Hamster vs Kimai
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?
Hamster
Desktop time tracker for individual productivity
VS
Kimai
Professional time tracking for teams and freelancers
| Feature | Hamster | Kimai |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,127 | ★ 4,871 |
| First released | 2008 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Toggl, RescueTime | Toggl, Harvest, Clockify |
Why pick each one
Choose Hamster if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Hamster or Kimai better?
Neither is universally better. Kimai has the larger community, while Hamster is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hamster and Kimai free and open-source?
Yes. Hamster is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Kimai under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hamster and Kimai with Docker?
Hamster: check the project docs for container support. Kimai: yes.