Pausr vs Time Out

Time Out has been the default answer to break app for Mac for well over a decade, it is free, and it still works. Pausr costs money and does one structural thing Time Out does not. Whether that thing is worth paying for is the entire comparison.

Feature by feature

Pausr / Time Out: Feature by feature
Feature	Pausr	Time Out
Native macOS app	Yes	Yes
Windows	No	No
Linux	No	No
Eye breaks (20-20-20)	Yes	Yes
Stand-up and movement breaks	Yes	Partly
Long recovery breaks	Yes	Yes
Holds breaks during meetings, calls, screen sharing and games	Yes	No
Screen-time statistics	Yes	Yes
Guided RSI exercises	No	No
Open source	No	No
Free to use	No	Yes
Works without an account	Yes	Yes

YesPartlyNo

The nuance behind the table6 rows need a caveat

Windows: Pausr: A Windows version is in the works. The waitlist is open on the download page.
Stand-up and movement breaks: Time Out: You can add a custom break and use it for standing up, but there is no dedicated movement break type.
Holds breaks during meetings, calls, screen sharing and games: Time Out: Time Out follows the clock. It does not detect meetings, screen sharing or games, so the break fades in anyway.
Screen-time statistics: Time Out: The Activity view charts breaks taken, app usage and time away from the Mac.
Guided RSI exercises: Pausr: Pausr prompts stand-up and movement breaks, but it does not ship guided RSI exercise routines.
Free to use: Pausr: No permanent free tier: a 7-day free trial, then a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase.

Facts checked on August 3, 2026, on the official sites.Latest Time Out release seen: 3.0.4, July 28, 2026.

A glowing sphere held back at the edge of a lit doorway, waiting to enter — A break app is judged on the moments it stays quiet, not on the length of its feature list.

Where the two really differ

The interruption problem
Time Out follows the clock. It does not know you are presenting, recording or in the last round of a game, so the break fades in anyway and you learn to hit Postpone. Once postponing is muscle memory, the app is installed but no longer working. Pausr holds the break through meetings, calls, screen sharing and games, then brings it back.
What a break is for
Time Out gives you micro breaks and normal breaks, and you can add a custom one. Pausr separates eye breaks, stand-up breaks and long recovery breaks, because they solve different problems and want different lengths. If a timer is all you wanted, Time Out already does it.
Price, and what free actually costs
Time Out is free, with optional non-renewing Supporter purchases from $4.99. Pausr is a subscription with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The honest framing: you are not paying for more features, you are paying for the app knowing when not to interrupt.

Microsoft Teams — The difference in one view: the break waits through your meeting or your match, then comes back on its own.

Price

Pausr

Native macOS break app, context aware

Price

Subscription with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time lifetime purchase

Time Out

Long-running free macOS break app by Dejal

Price

Free, with optional non-renewing Supporter purchases from $4.99

Official site

Choose Pausr if

You have caught yourself postponing every single break.
You are in calls, demos or screen shares most days.
You want stand-up and long breaks as real break types, not a custom timer.

Choose Time Out if

You want to spend nothing, and you are honest that this matters more than the interruptions.
Your day has few meetings, so a clock-based reminder is enough.
You already have Time Out tuned exactly how you like it.

Frequently asked questions

Is Time Out still good in 2026?

Yes. It is free, reliable, well maintained and it charts your activity. Its one structural weakness is that it follows the clock rather than your context, so it fires during meetings and demos. If that never bothers you, there is no reason to switch.

What does Pausr do that Time Out does not?

It detects meetings, calls, screen sharing and games and holds the break until the moment passes, and it treats eye breaks, stand-up breaks and long recovery breaks as separate types. Time Out is a very good clock-based reminder with an activity chart.

Is Time Out free?

Yes, free to download and use, with optional Supporter purchases from $4.99 that do not auto-renew. Note that the current major version requires a recent macOS, while an older build supports macOS 10.15 and later.