Kimai vs timetrace
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
timetrace
Simple command-line time tracker for projects
| Feature | Kimai | timetrace |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,871 | ★ 794 |
| First released | 2006 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Toggl, Harvest, Clockify | Clockify, Toggl |
Why pick each one
Choose timetrace if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Kimai or timetrace better?
Neither is universally better. Kimai has the larger community, while timetrace is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kimai and timetrace free and open-source?
Yes. Kimai is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and timetrace under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kimai and timetrace with Docker?
Kimai: yes. timetrace: check the project docs for container support.