gtimelog vs timetrace
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted time tracking options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gtimelog | timetrace |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 55 · Fair | 13 · At risk |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 273 | ★ 794 |
| First released | 2008 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Toggl | Clockify, Toggl |
What are gtimelog and timetrace?
gtimelog
gtimelog is a small, minimalist time tracking application for GNOME. It records what you work on through simple text entries and produces daily and weekly reports.
- Text-based time logging
- Daily and weekly reports
- Minimalist GNOME app
- Plain-text data files
timetrace
timetrace is a simple command-line time tracker that records hours spent on projects and tasks directly from the terminal. It stores records as local files and produces reports for billing and review.
- Terminal-based tracking
- Local file storage
- Project and task records
- Reporting commands
gtimelog vs timetrace: key differences
Gtimelog is written in Python, while timetrace is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for gtimelog versus GPL-3.0 for timetrace. Gtimelog is the more established project (first released 2008), while timetrace arrived in 2021. Timetrace has the considerably larger community, at 794 GitHub stars versus 273.
Why pick each one
Choose gtimelog if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose timetrace if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is gtimelog or timetrace better?
Neither is universally better. timetrace has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are gtimelog and timetrace free and open-source?
Yes. gtimelog is licensed under GPL-2.0 and timetrace under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gtimelog and timetrace with Docker?
gtimelog: check the project docs for container support. timetrace: check the project docs for container support.