Idle Pilot vs PowerToys Awake

PowerToys Awake is one of Microsoft's free, open-source PowerToys utilities for Windows. It keeps the computer awake indefinitely, for a time interval, or until a date and time, and it can keep the screen on. It does not change your power plan. Idle Pilot is a cloud service that keeps one Slack workspace or one Microsoft Teams account Available or Active during the Work Hours you save.

Awake prevents sleep; it does not move the mouse or press keys. Microsoft's Awake page does not mention Teams or Slack. Microsoft's Teams documentation says presence on a computer becomes Away after a few minutes of inactivity or when the computer is locked, and Slack says desktop users are set to away after 10 minutes of inactivity. A PC that Awake keeps awake can therefore still show Away. Idle Pilot keeps presence from its servers on your schedule and does not use your computer's input.

Awake runs on your PC, so the PC must be on, awake and signed in. Microsoft says Awake does not prevent sleep or hibernation that you start yourself, and Teams shows Offline when the computer sleeps. Idle Pilot keeps working with the laptop closed, asleep or off, after you link your account once.

Awake is free. You install PowerToys from GitHub, the Microsoft Store or WinGet, then turn on Enable Awake in PowerToys Settings. Idle Pilot costs $9 per month or $60 per year (USD), with a 3-day free trial and no credit card. The trial starts at your first Slack or Teams connection, and it lasts 7 days if you connect within 3 hours of sign-up. You link once in desktop Google Chrome with the Idle Pilot extension and can remove the extension afterward.

Awake needs Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 or later on x64 or ARM64. Its timers are one-off; Microsoft lists no weekday schedule. Idle Pilot has per-day Work Hours, a Lunch Break, and Vacation Mode, which pauses the schedule when you set a status you choose, such as Out of Office.

Your employer may be able to see either tool. Device management and monitoring software can log installed programs and running processes, including Awake. Teams and Slack admins and security tools can inspect sessions, devices and network origins, which applies to Idle Pilot. Idle Pilot manages presence only; it does not write status messages or read chats or files. Check your employer's rules before you use either.