ActivityWatch is a free open-source time tracker that records what you do on your devices automatically instead of asking you to start and stop timers. It is built for privacy-minded individuals and freelancers who want automatic proof of where their computer time goes, keeping every record in a local store on their own machine with no account and no cloud upload.[1]
Quick verdict
Privacy-minded individuals and freelancers who want automatic proof of where their computer time goes will get the most from ActivityWatch. Its watchers record the active application, window title, browser tabs, and editor events on the device itself, with no account and no cloud upload. The price of that privacy is do-it-yourself analysis, so teams that need shared dashboards or managers who need ready-made reports should choose a hosted tracker instead. If you are comfortable writing a few category rules and reading your own dashboards, choose ActivityWatch; if you need multi-user reporting with zero setup, choose a hosted service.[1][2]
Key features
Automatic application and window tracking: watchers log the active application and window title continuously, so time records exist even on days you forgot to track anything.[1]
AFK detection from keyboard and mouse inactivity: idle stretches are flagged as away-from-keyboard time instead of being silently counted as work.[1]
Browser tab tracking with store extensions: official extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox record domains and page titles, covering the web half of most knowledge-work days.[1]
Editor observability through community plugins: community editor plugins record coding activity, which lets programming time appear next to browsing and documents in one timeline.[1]
Regex categories you define yourself: users group events into custom categories with pattern rules, which is flexible but means the taxonomy is your own work.[1]
Timeline, activity, and sunburst dashboards: built-in views render the recorded day as timelines and breakdowns for personal review.[1]
Local-first storage with JSON export: records stay on the device and buckets export as JSON, and the REST and query API lets custom integrations read the same data.[1]
Free software with optional paid prebuilds: the core costs nothing under MPL-2.0 with no usage limits, while optional ActivityWatch Pro desktop prebuilds start at 5 dollars per month for supporters.[1][2]
Who will love it
Privacy-minded individuals quantifying their own habits: records never leave the device, there is no account to create, and the project states plainly that there is no tracking.[1]
Freelancers and contractors proving billable time: automatic app, window, and browser records plus JSON export give a defensible account of where project hours went.[1]
Self-hosters and local-first advocates: there is no server to deploy and no subscription to maintain; the tracker runs as ordinary desktop software.[1]
Who should avoid it
Teams needing shared dashboards and manager reporting: ActivityWatch is single-user personal software with no multi-user roles or hosted team views.[1]
People who need device sync today: syncing records across machines is described as in progress, so a two-computer workflow has no shipped path yet.[1]
Users who want polished reports with zero configuration: categories are regex rules you write yourself, so anyone unwilling to build a taxonomy will find the dashboards raw.[1]
Alternatives and compatibility
A hosted automatic tracker remains the right choice when shared reporting, cloud sync, and ready-made dashboards carry the workflow.[1]
No published catalogue relationship edges exist for ActivityWatch, so no canonical alternatives links are proposed in this revision.[1]
Migration runs through JSON import and export over the API, while editor plugins are community-maintained rather than official, so verify the plugin for your editor first.[1]
Questions worth asking
What is the best ActivityWatch alternative for non-technical users?
A hosted automatic tracker is the safer pick when you need sync, shared reports, and polished dashboards with no configuration. ActivityWatch itself needs no code for daily use, but its categories and local-only storage assume technical comfort.[1]
Is ActivityWatch really no-code?
Yes for daily tracking: installing watchers, extensions, and reading dashboards needs no programming. Writing useful regex categories and using the REST or query API for custom analysis are the exception, and they need technical skill.[1]
How much does ActivityWatch cost per month?
Can you self-host ActivityWatch?
There is nothing to host: it runs as local software and stores records on the device, with no account or server required. Cross-device sync of those local stores remains in progress rather than shipped. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.[1]
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 7, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
- ActivityWatch - Open-source automated time-tracker
official · Observed October 7, 2026
Official product site and documentation index; current 0.14.x line
- Donate to ActivityWatch
official · Observed October 7, 2026
Official funding page; Pro pricing and free-forever stance
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.