Memtime vs Toggl: Which Is Better for Automatic Capture vs Timers in 2026?

Pick Memtime if you want every program, email, call and browser tab recorded automatically, with that data kept on your device, from $14 per user per month billed annually. Pick Toggl if you work with timers and timesheets or need a free plan, mobile apps or team billing reports. Dayflow, our app, is a free Mac option for an AI-written record of your day.

Memtime records everything you do on your computer by default and has you turn that record into time entries later. Toggl (formerly Toggl Track) is built around starting a timer or filling in a timesheet, and it treats automatic tracking as a secondary feature of its desktop app.

So the choice comes down to one question: do you want the record first and the entries second, or the entries first? We have separate pages on Memtime and its alternatives and on Toggl for Mac if you want more depth on either.

Disclosure: we make Dayflow, a free, open-source Mac app that also captures your day automatically. It appears below as a third option and is labeled as ours. This article is a comparison of vendor documentation: everything about Memtime and Toggl comes from each vendor’s own product and pricing pages as checked on October 4, 2026.

Quick comparison

Tool	Best for	How it tracks	Price	Platforms
Memtime	Freelancers and teams that bill time and want a full automatic record	Records time in every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab as a timeline, which you turn into entries	From $14 per user/month billed annually, no free tier	Mac, Windows, Linux
Toggl (formerly Toggl Track)	Freelancers and teams that need billing, profitability and capacity data	Manual and real-time timers, timesheets, calendar integrations, plus background tracking and a timeline in the desktop app	Free for up to 3 users, Starter from $9 per user/month billed annually	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, browser extensions
Dayflow (ours)	Mac users who want to remember what they did without timers	Captures one screen frame every 10 seconds, and AI writes the day into a timeline	$0 (MIT license), optional Pro at $20 a month	macOS 14 or later

Key takeaways

• Memtime is the stronger automatic recorder. Capturing every app, document, email, call and tab is the product. In Toggl, background tracking sits beside the timers.
• Toggl is cheaper to start. It has a free plan for up to 3 users, and its Starter plan is $108 a year billed annually, against $168 for Memtime Basic.
• Memtime says its recorded activity data stays on your device. Toggl is a cloud service that syncs across web, desktop and mobile.
• Toggl covers more places you might log time: web, phones and browser extensions. Memtime has no mobile app but does run on Linux.
• Dayflow, our app, is free and MIT licensed with an AI-written timeline, but it is Mac only and has no billing, invoicing or team features.

Automatic capture or a timer: which matches how you work?

The two approaches fail in different ways.

A timer is only as accurate as your memory to start and stop it. If you switch between three clients before lunch, or answer a quick email for one project while a timer runs for another, the entry is wrong unless you fix it. The upside is that every entry carries your intent: you said what you were working on as you began.

Automatic capture fails the other way. The record is complete, but it is raw. You still need to decide that 40 minutes across a spreadsheet, two emails and a browser tab belonged to one client. Memtime is designed around that sorting step. You review the timeline and turn blocks of activity into entries.

If you regularly reconstruct your hours from memory at the end of the week, automatic capture solves that problem directly. If your work comes in clear, single-project blocks and you remember to press start, a timer is less overhead. For background on the first approach, see what an automatic time tracker is.

What Memtime does better

It records everything without being asked. Memtime’s own description covers every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab. You do not have to remember anything during the day. You review the timeline afterward and create entries from it.

It keeps the raw activity data on your device. Memtime states that automatically recorded activity data is stored only on the user’s device and is not uploaded to a server. For people handling client material, such as the legal and accounting firms Memtime targets, that is a meaningful design choice. The detailed log of which files and emails you opened does not live on someone else’s server.

It connects to a lot of billing and project tools. From the Connect plan up, Memtime syncs time entries to more than 100 project and billing tools. Its pricing page lists that as the main reason to move up from Basic.

It handles phone calls. The Premium plan adds call system integrations for tracking phone calls. That matters for consultants and lawyers who bill for calls.

It runs on Linux. Memtime lists Mac, Windows and Linux. Toggl does not list Linux.

It has enterprise identity features. Premium includes SSO, SAML and SCIM, and Enterprise starts at 50+ seats through sales.

Its trial cannot surprise you. The 14-day trial needs no payment information and does not convert to a subscription.

Memtime also includes built-in project management and custom reports, so the entries you create have somewhere to go even before you connect another tool.

What Toggl does better

It has a real free plan. Toggl’s free plan, which it describes as free forever, covers up to 3 users and includes timers, focus mode, calendar integrations, tasks and boards. Memtime has no free tier.

It is cheaper at every comparable step. Starter is $9 per user per month billed annually, and Premium is $16. Memtime’s Basic plan is $14 and its Premium plan is $29, both billed annually.

It offers monthly billing. Toggl Starter is $12 per user per month billed monthly. Memtime’s shortest billing period is quarterly.

It runs everywhere you might log time. Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and browser extensions, with data syncing between them. If you log time from a phone after a client visit, Toggl covers that and Memtime does not.

It is built for team billing and planning. Toggl lists billable rates and team reports. Premium adds timesheet approvals, profitability reports, and Jira and Asana integrations. Toggl now also combines time tracking with project planning: timelines, tasks and capacity management.

It has AI features listed. Toggl AI answers natural-language questions about workspace data and handles admin tasks. There is also an MCP server and an AI Task Creator. Memtime lists no AI features.

It states clear limits on monitoring. Toggl says it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes. For teams worried about how tracking feels to employees, that statement is useful to point to.

The paid-plan trial is also longer: 30 days, against Memtime’s 14.

Does Toggl track time automatically too?

Partly. Toggl lists automated background tracking and a timeline in its desktop app, so it is not purely a timer app. But the product is still presented around timers, timesheets and calendar integrations. The background timeline is a way to recover time you forgot to log, not the center of the workflow.

That is the practical difference. In Memtime, the automatic record is where you start each review. In Toggl, it is a backup to the timer. If you want to know whether background tracking is included on the free plan or only on paid plans, see Toggl’s pricing page.

Also note the name change. Toggl (formerly Toggl Track) is now presented simply as Toggl, combining time tracking with planning. Toggl describes Toggl Track and Toggl Plan as legacy products still available to existing users. If you see older reviews that mention Toggl Track, they refer to the same tracking product.

Head-to-head table

Capability	Memtime	Toggl	Dayflow (ours)
Automatic capture	Core feature: every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab	Background tracking and timeline listed in the desktop app	Core feature: one screen frame every 10 seconds
Timers and timesheets	You create entries from the recorded timeline	Manual and real-time timers, timesheets, calendar integrations	Timeline written from screen captures, not timers
Invoicing and billing	Syncs entries to 100+ project and billing tools (Connect and above)	Billable rates on paid plans	None
Team reports	Custom reports and built-in project management	Team reports, plus approvals and profitability on Premium	None
Website blocking	Not listed	Not listed (free plan lists focus mode)	None
AI features	None listed	Toggl AI, MCP server, AI Task Creator	AI writes the day into a timeline
Data location	Activity data stored only on your device	Cloud, synced across web, desktop and mobile	Recordings and timeline on your Mac. Analysis runs locally or in the cloud, your choice
Free tier	None, 14-day trial	Free for up to 3 users	Free app, $0
Platforms	Mac, Windows, Linux	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, browser extensions	macOS 14 or later
Open source	No	No	Yes, MIT

Pricing compared

Tool	Plan	Listed price	Per year, one user
Memtime	Basic	$14 per user/month billed annually, $18 quarterly, $12 every two years	$168 annual, $216 quarterly, $144 a year on the 2-year term ($288 per term)
Memtime	Connect	$21 annually, $26 quarterly, $18 every two years	$252 annual, $312 quarterly, $216 a year on the 2-year term ($432 per term)
Memtime	Premium	$29 annually, $35 quarterly, $23 every two years	$348 annual, $420 quarterly, $276 a year on the 2-year term ($552 per term)
Memtime	Enterprise	Custom, 50+ seats, contact sales	See the vendor’s pricing page
Toggl	Free	$0, up to 3 users	$0
Toggl	Starter	$9 per user/month billed annually, $12 billed monthly	$108 annual, $144 monthly
Toggl	Premium	$16 per user/month billed annually, $24 billed monthly	$192 annual, $288 monthly
Toggl	Enterprise	Contact vendor	See the vendor’s pricing page
Dayflow (ours)	Free	$0	$0
Dayflow (ours)	Pro	$20 a month	$240

For one person whose job is automatic capture, the cheapest Memtime plan that does it is Basic: $168 a year on annual billing, or $144 a year if you commit to two years. If you want those entries to flow into your invoicing or project tool rather than staying in Memtime, the cheapest option is Connect at $252 a year.

For timers, Toggl costs nothing on the free plan. If you need billable rates, which require a paid plan, Starter is the cheapest paid tier at $108 a year billed annually. Check Toggl’s pricing page to confirm that the rate and reporting features you need are on Starter, not only Premium. On annual billing, Memtime Basic costs $60 more per year than Toggl Starter. Whether that is worth it depends on how many hours slip through when you rely on timers. The real hourly rate calculator can help you put a number on that.

Memtime also lists prices in EUR and GBP. For example, Basic is 12 EUR or 11 GBP per user per month billed annually.

When to choose Memtime

• You bill by the hour and regularly lose time you forgot to log: a short call, a quick email, a document you opened for one client in the middle of another task.
• You want a complete record to review rather than relying on remembering to start timers.
• Your clients or your firm care where activity data lives, and you want it kept on the device.
• You work on Linux, or across Mac, Windows and Linux machines.
• You bill for phone calls and can justify the Premium plan for call system integrations.
• You do all your billable work at a computer, so the lack of a mobile app does not matter.

When to choose Toggl

• You think in tasks and like starting a timer when you begin one.
• You need a free plan, or a team of up to 3 can live within it.
• You log time from a phone, a browser extension or several devices.
• You run a team and need billable rates, team reports, approvals or profitability reporting.
• You want time tracking and project planning in the same tool.
• You prefer monthly billing to a quarterly or annual commitment.
• You want a tool that states it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes.

If you are weighing Toggl against another timer-based tool instead, see Toggl vs Clockify.

Where both fall short

Both tools are built to produce billable time entries. Neither is built to tell you, in plain language, what you actually did all day.

Memtime gives you a detailed log of programs, documents and tabs. That is accurate, but you still have to read it and work out what the hours were for. It lists no AI features to summarize it. Toggl’s AI answers questions about data that already exists in your workspace. It does not write the day for you. Neither tool is open source, and Memtime has no free tier.

This is the gap Dayflow, our app, is built for. It captures one frame of your screen every 10 seconds and has AI write the day into a readable timeline. It is $0 and MIT licensed, with an optional Pro plan at $20 a month. Full recordings and the timeline are stored on your Mac. You choose where the screenshot analysis happens:

• Local AI: a supported model runs on your Mac through Ollama or LM Studio, and the analysis stays on-device.
• Your own provider: selected screenshots go to a cloud AI provider you configure, under that provider’s terms.
• Dayflow Pro: we run the cloud analysis. Under our privacy policy, Pro deletes screenshots after processing and may retain activity data for sync.

The details are on how local and cloud processing work. You can export a date range as Markdown from Settings, then Export. That is useful for filling in a timesheet from your own record, as described in building a Mac timesheet without manual entry.

The limits are real. Dayflow does not do invoices, billable rates, payroll approvals, team reports or website blocking. AI summaries can miss or misread work, so check them before sharing. And it runs only on macOS 14 or later. For a wider view of the options, see our list of the best time tracker for Mac picks.

Where Dayflow is the wrong pick

• You bill clients and need rates, reports and approvals. Toggl is the better tool. Billable rates, team reports, timesheet approvals and profitability reporting are what it is built for. Dayflow has none of these.
• You need automatic capture that feeds an invoicing tool. Memtime wins. Its Connect plan syncs entries to more than 100 project and billing tools.
• You work on Windows or Linux. Memtime runs on both. Dayflow is Mac only.
• You log time from your phone. Toggl has iOS and Android apps. Dayflow does not.
• You do not want your screen captured at all. Toggl states it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes. Dayflow works by capturing screen frames, so it is the wrong fit if that is a hard line for you or your employer.
• Your Mac runs something older than macOS 14. Dayflow will not install.

The bottom line

Memtime is better for automatic capture: it records every app, document, email, call and tab, keeps that activity data on your device, and lets you build accurate entries afterward. You pay from $168 a year for it, and there is no mobile app.

Toggl is better for timers and teams: free for up to 3 users, cheaper on paid plans, available on every platform including phones, and stronger on billing, planning and team reporting. Its automatic tracking exists but is secondary.

If you bill by the hour and keep losing small blocks of time, try Memtime’s 14-day trial, which needs no card. If you already use timers and mainly need billing and team features, start on Toggl’s free plan. If you are on a Mac and want a readable record of your day more than billable entries, Dayflow, our app, is free to try alongside either.

Frequently asked questions

Does Memtime track time automatically?

Yes. According to Memtime's own pages, it automatically records time spent in every program, document, email, call, meeting and browser tab and shows it as a timeline. You then turn that timeline into time entries for projects or clients. The automatic record is the core of the product, not an add-on, which is the main thing that separates it from timer-first tools like Toggl.

Does Toggl have automatic time tracking?

Toggl lists automated background tracking and a timeline in its desktop app, alongside its manual and real-time timers, timesheets and calendar integrations. The product is still built mainly around timers and manual entry. Toggl also states that it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes. Check Toggl's pricing page for which plans include background tracking.

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 paid subscription. After that, the Basic plan costs $14 per user per month billed annually, $18 billed quarterly or $12 billed every two years. Memtime does not show a monthly billing option.

Is Toggl free?

Toggl has a free plan it describes as free forever, for up to 3 users. It includes timers, focus mode, calendar integrations, tasks and boards. Billable rates need a paid plan. The cheapest paid plan, Starter, is $9 per user per month billed annually or $12 billed monthly, and paid plans come with a 30-day trial.

Which is more private, Memtime or Toggl?

On data location, Memtime states that its automatically recorded activity data is stored only on the user's device and is not uploaded to a server. Toggl is a cloud service whose data syncs across its web, desktop and mobile apps, though it states it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes. If keeping the raw activity log off servers matters most, Memtime's stated design fits better.

Does Memtime work on Linux or mobile?

Memtime lists Mac, Windows and Linux. It has no mobile or Chromebook app. Toggl covers web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and browser extensions but does not list Linux. So Memtime is the pick of these two for a Linux desktop, and Toggl is the pick if you need to log time from a phone.

Should I use Dayflow instead of Toggl for client billing?

No. For billing clients, Toggl is the better choice. It offers billable rates on paid plans, team reports, and timesheet approvals and profitability reports on Premium. Dayflow does not provide invoices, billable rates, payroll approvals or team reports. Dayflow can help you remember what you worked on, but Toggl or Memtime should hold the numbers you bill from.

What does one person pay per year for Memtime vs Toggl?

On annual billing, Memtime Basic is $168 a year and Toggl Starter is $108 a year, a $60 difference. Toggl's free plan is $0. Memtime's sync to project and billing tools starts at Connect, which is $252 a year billed annually. Toggl's Premium plan, with approvals and profitability reports, is $192 a year billed annually.

Can I use Memtime or Toggl without starting a timer?

With Memtime, yes. The timeline builds itself and you assign the recorded time to entries afterward. With Toggl, the main workflow is timers, timesheets or calendar integrations, though its desktop app lists background tracking and a timeline you can draw from. If you often forget to start timers, Memtime's design addresses that more directly.