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Comparison · PM

Leantime vs Rize

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Leantime and Rize — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Leantime vs Rize: at a glance

FeatureLeantimeRize
SectorPMPM
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesproject-management, self-hosted, permissions, pluginstime-tracking, agencies, ai-agent, redesign
Last editorial update2d ago25d ago
WebsiteVisit →—

What is Leantime?

Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.

Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.

Read the full Leantime trajectory →

What is Rize?

Rize ships its biggest release: a redesign, a web app, and an AI agent that sits across every view.

Rize is now an agency operations platform built on automatic time tracking, and its October 20 release rebuilds the product around that identity. A new design system and table-based views replace the old layout, a web app joins the desktop client, and meetings, labels and workspace defaults all gain team-level controls. The Rize AI agent now reaches dashboards, people, clients and projects through @mentions, and runs on schedules through Routines.

Read the full Rize trajectory →

Leantime vs Rize: editorial side-by-side

L5.0

Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.

◆ Current state

Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.

◆ Where it's heading

The release cadence is roughly one feature version every two weeks, split between finer access control and a plugin marketplace that carries more functionality. Core changes increasingly exist to give plugins stable hooks, as the calendar rework shows.

◆ Prediction

Expect more marketplace plugins built on the new calendar and permission hooks, and further permission work extending to the remaining modules.

R5.0

Rize ships its biggest release: a redesign, a web app, and an AI agent that sits across every view.

◆ Current state

Rize is now an agency operations platform built on automatic time tracking, and its October 20 release rebuilds the product around that identity. A new design system and table-based views replace the old layout, a web app joins the desktop client, and meetings, labels and workspace defaults all gain team-level controls. The Rize AI agent now reaches dashboards, people, clients and projects through @mentions, and runs on schedules through Routines.

◆ Where it's heading

The August agency suite added the billing and margin layer; this release makes the agent the way users move through that layer. Saved dashboards, AI reports and scheduled Routines turn tracked time into something the agent queries and acts on, rather than a log a person reads. Meeting transcripts from Fathom and Granola, plus AI-assigned labels, push more of the categorization work off the user and onto automation.

◆ Prediction

Expect Meetings to leave beta and more transcript or calendar sources to follow, since that page is the only beta in an otherwise shipped release. Whether the web app reaches parity with desktop tracking is unclear from these entries.

Alternatives to Leantime and Rize

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Leantime or Rize.

See all Leantime alternatives → · See all Rize alternatives →

Recent activity from Leantime and Rize

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 3d agoLeantimev3.14.0: per-permission access checks and a CalDAV sync plugin
  2. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.2: digest changes, OIDC PKCE, marketplace install reporting
  3. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.1: clearer plugin install errors
  4. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.0: mobile push, per-project modules, Laravel 12
  5. 25d agoRize@Mentions in Rize AI Chat and the New Rize Web App
  6. 25d agoRizeMeetings with Transcripts (Beta): Automatic Meeting Time Tracking with Fathom and Granola
  7. 25d agoRizeUnlimited Labels and Auto-apply: Choose Which Labels the AI Assigns
  8. 25d agoRizeA Whole New Rize: A Simpler Design for Automatic Time Tracking
  9. 25d agoRizeWorkspace Defaults: Set Up Time Tracking for Your Whole Team
  10. 25d agoRizeThe New Focus Page and Silent Mode: Focus Timer, Distraction Blocker, and Quiet Tracking
  11. 29d agoLeantimev3.12.0: self-updating plugins and a shared interface library
  12. 1mo agoLeantimev3.11.0: global search across the workspace

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Leantime and Rize?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Leantime and Rize are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Leantime better than Rize?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Leantime and Rize are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Leantime?

Top Leantime alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Leantime alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/leantime for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Rize?

Top Rize alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Rize alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rize for the full list with editorial commentary on each.