Chronoid Alternative

The short answer

Chronoid is a native Mac time tracker that keeps your data on your Mac. It records the app in front and its window title, URL and file path, and turns that into projects, billable hours and invoices. On top sit AI recaps and chat that use the AI you connect, and a local MCP server, so Claude, Cursor or another assistant can read and edit your time data.

DoneThat reconstructs the day from the screen rather than from window titles, and the output is a written summary of what you worked on, goals and coaching while the work is happening, on Windows, macOS and Linux. If you are a Mac freelancer who bills by the hour and wants everything local, Chronoid fits that closely. If you want the day understood and acted on, that is what DoneThat is for.

Credit where it is due

Local by design. Its privacy policy says time tracking data is saved in a local SQLite database, crash reporting is off by default and website analytics are self-hosted and cookieless. Syncing between Macs goes through your own iCloud account and is a separate feature you turn on.

Billing is built in. Hourly rates per project, an invoice editor with PDF export, tax and currency conversion, and integrations with ClickUp, monday.com and Linear on Lifetime and Monthly (not Personal), plus Notion since November 2026.

A serious MCP server. It runs on 127.0.0.1 and exposes day reports, focus blocks, distraction analysis and billing reports, plus tools that create projects, rules and time entries. Connecting claude.ai or ChatGPT on the web goes through a relay that, per its privacy policy, does not store activity history; the ChatGPT connection is read-only.

Your AI, your choice. Chat and daily recaps work with a long list of providers on your own key, with Ollama, LM Studio or Apple Intelligence on the device, or through a coding CLI such as Claude Code or Codex on its existing subscription. Its pricing page says hosted AI provider fees are separate.

It knows AI coding work. Claude Code, Cursor and Codex title their windows after the task, and Chronoid reads those titles, so agent sessions show up as the work they were.

Focus tools and a timer. A manual timer with Pomodoro and stopwatch modes next to automatic tracking, breaks that pause while you are on a call, a website blocker with schedules, and daily, weekly or monthly hour targets per project.

Where the two differ

What is captured. Chronoid's own words: no screenshots, no keystrokes, just which window is in front. It argues that titles carry the meaning, and for named sessions they do. The record is what the titles, URLs and paths say, so a long stretch in one document or one tab is described only by that title or address. DoneThat captures screen-first, so the reconstruction can use what was on the screen, not only its title.

Where the AI comes from. In Chronoid you connect an AI before the chat or recaps work: your own provider key, a local model, Apple Intelligence, or a coding CLI on its existing subscription. In DoneThat, summaries and coaching work from the start, and you can bring your own Gemini or OpenAI-compatible model if you prefer.

What you get from the day. Chronoid gives reports, targets, invoices and AI recaps of the day, plus chat workflows for standups and weekly reviews, using the AI you set up. DoneThat writes the summary and then coaches on it while the work is happening: Don nudges you onto goals, blocks calendar time, flags low-value work, checks your mood, reminds you of meetings and suggests breaks.

Platforms and teams. Chronoid is Mac only, and its pages describe no shared team reporting. DoneThat runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and teams share summaries at a visibility each person sets.

On privacy, both avoid keeping screen images. DoneThat never stores screenshots: they are processed in real time and immediately deleted, and only derived structured activity persists. Excluded apps are redacted on your machine before anything is sent, and with your own model raw activity never reaches our servers. The honest difference: Chronoid keeps the whole record on your Mac, or your iCloud if you sync; DoneThat keeps the structured record in our cloud, with an EU primary database. If nothing may leave the machine, Chronoid fits that and DoneThat does not.

Pricing

Chronoid pricing, as of 9 November 2026:

A Black Friday code takes 50% off Personal, Lifetime and a bundle with its SmoothCapture app until 3 December 2026. There is a 7-day free trial with no card and a 30-day money-back guarantee. AI provider fees are separate. Team buying is bulk Lifetime licenses, 50% off for five or more, or pricing on request. The plan cards show the three plans above; the page's structured data still lists a $59 Basic plan and a $96 annual plan, and its agents page still quotes $59 to $149.

DoneThat is subscription-based with a 14-day free trial; current prices are on the DoneThat pricing page.

Platform support

Where Chronoid is the better choice

• You bill clients and want invoices in the same app as the tracking.
• You want all of it on your Mac, with a one-time price.
• You want a local MCP server that can write time entries, or AI on a local model.
• You also like starting a timer: Chronoid has a manual timer with Pomodoro and stopwatch modes next to automatic tracking.
• You want a website blocker alongside the tracker.

Where DoneThat is the better choice

• You want the day read from what was on screen, not only from window titles, URLs and paths.
• You want coaching during the work, without connecting an AI first.
• You use Windows or Linux.
• You want a team to share written summaries, at a visibility each person sets.

If local-first Mac tracking is the priority, Timing and Memtime are compared on the same terms.

How we compared these

Everything stated about Chronoid comes from its home, pricing, agents, feature and changelog pages and its privacy policy, read on 9 November 2026 and linked below. Its pages disagree on plans: its agents and feature pages say "one-time purchase", the pricing page also sells a monthly plan, and its structured data still lists Basic and Annual plans. We have stated the plan cards as shown. Claims about DoneThat are first-hand: we build it, which is the bias to read this with.

Questions people ask about Chronoid

How much does Chronoid cost?

As of 9 November 2026, list prices are $99 one-time for Personal (2 Macs, one year of updates), $149 for Lifetime (3 Macs, lifetime updates) and $15 a month for Monthly (3 Macs). A Black Friday code takes 50% off Personal and Lifetime until 3 December 2026. There is a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. AI provider fees are separate.

Does Chronoid have an MCP server?

Yes. It runs locally on 127.0.0.1 and exposes read tools such as day reports, focus blocks, distraction analysis and billing reports, plus write tools that create projects, rules and time entries. Connecting claude.ai or ChatGPT on the web goes through Chronoid's Cloudflare relay, which its privacy policy says does not store activity history (read-only from ChatGPT). DoneThat's MCP server is at mcp.donethat.ai.

Does Chronoid take screenshots?

No. Its page for AI agents says no screenshots and no keystrokes, only which window is in front. It captures foreground apps, window titles, browser URLs and supported file paths. DoneThat captures screen-first, processes screenshots in real time and never stores them.

Can Chronoid create invoices?

Yes. It has hourly rates per project and builds invoices and exports them as PDF, with tax and currency conversion. DoneThat exports CSV and is not built to bill from.