Comparison

Local Hours vs Mastery Timer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Local Hours

Features
Read full description

Local Hours is a local-first time tracking app for iPhone and iPad. Track your work with widgets and quick actions, generate clean timesheets, and email approversβ€”without accounts, servers, or data lock-in. - Track from anywhere Start and stop a simple timer using home screen widgets, lock screen widgets, or the app itself. Add a short description when you stop so you remember what you worked on. - Folder-based storage All of your data lives as plain JSON files in a folder you choose. Back it up, sync it with iCloud, Dropbox, or another provider, or move it to a new deviceβ€”it's just files. - Automatic timesheets Generate weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly timesheets from your entries. See total hours, per-day breakdowns, and a clear summary before you send anything. - Email-ready exports Create an email draft with an embedded timesheet summary and optional CSV attachment. Quickly send your hours to managers, clients, or payroll without copying and pasting. - Smart reminders Configure when you want to be reminded (for example, Friday at 5pm) and Local Hours prompts you to send your latest timesheet so you don't forget. - Cross-device friendly format The storage format is shared with the Mac version and future platforms. Point both apps at the same cloud folder and your data stays in sync across all your devices. - Privacy by design No analytics, no tracking, and no online account. Everything stays on your device unless you choose to sync the folder via your own tools. Local Hours is open source, MIT licensed, and built for people who prefer simple tools that respect their data.

About

Mastery Timer

Features
Read full description

Mastery Timer turns the time you spend getting good at something into visible progress. Pick the skills you want to master. Writing, reading, an instrument, a language, a sport, meditation, anything. Give each one a daily goal, and fill its bar a little more every day. Every minute counts toward the bigger picture: the path to 10,000 hours of mastery. As your hours add up you rise through 25 ranks, from your very first session to true mastery, and the app tells you something new at every single hour. Not only at the milestones, every hour. What is shifting in your craft, what you have unlocked, how far you have come. No points to lose. No guilt. No streaks that punish you for a missed day. Lifetime hours and ranks only ever go up. If you skip a day, a streak simply starts again, quietly. Mastery Timer is built for years of use, not for a quick hit. Features - Create as many skills as you want, each with its own daily goal - A clean bar you fill each day, with a gentle gong when you reach your goal - A lifetime mastery view: your hours, your current rank, and encouragement that changes every hour - Tailored progress for each kind of skill, from writing to music to fitness - Fully offline and private. Your practice stays on your device. No account, no data collected - A calm, distraction free design The work is the point. Mastery Timer just makes the hours add up where you can see them.

Screenshots

Local Hours4 screens
Mastery Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Local Hours at none against Mastery Timer's 1. Local Hours also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Mastery Timer's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 months). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Mastery Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Local Hours asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Local Hours ships an update every 5 months, Mastery Timer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Local Hours versus Mastery Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLocal HoursMastery Timer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.4 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size7 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNimish GogriArjun Gupte

In-app purchases

None

Local Hours

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Mastery Timer

One-time1
  • Friends$1.99

Questions

Is Local Hours free?
Local Hours is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mastery Timer free?
Mastery Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Local Hours or Mastery Timer have ads?
Neither Local Hours nor Mastery Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Local Hours or Mastery Timer?
Local Hours ships an update every 5 months, and Mastery Timer every 2 days. Most recently, Local Hours was updated on September 25, 2026 and Mastery Timer on September 27, 2026.

Other comparisons