arbtt vs Beaver Habit Tracker
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted time tracking options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
arbtt
Automatic rule-based time tracker for desktops
VS
Beaver Habit Tracker
Habit tracking app to save your precious moments in your fleeting life
| Feature | arbtt | Beaver Habit Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | GPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Haskell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 354 | ★ 1,812 |
| First released | 2009 | 2026 |
| Replaces | RescueTime, ManicTime | — |
Why pick each one
Choose arbtt if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Haskell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Beaver Habit Tracker if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is arbtt or Beaver Habit Tracker better?
Neither is universally better. Beaver Habit Tracker has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are arbtt and Beaver Habit Tracker free and open-source?
Yes. arbtt is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Beaver Habit Tracker under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run arbtt and Beaver Habit Tracker with Docker?
arbtt: check the project docs for container support. Beaver Habit Tracker: yes.