Mindset vs Toggl Track
Mindset and Toggl Track compared for freelance developers on tracking, billable rates, money in two currencies, platforms and price, with a clear verdict.
Choose Toggl Track if you need billable rates, reports to send clients, integrations, a web app, or apps for Windows and Android. It does all of that today and has a free plan. Choose Mindset if you are a freelance developer on Mac and iPhone who works in Pomodoros and wants to see what your hours really earn after expenses, Upwork Connects, withdrawal fees and the exchange rate spread. Mindset is coming to the App Store and is not released yet.
We make Mindset, so keep that in mind as you read. Toggl is the better tool for many freelancers, and we say so where it applies.
A note on names: in 2026 Toggl made a rebuilt app, called simply Toggl, the default for new sign-ups. Toggl says Toggl Track remains supported for existing users, with no forced migration or sunset date. A new account today gets the new app, so its features and prices are the ones compared here. We still say Toggl Track below, since existing accounts run on Track and the two share the same core timer.
At a glance
| Mindset | Toggl Track (Toggl) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Coming to the App Store, not released | Available now |
| Made for | Freelance software engineers | Freelancers and teams |
| How time is recorded | Pomodoro timer; one tap continues your last project and milestone | Timers, manual entries, calendar and timesheets; activity tracking in the desktop apps |
| Pomodoro timer | The core of the app | Included (focus mode) |
| Guided stretch breaks | Yes | Not in its feature list |
| Billable rates | Not offered | Starter plan and up |
| Invoicing | Not offered | Exports CSV or PDF reports to invoice elsewhere |
| Expenses | Yes, per project | Labor costs per member on Premium |
| Two currencies and withdrawal costs | Yes | Not in its feature list |
| Hourly rate after costs | Freelance and all-work rates | Profitability reports on Premium |
| Milestones and plan alerts | Yes | Milestones on Starter; project dashboards with forecasts on Premium |
| Integrations and API | Not offered | Calendars, Jira and Asana (Premium), API, CLI, MCP server |
| Team features | Not offered | Teams, roles, timesheet approvals |
| Platforms | Mac and iPhone; Android planned | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, Chrome, Firefox |
| Free tier | One device, no account needed | Up to 3 users |
| Paid price | USD 4.99 a month or USD 39.99 a year | From USD 9 per user per month billed yearly, or USD 12 monthly |
Where Toggl Track is stronger
Toggl runs almost everywhere. There are apps for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android, a full web app, and extensions for Chrome and Firefox that add a start button inside web tools such as GitHub and Jira. If you switch between a Windows desktop and a Mac laptop, or want to check hours from a browser, Toggl covers it and Mindset does not.
Billing is the bigger difference. Toggl's Starter plan sets billable rates at the workspace, member and project level, and its reports filter by client and date range and export as CSV, Excel or PDF to attach to an invoice. Premium adds profitability reports, fixed-fee projects and project dashboards that forecast when a project will finish. For anyone billing several direct clients by the hour, this is the work a time tracker is usually bought for.
It connects to other tools. Toggl offers calendar integrations on every plan, Jira and Asana on Premium, a public API, a command-line tool and an MCP server for AI assistants. Mindset has no integrations.
It handles teams. If you subcontract or work with another developer, Toggl has teams, roles, timesheet approvals and team reports.
It is free to start, and the free plan already includes a Pomodoro-style focus mode. If a basic focus timer in your tracker is all you need, Toggl's free plan may be enough.
It is available today, with mature apps. Mindset is not released yet.
Where Mindset is stronger
Tracking that comes from the timer
In Mindset the Pomodoro timer is the tracker. Starting is one tap and continues with your last project and milestone, so a working day of rounds becomes tracked time without a timesheet. You choose 25 minutes of focus and 5 of rest, 50 and 10 for deep coding, or your own lengths, with a long break after every fourth round. A soft chime marks the end of focus and of each break, and otherwise the app stays silent. A daily minimum for your own product, such as two pomodoros, sits at the top of the day. If you want to know which length suits coding, see Pomodoro for programmers.
Mindset's weekly Review, with focused hours per day and time by category, beside Goals.
Stretch breaks
Breaks come with guided routines for the parts of the body desk work strains: neck and shoulders, wrists, lower back, and eyes. Short breaks get a short routine and long breaks a longer one. You mark each break Stretched or Skipped, and reminders pause during meetings and leisure. The routines are general exercises, not medical advice.
Money in two currencies
You record earnings per project as pending or paid, and expenses such as Upwork Connects, tools, hosting and travel to clients. Amounts can be in US dollars and your local currency. A withdrawal records what actually reached your bank, so platform fees and the exchange rate spread count as a cost. For a developer paid in USD who lives on another currency, that gap is real money, and our guide to USD income and local currency fees shows where it comes from.
Your real hourly rate
Mindset shows two hourly rates, each worked out as earnings minus expenses, divided by hours. The freelance rate counts client work, meetings and travel, finding work, and admin. The all-work rate also counts hours on your own products.
Mindset's own example: $2,000 earned from 40 hours of client work looks like $50 an hour. Add 12 hours finding work, 6 hours of meetings and travel, and $60 spent on Upwork Connects and transport, and the freelance rate is $1,940 over 58 hours, about $33 an hour. Toggl's Premium profitability reports measure revenue against labor costs for a team; Mindset's rates answer what one freelancer's time paid. The method is explained in how to calculate your real hourly rate.
Projects measured against plan
Each project gets milestones with planned dates and hours. Its page compares hours against plan, progress against the schedule, the effective rate against your target, and this week's time against the weekly goal. A notification arrives when a project runs 20% over plan (you can change the threshold per project) or a milestone is forecast to miss its date. Toggl offers estimates and alerts too, but its project dashboards and forecasts are on Premium, at USD 16 per user per month billed yearly.
No account to start
Without an account, Mindset is free on one device, and your data stays on that device. The free tier includes the timer and stretch breaks, projects and time tracking, milestones and alerts, earnings and expenses, this week's and this month's rates, and goals.
What Mindset does not offer
To be plain about the gaps, Mindset does not offer:
- invoicing, or billable rates applied to tracked hours
- report exports for clients
- integrations with other tools, or an API
- team features
- a web app or browser extension
- apps for Windows or Android (Android is planned)
- automatic tracking of apps and websites
- blocking of apps or websites; Mindset tracks and reminds, but never blocks
Price compared
Both have a free tier. Toggl's free plan covers up to three users but leaves out billable rates. Mindset's free tier covers one device and everything except sync and longer reports.
For one person paying yearly, the first paid tiers compare like this:
| Mindset subscription | Toggl Starter | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | USD 4.99 | USD 12 |
| Yearly billing | USD 39.99 a year | USD 108 a year (USD 9 a month) |
| Free trial | Two weeks | 30 days |
| What you pay for | Sync between Mac and iPhone, longer reports | Billable rates, team reports, timeline views, tags, milestones |
The two subscriptions buy different things, so compare what you need rather than the totals. Mindset's App Store price is lower in some countries, and Toggl's paid prices are per user. Sources are Mindset and Toggl pricing.
Can you use both?
You can, but there is no integration between them, so any time you want in both apps has to be entered twice. If you need billable reports for clients, Toggl is the one to keep. Mindset is designed for freelancers who mostly want to know what their work pays, and who bill through a platform or a separate invoicing tool.
If you bill hourly contracts on Upwork, neither app replaces Upwork's Desktop App for those contracts: Upwork's Hourly Payment Protection covers only time logged with its own tracker.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Toggl Track if you bill direct clients by the hour and need billable rates and exportable reports, if you work on Windows, Android or in a browser, if you rely on integrations such as Jira, Asana or the API, if you work with other people, or if you need a tracker today.
Pick Mindset if you work alone on a Mac and an iPhone, already work in Pomodoros or want to, earn in US dollars and spend in another currency, and care more about what your hours actually pay than about client reports. You will need an invoicing tool alongside it, and you will need to wait for the release.
If neither fits, our list of Toggl Track alternatives covers Clockify, Harvest, Timing and five more.
Prices and features were checked on the vendors' sites in October 2026.
FAQ
Does Toggl Track have a Pomodoro timer?
Yes. Toggl includes a Pomodoro timer, which it calls focus mode, on the free plan, and it works on the web, desktop, mobile and browser extension. Mindset differs in making the Pomodoro the way time is recorded and adding guided stretch breaks.
Can Mindset create invoices?
No. Mindset does not offer invoicing. You record earnings per project as pending or paid, so you can see what is owed, but the invoice itself has to come from another tool or from the platform you work through.
Is Mindset free?
Yes, on one device without an account, including the timer, stretch breaks, projects, earnings, expenses and this week's and this month's rates. A subscription at USD 4.99 a month or USD 39.99 a year, with a two-week free trial, adds sync between Mac and iPhone and reports over longer periods.
Does Mindset work on Windows or Android?
No. Mindset runs on Mac (macOS 15 or later) and iPhone (iOS 18 or later). Android is planned. Toggl has apps for Windows and Android today, plus a web app.