Pricing
Nine dollars. Once. The app is yours.
Build Mode is a one-button time tracker for Mac, and its pricing is as simple as the button. You pay $9 one time, unlock the whole app, and never see a renewal. This page explains exactly what the license includes, why the price rises as early batches sell out, and why one-time pricing is the natural fit for an app this private.
Download free
Pay once
Key by email
Unlocked for good
Founder pricing
Nine dollars for the launch batch, then twelve.
First 50 buyers
The launch price. The first fifty license keys cost nine dollars, paid once. Early buyers take a chance on a new app, so they get the best price it will ever have.
After that
When the launch batch sells out, the price steps up to twelve dollars. Still paid once, still the whole app, still no subscription.
What you get
The whole app. Every feature.
One license unlocks everything: the ⌘⌥B session button, the clock in the MacBook notch, active-time counting that pauses when you step away, automatic categories, the dashboard with daily, weekly, and all-time totals, the hour wall, long-term goals with milestones, and Wrapped. There is no higher tier hiding the good parts. See the full tour on the product page.
No subscription
You buy the app. You keep the app.
There is no monthly plan, no annual plan, and no charge that surprises you next year. You pay once and the app is yours. That’s the whole arrangement, and the terms are written in the same plain language.
A key, not an account
Unlock with a license key, verified on your Mac.
The download is free. After checkout, your license key arrives by email. Paste it into the app and you’re done. The key is checked on your Mac and never sent anywhere, because the app contains no networking code at all.
Requirements
Runs on any modern Mac.
Build Mode requires macOS 14 or later and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, as a universal app. One license, one simple requirement, nothing else to check.
Why pay once works
No cloud costs. No account to maintain. Nothing to rent.
Most trackers charge monthly because they carry monthly costs: servers to run, sync to maintain, accounts to secure. Build Mode has none of that. There is no account, no cloud, and no networking code in the app, which you can verify yourself by searching the binary for networking symbols. It also asks for zero macOS permissions. Nothing about your copy costs us money every month, so nothing about your copy costs you money every month.
That structure is also why it can be a genuinely private time tracker: privacy that comes from missing capabilities, not from a policy. If you are weighing it against subscription tools, our RescueTime alternative guide and the roundup of the best private time trackers walk through the trade-offs honestly.
Pricing FAQ
The short answers about the $9 license.
Is there a free trial?
No. There is no trial and no free tier. The download itself is free, and the app unlocks with a license key when you buy one.
Do prices really rise?
Yes. The first 50 keys are $9, and after that batch sells out the price steps up to $12. Buying earlier locks in the lower price forever, since you only ever pay once.
Where do I get my license key?
It arrives by email right after checkout. If you can’t find it later, the license page can send it to you again.
Does activation need the internet?
No. The key is verified on your Mac and never sent anywhere. The app has no networking code, so there is nothing to phone home to.
What are the exact terms?
The full terms of the license live on the terms page, written the same way this page is: short and plain.
Nine dollars, once.