Toggl charges $10 per user per month, forever, to store your timers in their cloud. Timevault is time tracking for people who bill: one-click timers that survive a browser restart, projects with clients and hourly rates, weekly timesheets, and reports that compute exactly what to invoice — on your machine or your $5 VPS.
If you've searched for a Toggl alternative, Timevault is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Timevault is $29, one time, and covers the same core job Toggl charges $10/user/mo for.
What makes Timevault the pick for 2026
- One-click timer — Description, project, tags, Enter to start. The timer is server state — reload, close the tab, restart your browser, it keeps counting.
- Manual entries — Start + end times, or start + duration ("1:30", "1.5", "90m"). Stop, discard mistakes, or one-click continue any previous entry.
- Projects, clients & rates — Colors, billable flags and hourly rates per project. Archive finished projects without losing history.
- Weekly timesheet — A 7-day grid with inline editing of descriptions and durations right in the cell.
- Reports that invoice — Any range, grouped by project / client / tag / day — bar chart, donut, and exact total + billable amounts from your rates.
Timevault vs Toggl, at a glance
| Timevault | Toggl | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | $10/user/month |
| Cost over 3 years | $29 | $360 |
| Your data lives | Your server / your PC | Their cloud |
| Billable rates & totals | Yes | Yes |
| Report rounding (5/15 min) | Yes | Paid tier |
| Overlap detection | Yes | No |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Source code | MIT, yours | Closed |
Three months of Toggl pays for Timevault outright — after that, every tracked hour is pure margin.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/timevault-tracker-mvp. $29 buys the packaged installer, 1-click setup and updates.
What happens to a running timer if my browser crashes?
Nothing — the timer is server state, not a browser widget. Reload the page an hour later and it's still counting from the original start.
Is there a mobile app or idle detection?
No — honestly. Toggl's native apps, idle detection and calendar integrations are real advantages if you track from your phone all day. Timevault is browser + desktop, aimed at people who work at a computer and bill for it.
The bottom line
Timevault won't out-feature Toggl on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $29 once against $10/user/mo forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Timevault is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Timevault — $29, once
Self-hosted time tracking — one-click timers, hourly rates, weekly timesheets, billable reports.