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.
Kimai
Professional time tracking for teams and freelancers
VS
TimeCase
Free self-hosted time tracking web application
| Feature | Kimai | TimeCase |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 0 · At risk |
| 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 | ★ 5,039 | ★ 21 |
| First released | 2006 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Toggl, Harvest, Clockify | Clockify, Toggl |
What are Kimai and TimeCase?
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
TimeCase
TimeCase is a free, open-source, self-hosted time tracking web application for recording hours against projects and clients. It provides reporting to review how time is spent over a period.
- Project and client time logging
- Time reports
- Multi-user support
- Self-hosted deployment
Kimai vs TimeCase: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Kimai versus MIT for TimeCase. TimeCase 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 TimeCase arrived in 2020. Kimai has the considerably larger community, at 5,039 GitHub stars versus 21.
Why pick each one
Choose Kimai if…
- Mature and actively maintained
- Strong invoicing features
Watch out for
- Configuration can be involved
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Kimai or TimeCase?
TimeCase 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.