What's the main difference between Focuh and RescueTime?

RescueTime is a time-tracking app first and a blocker second — it runs in the background, categorizes everything you do, and reports where your hours went. Focuh is a focus app first: it blocks distracting websites and apps on macOS during a session, with a built-in timer and task board. RescueTime tells you how you spent your time; Focuh stops the distraction in the moment. They solve related but different problems.

Is Focuh really free compared to RescueTime?

Yes. Focuh is completely free with no premium tier and no feature gating. RescueTime has a free Lite plan for basic tracking, but its FocusTime blocking and full reporting live behind the paid Premium subscription. So the feature most people want RescueTime for — actually blocking distracting sites — generally requires paying, while every Focuh feature, including system-level blocking, is free.

Does RescueTime block websites like Focuh does?

RescueTime can block distracting websites through its FocusTime feature, but it's a premium feature and is centered on websites rather than native apps. Focuh blocks both websites and native Mac apps at the system level using macOS Accessibility permission, so it also catches things like the Slack or Spotify desktop apps. If blocking is your main goal, Focuh covers more on a Mac; if reporting is your main goal, RescueTime goes deeper.

Which is better for tracking how I spend my time?

RescueTime, clearly. Automatic time tracking is its whole reason to exist: it logs every app and site, sorts them into productive and distracting, and produces dashboards, weekly summaries, and a productivity score. Focuh tracks time against your own tasks and focus sessions, which is useful for planning, but it isn't a passive analytics tool. If you want a detailed report of where your week went, RescueTime is built for exactly that.

Does RescueTime work on more platforms than Focuh?

Yes. RescueTime runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and through browser extensions, and it syncs across them. Focuh's blocking is macOS-only. If you split your work across a Windows PC and a Mac, or you want phone tracking, RescueTime covers more ground. If you work mainly on a Mac, Focuh's single-platform focus lets it block at the system level in a way cross-platform trackers usually don't.

Can RescueTime block native apps on a Mac?

RescueTime tracks native apps in detail, but its FocusTime blocking is aimed at distracting websites rather than blocking native apps outright. Focuh blocks both: during a focus session it can shut off distracting websites across every browser and block native Mac apps like Messages, Slack, or a desktop mail client. If your worst distractions are apps rather than browser tabs, that difference matters on a Mac.

Which should I pick if I have ADHD?

It depends on what helps you. RescueTime's reports can build awareness of where time leaks, but awareness alone often isn't enough when focus is the struggle. Focuh leans on a visual focus timer, a kanban task board, and in-the-moment blocking, which tends to suit people who need structure and friction rather than a weekly summary. Many people with ADHD find acting in the moment more useful than reviewing a report after the fact.

Can I use Focuh and RescueTime together?

Yes, and they complement each other well. Run RescueTime in the background for automatic tracking and weekly reports, and use Focuh to block distractions and time your focus sessions while you work. RescueTime tells you which sites are eating your week; Focuh blocks those sites on your Mac during deep work. Since Focuh is free, pairing them costs nothing beyond whatever RescueTime plan you already have.

Focuh vs RescueTime: 2026 Comparison

Focuh vs RescueTime: RescueTime tracks your time and blocks sites on a paid plan; Focuh blocks sites and apps on Mac with a focus timer, for free.

June 25, 2026

In a Focuh vs RescueTime comparison, the quickest way to choose is to ask what you actually want: a report or a wall. RescueTime is a time-tracking app that watches what you do and shows you where the hours went, with optional paid blocking. Focuh is a free macOS app that blocks distracting websites and apps in the moment, with a built-in focus timer and task board. They overlap on distraction, but they come at it from opposite ends.

What is RescueTime?

RescueTime is an automatic time-tracking tool that runs quietly in the background and logs every app and website you use. It sorts that activity into productive and distracting categories, scores your day, and produces dashboards and weekly email summaries so you can see where your time actually goes. Its FocusTime feature can block distracting websites during a set period.

RescueTime has been around since 2008 and works across macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and browser extensions, syncing your data across all of them. It's best understood as an analytics product with a blocking add-on, not a blocker with reports bolted on.

What is Focuh?

Focuh is a free macOS app that combines website and app blocking with a focus timer, a kanban-style task board, and Google Calendar sync. Built with Tauri, it uses macOS Accessibility permission to block at the system level during focus sessions, so a blocked site is gone across Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Arc at once.

Focuh is built for people who want to do focused work, not audit it afterward. You plan tasks, start a session, and distractions are blocked for that whole session. There's no premium tier — every feature, including system-level blocking, is free.

Focuh vs RescueTime: tracking or blocking?

This is the real fork in the road. RescueTime's strength is passive measurement: it tells you that you spent four hours on YouTube last week without you lifting a finger. That awareness is genuinely valuable, and no built-in timer matches RescueTime's depth of reporting.

But measurement isn't intervention. RescueTime will faithfully record a distracted day; it won't necessarily stop one unless you've set up FocusTime, which is a paid feature centered on websites. Focuh flips the priority — it blocks first and reports lightly. If your problem is knowing where your time goes, RescueTime wins. If your problem is stopping the leak while it's happening, Focuh is the more direct tool.

Feature	Focuh	RescueTime
Automatic time tracking	Task/session-based	Yes, fully automatic
Detailed reports & dashboards	No	Yes (core feature)
Website blocking	Yes, system-level	Yes (FocusTime, paid)
Native app blocking on Mac	Yes	No (tracks only)
Focus timer	Yes, built-in	Pomodoro via integrations
Task management	Yes, kanban board	No
Google Calendar sync	Yes	Calendar integrations
Platforms	macOS	macOS, Windows, Linux, Android
Price	Free	Free Lite; Premium paid

How does blocking compare on a Mac?

On macOS, Focuh blocks more. It uses Accessibility permission to block both distracting websites across every browser and native apps — the Slack desktop app, Messages, a native mail client — during a focus session. RescueTime's FocusTime can block distracting websites, but it's a premium feature and is aimed at sites rather than apps.

That gap matters if your distractions aren't browser tabs. A tracker that watches you open Slack 40 times a day is informative; an app that blocks Slack while you're trying to focus is corrective. For the wider landscape of Mac blockers, see the best website blockers for Mac, and for why system-level blocking holds where browser blocking leaks, see system-level vs browser blocking.

How does pricing compare between Focuh and RescueTime?

Focuh is completely free. There's no premium tier, no subscription, and no feature gating — system-level blocking, the focus timer, tasks, and calendar sync all cost nothing.

RescueTime offers a free Lite plan with basic tracking, but the features most people sign up for — FocusTime blocking, full historical reports, and detailed dashboards — require the paid Premium subscription. So the practical comparison is free Focuh against paid RescueTime Premium once you want blocking and deep reporting. If budget is the deciding factor and blocking is the goal, Focuh is the cheaper path by definition. If you want what RescueTime measures, it can be worth paying for the depth.

Which platforms does each support?

RescueTime is the cross-platform option. It tracks on macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android, plus browser extensions, and syncs your activity across all of them. If your work is split between a Windows desktop and a Mac, or you want your phone tracked too, RescueTime covers more devices.

Focuh's blocking is macOS-only. That's a real limit if you're multi-platform, but it's also the reason Focuh can block at the system level so thoroughly — it's built for one operating system rather than spread across five. If you're a Mac-first worker, the single-platform focus is a feature, not a gap.

When should you choose RescueTime over Focuh?

Choose RescueTime if:

You want automatic, passive time tracking with detailed reports
You need cross-platform tracking across Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android
A weekly summary of where your time went is what motivates you
You're willing to pay Premium for FocusTime and full analytics

Choose Focuh if:

You want to block distracting sites and apps in the moment, for free
You work primarily on a Mac and want system-level blocking across every browser
You want a focus timer and task board in the same app, not just a tracker
You'd rather act on distraction than read a report about it afterward

The bottom line

RescueTime is the better measurement tool. Nothing here matches its automatic tracking and reporting, and if self-awareness is your missing piece, it's worth the Premium price. It's an analytics product, and a good one.

Focuh is the better intervention tool for Mac users. It blocks websites and apps at the system level, includes a timer and task board, and costs nothing. If your goal is to stop the distraction rather than chart it, Focuh does more without a subscription. Many people run both — RescueTime for the report, Focuh for the wall. If you're specifically weighing trackers, the RescueTime alternative breakdown and the Focuh vs Freedom comparison cover the neighboring options.