Kimai vs TimeCase
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?
Kimai
Professional time tracking for teams and freelancers
VS
TimeCase
Free self-hosted time tracking web application
| Feature | Kimai | TimeCase |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,871 | ★ 21 |
| First released | 2006 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Toggl, Harvest, Clockify | Clockify, Toggl |
Why pick each one
Choose TimeCase if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Kimai or TimeCase 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 Kimai and TimeCase free and open-source?
Yes. Kimai is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and TimeCase under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kimai and TimeCase with Docker?
Kimai: yes. TimeCase: yes.