WhatPulse vs WakaTime
Compare WhatPulse and WakaTime for individual usage tracking. Explore how WhatPulse's broad computer tracking differs from WakaTime's coding-focused metrics.
Quick overview
WhatPulse is like a general fitness tracker for your computer habits, tracking all system activity. WakaTime is a specialized tracker for your coding workouts, focused specifically on programming environments.
Different focus, different audience
WhatPulse
Tracks overall PC activity - keystrokes, clicks, app usage, and network data across your entire system. Perfect for understanding your complete digital life.
For: Power users, gamers, productivity enthusiasts, anyone curious about their computer habits
WakaTime
Specifically geared towards programmers, tracking coding activity inside development environments and text editors with project-level granularity.
For: Developers, programmers, coding bootcamp students, anyone wanting to improve coding productivity
WakaTime: built for developers
WakaTime integrates with hundreds of text editors and IDEs via plugins, automatically measuring coding activity with incredible precision and context that developers actually care about.
Automatic Code Time
Tracks active coding time with microsecond accuracy, excluding idle periods
Project Context
Automatically detects projects, files, languages, and even Git branches
Goals & Leaderboards
Set coding goals and compete with teammates on development teams
Code Privacy
Never uploads code content - only metadata like filenames and languages
Developer-Focused Metrics
- Hours coded per project
- Programming language breakdown
- File and branch statistics
- Commit time tracking
IDE Integration
- VS Code, IntelliJ, Vim
- Sublime, Atom, Eclipse
- Hundreds of editors supported
- Open-source plugins
Team Features
- Private team leaderboards
- Coding goal tracking
- GitHub profile badges
- Development insights
Feature comparison
| Feature | WhatPulse | WakaTime |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of Tracking |
Entire computer activity Keystrokes, clicks, all apps, uptime, network No differentiation between activity types |
Focused on coding activity Time within supported editors/IDEs Does not track outside coding environments |
| Metrics Provided |
Total keys, clicks, mouse distance Time per application (no context) System uptime and bandwidth Activity levels without content |
Hours coding per project, file, language Project and repository context Language statistics and goals Coding activity by time of day |
| Presentation |
Desktop client + online profile Cumulative totals and leaderboards Heatmaps, click maps (Premium) Focus on input statistics |
Online dashboard with coding metrics Project breakdowns and language charts Goals tracking and team leaderboards Developer-centric visualizations |
| Community/Team Use |
Global community competing on keystrokes Teams based on interests (not work-specific) General bragging rights culture Public leaderboards available |
Development teams tracking coding time Private team leaderboards for motivation Self-improvement focused Optional public sharing |
| Usefulness to Developers |
Complete picture including non-coding activities Shows balance of coding vs other tasks Cannot separate projects automatically Good for overall productivity awareness |
Extremely useful for pure coding measurement Automatic project separation Perfect for coding goal setting Ideal for development workflow integration |
A developer's perspective: when to choose each
Use WhatPulse if you:
- Want to track overall computer usage, not just coding
- Enjoy community competition on general metrics
- Do multiple types of work (coding, writing, gaming)
- Are into quantified self metrics beyond work
Use WakaTime if you:
- Are primarily concerned with improving programming work
- Work on multiple coding projects needing automatic separation
- Want detailed coding stats (languages, files, time)
- Need integration with development workflow
Example developer scenarios
Freelance developer managing multiple projects
WhatPulse insight:
"I typed 80,000 keystrokes today, spent 6 hours in VS Code, but also 3 hours in email and Slack."
WakaTime insight:
"Project A: 3 hours Python, Project B: 2 hours JavaScript, Project C: 1 hour React. Perfect for billing."
Bootcamp student learning to code
WhatPulse insight:
"My computer usage shows I'm spending more time on YouTube tutorials than actually coding."
WakaTime insight:
"Goal: Code 4 hours daily. This week: JavaScript 12h, HTML 8h, CSS 6h. I'm on track!"
Senior developer on a team
WhatPulse insight:
"High click count suggests lots of UI testing, keystrokes show I'm writing documentation too."
WakaTime insight:
"Team leaderboard shows I'm coding consistently. Main focus: TypeScript backend work this sprint."
Why not both? many developers use WakaTime AND WhatPulse
These tools serve different purposes and don't conflict. Using both gives you comprehensive insights:
WhatPulse tells you:
- Total computer activity (10 hours active)
- Time distribution (4h coding, 3h browser, 2h email)
- Overall productivity patterns
- Non-coding work context
WakaTime adds coding detail:
- Project breakdown (Project X: 3h, Project Y: 1h)
- Language distribution (Python 2h, JavaScript 2h)
- Specific files and branches worked on
- Coding goals and team comparisons
"WhatPulse shows the forest (your entire digital life), WakaTime shows the trees (your coding work)."
Conclusion
Choose based on your primary goal: understanding your complete digital life or optimizing your coding productivity.
WhatPulse
Quantify your entire computer usage
Perfect for holistic productivity analysis and community engagement.
WakaTime
Quantify your coding productivity
Ideal for developers wanting to optimize their programming workflow.