Nanominute vs Toggl Track: which is better for personal time tracking?
František Hlinka · Solo developer of Nanominute
· 3 min read
Toggl Track is built for work. Nanominute is built for personal time. If you track client hours, projects or a team, Toggl Track is the better tool. If you want to track your whole day, including sleep, friends and hobbies, Nanominute is what I built for that. I’m the developer of Nanominute, so here is a comparison that says it plainly, including where Toggl wins.
What is the difference between Nanominute and Toggl Track?
Toggl Track is a time tracker for companies and professionals: projects, clients, billable hours, reports and team features. Nanominute doesn’t have business-related features. It is a personal time tracker, designed for your whole life, not just for the office. It has one continuous timeline of your day, goals and a curated list of life activities.
You can use Toggl Track for your personal time, but it’s not ideal. I used it for over a year to track my personal time (with Timery and a Shortcut), and then built Nanominute to solve the problems I ran into.
How do they compare?
| Toggl Track | Nanominute | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Work, billing, clients, teams | Personal time, your whole day |
| Price | Free plan, paid plans for more | Free to start, then $49.99 a year (US) |
| Entry that crosses midnight | Counted entirely on the day it started | One entry; daily stats split it across both days |
| Offline | Mobile apps sync offline entries later (per Toggl’s help center) | Start, switch and stop offline; syncs later |
| Apps needed for using it for personal use | Three: Toggl Track, Timery and a Shortcut | One |
| Quick switching on the lock screen | Via Timery, Apple only | Lock Screen and Control Center widgets |
| Platforms | Web, desktop and mobile apps | iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux |
| Goals and streaks | Yes, limited | Yes, for example “exercise 3 hours a week” |
When should you choose Toggl Track?
Choose Toggl Track if you bill clients, run projects with teammates, need detailed reports or want a free plan. It is a solid, well-known tool. If you already use it for work, trying it for personal time costs nothing, and a week with it is a fine personal time audit - but it will not be as frictionless as a tool built for personal time.
When should you choose Nanominute?
Choose Nanominute if you want to track your personal time, all day, with the least friction: one app, a single timeline, one-tap switching, offline use and no workaround for midnight. The setup questionnaire builds a personalised activity list from a curated catalogue, and you can edit anything.
Things to know before you pick it:
- It is manual by design. It does not watch what you do. You start a timer and switch when you move on.
- It is not for billing clients or managing teams.
A note about this comparison
Full disclosure: I’m the solo developer of Nanominute, so I am biased here. I built it for my own pain point, I use it every day, and now I’m sharing it with other people. There are no ads, and I never sell your time tracking data. Where I describe Toggl, I describe how it behaved in my own use and what Toggl’s own help pages say. Check their pricing page for the latest plans.
If you are still weighing the options, check the tools I tried for tracking personal time.
Try it yourself
Track your personal time with Nanominute
A time tracker for your whole life, not just work. Start a timer, switch with a tap, and see where your days go. Try it free for 2 weeks on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nanominute an alternative to Toggl Track?
For personal time tracking, yes. Nanominute is built for tracking your whole day, including sleep, hobbies and friends. For client billing, projects and teams, Toggl Track is the better fit.
Is Toggl Track free?
Toggl Track has a free plan. Nanominute does not: it has a 2-week free trial and then costs $49.99 a year (US price). Check Toggl's pricing page for its current plans.
How do Toggl Track and Nanominute handle midnight?
Toggl counts an entry that crosses midnight entirely on the day it started. In Nanominute an entry that crosses midnight stays one entry, and daily stats split it across both days.
Does Nanominute work offline?
Yes. You can start, switch and stop timers without a connection, and they sync when you are back online.
