Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Qbserve VS SelfControl

Compare Qbserve VS SelfControl and see what are their differences

Qbserve logo Qbserve

Freelance time tracking, invoicing, and productivity improvement

SelfControl logo SelfControl

V2 updates! - Custom time interval for distraction free mode - Ability to turn off ' always on' mode - Improved UI -- Self Control -- A simple app to keep you focused online by blocking sites that you spend way too much time on.
  • Qbserve Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

Mac time tracker that tracks both productivity and work hours automatically by intelligently observing active sites and apps.

  • SelfControl Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-19

Qbserve videos

Weekly tip #2 - Qbserve

More videos:

  • Review - 5 Mac Apps of the Month | Qbserve, PDFElement 6, GIF Brewery 3, Camtasia & Unclutter

SelfControl videos

How to block websites that distract you ? Selfcontrol [Mac App review and tutorial]

More videos:

  • Review - SelfControl Review - Block distracting websites

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Qbserve and SelfControl)
Time Tracking
46 46%
54% 54
Invoicing
66 66%
34% 34
Productivity
38 38%
62% 62
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Qbserve and SelfControl. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, SelfControl should be more popular than Qbserve. It has been mentiond 75 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Qbserve mentions (10)

  • Show HN: Rem: Remember Everything (open source)
    Somebody else pointed out RescueTime, but if keeping it local is a priority, I recommend Qbserve, which I've been using (mostly passively in the background) for a few years now. [0] https://qotoqot.com/qbserve/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Is there anything you’ve found immensely helpful in grad school?
    One of the hardest things for me about grad school (that I'm still struggling with!) is figuring out how to schedule my own day when I have few external things keeping my day in shape for me. it's been really helpful just to have the data of how much time I usually spend on things/what I've done that day... I can see where all my time is going lmao and readjust as needed. I use toggl track in conjunction with... Source: 6 months ago
  • Is there any other app who tracks time automatically by monitoring every app, document, and website ?
    Is https://qotoqot.com/qbserve/ actually doing this ? I can't seem to figure out if it tracks individual files inside apps. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What are your strategies for a productive writing session?
    An unconventional, and somewhat uncomfortable bit of discipline: I used Qbserve (for mac), which is an automatic time tracker. I taught it which websites were productive (/r/LaTeX, StackExchange, and ArXiV.org) and which were not (/r/GradSchool etc lol). It notified me when I was spending too much time not being productive, and also notified me when I had done "enough". Source: over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: How do you not keep track of what you did yesterday (and this morning)?
    I use Qbserve [1] after seeing it mentioned in a previous thread. Really helpful for seeing where time was spent over the course of the day/week. Collected data all stored locally too [1] https://qotoqot.com/qbserve/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
View more

SelfControl mentions (75)

  • My 30-Year Quitting Addiction
    There is a free and open source app called SelfControl for macOS. It allows one to block access to any site one adds to the list in the app for the amount of time the user chooses. Attempt to use multiple browsers, restarting one's machine, deleting the app, etc. won't get around the block either. It's been super helpful for me, so I thought I'd just throw it out there. https://selfcontrolapp.com. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • App to prevent distractions at work
    It is SelfControl. It is open-source and free. You select the website you want to block and the time. The moment you click the button no matter what you do, you can forget about accessing those websites until the time is over; there is no cancel button. Restarted mac won't work, you can delete the app no luck. Source: 6 months ago
  • App to prevent distractions at work
    The SelfControl app lets you specify web sites that will be blocked. When you run the app, you specify a countdown timer, during which time those apps will be inaccessible. Source: 6 months ago
  • Finals season
    - https://selfcontrolapp.com/ this is free app. block off all social media and time wasters .. Only for mac. if there is nothing to be distracted... IMO I eventually be bored and I was able to get into the zone... Not right away... But I told my self... Today I study... And I stay in the study room. Source: 6 months ago
  • Looking for the right app
    Apps I have tried and are not enough: - https://heyfocus.com/ - https://freedom.to/ - https://selfcontrolapp.com/ - https://www.forestapp.cc/ - https://www.rescuetime.com/. Source: 6 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Qbserve and SelfControl, you can also consider the following products

Toggl - Toggl is an online time tracking tool. It features 1-click time tracking and helps you see where your time goes. Free and paid versions are available.

Cold Turkey - Cold Turkey is a free productivity program that you can use to temporarily block distractions so that you can get your work done!

RescueTime - Time management software that shows you how you spend your time & provides tools to help you be more productive.

Focus - New Tab page that gives you a moment of calm and inspires you to be more productive.

Harvest - Simple time tracking, fast online invoicing, and powerful reporting software. Simplify employee timesheets and billing. Get started for free.

Freedom.to - Freedom is a productivity hack that lets you block apps, websites or the entire Internet on iPhones, iPads, Windows and Mac computers.