DeskTime vs Memtime: Which Is Better for Automatic Time Capture in 2026?

Pick DeskTime if a manager needs cloud dashboards, productivity scores and optional screenshots across a team, from $6.42 per user/month billed annually. Pick Memtime if you bill clients and want recorded activity kept on your own device, from $14 per user/month billed annually. If you are one person on a Mac who wants to remember the day, Dayflow (ours) is free.

DeskTime and Memtime both capture your computer time without a timer, but they answer to different people. DeskTime is a cloud monitoring service built so a manager can see a team’s activity, while Memtime keeps recorded activity on your own device and expects you to turn that timeline into billable entries. (If Memtime is already on your shortlist, our Memtime alternative page compares it directly with Dayflow.)

Disclosure: Dayflow, which appears below as a third option, is our product. It is a free, MIT-licensed Mac app that records your screen and has AI write your day into a readable timeline. This comparison is based only on each vendor’s own documentation as checked on October 4, 2026, with Dayflow’s facts reviewed against version 2.2.0.

If you are still surveying the wider field, our guide to choosing a time tracker for Mac covers more options than the three here.

Quick comparison

Tool	Best for	How it tracks	Price	Platforms
DeskTime	Managers and teams, from startups and agencies to enterprises	Automatically from computer start: URLs, apps, document titles, optional screenshots	From $6.42 per user/month billed annually (excluding VAT)	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web
Memtime	Freelancers and teams that bill time (legal, accounting, design, software, agencies, consulting)	Automatically records every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab into a timeline you convert to entries	From $14 per user/month billed annually ($12 billed 2-yearly)	Mac, Windows, Linux
Dayflow (ours)	One person on a Mac who wants to remember and review their working day	Screen recording turned into an AI-written timeline	$0 (MIT); optional Pro $20/month	macOS 14 or later

Key takeaways

• The real split is who the data is for. DeskTime sends activity to a cloud service with admin dashboards. Memtime says recorded activity stays exclusively on the user’s device.
• DeskTime is the cheaper entry point at $6.42 per user/month billed annually, but screenshots and integrations need Premium at $9.17.
• Memtime is built around billing. Its timeline exists so you can create time entries, and from the Connect plan it syncs them to 100+ project and billing tools.
• AI differs. DeskTime lists AI-powered summaries in reporting. Memtime lists no AI features.
• Neither is free. Both offer 14-day trials. Dayflow is $0 but is Mac only and has no invoicing, payroll, team reports or website blocking.

What DeskTime does better

Team visibility. DeskTime is an employee monitoring product. It runs as a web service with admin and user dashboards, so a manager can see activity across people without asking anyone to send a report. Memtime, by its own description, keeps automatically recorded activity on each person’s device, which makes the manager-dashboard model a poor fit.

Productivity scoring. DeskTime scores apps and URLs for productivity. If your goal is to compare how time splits between productive and unproductive tools across a team, that scoring is built in. Memtime lists custom reports but not productivity scoring.

Workforce features beyond tracking. DeskTime includes shift scheduling and an absence calendar. These are the things an operations lead needs next to the activity data, and Memtime does not list them.

Screenshots. On Premium, DeskTime can take optional screenshots. Some teams want that evidence layer, and Memtime does not list screenshots at all.

AI summaries. DeskTime lists AI-powered summaries in its reporting. Memtime lists none.

More platforms and a lower price. DeskTime covers Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and web. Memtime has no mobile or Chromebook app. DeskTime’s Pro plan at $6.42 per user/month billed annually costs less than half of Memtime Basic at $14 billed annually.

Offline time. DeskTime supports manual entries for time spent away from the computer, which matters for meetings in a room or calls on a phone without the call integrations Memtime sells on Premium.

What Memtime does better

Local data. This is Memtime’s strongest point. The vendor states that automatically recorded activity data is stored exclusively on the user’s device and is not uploaded to a server. For anyone who bills clients under confidentiality obligations, such as legal or accounting work, that is a meaningful difference from DeskTime’s cloud model. Our piece on time tracking without surveillance goes into why that boundary matters.

Breadth of capture. Memtime describes recording time in every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab. DeskTime captures URLs, apps and document titles. Both are automatic, but Memtime explicitly names emails, calls and meetings as things the timeline shows.

Turning activity into billable entries. Memtime’s whole workflow assumes you will look at the timeline and create time entries from it. DeskTime records activity for monitoring. If the end product is an invoice line, Memtime’s model is closer to that job.

Sync to billing and project tools. From the Connect plan, Memtime syncs time entries to 100+ project and billing tools. DeskTime has integrations and an API, but only on Premium, and its facts do not describe them as billing-focused.

Phone calls. Memtime’s Premium plan adds call system integrations for tracking phone calls. For people who bill call time, that removes a manual step.

Enterprise identity. Memtime Premium includes SSO, SAML and SCIM.

Linux. Memtime runs on Linux. DeskTime does not list it.

A trial that cannot surprise you. Memtime’s 14-day trial needs no payment information and does not convert to a subscription. DeskTime’s 14-day trial also needs no credit card.

Head-to-head table

Capability	DeskTime	Memtime	Dayflow (ours)
Automatic capture	Yes, from computer start: URLs, apps, document titles; optional screenshots on Premium	Yes, every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab	Yes, full screen recordings turned into an AI-written timeline
Manual or offline entries	Manual entries for offline time	You turn the timeline into time entries	Not listed; the timeline is written automatically
Invoicing	Not listed	Not listed as built in; syncs entries to 100+ project and billing tools (Connect and above)	No
Team reports	Yes, admin and user dashboards, productivity scoring	Custom reports; SSO, SAML and SCIM on Premium	No
Website blocking	Not listed	Not listed	No
AI summaries	AI-powered summaries in reporting	None listed	Yes, AI writes the timeline (local model, your own provider, or Pro)
Data location	Cloud web service	Recorded activity stored only on the user’s device	Recordings and timeline on your Mac; analysis local or off-device depending on mode
Free tier / trial	No free plan shown, see the vendor’s pricing page; 14-day trial, no credit card	No free tier; 14-day trial, no payment info, does not convert	$0 free app; optional Pro
Platforms	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web	Mac, Windows, Linux	macOS 14 or later
Open source	No	No	Yes, MIT

Pricing compared

Plan	DeskTime	Memtime	Dayflow (ours)
Entry	Pro: $6.42 per user/month billed annually (excluding VAT)	Basic: $14 per user/month billed annually, $18 billed quarterly, $12 billed 2-yearly	Free: $0
Middle	Premium: $9.17 per user/month billed annually (excluding VAT)	Connect: $21 per user/month billed annually, $26 billed quarterly, $18 billed 2-yearly	Pro: $20/month
Upper	Enterprise: custom, 200+ users	Premium: $29 per user/month billed annually, $35 billed quarterly, $23 billed 2-yearly	None
Large org	Enterprise: custom, 200+ users	Enterprise: custom, 50+ seats, contact sales	None
Monthly billing	Exists, but prices could not be read; see the vendor’s pricing page	Not offered (quarterly, annual, 2-yearly)	Pro is $20/month

For one person whose job is automatic time capture, the cheapest listed plans work out like this. DeskTime Pro at $6.42 a month billed annually is $77.04 a year before VAT. If you want screenshots or integrations, Premium is $110.04 a year before VAT. Memtime Basic billed annually is $168 a year. Billed quarterly, it is $216 a year. Committing to two years drops it to $288 for the full two years, or $144 a year. If you need Memtime’s sync to billing tools, Connect billed annually is $252 a year. Dayflow’s free app is $0. Dayflow Pro, which handles cloud AI analysis for you, is $240 a year if paid monthly for twelve months.

When should you choose DeskTime?

Choose DeskTime when the person reading the data is not the person generating it. A team lead who wants dashboards, productivity scoring, shift schedules and an absence calendar in one cloud service will find all of that listed. A company with staff on iOS, Android or the web is also covered, which Memtime cannot match.

It is also the cheaper option on paper. At $6.42 per user per month billed annually, a small team gets automatic capture for less than Memtime’s entry plan. Expect to move to Premium at $9.17 if you want screenshots or the API.

Skip DeskTime if your clients or your own policies do not allow activity data to leave the machine. Its data lives in a cloud web service.

When should you choose Memtime?

Choose Memtime when you bill for your time and want the raw activity to stay put. Its stated design keeps recorded activity on your device, shows it as a timeline, and leaves you to decide what becomes a time entry. That fits lawyers, accountants, consultants, designers, developers and agencies, which is exactly who the vendor names.

Plan on the Connect tier at $21 per user/month billed annually if your entries need to land in a project or billing tool. Basic gives you the timeline and entries but not the sync. Premium at $29 adds phone call tracking and SSO, SAML and SCIM.

Skip Memtime if you want AI to summarize the day for you (none is listed), if you need a mobile app, or if a manager expects a central dashboard of everyone’s activity.

Where do DeskTime and Memtime both fall short?

Both tools capture when you were in an app, window or document. Neither is built to tell you, in plain sentences, what you actually got done. DeskTime’s AI summaries sit inside reporting for a monitoring product, and Memtime’s timeline is a list of programs and files you still have to interpret before creating entries. If your question is “what did I work on last Tuesday afternoon?” rather than “how many billable hours go to Client X?”, you are reconstructing the answer yourself in both.

Both also cost money from day one after a 14-day trial, and neither is open source. You cannot inspect how either one records or handles your activity.

This is the gap Dayflow covers, with clear limits. Dayflow records your screen and has AI write the day into a readable timeline. Recordings and the timeline are stored on your Mac. You choose how analysis happens:

• Local AI: a supported model runs on your Mac through Ollama or LM Studio, and screenshot analysis stays on-device. You supply the hardware resources.
• Your own provider: selected screenshots go to the cloud provider you configure, under that provider’s terms and charges.
• Dayflow Pro: Dayflow manages cloud analysis. Under the privacy policy, Pro deletes screenshots after processing and may retain Activity Data for sync.

Our page on local and cloud processing spells out those boundaries. One more is worth knowing: if you connect a cloud AI assistant to your Dayflow data, whatever it retrieves goes into that conversation, so local storage does not make a cloud assistant chat local.

You can export any date range as Markdown from Settings → Export, which you can use to build a timesheet without manual entry or a status update. The app is free at $0 and MIT licensed. The trade-offs are real: it runs only on macOS 14 or later, has no invoicing, payroll approvals, team reports or website blocking, and its AI summaries can miss or misinterpret work, so check them before you share anything. For a broader look at how this kind of tool works on a Mac, see automatic time tracking on Mac.

Where Dayflow is the wrong pick

Be honest with yourself about the job before installing anything.

• You manage a team and need to see everyone’s activity. DeskTime wins. Dayflow has no team reports, no admin dashboard and no per-user rollups. It is a personal tool.
• You bill clients and need entries in a billing or project tool. Memtime wins. Its Connect plan syncs time entries to 100+ project and billing tools, and Premium adds phone call tracking. Dayflow does not create invoices and has no built-in sync of billable entries.
• You need payroll approvals, shift scheduling or an absence calendar. DeskTime wins. Dayflow has none of these.
• You work on Windows or Linux. Memtime covers both; DeskTime covers Windows. Dayflow runs only on macOS 14 or later.
• You need mobile tracking. DeskTime lists iOS and Android apps. Dayflow and Memtime have none.
• Your Mac is older than macOS 14. Dayflow will not run. Memtime and DeskTime both list Mac support.
• You want to block distracting websites. None of these three lists blocking. Dayflow explicitly does not provide it.

The bottom line

DeskTime and Memtime look similar because both track without a timer, but they serve opposite instincts. DeskTime is for organizations that want a central, cloud view of how a team spends time, with productivity scoring, screenshots on Premium and the lowest listed price at $6.42 per user/month billed annually. Memtime is for people who bill their hours and want the raw record to stay on their own device, at $14 per user/month billed annually for Basic or $21 for Connect if entries must reach a billing tool.

If you are one person on a Mac who mainly wants to remember what you worked on, and you do not need invoices or team reports, Dayflow (ours) is the free option, with local storage and a choice of local or cloud AI. If you need any of the team or billing features above, pick DeskTime or Memtime instead.

Frequently asked questions

Does DeskTime have a free plan?

DeskTime's pricing page and homepage, checked October 4, 2026, showed no permanent free plan. The vendor did not explicitly say none exists, so see the vendor's pricing page at desktime.com for the current answer. What it does offer is a 14-day trial with no credit card required. Paid plans start with Pro at $6.42 per user per month billed annually, excluding VAT.

Is Memtime free?

No. Memtime has no free tier. It offers a 14-day trial that needs no payment information and does not convert into a subscription when it ends. After that, the Basic plan costs $14 per user per month billed annually, $18 billed quarterly or $12 billed every two years. The vendor shows no monthly billing option.

Does Memtime upload my activity data to the cloud?

According to Memtime, automatically recorded activity data is stored exclusively on the user's device and is not uploaded to a server. That is the main privacy difference from DeskTime, which runs as a cloud web service with admin and user dashboards. Time entries you choose to sync to project or billing tools on the Connect plan and above will reach those tools.

Does DeskTime work on a Mac?

Yes. DeskTime lists Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and web. It tracks automatically from the moment the computer is turned on, logging URLs, apps and document titles, with optional screenshots on the Premium plan. Memtime also supports Mac, along with Windows and Linux, but has no mobile or Chromebook app. Dayflow runs only on macOS 14 or later.

Which is better for freelancers who bill by the hour, DeskTime or Memtime?

Memtime fits that job more directly. Its timeline is meant to be turned into time entries, and from the Connect plan ($21 per user per month billed annually) it syncs entries to 100+ project and billing tools. DeskTime mentions freelancers, but it is built around team monitoring, productivity scoring and manager dashboards. Neither vendor page we checked lists built-in invoicing.

Is Dayflow a good replacement for DeskTime for managing a team?

No. For team oversight, DeskTime is the better tool. It has admin and user dashboards, productivity scoring of apps and URLs, shift scheduling, an absence calendar and per-user pricing built for teams. Dayflow is a personal Mac app with no team reports, payroll approvals or invoicing. It is meant for one person reviewing their own day, not for a manager reviewing other people.

Does Memtime have AI summaries?

Memtime lists no AI features on the pages checked October 4, 2026. You get an automatic timeline and turn it into time entries yourself. DeskTime lists AI-powered summaries in its reporting. Dayflow uses AI to write the day into a readable timeline, with a choice of a local model through Ollama or LM Studio, your own cloud provider, or Dayflow Pro.

Can I keep screen data on my Mac with Dayflow?

Yes. Recordings and the timeline are stored on your Mac. With Local AI, a supported model runs through Ollama or LM Studio and screenshot analysis stays on-device. If you use your own cloud provider or Dayflow Pro, selected screenshots are processed off-device. Under the privacy policy, Pro deletes screenshots after processing and may retain Activity Data for sync.

How much does DeskTime cost per year for one person?

On the Pro plan, $6.42 per user per month billed annually works out to $77.04 a year before VAT. Premium, which adds screenshots, integrations and the API, is $9.17 per user per month billed annually, or $110.04 a year before VAT. Monthly-billed prices could not be read when checked, so see the vendor's pricing page for those.

Is Dayflow open source?

Yes. Dayflow is MIT licensed and costs $0, with its source code published on GitHub. An optional Pro plan costs $20 a month and manages cloud AI analysis for you. Neither DeskTime nor Memtime is open source. Dayflow runs only on macOS 14 or later and has no invoicing, payroll, team reports or website blocking.