TimeTracker vs Kimai
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted time tracking options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
TimeTracker
Self-hosted web-based time tracking for teams
VS
Kimai
Professional time tracking for teams and freelancers
| Feature | TimeTracker | Kimai |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 628 | ★ 5,039 |
| First released | 2024 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Toggl, Harvest | Toggl, Harvest, Clockify |
What are TimeTracker and Kimai?
TimeTracker
TimeTracker is a self-hosted web-based time tracking application for freelancers, teams, and businesses. It manages projects, logs billable time, and generates invoices, keeping all data under your control.
- Project-based time logging
- Invoice generation
- Multi-user accounts
- Self-hosted data control
Kimai
Kimai is a free, web-based multi-user time tracking application. It tracks work time across projects and activities and generates invoices and exportable reports.
- Multi-user time tracking
- Invoice generation
- Detailed reporting and exports
- Plugin marketplace
TimeTracker vs Kimai: key differences
TimeTracker is written in Python, while Kimai is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for TimeTracker versus AGPL-3.0 for Kimai. TimeTracker is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Kimai. Kimai is the more established project (first released 2006), while TimeTracker arrived in 2024. Kimai has the considerably larger community, at 5,039 GitHub stars versus 628.
Why pick each one
Choose TimeTracker if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Kimai if…
- Mature and actively maintained
- Strong invoicing features
Watch out for
- Configuration can be involved
Frequently asked questions
Is TimeTracker or Kimai better?
Neither is universally better. Kimai has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are TimeTracker and Kimai free and open-source?
Yes. TimeTracker is licensed under MIT and Kimai under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run TimeTracker and Kimai with Docker?
TimeTracker: yes. Kimai: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, TimeTracker or Kimai?
TimeTracker has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Kimai. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.