Compare TimeOWare and Weava: Which Extension is the Best?

TimeOWare logoTimeOWare
Weava logoWeava
TimeOWare helps you track and manage your online time easily. With its simple design and easy website blocking, TimeOWare is a valuable tool for enhancing digital well-being.
Time Management Productivity
Weava Highlighter was once a popular choice, but now it’s filled with ads and has a poor user experience. Better options like Web Highlights do the job better without the hassle.
Highlighter Note Taking
Key Features
  • Time Tracking: Easily see how much time you spend on each website.
  • Daily Usage Stats: Get a clear overview of your daily online activity.
  • Website Blocking: Block distracting sites with a simple click.
  • Privacy-Focused: No data is transmitted; everything stays on your device.
  • Open Source: Check out the code on GitHub for transparency.
  • Web & PDF Highlighting: Easily highlight text on web pages and PDFs using various colors.
  • Annotations: Add detailed notes to your highlights for better reference and organization.
  • Cloud Syncing: Seamlessly access your highlights and notes across multiple devices.
  • Organize with Folders: Structure your highlights with folders and sub-folders for easy retrieval.
  • Citation Creation: Automatically generate citations for your highlighted text, simplifying your research process.
Our Rating
8.5
7.0
Total users
216
200,000
Total ratings
3
2,728
Average rating
5.0 ⭐
4.1 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
5.0
5.0
3 ratings
216Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.1
3.01
2.7K+ ratings
200.0K+Users
Edge
-
-
Firefox
-
-
Safari
-
-
Features
7.0

TimeOWare offers basic functions for checking the time spent on websites. These include time recording on websites, where the percentage of total time taken up by each website is displayed directly in real-time in a statistic.

statistics

Another feature is the blocking of websites. Websites can easily be blocked manually if you think that you no longer want to use this website. Here we would like to see the manual blocking of websites.

block websites

However, it lacks advanced features such as detailed analytics or customizable alerts that some users may find useful. Nevertheless, the core features are well implemented and serve the main purpose of improving digital well-being.

8.5

Weava offers basic but functional features like web and PDF highlighting, annotations, and folder organization.

The basic functionalities work great but the lack of innovative or advanced functionalities, especially compared to competitors, limits its appeal.

Top 3 Features of Weava Highlighter

1. Highlight Websites and PDFs

Highlighting text with Weava

Similar to our favorite highlighter Web Highlights, you can highlight text on any website or PDF. Choose different colors to customize your highlights and make important information stand out.

2. Organize Research into Folders

Organize in folders

Weava lets you save your highlights and organize them into folders, making it simple to keep your research organized and find what you need fast.

3. Collaborate with Your Team

Share folders with your co-workers

Weava allows you to share folders with your team, making collaboration on research projects easy. Everyone can add and view highlights and notes all in one place.

Performance
9.0

TimeOWare works reliably, with no noticeable slowdowns or performance issues during use.
The extension runs in the background and provides real-time updates on time spent without affecting browser speed.

7.0

Weava performs adequately when it comes to basic highlighting and syncing. However, the overall performance is marred by the intrusive ads and occasional bugs that make the experience less smooth than it should be.

Design
7.5

The design of TimeOWare is clear and intuitive, making it easy to find your way around immediately. All available functions can be used directly. The minimalist interface ensures that users are clearly shown which websites may pose problems for their digital well-being. In our tests, however, we found that there could be a little more customization options to adapt the displays to our own needs.

6.0

The design is where Weava really struggles. The interface is cluttered with ads, making it not only visually unappealing but also frustrating to use.

Here's a screenshot showing one of their ads taking up nearly half the height of their sidebar:

Ads are covering half of the sidebar

The overall design feels outdated and lacks the intuitive flow found in other tools. This poor design significantly hampers the user experience.

Value for Money
9.0

As a completely free tool, TimeOWare offers excellent value for money as it provides essential time management features at no cost whatsoever.
The open-source nature of the extension also adds value as it allows users to review and modify the code if desired.
The only reason it doesn't get full marks is that some features offered by competitors are not yet available.

6.8

The free version of Weava offers basic features, and their premium plan at $3.99/month is priced similarly to competitors.

However, given the ads in the free version and the overall user experience, you can find better value in alternatives that provide more features and a cleaner interface for the same or even lower cost.

Ease of Use
8.5

TimeOWare is easy to use, with little set-up time.
Once installed, it starts tracking time immediately. Likewise, the limited settings are self-explanatory and should be easy for anyone to understand.

settings

In our tests, we noticed that if several tabs are opened next to each other, they are also added up in the extension at the same time. The total number of hours is therefore higher than the actual number in the browser. This can be somewhat confusing for new users.

total time
6.5

Weava’s basic highlighting functionality is straightforward, but the poor design and mandatory account creation add unnecessary friction. The ads make navigation cumbersome, and while it’s not difficult to learn, using the tool effectively can be a challenge due to these barriers.

Security & Privacy
10

TimeOWare is characterized by security and privacy, as it does not transmit any user data to the outside world and all information is only stored offline on the user's device.
This privacy-focused approach is a key benefit for users who are concerned about data security. Users can also check the code used on GitHub themselves if they have any concerns.

7.0

Weava does take steps to protect user data, and their privacy policy is clear about not selling personal information. However, the requirement to create an account and the potential for data collection through ads could be a concern for privacy-conscious users.

Conclusion

TimeOWare is a great choice for anyone who wants to manage their online time more effectively and realize how much time is spent on websites.

Its simple design and privacy-focused approach make it, in our opinion, a standout option in the time management space.

We felt in testing that a little more customization and even more features could further improve the extension. Overall, however, we think TimeOWare is already a valuable tool for anyone looking to improve their digital well-being.

Weava Highlighter may still be a popular choice, but its current state leaves much to be desired. The overwhelming presence of ads and a clunky design significantly detract from the user experience, making it hard to justify its use when other tools offer a more polished and ad-free environment.

If you’re serious about your productivity, it’s worth exploring alternatives like Web Highlights, which delivers all the benefits of Weava without the downsides.

Install TimeOWare
Install Weava
Our Recommendation

In our comparison between TimeOWare and Weava, TimeOWare came out on top, scoring 8.5.

Weava is the most widely used, with over 200k users and 3k+ reviews, but TimeOWare outperformed it in our review. We rate TimeOWare and Weava lower than users do.

Notably, TimeOWare has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 5.00, which is even higher than our rating of 8.5.

There are some noticeable differences between these extensions, so it's worth considering your priorities and the details below.

  • Looking for the richest feature set? Weava stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, TimeOWare lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Need top performance? TimeOWare stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Design lovers, take note: TimeOWare stands out with a rating of 7.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.
  • Want to get the most for your money? TimeOWare stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.8.
  • If you hate complicated tools, TimeOWare stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.5.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, TimeOWare stands out with a rating of 10. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.

If you want a quick recommendation, TimeOWare is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.