Automatic time tracking for Adobe After Effects. See how long each comp, VFX shot, and motion graphics project really takes — down to the minute.
For motion designers, VFX artists, broadcast graphics teams, and ad agencies working in After Effects.
Free forever for individuals · 30-day trial for studios · no card required
How it works with After Effects
Cut Time detects your current After Effects project via a lightweight DoScript bridge using AppleScript. It reads the active project name directly from AE — no ExtendScript panel to install, no plugin permissions dialog, no Creative Cloud extension. The bridge runs in a background thread so it never stalls a render or preview.
What you get
No timesheets. No guessing. Just honest numbers for every project you edit.
Zero-effort tracking
Cut Time runs in your menu bar. Open a After Effects project and time starts counting automatically — no timers, no buttons.
Active vs idle detection
Distinguishes real editing time from time the app was open but idle. Your billable hours reflect actual work.
Per-project breakdown
Every After Effects project is tracked separately. See exactly how many hours went into each cut.
Private by default
Cut Time only reads the project name from After Effects. Not your footage, not your timeline, not your files.
No habit change
Install once. Open After Effects like you always do. The data builds itself.
Works across all four
If you switch between Resolve, Premiere, After Effects, and Final Cut during a week, Cut Time tracks all four.
Freelancers figuring out what to charge. Studios tracking what projects actually cost.
Motion designers
Motion work is famously hard to estimate. Cut Time gives you real data on how long each project type takes, so your next quote is based on receipts, not guesses.
VFX artists
When a 15-second shot takes 40 hours, it helps to know exactly how. Per-project hour data turns into better bids and better boundaries.
Broadcast graphics
Sports lower-thirds, news packages, ad bumpers — repeat work where you need to know unit cost. Cut Time makes that math visible.
Ad agencies
Every AE project tracked separately across your team. See which clients are profitable and which are quietly eating your hours.
Pricing
Track your own After Effects hours on the free plan forever. Studios start with a 30-day free trial — no card required, invite your whole team.
Does Cut Time slow down renders or RAM previews?
+No. Cut Time polls for the active project name every 30 seconds via a separate AppleScript process. It never touches your compositions, cache, or render queue.
Does it work with AE templates and Essential Graphics?
+Yes. Cut Time tracks time against whatever .aep project you have open, including template-based projects and Essential Graphics workflows.
Can it see individual comp names?
+No — Cut Time tracks at the project level, not per-comp. A project with 50 comps rolls up into that project's total hours. This matches how most motion designers bill.
Does it track sessions across multiple AE projects?
+Yes. Whatever project currently has focus gets the hours. Switch between projects and Cut Time follows.
Does it require an ExtendScript or panel plugin?
+No. The AppleScript bridge runs outside After Effects entirely, so there's nothing to install in Creative Cloud and nothing to enable in AE's preferences.
Does it work with After Effects on Windows?
+Yes. Cut Time supports After Effects on both macOS and Windows. The Windows installer is on the download page — setup takes about 30 seconds.
More questions? See the full FAQ or email [email protected].
Use a different editing app?
Install the tracker (Mac or Windows), open After Effects, keep editing. Your first session shows up on your dashboard in under a minute.
Get Cut Time free