Kimai vs TimeTagger
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
TimeTagger
Tag-based time tracker with an interactive timeline
| Feature | Kimai | TimeTagger |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 71 · Good |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,039 | ★ 1,789 |
| First released | 2006 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Toggl, Harvest, Clockify | Toggl, Harvest |
What are Kimai and TimeTagger?
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
TimeTagger
TimeTagger is an open-source time tracking app with an interactive timeline interface. Records are organized with hashtags, making reporting fast and flexible.
- Interactive timeline view
- Hashtag-based organization
- Live reporting
- Works offline as a PWA
Kimai vs TimeTagger: key differences
Kimai is written in PHP, while TimeTagger is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Kimai versus GPL-3.0 for TimeTagger. TimeTagger is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Kimai. Kimai is the more established project (first released 2006), while TimeTagger arrived in 2021. Kimai has the considerably larger community, at 5,039 GitHub stars versus 1,789.
Why pick each one
Choose Kimai if…
- Mature and actively maintained
- Strong invoicing features
Watch out for
- Configuration can be involved
Choose TimeTagger if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Kimai or TimeTagger better?
Neither is universally better. Kimai has the larger community, while TimeTagger is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kimai and TimeTagger free and open-source?
Yes. Kimai is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and TimeTagger under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kimai and TimeTagger with Docker?
Kimai: yes. TimeTagger: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kimai or TimeTagger?
TimeTagger has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Kimai. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.