Cronus Alternative

The short answer

Cronus is a Mac time tracker that turns each stretch of work into a labeled block and sorts every hour into focus, chore or distraction. Its distinguishing choice is where the AI runs: by default on new Apple Silicon installs, a small model fine-tuned for the job does the categorizing on your Mac, so the screen text it reads does not leave it. An iPhone companion adds the time a laptop cannot see.

DoneThat also reads the screen to understand the work, but it is built to do something with the day afterwards: written summaries, goals and coaching while the work is happening, on Windows, macOS and Linux, with team sharing if you want it. If you are on a Mac and want a private focus record, Cronus is built for exactly that. If you want the record turned into action, that is what DoneThat is for.

Credit where it is due

The AI stays on the Mac by default. A screenshot of the app on Cronus's homepage shows the model: Qwen3.5 0.8B, fine-tuned and 4-bit, running on the Apple GPU. Its privacy policy says this on-device mode is the default for new installs on Apple Silicon, and that in it the text read from your screen is never sent to Cronus.

It reads the screen without keeping it. Cronus uses macOS's own text recognition and accessibility APIs. The policy says the image the text is read from exists only in memory and is never written to disk or sent.

It covers time away from the desk. The iPhone app lets you start an entry when you step away and adds phone apps you choose through Apple's Screen Time frameworks. For phone apps, what reaches Cronus is the label you typed, a duration and a timestamp, never which app it was. Meetings come in from Google Calendar as one-click entries, per its homepage and changelog.

Focus, not just hours. Focus, chore and distraction categories, blocks captioned with what was done, nudges when you drift from your goals, an opt-in distraction coach, weekly breakdowns and recaps that look for patterns. CSV export and a personal API key let you take the data elsewhere.

Simple pricing. One plan with everything, and a trial counted only in days you actually open the app.

Where the two differ

Platforms. Cronus tracks on the Mac only for now; its FAQ says a Windows version is in development. The iPhone app is a companion that needs the Mac app. DoneThat runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and has no mobile app.

Cloud mode. Cloud categorization is opt-in for new Apple Silicon installs and about 3x faster, per Cronus. Its privacy policy says cloud mode is the default for accounts created before on-device mode and for Intel Macs, and that in cloud mode the screen text is sent to Cronus's servers, stored, and processed by AI providers it reaches through OpenRouter, after passwords and keys are redacted and the text is truncated to 2,000 characters. App names, window titles and URLs sync in either mode.

What you get from the day. Cronus's output centres on how the hours split: captioned blocks, focus charts and recaps that look for patterns. DoneThat writes up what you worked on and coaches on it: Don nudges you onto goals, blocks calendar time, flags low-value work, checks your mood, reminds you of meetings and suggests breaks.

Teams. Cronus describes no team features. DoneThat lets people share summaries at a visibility each person sets: private, team, org or public.

On capture itself, both avoid keeping 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 Gemini or OpenAI-compatible model, raw activity never reaches our servers. The honest difference: Cronus's default on Apple Silicon keeps categorization on the device, while DoneThat's analysis runs outside the app, on a hosted model or on a Gemini or OpenAI-compatible model you bring.

Pricing

Cronus pricing, as of 9 November 2026:

There is one plan, and the iPhone app has no purchase of its own. Cronus's changelog adds that screen-text capture pauses when the trial ends and resumes when you subscribe.

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

Platform support

Where Cronus is the better choice

• You are on an Apple Silicon Mac and want categorization that stays on the device.
• You want phone time and time away from the desk on the same timeline.
• A focus record is what you are after, at a low single price.

Where DoneThat is the better choice

• You use Windows or Linux today, or switch between machines on different systems.
• You want coaching during the work, not only a breakdown after it.
• You want written summaries of the work to share with a team, at a visibility each person sets.
• You want your history in your AI tools through MCP, an API, Zapier or n8n.

If you are weighing focus trackers, Rize, Timing and drifty are compared on the same terms.

How we compared these

Everything stated about Cronus comes from its home page and FAQ, privacy policy and changelog and its App Store listing, read on 9 November 2026 and linked below; system requirements are from its homepage FAQ. Two things differ between its own pages: the monthly price ($8 on the homepage, $6 on the App Store), and calendar import, which its privacy policy still describes as in development while its homepage and changelog describe it as live. Claims about DoneThat are first-hand: we build it, which is the bias to read this with.

Questions people ask about Cronus

How much does Cronus cost?

Cronus's homepage, read on 9 November 2026, says $8 a month after the trial or $60 a year, for one plan with everything included. Its App Store listing says $6 a month, so check at checkout. The trial is free for the first 21 days you use it, with no card needed.

Does Cronus work on Windows?

Not yet. Cronus's homepage FAQ, read on 9 November 2026, says a Windows version is in development and offers a waitlist. DoneThat runs on Windows, macOS and Linux today.

Does Cronus send my screen to the cloud?

Not the image: its privacy policy says the screen image exists only in memory and is never written to disk or sent. In on-device mode, the default for new installs on Apple Silicon, the recognized text stays on the Mac too. In cloud mode, the default for older accounts and Intel Macs, it is sent to Cronus's servers, stored, and processed by AI providers it reaches through OpenRouter, after passwords and keys are redacted and the text is cut to 2,000 characters. App names, window titles and URLs sync in both modes.

What does the Cronus iPhone app do?

It is a companion to the Mac app. You can start an entry when you step away from the desk, and add phone apps you choose through Apple's Screen Time frameworks. Per its privacy policy, for those phone apps what reaches Cronus's servers is the label you typed, a duration and a timestamp, never which app it was. It needs a Cronus account and the Mac app. DoneThat has no mobile app.