Time tracking · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Rize?

YES· one-shottable

Rize's loop is small enough for one sitting: sample the frontmost app, window title and browser URL every few seconds, merge the samples into blocks, sort them with rules and show a day and a week. An agent can build that as a menu-bar app with a local report page and no outside service. It takes a few macOS permission prompts and, for browser URLs, one AppleScript permission per browser. What you give up is the Windows app, AI that suggests clients and projects for you, client reports and integrations, and team dashboards. ActivityWatch already covers the tracking part for free if you'd rather not build.

$12.99/moprice

$156you'd save a year

one sittingbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeOne sitting for the tracker; the macOS permission prompts add a few minutes

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
A MacThe prompt targets macOS; Rize's Windows app has no equivalent here.
Python 3.12pyobjc and rumps install with pip into a virtual environment.
Accessibility and Automation permissionsWindow titles need Accessibility for the app that launches the tracker; browser URLs need an Automation allow for each browser, once.
An .ics file of your calendar (optional)Export it from Calendar or point to a private iCal URL's downloaded file.

Before you buildRize has no free plan, only a 7-day trial. ActivityWatch is a free, open-source tracker that logs apps and sites; try it first to see whether automatic tracking suits you.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a macOS time tracker that records my work automatically, to replace Rize. Requirements:

- Python 3.12 with `rumps` for the menu-bar icon, `pyobjc` (AppKit, Quartz, ApplicationServices) for window
data and FastAPI for a report page. `python tracker.py` starts both; the page is at
http://127.0.0.1:4950 and listens on localhost only.
- Sampling: every 5 seconds record the frontmost app (NSWorkspace), its window title (Accessibility API) and,
for Safari, Chrome, Arc and Brave, the current tab URL through AppleScript. 3 minutes without input
(CGEventSourceSecondsSinceLastEventType), sleep or screen lock closes the open block.
- Storage: sqlite3 at ~/TimeTracker/time.db; consecutive identical samples merge into blocks (start, end, app,
title, url, category). Store nothing else: no screen contents and no keystrokes.
- Categories: rules in ~/TimeTracker/rules.yaml (app, title regex or domain > category, client, project),
first match wins. Unmatched blocks go to a "Needs a category" inbox with a button that turns a block into
a new rule. Optional LLM suggestions for that inbox through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint in .env, sending
titles and domains only, off by default.
- Calendar: an optional .ics path in .env, so meeting time counts as meetings even when another window is in front.
- Report page: Today and Week views with a timeline, hours by category, client and project, the longest
unbroken work stretch, and a table where I can split, merge and relabel blocks; CSV export for a date range.
- Menu bar: current category, time tracked today, pause and resume, and "I was away" to relabel the last idle stretch.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first. `python tracker.py --install` sets up a LaunchAgent.
- Out of scope: Windows and Linux, team dashboards, screenshots, invoicing, a mobile app.
- README: granting Accessibility and Automation permissions in System Settings, why URL capture asks once per
browser, and a reminder that the database holds window titles, so keep it out of cloud-synced folders.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Rize.

Add a daily summary to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- At 18:00 (configurable), build a markdown note for the day: hours by category and client, the three longest
  blocks, and a count of context switches per hour.
- Optionally send only block titles and domains to the OpenAI-compatible endpoint in .env for a three-sentence
  recap; off by default, and the note says whether an LLM was used.
- Write it to NOTES_DIR/YYYY-MM-DD.md, appending under a "Time" heading if the file exists.
- Add a test with a fixed day of sample blocks.
- Update the README.

Add focus nudges to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- In rules.yaml, mark categories as "distracting" and set a limit in minutes per hour.
- When the running total in the last 60 minutes passes the limit, show one macOS notification
  (osascript display notification), then stay quiet for 30 minutes.
- A "Focus session" menu item blocks nudges and writes the session to the database with a label.
- Show nudges sent and focus sessions on the Today view.
- Update the README.

Add invoice export to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- Define rates per client in rules.yaml (hourly rate, rounding to 1, 6 or 15 minutes, minimum block length).
- An Invoice page picks a client and a month and lists billable blocks by day with rounded hours, plus a total.
- Let me exclude blocks, and keep exclusions in SQLite so a re-export matches.
- Export to CSV and a plain HTML page that prints cleanly.
- Update the README.

What you lose

A Windows app and a mobile app (the mobile app is Enterprise only)
AI that suggests clients and projects for each block, plus AI reports and agents
Client and scheduled PDF reports, and links to QuickBooks, Asana, ClickUp, Linear and Slack
Team dashboards and project profitability
Focus music and smart breaks

Why people still pay

Rize does the boring part without being asked: you never start a timer, and a week later the hours are already grouped by client. People pay to stop remembering, and agencies pay for the team and profitability views on top.

Moatexecution polish integrations

Do the math

Rize or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time3h ×$/h

Rize, 1 yr$156

Your own copy, 1 yr$26running + build session

You keep$130pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Free: it runs on your Mac. The optional LLM suggestions cost a few cents of API usage a month if you switch them on. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Rize

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Rize

1A 2023 changelog entry says to go to Settings > General > Data Export, choose Projects, Sessions or Events and a time range, and Rize emails you a CSV. Rize has since redesigned its app, so the menu may sit elsewhere.
2Client, project and task reports have a CSV download in the report toolbar, per a changelog entry, with date and time, client, project, task, duration and notes. Client and scheduled PDF or CSV reports are a Pro feature.
3The Basic plan lists data exports among its features, so you can export without upgrading.
4Automatic category rules and AI settings aren't described as exportable: write down the rules you rely on.

2 · Cancel Rize

1Open Settings > Account and cancel the subscription.
2Your plan stays active to the end of the period you paid for.
3Fees are non-refundable and not prorated, including on quarterly and annual plans paid up front.
4After cancelling you keep access to your account and can export past data, but new activity isn't tracked.

Cancel before the renewal date to avoid the next charge; on an annual plan that is a year's fee.
Export your history while you still pay for a plan, and check the file opens, before you rely on the after-cancel access.
Quarterly and annual billing is charged up front, so cancelling early saves nothing already paid.
Billing periods (monthly, quarterly, annual) can be switched in account settings at any time, according to the pricing FAQ.

Checked 2026-10-19 against Rize's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

ActivityWatchOpen sourceMPL-2.0 automatic tracker that records which apps and sites are open, with all data kept on your device. It logs activity rather than timing projects.★ 19k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
macOS, Windows, LinuxVisit ↗KimaiOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 time tracker for freelancers and teams, with projects, rates, reports and invoices; entries are manual.★ 5.1k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗solidtimeOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 time tracker with projects, clients, billable rates and reports; self-host it or use the hosted cloud.★ 9.0k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 5 free alternatives to Rize ›

The numbers

Rize pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Basic	$12.99	$9.99	One user: automatic app and website tracking, AI categorisation, personal reports, data exports and 500 AI credits a month.
Pro	$28.99	$23.99	Everything in Basic plus client and scheduled reports (PDF, CSV), AI automations and agents, MCP server access, API, webhooks and Zapier, and 1,000 AI credits a month.
Max	$49.99	$39.99	Everything in Pro with 3,000 AI credits a month and priority support.
Team	$39.99	$29.99	Two seats minimum; shared dashboards, admin settings, budgeting, client and project profitability and 2,000 AI credits per seat a month.
Enterprise	custom	—	SSO and SCIM, a mobile app, custom contracts and SLA, a dedicated account manager.

Free tier: Trial only: 7 days, full access, no card. If no card is on file when it ends, the trial closes and nothing is charged.
Billing: Monthly, quarterly or annual; quarterly and annual are billed up front for the whole period. Cancel in Settings > Account: the plan stays active to the end of the paid period and fees are not refunded or prorated. After cancelling you keep access to your account and can export past data, but new activity is not tracked.
Hidden costs: AI chat, reports, automations, agents and meeting transcription draw on a monthly credit allotment (500 on Basic). When it runs out AI pauses until the next period unless you buy a pack ($10 for 500 credits up to $50 for 4,000) or an admin turns on auto-reload at $0.02 a credit. Time tracking itself never stops. Client reports, the API, webhooks and Zapier start at Pro, and the mobile app is Enterprise only.
Source: rize.io

Also on the list

Toggl Track$12/mo · Time trackingKINDA

Harvest$11/mo · Time trackingYES

Hubstaff$7/mo · Time trackingKINDA

Questions

Rize, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

No free plan. A 7-day trial gives full access without a card.

Yes. An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can build a usable personal version in one session with the prompt on this page, running on your own machine.

About $12.99 a month on the Basic plan, $155.88 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

A Windows app and a mobile app (the mobile app is Enterprise only); AI that suggests clients and projects for each block, plus AI reports and agents; Client and scheduled PDF reports, and links to QuickBooks, Asana, ClickUp, Linear and Slack; Team dashboards and project profitability; Focus music and smart breaks. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.