Softwr

Productivity · head to head

DeskTime vs Rows

DeskTime logo

DeskTime

Productivity

Automatic computer activity tracking and productivity analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rows logo

Rows

Productivity

Browser spreadsheet whose formulas call live data from analytics, CRM and payment services

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DeskTime screenshots are excluded from the Pro plan and start at Premium; Rows refresh frequency is the metered resource, so the free plan refreshes manually only and daily automation begins on the paid tier, which means the automatic reporting that justifies the tool is exactly what the free plan withholds.
  • They diverge on capability: DeskTime covers Automatic activity tracking, Rows covers Integrations in formulas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DeskTime and Rows actually diverge.

Attributes where DeskTime and Rows differ
AttributeDeskTimeRows
PlatformsWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, LinuxWeb
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in DeskTime

  • Automatic activity tracking
  • Application and website tracking
  • Daily reports
  • Weekly summaries
  • Privacy-first design
  • Detailed analytics
  • Goal setting
  • Mobile apps

Only in Rows

  • Integrations in formulas
  • Scheduled refresh
  • Publishable sheets
  • Cell enrichment
  • AI tasks
  • Guests
  • API access
  • Version history

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

DeskTime

  • Automatic time tracking of desktop app and website usagenot Rows
  • Measuring team productivity and idle timenot Rows
  • Scheduling shifts and tracking absencesnot Rows

Rows

  • A weekly marketing report that pulls analytics, advertising and CRM figures into one refreshing sheet instead of three manual exports.not DeskTime
  • Agency client dashboards shared as a page, without handing over access to the underlying accounts.not DeskTime
  • Enriching a list of companies or contacts from inside the sheet rather than through a separate tool and a re-import.not DeskTime
  • A small team that needs live numbers in a familiar grid and has nobody available to build a proper reporting stack.not DeskTime

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

DeskTime

  • Screenshots are excluded from the Pro plan and start at Premium
  • Integrations and API access require the Premium plan
  • Shift scheduling requires the Premium plan
  • Enterprise is aimed at 200+ users and is priced by quote with no published rate
  • The advertised $6.42 and $9.17 per user rates require annual billing; monthly billing costs more
  • The trial lasts 14 days

Rows

  • Refresh frequency is the metered resource, so the free plan refreshes manually only and daily automation begins on the paid tier, which means the automatic reporting that justifies the tool is exactly what the free plan withholds.
  • Exports carry values rather than connections, so a downloaded file from Rows is a dead snapshot and anything you built has to be reconstructed from scratch elsewhere, which makes recurring reports quietly expensive to move.
  • Guests are capped by tier at three on free and ten on the entry plan, so sharing a report with a client's team or a group of stakeholders pushes you up a tier for people who only ever look at a page.
  • It is not Excel or Google Sheets, so the function library, add-ins, pivot behaviour, scripting and offline files people rely on are not all present, and it works as a reporting surface rather than as an organisation's general spreadsheet.
  • The Pro tier adds a fixed monthly platform charge on top of the per-user price, so moving from daily to intra-day refresh, or from ten guests to a real audience, is a step change in cost rather than an increment.

Pricing, plan by plan

DeskTime

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Activity tracking
    • Basic reports
    • Weekly emails
  • Pro$9/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Advanced reports
    • Detailed analytics

Rows

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 5 AI Tasks per month
    • Manual data imports
    • 10 integration accounts
  • Plus$8/month
    • 200 AI Tasks per month
    • Daily data table automation
    • 10 integration accounts
  • Pro$79/month
    • 1,000 AI Tasks per month
    • Per-minute data automation
    • 100 integration accounts
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • Unlimited AI Tasks
    • Custom integrations and API endpoints
    • Unlimited guest members

Which should you pick?

Choose DeskTime if

  • You need automatic activity tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want application and website tracking.
DeskTime review

Choose Rows if

  • You need integrations in formulas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want scheduled refresh.
Rows review

Questions people ask

Is DeskTime or Rows better?
Neither clearly leads. DeskTime starts at Free and Rows at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DeskTime or Rows?
DeskTime starts at Free and Rows at Free.
Does DeskTime or Rows run on more platforms?
DeskTime runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux. Rows runs on Web.
Can I use DeskTime for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is DeskTime best used for?
DeskTime is most often used for automatic time tracking of desktop app and website usage, measuring team productivity and idle time, scheduling shifts and tracking absences. Of those, automatic time tracking of desktop app and website usage and measuring team productivity and idle time are not what Rows is typically brought in for.
What can DeskTime do that Rows cannot?
DeskTime covers Automatic activity tracking, Application and website tracking, Daily reports, Weekly summaries. Rows covers Integrations in formulas, Scheduled refresh, Publishable sheets, Cell enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DeskTime: What are DeskTime's subscription tiers?

DeskTime offers Pro at $6.42/user/month (annual billing) for small teams and startups, Premium at $9.17/user/month (marked Most Popular) for hybrid and growing teams, and Enterprise with custom pricing for 200+ users.

Source
Rows: Can it replace Excel or Google Sheets?

Not for general spreadsheet work. It is for reports and sheets that pull live data, and most teams end up running it alongside a conventional spreadsheet rather than instead of one.

DeskTime: What features differentiate the Premium tier from Pro?

Premium adds screenshots, integrations & API, and shift scheduling compared to Pro's document title tracking and calendar integrations.

Source
Rows: What can I actually do on the free plan?

Real building: unlimited members, ten integration accounts, five AI tasks a month, 1 MB imports, three guests and seven days of version history. What you cannot do is schedule a refresh.

DeskTime: How long is the DeskTime free trial?

DeskTime offers a 14-day free trial. No credit card is required to start.

Source
Rows: Does the data stay live after I export?

No. Exports contain values only, so the connections and the scheduling do not travel and the file stops updating the moment it leaves.

DeskTime: What billing options does DeskTime offer?

DeskTime offers monthly or annual billing. Annual subscriptions include one complimentary month compared to monthly plan pricing. You can pay by credit card or PayPal.

Source
Rows: Is pricing per user?

Yes on the paid tiers, with a fixed platform fee added at Pro. Guests are counted and capped separately from members.

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