Punchcard vs Backsight

A side-by-side comparison built from both listings. Blank cells mean the company has not given that detail; we never guess.

Punchcard compared with Backsight
Detail	Punchcard	Backsight
What it does	A Mac menu bar app that tracks your workday app by app and prints a receipt at day's end	it notices what you can't
Stage	Not given	MVP
Founded	Not given	Not given
Based in	IN	Not given
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Pricing	Free to try with first two receipts included; $9 one-time purchase for unlimited receipts and all future updates, valid on two Macs	Recording and the dashboard are free. Encrypted sync and the agent interface are paid add-ons, available later.
Key features	Tracks which app is in front, sampled every few seconds Optional itemized browsing showing website names in Chrome, Brave, Edge and Vivaldi Exports receipts as 1080×1350 PNG for social media with plain-text alt text Never-print list to exclude apps or websites from receipts Weekly and monthly rolls, with late printing for missed days Detects idle time so breaks and lunch do not count as work No macOS permissions required for basic tracking Universal binary for Apple silicon and Intel, requires macOS 13 Ventura or later	On-device audio transcription that never leaves your device End-to-end encrypted sync between your own devices Pattern detection including themes, repetition, distributions and correlations Weekly and monthly mood and energy tracking Theme distribution analysis over time Accountless operation with encryption keys as identity Unlimited data export as CSV or JSON Works offline Planned MCP server for local agent integration
What makes it different	Privacy-first design with build gates preventing analytics and networking outside licensing Charming receipt printing with realistic paper mechanics, barcode and social media export 30-day refund policy with no questions asked	No account required; keys are your identity Complete data privacy; company cannot read your records No dark patterns, streaks, guilt or nagging Describes patterns without diagnosis or coaching
Free plan	Not given	Not given
Open source	Not given	Not given
Platforms	Not given	Not given
Public API	Not given	Not given
Community votes	0	0
DR (Domain Rating by Ahrefs)	29 +1 (up) since last check	11 −1 (down) since last check
Trust Flow (Majestic)	10	7
Citation Flow (Majestic)	22	14
Referring domains (Majestic)	8	18

5 details filled in for both companies.

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