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Orma vs ActivityWatch
ActivityWatch is a free, open-source app tracker that runs locally. Orma shares the same privacy-first philosophy but adds coding analytics, health monitoring, music tracking, GitHub sync, AI insights, and a polished web dashboard that ActivityWatch doesn't offer.
| Feature | Orma | ActivityWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic app tracking | ✓ Native macOS + Windows apps | ✓ Cross-platform Python agent |
| Coding time by project/language | ✓ VS Code + Claude Code extensions | — Basic editor detection only |
| GitHub activity sync | ✓ Commits, PRs, reviews | — |
| Spotify/music tracking | ✓ Full listening history with album art | — |
| Health data (HR, sleep, steps) | ✓ HealthKit + BLE heart rate | — |
| AI-powered insights | ✓ Weekly cross-platform digest | — |
| Correlation engine | ✓ 19 auto-computed metric pairs | — |
| iOS companion app | ✓ | — |
| macOS native app | ✓ | ✓ Python-based agent |
| Windows app | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux support | — | ✓ Full Linux support |
| Web dashboard | ✓ Polished Next.js dashboard | ✓ Local web UI |
| Data export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free tier available | ✓ All features free during early access | ✓ Free and open source |
| Self-hosted option | — | ✓ Fully local, no cloud required |
- 01Far more than app tracking — coding analytics, health data, music, GitHub, location, and AI insights in one dashboard
- 02Polished, production-quality web dashboard with 24+ pages, dark/light themes, and mobile-responsive design
- 03AI-powered weekly digest analyzes patterns across all data sources and delivers actionable insights
- 04Native Swift macOS app and WinUI 3 Windows app — lower CPU and memory than ActivityWatch's Python agent
- 05iOS companion app with HealthKit, location tracking, and Bluetooth heart rate monitoring
- 01Fully open source and self-hosted — ActivityWatch stores everything locally with no cloud dependency, ideal for maximum privacy
- 02Linux support — ActivityWatch is one of the few app trackers that works on Linux distributions
- 03Extensible watcher architecture — developers can write custom watchers to track anything
Choose Orma if
Developers who want a complete personal analytics platform — not just app tracking. If you want coding metrics, health correlations, AI insights, and a polished dashboard experience, Orma delivers everything ActivityWatch doesn't.
Choose ActivityWatch if
Privacy maximalists who want fully local, self-hosted tracking with no cloud component. Linux users and developers who want to write custom watchers for niche use cases.
Is Orma open source like ActivityWatch?
No. The backend is self-hostable, but the source is not published, and the hosted service is managed by Orma. ActivityWatch is fully open source with a self-hosted architecture. Both prioritize privacy — Orma uses Supabase with row-level security, ActivityWatch keeps everything on your local machine.
Does Orma work on Linux like ActivityWatch?
Not yet. Orma currently supports macOS, Windows, and iOS. ActivityWatch supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. Linux support is on Orma's roadmap.
How does Orma's app tracking compare to ActivityWatch?
Both automatically track which applications you use and for how long. ActivityWatch uses a Python-based agent while Orma uses native Swift (macOS) and C#/.NET 8 (Windows) apps. Orma's native apps typically use less CPU and memory than ActivityWatch's Python process.
Can ActivityWatch track coding time like Orma?
ActivityWatch can detect when a code editor is the active window, but it cannot break down coding time by project, language, branch, or file. Orma's VS Code extension and Claude Code hook provide heartbeat-level coding analytics with per-project and per-language breakdowns.
try Orma free
All features free during early access. Native Mac and Windows tracker installs in seconds. See your apps, coding, health, and music in one dashboard.