants, remote employees, researchers, and managers identify distractions, reconstruct timesheets, track billable work, and improve daily accountability. Answer based on 130 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from RescueTime? RescueTime is most used by founders, CEOs, and business owners who monitor time allocation and reduce distractions across demanding schedules. Software engineers, developers, and designers track focused work during coding and creative tasks. Consultants, marketers, operations staff, and students review activity patterns to improve productivity, billing discipline, and study habits. Answer based on 139 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is RescueTime built for? RescueTime is for companies of all sizes, especially small businesses (83%), with Computer Software as the top industry (16%). It also serves Marketing and Advertising organizations (15%) and Information Technology and Services firms (9%), while enterprise and midsize users represent 9% and 8%. Its most common use case is time tracking (81%). Answer based on 141 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of RescueTime? RescueTime includes automatic time capture and time tracking for apps and websites, with customizable categorization to identify productive and distracting activity. Core reporting features provide activity dashboards, productivity analysis, and weekly summaries. Differentiating focus tools include goals, alerts, and website blocking to limit distractions, while multi-device tracking consolidates usage. Answer based on 89 reviews Pricing ### How much does it cost and what fees or limitations are included? RescueTime offers a free version and a paid plan starting at $6.50 per month, with a two-week free trial. The free tier is considered comprehensive by some reviewers, while others say advanced features require Premium and describe it as costly. Reviewers also report limited free reporting and unavailable FocusTime features. Answer based on 36 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does RescueTime offer? RescueTime provides webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. Webinars support live, guided training sessions, documentation offers written reference material for setup and feature use, and videos provide visual walkthroughs for self-paced learning and review. Answer based on 2 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does RescueTime offer? RescueTime provides email/help desk, FAQ/forum, knowledge base, phone support, and chat. With no reviewer feedback available on support experience, no claims can be made about response speed, helpfulness, or common frustrations. Users can still use these listed channels to seek product assistance. Features and Usability ### How does RescueTime help reduce distractions? RescueTime helps users identify distractions and protect focus through automatic activity tracking, custom categories, alerts, and website blocking options. Remote workers, freelancers, and knowledge workers value seeing wasted time clearly, but accurate results require setup. It can be difficult to classify the same website differently for work and personal use. Answer based on 35 reviews Features and Usability ### How does RescueTime track productivity and project work? RescueTime gives individuals and teams a low-effort view of work habits, productive periods, and time spent across devices. Freelancers, consultants, and remote employees value background tracking, goals, and reports for accountability, while project-based teams may find client or project assignment limited, especially when similar tasks use the same tools. Answer based on 28 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 25,810 Time Tracking reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of time tracking software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Clock In/Out** (**60%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Project Time Tracking** (**55%**) - **Online Time Tracking** (**52%**) RescueTime supports **Online Time Tracking**, but it does not include **Clock In/Out** or **Project Time Tracking**. Instead, it offers **Mobile Access** (**49%**), which gives users a flexible way to review activity and manage time data from different devices. This can be useful for businesses that want visibility into work patterns while helping teams track time more consistently and make better decisions about productivity. Online Time Tracking 4.6 (14) 64.29% of 14 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track employee and task times using internet connection Mobile Access 5.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Access software remotely via mobile devices Reporting/Analytics 4.4 (16) 50.00% of 16 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data Automatic Time Capture 4.9 (14) 64.29% of 14 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Automate recording of time to reduce human error Activity Tracking 4.8 (8) 37.50% of 8 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track and document all activities across devices, networks, and other systems Timesheet Management 4.3 (7) 42.86% of 7 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track the amount of time spent on a job or task RescueTime 19 features ### All Features - Access Controls/Permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems - Activity Dashboard: Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities - Activity Tracking: Track and document all activities across devices, networks, and other systems - Alerts/Notifications: Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges - Automatic Time Capture: Automate recording of time to reduce human error - Email Alerts: Receive and/or send email notifications for urgent updates, requests, or other information - Employee Database: Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository - Historical Reporting: Information, data and reports that are being tracked over time - Idle Time Monitoring: Track and report on times with no activity - Milestone Tracking: Monitor task progress and planned accomplishments to better manage project status - Mobile Access: Access software remotely via mobile devices - Online Time Tracking: Track employee and task times using internet connection - Progress Tracking: Reporting on how each user, task or process has advanced since its initiation - Reminders: Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity - Reporting & Statistics: Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns - Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data - Screen Activity Recording: Capture what is happening on a computer screen - Time Tracking: Measure and track time including hours worked and paid time off (PTO) - Timesheet Management: Track the amount of time spent on a job or task --- Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.5 (141) 4.5 Based on 141 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.5 (101) Free Trial Free Version [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/103317/RescueTime/pricing/) RescueTime $6.50 Flat Rate,Per Month It includes: - Alerts - Better Habits - Daily Focus Work Goals - Daily Reports - Focus Sessions - Remove Distractions - Track of Your Work - Work With Real-Time Data Value for money 4.5 (101) 4.5 Based on 101 reviews Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.5 (63) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.5 (63) 4.5 Based on 63 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.6 Based on 141 reviews Filter by rating Counts reflect reviews available in this feed. 5(90) 4(45) 3(5) 2(1) 1(0) Mentioned topic Recent reviews first, then most helpful Nicolet G. Eigenaar Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "The only time management app that helps me take control of my time" 5.0 July 2, 2019 I've spent significantly less time on social media since I implemented RescueTime in my system and, I now have a very detailed insight on how much time I spend on productive time. RescueTime helps me focus. I cannot recommend RescueTime enough.​ Pros Even though it is not a time tracker in the sense of providing info to clients, I've chosen RescueTime over all other time management software. Why? Because it helps me focus, and it gives me a clear insight into how I spend my time, both online and offline. The best part: I hardly need to fill in anything, the app provides all the details of sites and apps I use on my computer and, my phone. It takes some time, in the beginning, to set things up; you have to teach the app what you consider very productive, productive, neutral, distractive, or very distractive. But, then, it gives a clear overview of your productivity on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. As a pro-subscriber, I can also fill in time I did not spend on my computer. ​ Besides: In RescueTime,​ I can set focus time; After spending more than one hour on distracting time during work hours, ​the app blocks all websites and apps I consider distracting. Cons The only thing I am missing is the possibility​ to assign work to projects and, clients. It would make it perfect! Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VR Verified Reviewer Founder and CEO Used the software for: 3-5 years ### " Bottom-Up Objectivity Yields No-brainer Accountability" 5.0 September 24, 2019 About 4 years into my business I took on outside investors. Both as a good-faith external gesture as well as internally-focused improvement, undertook a whole series of policy and operational changes to increase transparency and allow people to hold themselves accountable. One small part of these efforts was rescuetime, which 10 years later is ironically is the only single-decision that was 100% correct then and now. We use their data as inputs to all sorts of other business processes, both weekly and for year-end reviews. I recommend it constantly, it truly is a no-brainer because as long as you can install software and spend more than a couple hours a day on computers/phones, you will get value out of it... not just immediately but over time. Pros No brainer- install it with no configuration, and you instantly get personalized and valuable weekly reports. Works on windows/mac/linux/android/iphone so can be used by anyone in company or any external team. Excellent user-interface, very easy to customize to each user's specific goals if they choose to do so. Cons The phone-based apps didn't seem to automatically categorize calls w/known contacts. Sometimes if a given site hosted applications with two different goals/intentions/categories, this at minimum much trickier to track properly and Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VR Verified Reviewer Junior Software Developer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Slightly underwhelming" 3.0 March 19, 2019 I am currently trying to use rescue time for personal time trend awareness, but it seems to be more work and time spent to set up and maintain for my purposes than it saves me. I think this tool would be better if individual activities could be labelled as productive or otherwise, without needing to create a new category to apply it differently from similar tasks that are on the opposite end of the productivity spectrum. For instance, facebook should generally be a distraction, but if you use LinkedIn or other professional social media on a regular basis, it shouldn't require you to create a special setup just to have that one app or website treated as productive time without labeling facebook as the same importance. Seems like an oversight to me, but perhaps I just needed to use the category system more readily. Pros This software does pick up a lot of useful data, and allows you to quickly see what things you do on the computer and how the trends flow during your day or week. There is a lot of good information, simple to install and use generally, and overall a decent experience. Cons I dislike the fact that you can't really customize things without lots of tedium in the categories and other areas. Also, the ability to change tracked sections of the day or week are somewhat limited; there are only one or two generic filters for declaring which days and hours to run the tracking. I have noticed that the categories are geared mostly toward organizations more than individuals. I have realized that if I customize categories to make a certain activity productive time instead of distracted time, it won't let me change just that one activity to be productive without bringing the entire category along with it. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Nneka O. Freelance Content Writer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Productivity Tracker for Remote workers" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 3, 2021 I use Rescue Time to stay productive and track my billable hours. Pros It is easy to use. It has productivity reports at the end of the day. It helps me stay on track with my tasks daily. And it is invaluable for tracking billable hours. Cons Interface looks dated and a bit clunky. But it is a great software for tracking my productivity. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer CTO Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Frictionaless Time Tracking" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 October 1, 2019 I primarily use it to understand and track my own efficiency and make sure that what I am actually doing aligns with my strategic and operational directives. Pros It works in the background, I don't need to remember to turn it on or off. No need to disposition time regularly so it doesn't interfere with organic or non-linear workflows. I can go back and disposition all at once at the end of the day or very few days. Cons Update frequency seems high and sometimes the update pop-up is intrusive. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Verified Reviewer CEO Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "If you hate tracking this is the app for you " 5.0 January 10, 2025 It takes some time initially to categorize your app activities with the tag setup you want. But once it's done it's a thing of beauty. I use it to track that I'm spending enough time doing revenue generating activities for my business. And to make sure I'm not spending too much time doing things I shouldn't. I even use this to guide our company org chart. If I'm spending too much time on certain activities, I can see what is worth delegating or automating. Pros Love to have a hands off time tracking app where I don't need to remember to actively track. This is set it and forget which is exactly what I needed. Cons I'd love more customisation in the reports and choosing what you want to see in the weekly email reports. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Verified Reviewer Infrastructure Engineering Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "If you want to rescue your time - you have found the tool" 4.0 January 28, 2025 in general i am using RescueTime, unless i work with very sensitive stuff Pros easy tracking of time, original time tracker Cons when i am using RescueTime i am always worried that too much of my information will go online Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Dan F. Senior Systems Architect Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Consistently great, but dangerous for managers" 5.0 March 14, 2019 I've used RescueTime for years. It's the ultimate in "set and forget" software. Essentially it sits on your computer and silently watches your productivity, totaling up the time you spend doing actual work and the time you spend goofing off. At the end of the week you get a nice little email report telling you how you did. It does a great job not shaming you when you do poorly, as I have many times. When you have a really productive week, however, it rewards you by documenting that fact. Pros Provides a great little nudge to remind you that when you're on your computer working, you should, be, like, working... the free offering is excellent, allowing you do a semi-deep dive into your data, seeing what you're doing most and helping you improve Cons The software is great, and the portal too, but the thing I worry about most is this sort of thing getting in the hands of (bad) developer managers, who might use it to spy on their employees, firing the least "productive" ones. Truly, everyone needs a break now and then, so it worries me a bit that this powerful program could fall into the wrong hands. "With great power comes great responsibility", that sort of thing.. The other thing is the feature set has not changed much in recent years. Subtle improvements could go along way... for instance, I wish it could help me with is filling in my timesheet each week. Imagine if it could tell me which solutions i have open most often in VS Code, for example, and I could charge my time to each project. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. René A. Designer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Identify potential time wasters with RescueTime" 5.0 June 27, 2023 Rescue time helped me to capture my app and website behaviour and thus made it possible to identify areas where I could cut back on wasting time or streamline the usage of an app. This was especially obvious with the use of e-mail. Now I try to stick to certain times a day which cut back the time of e-mail usage significantly. Also if you already have the feeling that you spent too much time with distracting activities you can block them. Pros The detailed analysis of how I use apps and websites made it possible to become more efficient when working with a computer. You can also block distractions if needed. Cons Personally I don’t have any complaints but if you don’t want to have all your app and website usage logged online then this might be a downside. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Bryan M. Product Director Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "My favorite solution for seeing where time is spent" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 July 4, 2018 Easiest way to track productivity and time spent across applications/categories. Pros Rescuetime automatically tracks and categorizes the activities of you and your team. It makes it easy to see what areas and applications you might be spending more time in than expected. The weekly report emails are great and the productivity score is a nice way to get a glance at productivity vs previous months. Cons I would like if there was a different way to categorize specific files from different projects into projects within rescuetime. There may be a way to make a solution like this happen with the current features, but if I could tag certain portions of time towards specific projects it would give me further insight not only on the type of work I am doing (development, communication), but into the specific project that time was spent on. This is a small niche need though and it hasn't stopped me from using Rescuetime. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/103317/RescueTime/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. 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