Is Tidst an alternative to Memtime?

Only if you do not need an activity timeline. Both address the problem of forgotten time, but from different source material — Memtime from what your computer was doing, Tidst from the tasks and meetings you already created.

Does Tidst monitor computer activity?

No. Tidst does not record applications, browser tabs, documents or screen activity. It reads only the sources you connect: Todoist, Google Calendar, Outlook, its own timer and manual entries.

Does Memtime require you to run a timer?

No — it has no timer. Memtime records desktop activity in the background instead, and its own site argues that start/stop timers interrupt work and get forgotten.

Which is better for Todoist users?

Tidst, for that specific workflow. Completed Todoist tasks becoming review items is what Tidst is built around, and Todoist does not appear in Memtime's integration catalogue at all.

Which one records more detail?

Memtime, considerably. Its activity timeline contains far more about your computer use than Tidst attempts to collect.

Tidst is free to use. Memtime offers a 14-day trial with no payment details required, after which it is a paid subscription with no permanently free tier.

Tidst vs Memtime

Both start from the same frustration: it is annoying to reconstruct your workday from memory. They solve it very differently.

Memtime records activity on your computer in the background and gives you a detailed timeline to review. Tidst does not record computer activity at all — it starts with work signals such as completed Todoist tasks and calendar meetings, and brings them into The Queue for review.

I make Tidst

So this is obviously not an independent review. Memtime is a mature product that does things Tidst does not attempt. The point is not to declare a winner — they suit different ways of working, and one of them may simply not be the shape of your problem.

The main difference is what gets remembered

Imagine you spend 45 minutes writing a proposal.

With Memtime, the evidence is the shape of your computer use — time in a document, time in a browser, time in email. The timeline helps you reconstruct what that block was about.

With Tidst, the evidence is a Todoist task called Write proposal for Acme, marked complete. Tidst brings that into The Queue, where you decide the duration before logging it.

Neither record is inherently better. Memtime answers "what was happening on my computer?" Tidst answers "what work did I finish or have scheduled?"

Side by side

	Tidst	Memtime
Main approach	Review work signals	Automatic desktop activity timeline
Passive desktop activity recording	No	Yes
Completed Todoist tasks as review items	Yes	No — Todoist is not in its catalogue
Calendar context	Google Calendar, Outlook	Google, Microsoft, iCloud, Mac, CalDAV
Built-in timer	Yes	No, by design
Manual time entries	Yes	Yes
Detailed app and browser history	No	Yes
Project-software integrations	Three, all first-party	A large catalogue, from the Connect plan up
Runs on	The web	Mac, Windows, Linux desktop app
Teams	No — single freelancer	Yes, up to enterprise
Price	Free	14-day trial, then paid

Memtime's column was checked against memtime.com on 23 August 2026. Prices are left out on purpose — they change, and a stale figure on a competitor's behalf is worse than none. Check their pricing page for current numbers.

How Memtime works

Memtime is a desktop application for Mac, Windows and Linux that records computer activity in the background — programs, documents, files, browser tabs, calls and meetings. You review that timeline afterwards and turn the relevant activity into time entries.

It has no timer, and that is deliberate: their own argument is that start/stop timers interrupt work and get forgotten. Memtime states that tracking data is stored exclusively on the user's device and never on a server, which is a meaningful difference from employee-monitoring products that report to a manager.

It also carries a large catalogue of project-software and phone-system integrations, available from the Connect plan upwards, and supports teams up to enterprise size.

How Tidst works

Tidst is a web application. It does not record computer activity. The Queue starts with completed tasks from the Todoist projects you connect, and relevant Google Calendar or Outlook meetings. For work that leaves neither signal, there is a timer and manual entries.

It is less interested in reconstructing every minute at your computer, and more interested in helping you remember the pieces of work that may belong on a timesheet.

It does not see all offline work, and does not claim to. A spontaneous conversation with no task, meeting or timer still has to be added by hand.

Todoist is where they diverge most

Tidst was built with Todoist in mind. Completed tasks from selected client projects become Queue items — that is the central workflow, not an add-on.

Memtime does not integrate with Todoist at all; it is not in their catalogue. That is consistent with their model rather than an oversight: their tracking is designed to work independently of any task manager, by reading the computer directly.

So if Todoist is how you already keep track of client work, that is a real difference. If you would rather tracking did not depend on a task manager at all, it is a point in Memtime's favour.

Detail versus simplicity

A detailed timeline is genuinely useful when you do not remember how the day unfolded — you can see applications, tabs, documents and activity periods. That is more information than Tidst collects.

Tidst starts from higher-level signals instead. A task called Prepare August report is already much closer to a billable description than a timeline of browser tabs. The trade-off is that Tidst cannot reconstruct the activity behind it.

Which fits fragmented freelance work?

It depends which sentence sounds more like your problem.

"I cannot remember what I was doing between 10:12 and 10:47.": Memtime is built for that.
"I finished six small client tasks today and I will forget half of them by Friday.": Tidst is built around that.

One remembers activity. The other remembers work signals.

Choosing

Memtime is probably the better fit if you

want automatic computer activity recording
want a detailed timeline of applications and documents
often reconstruct your day from desktop activity
need broad project-software or phone-system integrations
need team or organisation features
want tracking that does not depend on a task manager

Tidst may fit better if you

already use Todoist for client work
would rather review completed work than computer activity
want calendar meetings in the same review flow
like having a timer available without making it the whole system
do not want your apps and browser activity recorded at all
work as an individual freelancer
want something free

Frequently asked questions

Is Tidst an alternative to Memtime?: Only if you do not need an activity timeline. Both address the problem of forgotten time, but from different source material — Memtime from what your computer was doing, Tidst from the tasks and meetings you already created.
Does Tidst monitor computer activity?: No. Tidst does not record applications, browser tabs, documents or screen activity. It reads only the sources you connect: Todoist, Google Calendar, Outlook, its own timer and manual entries.
Does Memtime require you to run a timer?: No — it has no timer. Memtime records desktop activity in the background instead, and its own site argues that start/stop timers interrupt work and get forgotten.
Is Memtime private?: Memtime states that tracking data is stored exclusively on the user's device and never on a server. That is a meaningful difference from employee-monitoring products that report to a manager. Check their current documentation if this matters to your decision.
Which is better for Todoist users?: Tidst, for that specific workflow. Completed Todoist tasks becoming review items is what Tidst is built around, and Todoist does not appear in Memtime's integration catalogue at all.
Which one records more detail?: Memtime, considerably. Its activity timeline contains far more about your computer use than Tidst attempts to collect.
Which is free?: Tidst is free to use. Memtime offers a 14-day trial with no payment details required, after which it is a paid subscription with no permanently free tier.

Two ways to remember the day.

Memtime remembers what happened on your computer. Tidst remembers the work signals your tools already left behind.

Pick the one that sounds more like the problem you actually have.

Try Tidst — free

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