IdleBuster review (2026): features, pricing, caveats

IdleBuster is a capable activity simulator for Windows and macOS, with a free mouse-only plan and a full Pro feature set. What to check before you pay: its pricing page shows no prices, its public reviews are split between very happy and very unhappy buyers, and its marketing promises more than any app of this kind can.

A disclosure first. We make Stayaway, which competes with IdleBuster. So every fact below links to where we read it and says when, and there's a section on where IdleBuster is better than our app. If something here is out of date, write to hello@stayaway.app and we'll correct it.

What IdleBuster is

IdleBuster is made by OrientMinds and sold from orientminds.com. It keeps a computer registering as active by moving the mouse, pressing keys, scrolling and switching between apps and browser tabs.

• Platforms: Windows 10 and 11 (32- and 64-bit, as an installer or a portable version) and macOS Monterey or newer, on Intel and Apple silicon Macs, per its download page.
• Installer size: 105.8 MB for version 2.0.0 on Windows. It's an Electron app, which carries its own copy of the Chromium browser engine. We measured it ourselves; Stayaway's installer is 4.0 MB.
• Licence: one active computer at a time, per its FAQ.

Features

Its pricing page lists ten features. The free Starter plan has the first; Pro has all ten:

1. Mouse cursor movement
2. Random keyboard activity
3. Automatic idle detection (starts a run when you stop using the computer)
4. Application switching
5. Browser tab changing
6. Scrolling
7. Smart Resume (stops a run when you move the mouse)
8. Screen presets (single, dual or ultra-wide monitors)
9. Activity Level presets, from Ultra Low to Ultra High
10. Configuration settings

That's a complete list for the category. Stayaway has the same core: mouse, keyboard and scroll activity, app and tab switching, Auto Detect, Smart Resume and five Activity Levels.

Pricing

The pricing page shows no figures for the Pro plans when we read it on 16 October 2026, so you only see the price at checkout. Its FAQ offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.

For comparison, Stayaway's free plan also covers mouse activity, and Pro is $9.99 a month, $99 a year or $178 once, on up to three computers, with a 7-day trial that needs no card and a 30-day refund.

What using it is like

We installed IdleBuster on Windows and used it with a Pro trial on 15 September 2026, version 2. A few things stood out:

• The window is for settings only. There's no Start or Stop button and no status in it. You start and stop runs with global keyboard shortcuts (the tour teaches Alt+A to start everything and Alt+X to stop) or from the tray icon. That's quick once you know the keys, and confusing until then.
• Activity Level doesn't change everything. The level changes how fast the mouse, keyboard and scroll act. It doesn't change how often apps are switched (every 3 minutes by default) or how long it waits before starting (20 seconds by default). Those are separate settings.
• The level menu can show the wrong name. After signing out and back in, the Activity Level menu read Moderate while the speed settings held Low's values. The settings themselves were right; only the label was wrong.
• Smart Resume is adjustable. You can set how far you have to move the mouse before a run stops, from 5 to 100 pixels (25 by default). That's a useful control.

What other buyers say

IdleBuster's company page on Trustpilot has 11 reviews, with a TrustScore of 3.7 when we checked on 16 October 2026. They split completely: 45% are five stars and 55% are one star, with nothing in between.

The positive reviews say it worked well for them. The one-star reviews are about buying and support, not about how the app works: licence keys that didn't arrive, a licence that stopped after two days, a renewal charged twice, and messages to support that got no reply. Only one review was posted in the last year.

Eleven reviews is a small sample, so read it as a signal to check, not a verdict. Its homepage shows a 4.9 rating without saying where that figure comes from.

The claims to read carefully

IdleBuster's homepage promises that time trackers won't notice it, and says no user has ever reported being flagged. Its own page adds a condition: the promise holds only if you start IdleBuster before the tracker starts monitoring.

No activity simulator can honestly promise that, ours included. These apps keep a computer registering as active. They don't change the screenshots a tracker takes, the apps and websites it logs, or anything it records about how you work. A report of "no detections" from users is also only as good as how many users would report one. We cover what trackers can see in can mouse jigglers be detected.

Where IdleBuster is better than Stayaway

• It runs on a Mac. Stayaway is Windows-only for now.
• There's a portable version you can run without installing.
• It has a longer track record. It has been on sale since 2023; Stayaway launched in 2026.
• Its Smart Resume distance is adjustable across a wide range.

Where Stayaway is different

• A 4.0 MB installer, about a 26th of IdleBuster's size.
• Start, Stop and status in the window, plus a one-key Emergency Stop (Alt+X) that works from any app.
• Prices on the pricing page, a 7-day trial with no card, and a 30-day refund.
• No promises about trackers. We say what the app does and what it can't do.
• Not yet code-signed. Windows shows a SmartScreen warning when you install it; we explain why and publish each installer's SHA-256.

For the two side by side in a table, see Stayaway as an IdleBuster alternative, or the three-way comparison with LazyWork.

FAQ

Is IdleBuster free? Partly. The Starter plan is free and moves the mouse. Keyboard, scrolling, app switching, idle detection and the rest need Pro.

Does IdleBuster work on a Mac? Yes. It has builds for Intel and Apple silicon Macs running macOS Monterey or newer.

How much does IdleBuster Pro cost? Its pricing page doesn't show the figures. It offers a one-time lifetime licence and monthly or yearly plans, priced at checkout.

Can I get a refund? Its FAQ offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans. Several Trustpilot reviewers say their refund and support requests got no reply, so keep your receipt and write to them by email.

Will IdleBuster stop my employer seeing what I do? No app of this kind can. It keeps the computer registering as active. It doesn't change screenshots, app and website logs, or what a tracker records.

Sources

All checked on 16 October 2026 unless a date is given.

• IdleBuster homepage, pricing, download and FAQ pages
• Trustpilot reviews of orientminds.com
• Installer size: measured by Stayaway, 14 September and 7 October 2026
• Hands-on use: IdleBuster version 2 on Windows with a Pro trial, 15 September 2026