A DeskTime alternative where the team explains its own day.
Lena H. · Thu, 6:12 PM
Posted after her day, her time zone
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Next: address review, start WEB-210.
Blocked: need staging Stripe keys.
Why a productivity percentage needs the person's own words
A share of productive time says how much of the day went to apps on the productive list. It can't say that an afternoon in the browser was a production incident, or that a quiet morning went to unblocking a teammate. Colabio keeps the numbers and asks each member for a two-minute daily update, so a lead reads the reason next to the data instead of guessing.
The numbers, and what they meant.
Three product decisions that separate Colabio from DeskTime.
Daily Updates Beside the Data
Members write what they did, what is next and what is blocked, by keyboard or voice. Leads read it beside the day's tracked time, and on Business the AI points to who needs attention first.
Screenshots Members Can See
Screenshots come with every team plan. Members see every capture taken of them and can delete their own, and managers switch capture on per member.
Timesheets to Client Invoices
Manual time goes to a lead for approval, every correction keeps the original, and client invoices are built from the billable time on each client's projects.
Colabio vs DeskTime feature matrix
| Capabilities | Colabio | DeskTime |
|---|---|---|
| Time Tracking | A timer on a project and task, with manual time sent to a lead for approval. | Automatic from start-up, plus project, web and mobile timers. |
| Productivity Scoring | Apps and sites classified as core work, non-core work or unproductive per department; members see their own split. | Apps and sites marked productive, unproductive or neutral per team, with productivity and effectiveness percentages per person. |
| Screenshots | Yes:On every team plan. Members see and can delete their own. | Partly:Premium and Enterprise only, at random intervals with optional blur. Employees can't view their own unless an admin allows it. |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Counted into an activity level per slot. What you type is never recorded. | Used only to detect idle time. Not logged or counted. |
| Daily Updates | Yes:Written or dictated by each member, shown beside the day's tracked time. | Partly:An AI Daily Summary written from the activity timeline, on Premium and Enterprise. |
| AI Features | Yes:AI task suggestions and Team Pulse on Business, AI coding prompts on team plans, and a read-only MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT. | Partly:The AI Daily Summary, without chat. No MCP connector is listed. |
| Integrations | Partly:GitHub and calendar sync, plus prompt capture from Claude Code, Cursor and Codex. | Yes:Jira, Asana, GitLab and Trello on Premium and up, Zapier, and Google and Outlook calendars. |
| Client Invoicing | Yes:Invoices built from billable time on each client's projects, numbered and downloaded as a PDF. | Partly:Project hourly rates and costs, with exports for invoicing in another tool. |
| Starting Price | Free for one user. Team plans from $5 per seat per month billed annually, or $7 monthly. | From $4.58 per user per month billed annually (Pro), or $5 monthly; screenshots start on Premium at $6.42. 14-day trial, no free plan. |
Comparison based on DeskTime's public pricing and product pages, checked on . Features and plans change; verify details with each vendor before deciding.
The Colabio commitments
Four rules we hold ourselves to when we track people's work.
1. Visible Tracking
The desktop app shows its tracking state, and it records nothing while the timer is off.
2. Your Own Screenshots
Members see every screenshot taken of them and can delete their own. Managers switch capture on per member.
3. Advisory AI
AI suggests a task or points to who needs attention. A person always makes the call.
4. No On-Screen Labels
The app never tells someone on screen that they are being unproductive. Classifications show in reports, beside the member's own update.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about how Colabio works? Find answers below.
Related solutions
More ways teams use Colabio. See all solutions.
DeskTime is a trademark of its respective owner. Colabio is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by DeskTime. The name is used only to identify the product being compared.
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