Automatic time tracking software

Q: What is automatic time tracking?

Automatic time tracking captures your work activity in the background and builds a timeline you can review and tag to projects.

Q: How is automatic time tracking different from manual timers?

Manual timers depend on you starting and stopping them. Automatic time tracking records activity continuously, so you do not miss time or context.

Q: Does ManicTime track websites and documents?

Yes. ManicTime records applications, websites, and document activity to provide the context you need when tagging time.

Q: Does ManicTime work offline?

Yes. It tracks locally and syncs once you are back online.

Q: Can I control what gets tracked?

Yes. ManicTime lets you decide what to track, when to track, and what to share.

Why ManicTime?

Automatic time

tracking software

Automatic time tracking runs quietly in the background so you do not have to start or stop timers. ManicTime automatically captures your computer activity - apps, websites, documents, and idle time - and turns it into a clear timeline you can tag to projects.

See where the day went, reduce manual entry, and create accurate reports for clients and teams.

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Privacy controls

Automatic time tracking since 2008. See release history

What is automatic time tracking?

Automatic time tracking records your work for you. Instead of remembering to start or stop a timer, your activity is captured in the background and organized into a timeline you can review and tag to projects.

It reduces missed time, improves accuracy, and gives you reliable data for billing, productivity insights, and team reporting.

How automatic time tracking works in ManicTime

Runs in the background and detects active versus idle time.
Records apps, websites, and documents to add context to your day.
Use tags and reports to assign time to projects and clients.

Automatic vs manual time tracking

Automatic time tracking

Captures work as it happens, so you do not lose time.
Adds context with apps, websites, and documents.
Easier to audit and correct at the end of the day.

Manual timers

Depend on remembering to start and stop tracking.
Often miss context when switching tasks quickly.
Harder to fix after the fact.

Benefits of automatic time tracking

Capture billable time you would otherwise forget.
Reduce admin time by assigning projects from a timeline.
Improve accuracy for invoices and client reports.
See focus patterns and where work actually goes.

ManicTime recognizes apps and browsers to build your

automatic time tracking timeline

and many more

Screenshots

Optionally capture screenshots to add context to automatic time tracking. Screenshots can help you remember what you worked on and make time assignment more accurate.

Location tracking

ManicTime for mobile adds location tracking for on-the-go work. This is useful for meetings, travel, and client visits when you need accurate time logs.

Offline work

ManicTime works offline, so you can keep tracking without an internet connection. When you reconnect, your data automatically syncs so your records stay complete.

Idle time

ManicTime detects idle time and can prompt you to classify it. This keeps your timeline accurate and helps you separate breaks, meetings, and focused work.

Who uses automatic time tracking

Freelancers and consultants

Capture every billable minute and generate accurate time reports without manual entry.

Agencies and project teams

See what work happens across clients, understand utilization, and create clean project reports.

Remote and hybrid teams

Maintain consistent tracking without micromanagement, supported by privacy controls.

IT and compliance focused teams

Keep data on your own hardware and control what gets shared.

Privacy and control

Decide what to track, when to track, and what to share. You can also keep your data on your own hardware if you prefer.

Learn about privacy controls

A typical day with automatic time tracking

Morning

ManicTime records your apps, websites, and documents as you work through email, planning, and project setup.

Afternoon

You switch between tasks and meetings. Idle time prompts help you tag breaks and calls accurately.

End of day

Review your timeline, tag time to projects, and export clean reports for clients or internal teams.

Automatic time tracking FAQ

Related guides

Our customer

opinions

Katie

This software automatically tracks the time you spend on your computer. When you step away from your computer for a certain length of time (set by user), it will prompt you to tag that time. For example, if I'm getting coffee and have a 20 minute chat about the weekend, I tag it as personal. But if I have a chat about an upcoming or existing project, I tag it about that project. For the tasks you do on the computer, it can save screenshots every X seconds (again, set by user), so that you can have a reminder when you go to do your billing what each task was for.

Richard

There is a lot to love about Manic Time. It was easy to use and did way more than I was expecting from it. The reporting was informative. The editing was awesome. Tagging and managing the time tracked is robust, yet simple. It is great at taking the tracking out of time tracking. It just does 90% for you. The last 10% is tagging and validating. It really does an amazing job at showing how much time is wasted on mundane tasks or mindless browsing. I handed in my time to a project manager. He asked how I knew I worked 3.28 hours on a specific task. "Manic Time" was my answer.

Dr Steve Day (podcast)

Time tracking and its importance in business operations are discussed in this episode. Dr. Steve Day shares update on their time tracking policies, including the use of new apps and tools such as ManicTime, particularly focusing on the implementation of screenshot tracking.

Listen now

Brenda

I do contract work and manage multiple projects where I bounce between projects on an almost by the minute basis. Once tagging is setup I can easily tag all my activities as I do them and my time accumulates in each project bucket. At the end of the day my timesheet is a breeze. This is the best tool I have found so far for a work style that involves heavy duty multi-tasking. I don't know what I would do without ManicTime. Well designed and thought out product.

Mary

I like this application because with manic time we can verify who does their right job. And we also have better control because we can choose the best workers to increase production works very well and without errors.

Gary

Just renewed my licence for another year Just thought I'd let you know that this is one of the best pieces of software I've ever installed on my computer, free or paid for. I run my own business which principally relies on writing technical reports. ManicTime has made it so much easier to track my time over the various projects and therefore manage my fees and costs. (And your support has been excellent when I have had the odd problem).

Oliver

Just wanted to let you know that I think your software has helped me capture $1000's of dollars in revenue that I just wasn't billing before, as I wasn't doing a very good job of tracking my time. With ManicTime I get it all, and if I were ever to be audited by a client, I could give them every detail. Thanks so much!

Judy

The interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The ability to tag and color-code my work allows me to see at a glance how my day has been going. I can organize and structure things as much or as little as I like. What a great product!

Joshua

ManicTime’s ease of use is unmatched, thanks to its intuitive interface and flexible granularity in time-tracking. The power to dive as deep as you need into data with comprehensive tagging and reporting systems is a significant upside. Its vast number of features like document, application, and activity trackers streamline the process of managing and analyzing time efficiently. Moreover, ManicTime’s advanced search capabilities, coupled with the functionality to annotate tagged time, make it a vital tool for enhancing productivity and recalling information during discussions.

Adam

I like that it tracks inactive time on the computer so that you can remember when you started working and when you stopped, and when you took breaks. Very easy to use, I don't have to remember to log in and the app does everything for me without me even doing anything except installing the program. It shows exactly what page and project you were working on and for how long and when.

Amanda

It provides with useful reports which track and monitor the computer usage of employees, as well as the time spent on each computer program or application. Also the presence of an automatic screenshot feature resulted in an increase in my employees’ productivity. It runs automatically on my computer, great.