Tidst vs Toggl Track
Both can end up with the same thing: a record of the time you spent working. They take different routes to get there.
Toggl Track is a broad, mature time-tracking platform with desktop and mobile apps, a large integration catalogue and team features. Tidst is much narrower: a freelancer-first tool built around reviewing work you already finished rather than timing it as it happens.
I make Tidst
So this is not an independent review. Toggl does a great deal that Tidst does not attempt, and the sections below say where. Toggl's details were checked against their own pages on 1 October 2026; check them again before deciding, because they change.
The biggest difference is where the workflow starts
Toggl starts with the timer. You press start, do the work, press stop. Everything else is built on top of that act: reports, rates, projects, team dashboards.
Tidst starts after the work. A task you finished in Asana, Todoist, Trello or one of the other connected tools, or a meeting from your calendar, arrives in The Queue, and you decide what belongs on the timesheet. There is a timer too, but it is one route in rather than the foundation.
The question is whether the hard part of your day is measuring the work, or remembering it.
Side by side
| Tidst | Toggl Track | |
|---|---|---|
| Main audience | Freelancers | Individuals and teams |
| Timer | Yes | Yes |
| Manual time entry | Yes, or type a line like "2h call with Wave 6" | Yes |
| Finished tasks come back for review | Core workflow, from Asana, ClickUp, Google Tasks, monday.com, Notion, Todoist and Trello | No, its task-tool integrations start timers instead |
| Timer button inside task tools | No | Yes, via browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) |
| Calendar meetings | Google Calendar, Outlook | Yes |
| Timesheet | Your week day by day, drag entries between days | Yes |
| Costs and expenses | Yes, per client, carried into the billing extract | Not on its pricing page |
| Automatic desktop activity timeline | No | Yes, in the desktop app |
| Web app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop apps | No | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Mobile | Installs to the home screen as a web app | Native iOS and Android apps |
| Offline use | No | Yes, in the apps |
| Browser extension | No | Yes |
| Integrations | Nine: Asana, ClickUp, Google Tasks, monday.com, Notion, Todoist, Trello, Google Calendar, Outlook | 100+, mostly through the browser extension |
| Team management | No | Yes, with approvals on Premium |
| Free plan | Everything, including client rates and agreements | Yes, but without billable rates |
Toggl's column was checked against toggl.com on 1 October 2026. Prices are left out on purpose: they change, and a stale figure on a competitor's behalf is worse than none. See their pricing page for current numbers and plan limits.
Two rows worth reading twice
- Toggl's free plan does not include billable rates
- It is a genuinely useful free plan: time tracking across web, desktop and mobile, the integration catalogue, calendar support, basic reports. But rates start on the paid tiers, which is the one feature a freelancer comparing time trackers is usually there for. Tidst's free version includes client rates, fixed fees, retainers and reports.
- Automatic desktop tracking lives in Toggl's desktop app
- If the automatic activity timeline is why you are considering Toggl, check which plan includes it on their pricing page before you commit. Tidst does not record your computer at any price.
Your task tools work differently in each
Toggl connects to task tools mainly through its browser extension. It puts a start/stop timer inside Todoist, Asana, Trello, ClickUp, Notion and around a hundred other web apps, so you can begin tracking without leaving your task list. On Premium it can also import Asana projects and tasks.
Tidst goes the other way. It reads finished tasks from the projects and boards you connect, server-side, and brings them in for review afterwards, so a task you tick off on your phone, on the bus, still reaches The Queue. A browser extension cannot follow you there.
If you want a timer where your tasks are, Toggl's approach is the direct one. If you want the tasks you already finished to come back and ask about their duration, that is what Tidst is.
What happens when you forget the timer
This is the case that separates them, because it is the common one.
With Toggl, a forgotten timer means adding the entry manually from memory, or, on Premium, reconstructing it from the desktop activity timeline.
With Tidst, there was no timer to forget. The completed task and the calendar meeting are waiting either way. What Tidst cannot recover is work that left no trace at all: the unplanned phone call, the thinking time, the fix that never became a task. That still needs a manual entry.
Choosing
Toggl Track is clearly stronger if you need
- native desktop and mobile apps, with offline tracking
- automatic app and website activity tracking
- a broad integration catalogue
- team time tracking and timesheet approvals
- deeper project reporting and profitability features
- controls built for a larger organisation
Tidst may fit better if you
- already keep client work in Asana, ClickUp, Google Tasks, monday.com, Notion, Todoist or Trello
- would rather review finished work than start a timer
- want calendar meetings in the same review flow
- work alone and do not need team features
- want client rates and agreements without a paid plan
- do not want your apps and browser activity recorded
Toggl's strengths are substantial parts of a mature product, and Tidst does not need to pretend otherwise. Tidst's argument is only that the act of tracking time does not have to begin with "start timer".
Frequently asked questions
- Is Tidst better than Toggl Track?
- No, it is narrower. Toggl is a mature platform with desktop and mobile apps, automatic tracking, a large integration catalogue and team features. Tidst is one freelancer's workflow: review the work you already finished, then log it. If you need what Toggl has, Toggl has it.
- Does Toggl Track work with my task manager?
- With most of them. Its browser extension puts a start/stop timer inside Todoist, Asana, Trello, ClickUp, Notion and around a hundred other web apps, and the Premium plan can also import Asana projects and tasks. It times work while you do it. Tidst does the opposite: it reads the tasks you finished and brings them back to ask how long they took, so a task you tick off on your phone still arrives.
- Can I bill clients on Toggl's free plan?
- Not directly: billable rates start on Toggl's paid tiers. Tidst's free version includes client rates, fixed fees and retainers, and reports. Neither issues the invoice for you in a way you would want to rely on: Toggl can generate a basic one and export to accounting tools, and Tidst deliberately stops at getting the billable work ready to hand over. The rate difference is the one most likely to matter if you are choosing between the two as a freelancer, so check Toggl's current pricing page rather than taking my word for it.
- Does Tidst record my screen or applications?
- No. Tidst does not monitor apps, websites, browser history or screen activity. Toggl offers automatic activity tracking in its desktop app if that is what you want.
- Does Tidst have a timesheet?
- Yes. It shows your week day by day, with each entry under its day. Drag an entry to another day, or select several and move or delete them together.
- Is there a Tidst mobile app?
- Not a native one. Tidst installs to your home screen as a web app and runs full-screen, but it needs a connection, so there is no offline mode. Toggl has native iOS and Android apps that work offline.
- Can I bring my Toggl Track history into Tidst?
- Yes. Export a detailed CSV report from Toggl Track and Tidst reads it directly, with no account connection needed. Entries, projects, clients, billable status and historical rates all carry over, and nothing is written until you have reviewed exactly where each project will land. See the import guide for the exact steps.
- Which one is free?
- Both have a free option. Everything currently in Tidst is free. Toggl has a permanently free plan for a limited number of people, with billable rates and team features on paid tiers.
Start the timer, or review the work.
Choose Toggl Track if you want a complete, flexible time-tracking system and expect to use its broader tracking, reporting, integration or team features.
Choose Tidst if your needs are narrower, and reviewing work you already completed sounds more natural than timing every task as it begins.
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Already on Toggl Track? Your history comes with you. How to import it
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