Hamster vs Timewarrior
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
Timewarrior
Command-line time tracking with powerful reporting
| Feature | Hamster | Timewarrior |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,127 | ★ 1,637 |
| First released | 2008 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Toggl, RescueTime | Toggl |
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
Choose Timewarrior if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Hamster or Timewarrior better?
Neither is universally better. Timewarrior has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Hamster and Timewarrior free and open-source?
Yes. Hamster is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Timewarrior under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hamster and Timewarrior with Docker?
Hamster: check the project docs for container support. Timewarrior: check the project docs for container support.