TrackTimer vs Timely: AI tracking without the trial deadline
Both can capture your day automatically. TrackTimer’s AI Auto Track for Mac is free during early access, with no 14-day countdown, no 20-project cap, and profit on every project.
Start tracking freeWhat you get with TrackTimer
Use today without a trial countdown
TrackTimer includes: Free during early access, with no trial expiration
Not included: Timely A subscription is required after the 14-day trial. Source: Timely source for Use today without a trial countdown
Track more than 20 projects without a tier upgrade
TrackTimer includes: No 20-project cap
Not included: Timely Starter: 20 projects; unlimited projects on higher plans. Source: Timely source for Track more than 20 projects without a tier upgrade
Billable time and agency finances included for free
TrackTimer includes: Billable value, pay, and gross profit included
Not included: Timely Paid subscription required after the trial. Source: Timely source for Billable time and agency finances included for free
| What you get | TrackTimer | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| Use today without a trial countdown | Included: Free during early access, with no trial expiration | Not included: A subscription is required after the 14-day trial. Source: Timely source for Use today without a trial countdown |
| Track more than 20 projects without a tier upgrade | Included: No 20-project cap | Not included: Starter: 20 projects; unlimited projects on higher plans. Source: Timely source for Track more than 20 projects without a tier upgrade |
| Billable time and agency finances included for free | Included: Billable value, pay, and gross profit included | Not included: Paid subscription required after the trial. Source: Timely source for Billable time and agency finances included for free |
Two approaches to automatic tracking
Timely's Memory tracker and AutoSheet capture activity and help allocate it to timesheets. TrackTimer's AI Auto Track keeps a private timeline on your Mac, titles and summarizes each block, and turns any block into a time entry with its summary as the description. You can also start timers on the web, on iPhone, in Raycast, or from an AI assistant. The practical question is how much review and correction each approach needs for your kind of work, so test both on a real week.
Automatic capture does not mean employer surveillance
Timely says its Memory timeline is private to the individual and that colleagues see the time entries the user shares. Its privacy documentation describes user control over tracking and says it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes. TrackTimer's AI Auto Track notes the app and window you're using and reads on-screen text on your Mac; a short excerpt goes to TrackTimer's AI to title, summarize, and categorize each block. Screenshots stay on your Mac, and your timeline is visible only to you: teammates and clients see the time entries you create, never your activity. Evaluate both sets of controls directly if your team handles sensitive client work.
Where the AI helps
Timely's AI focus is generating and allocating timesheets from captured activity. TrackTimer's AI titles, summarizes, and categorizes your Mac activity, and its MCP connection lets an authorized assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT operate your timer, review or correct your own time, and summarize monthly earned pay. Its public REST API has a narrower scope. Both help recover forgotten hours; TrackTimer also ties every entry to billable value, pay, and profit.
Try a day with frequent context changes
Include a call, document editing, internal work, and a quick client interruption. With an automatic workflow, review how the entries were allocated and how much correction was needed. With TrackTimer, review the Auto Track timeline, turn blocks into entries, and fix any missed transitions. Compare the final records against your own notes. No tracker can decide for you whether every activity should be billable under a client agreement.
See what your time earns.
Set up your first project in a few minutes. Free during early access.
Sources
Free-access rows compare TrackTimer today with Timely after its 14-day trial. The project-limit row names Timely Starter; higher Timely plans allow unlimited projects. An X means the benefit is restricted, paid, or unavailable on that plan. Written by TrackTimer, the maker of one of the products compared, from the official sources below, reviewed . Plans change, so check each provider’s current terms.