ActivityWatch Review: Free, Local-First Automatic Time Tracking
ActivityWatch is a free, open-source automatic time tracker licensed under MPL-2.0. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, records which application and window are active, and stores everything on the user's own device.
It was started by brothers Erik and Johan Bjäreholt, is maintained by volunteers with community funding, and has about 19,000 stars on GitHub. It is a personal productivity tool, not an employer monitoring system.
The verdict
ActivityWatch sits oddly in an employee monitoring category, because it is built for the opposite purpose. The data never leaves the device by default, there is no admin console, and there is no way for a manager to view a team's activity. The project describes itself as a privacy-first alternative to RescueTime, ManicTime and WakaTime.
For an individual or a team that wants each person to see where their own hours go, it works well. Watchers log the active window and app, detect idle time, and add website detail through Chrome and Firefox extensions and coding time through editor plugins. Rules then sort activity into categories on a timeline and dashboard.
I would recommend it to developers, freelancers and privacy-conscious staff who want self-knowledge rather than oversight. An employer that needs approved timesheets should look at Kimai or TimeTrex, and one that wants central monitoring would need a commercial product such as EmpMonitor, with the legal obligations that brings.
Release cadence is the thing to watch. Recent pre-releases on GitHub add Android peer discovery for sync, automatic recovery of damaged SQLite databases, and an experimental Tauri-based build alongside the classic one. Stable releases arrive less often than with a funded commercial product, so check the releases page before rolling it out on new operating system versions.
Where ActivityWatch fits
Who it suits
ActivityWatch suits individuals, freelancers and developers on Windows, macOS, Linux or Android who want automatic records of their own computer use, and teams that let each member track privately for self-review or to fill in timesheets elsewhere.
It is also useful as a private memory aid for people who fill in timesheets in another system at the end of the week: the timeline shows what they worked on, and they copy the totals into Kimai, eHour or a client's tool. It is not suitable for hourly staff who clock in at a site, since it only sees computer activity.
What it does differently
Its difference from every other tool in this category is that data is local-first: ActivityWatch stores activity on the device and does not send it to a server. Combined with an open license and a REST API, that makes it the tool for people who want tracking data they fully own and can query.
Cloud trackers such as RescueTime hold your activity history on their servers. ActivityWatch keeps the SQLite-backed history on your disk and lets you query it with aw-query or export it, which also means nothing is lost if the project slows down.
How it gets bought
There is no commercial relationship to manage. The trade-off is that an organization gets no service level, no admin tooling and no guarantee of release timing from a volunteer-run project.
ActivityWatch pricing: free software and donations
There is nothing to buy. ActivityWatch is free with no premium tier, and the full feature set is in the open-source download.
The project is funded by voluntary supporter subscriptions from $5 a month and one-time donations. The cost to an organization is the time to install it on each machine and to support users, since there is no vendor help desk.
| Plan | Published price | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| ActivityWatch | Free | Not stated |
| Supporter subscription (optional) | From $5/month | Not stated |
Pricing last checked September 25, 2026. View source
What MPL-2.0 means for a company
MPL-2.0 lets anyone use, modify and redistribute the software. Changes to MPL-licensed files must be shared under the same license if you distribute them, but internal use carries no such obligation.
Hidden costs
No vendor support contract exists. Rolling it out across a team means packaging installers for each operating system and answering questions internally.
When a paid tracker is the better deal
If your organization needs central reports, a support contract or managed deployment, the free license stops being the deciding factor. The time an IT team spends packaging and supporting a volunteer project can exceed the subscription for a commercial tracker, so compare total effort rather than license price.
ActivityWatch features: watchers, dashboard and API
Watchers
Watchers are the small programs that collect data. The core ones track the active window and detect when you are away from the keyboard.
aw-watcher-window. Records the active application and window title.
aw-watcher-afk. Uses keyboard and mouse activity to detect idle time.
aw-watcher-web. Browser extension that records the active tab and site.
Dashboard and categories
aw-webui shows a timeline and summary views in the browser. Users define categories and rules that sort apps and sites automatically.
Categorization rules. Match titles or apps to categories such as work or leisure.
Export and filtering. Filter activity and export it for other tools.
API and extensibility
aw-server, available in Python and Rust, exposes a REST API and datastore. Editor watchers, media watchers and custom watchers extend what is tracked.
aw-query. Query language for building custom reports.
Custom watchers. Write your own collector for any data source.
Android and multiple devices
The Android app records phone app usage. Combining phone and computer data depends on the sync feature, which the project still lists as in development, with Android peer discovery added in recent pre-releases.
Android app. Tracks app usage on the phone.
Sync status. Cross-device sync is not a finished feature; an older syncing prototype is documented.
ActivityWatch pros and cons
Strengths
Data stays on the device
The project states that data is stored locally and does not leave the device, which avoids the privacy problems of cloud trackers.
Free and open source
MPL-2.0 licensing, no paid tier and no ads. The source for aw-server, aw-webui and each watcher is on GitHub.
Broad platform and app coverage
Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, with browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox and plugins for code editors.
Extensible through an API
A REST API and Python libraries let users query data, build custom watchers and export activity.
Limitations
No team or manager view
There are no team dashboards, admin roles or central reporting. It cannot serve as employee monitoring, and should not be marketed to employers as such.
Multi-device sync is not finished
The project lists synchronization between devices as in development, so a person using a laptop and a desktop sees two separate histories.
No iOS app
Android is supported, iOS is not. Teams that mostly work on iPhones or iPads will only capture their computer time, and there is no official route to add iOS data.
Volunteer-run
Development depends on volunteers and small donations, so there is no support contract or release schedule.
The GitHub issue tracker and community forum are the support channels, so problems on a specific operating system version may wait until a volunteer picks them up.
ActivityWatch is MPL-2.0 open-source software for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, and keeps all tracked data on the user's own device. Watchers record the active app and window title, with browser extensions and editor plugins adding detail. It has no team dashboards, so it suits personal time insight rather than employer monitoring.
Rolling out ActivityWatch without a demo
ActivityWatch has no demo or sales process. Adoption is a download and a conversation about how the data will and will not be used.
- Install it yourself for a week before recommending it, because the categories only become useful once you have written rules for your own apps and sites.
- Tell colleagues clearly that the data stays on their device and is not collected by the company, since the tool's value depends on people trusting it.
- Add the Chrome or Firefox extension and any editor plugin, because window titles alone miss which site or file someone worked in.
- Pick a separate timesheet tool for billing or payroll, since ActivityWatch has no approvals or shared reporting.
Frequently asked questions about ActivityWatch
Is ActivityWatch open source?
Yes. It is licensed under MPL-2.0 and the source is on GitHub.
Is ActivityWatch free?
Yes, with no paid tier or ads. Optional supporter subscriptions from $5 a month fund development.
Can an employer use ActivityWatch to monitor staff?
Not in its standard form. Data stays on each device and there is no central dashboard.
Which platforms does ActivityWatch support?
Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. iOS is not supported.
Does ActivityWatch sync between devices?
Sync is listed as in development and is not yet a finished feature.
Alternatives worth comparing
Alternatives depend on whether you want personal insight, team timesheets or employer oversight.
| Product | Pricing model | Free trial | Why buyers shortlist it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimai | Free / open source | Not stated | Kimai is open-source, self-hosted timesheet software with multiple users and reports, suited to teams that need shared time records. |
| TimeTrex | Free / open source | Yes | TimeTrex offers a free Community Edition with attendance, scheduling and payroll features for managing hourly employees. |
| OrangeHRM | Free / open source | Yes | OrangeHRM is open-source [HR software](/categories/hr-software) with a free Starter edition you can self-host and a paid Advanced edition with extra modules. |
| Sentrifugo | Free / open source | Not stated | Sentrifugo is a free, GPL-3.0 open-source HRMS that you download and host yourself, covering employee records, leave, attendance, appraisals and recruitment. |
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