Griotte vs Timing

A private Timing alternative for Mac

Timing is a mature automatic time tracker, built since 2011. Griotte does the same core job — recording your Mac time without timers — with a different set of choices: no account, no vendor cloud, day rates for billing, and a price that starts lower. Here is an honest comparison to help you pick.

Try Griotte free for 30 days See the comparison

No credit card, no accountmacOS 14 or laterApple Silicon and Intel

The short version

Two good apps, two different philosophies.

Choose Griotte if you want…

No account and no vendor cloud. Nothing to sign up for, no Griotte server anywhere. Optional sync goes through your own iCloud, end-to-end encrypted.
To bill in days as well as hours. Day rates, half-day or quarter-hour rounding, budgets, and a PDF activity timesheet ready to attach to the invoice.
Focus sessions and break reminders built in, with a gentle “Welcome back” prompt that files time away in one click.
On-device AI only. Classification and the day summary are written by Apple’s model on your Mac (Pro), never by an online service.
A lower price. From €7 / $7 per month billed yearly, excl. VAT.

Stay with Timing if you need…

A web app. Timing can start and stop timers from a phone and show reports in the browser; Griotte has no web app, by design.
Team reporting. Timing Connect lets a team share projects and view team times. Griotte is strictly personal.
Deep integrations. Web API, Zapier, scripting, ClickUp, Linear, Clio, GrandTotal. Griotte sticks to file exports, a system-wide shortcut and a local MCP server.
iOS activity import and phone call tracking.
A longer track record. Timing has been refined since 2011; Griotte shipped in 2026.

Side by side

Griotte and Timing, feature by feature.

Based on public information from timingapp.com on October 22, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.

Feature	Griotte	Timing
Automatic tracking of apps, documents and websites	Yes	Yes
Account	None, ever — not even for the trial	Used for sync, cloud backup and the web app
Where your time lives	On your Mac only. Optional sync through your own iCloud, end-to-end encrypted (Pro)	Local-first, with sync and cloud backup through Timing’s cloud included in every plan
Web app	No — by design, no server holds your data	Yes: limited (Professional) or full (Expert, Connect)
Day rates	Yes — hours become days at your day rate, rounded to the half day if you like	Hourly rates and report rounding; day rates not advertised
Billed / paid status	Yes (Pro), with invoice numbers and “left to bill”	Yes (billing status tracking)
Reports and exports	CSV and PDF activity timesheet; Excel, HTML and JSON on Pro	PDF, Excel, CSV and HTML exports
Focus sessions and break reminders	Yes, built in	Not advertised
AI	Apple’s on-device model: classification and a written day summary, nothing sent online (Pro)	AI activity summaries
AI agents (MCP)	Local MCP server — Pro, €10/$10 per month billed yearly	MCP integration — Connect, $168 per year
Teams	No — a personal tool by design	Yes (Connect): shared projects, team times
Automation and integrations	System-wide shortcut (Shortcuts, Raycast, Alfred); local MCP server	Web API, Zapier, scripting, ClickUp, Linear, Clio, GrandTotal
Languages	English and French	English; French not advertised
Requirements	macOS 14+, Apple Silicon and Intel, signed and notarized by Apple	macOS app, plus the web app on other devices
Price (excl. VAT)	From €7/$7 per month billed yearly (Essential); Pro €10/$10	From $10 per month (Professional, monthly) to $168 per year (Connect)
Free trial	30 days, every feature, no card	30 days, no card
Import from the other app	Yes — import your Timing CSV, with a preview and undo	—

Timing plan names, features and prices come from timingapp.com (October 2026) and may change; “not advertised” means we could not find the feature on their public pages. Timing is a trademark of its owner; Griotte is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by Timing.

The core difference

Local-first is good. No server at all is simpler.

Credit where it is due: Timing is one of the more privacy-respecting trackers, and says your tracked times never leave your Mac unless you opt into sync. Griotte goes one step further: there is no Griotte cloud to opt into.

With Griotte

Your time is a SQLite file on your Mac. Export or erase it whenever you like.
No account, no server for your data, no telemetry — there is nothing to breach on our side.
Two Macs? Sync runs through your personal iCloud, end-to-end encrypted: Apple cannot read your window titles or client names, and neither can we.
Website names only by default (github.com); full addresses are opt-in. Private browsing and password managers are never recorded.

With Timing

Tracking is local-first, and incognito tabs are discarded — genuinely good defaults.
Sync and cloud backup are part of every plan and run through Timing’s cloud; the web app and team reports rely on it.
Timing records full file paths and URLs, which is more detail — useful for some, more sensitive for others.
In teams, admins see aggregate project times, not personal details, per their site.

Read Griotte’s privacy policy

Billing

Built for people who bill in days.

Griotte was designed around how European freelancers and consultancies actually invoice: a day rate, half-day rounding, and a clean activity timesheet attached to the invoice. Set an hourly rate instead if that is how you work — both are first-class.

Hourly or day rate per project, with quarter-hour, half-day or no rounding.
PDF activity timesheet by month and client, ready to attach to the invoice.
Billed, paid, done Pro — statuses, invoice numbers and “left to bill”.
Public holidays built in for the US, France and six other countries; working-day counts use them.
Amounts excl. tax, in your currency, calculated the way they will appear on the invoice.

Switching

Move from Timing without losing a minute.

Your history comes with you. The whole move takes about five minutes.

Export from Timing

In Timing, export your time entries as CSV. Any date range works.

Import into Griotte

Settings › Your data › “Import history…”. Columns are detected automatically and you see a preview before anything is written.

Check, keep, or undo

Periods Griotte already tracked are skipped, and every import can be undone in one click. Run both apps side by side during your trial if you like.

FAQ

Timing vs Griotte: common questions.

Is Griotte a good alternative to Timing?

It depends on what you need. Both track your Mac time automatically, without timers. Choose Griotte if you want a tool with no account and no vendor cloud at all, day rates and a PDF timesheet for invoicing, and focus sessions and break reminders built in. Stay with Timing if you need a web app, team reporting, or integrations like Zapier, ClickUp, Linear or Clio.

Can I import my Timing history into Griotte?

Yes. Export your data as CSV from Timing, then use “Import history…” in Griotte’s Settings › Your data. Columns are detected automatically, you see a preview before importing, periods already tracked by Griotte are skipped, and every import can be undone.

Does Griotte have a web app like Timing?

No, and that is a deliberate choice: a web app needs a server that holds your data. Griotte keeps everything on your Mac. If you use two Macs, the Pro plan syncs them through your own iCloud account, end-to-end encrypted, still with no Griotte server.

Is Griotte cheaper than Timing?

As of October 2026, Griotte Essential costs €7 or $7 per month billed yearly (excl. VAT) and Griotte Pro €10 or $10. Timing’s own pricing page lists plans from $10 per month (Professional, billed monthly) up to $168 per year (Connect). Features differ between plans, so compare what you actually need.

Can I try Griotte and Timing side by side?

Yes. Both apps offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card, and both can run on the same Mac at the same time. Track a normal week with each and compare the reports before you decide.

All questions about Griotte

The fairest test: a week of real work.

Install Griotte, keep Timing running if you want, and compare the reports on Friday. No card, no account, 30 days.

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