Timewarrior vs Solidtime
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted time tracking options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Solidtime
Modern open-source time tracker for teams
| Feature | Timewarrior | Solidtime |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,663 | ★ 8,929 |
| First released | 2016 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Toggl | Toggl, Clockify, Harvest |
What are Timewarrior and Solidtime?
Timewarrior
Timewarrior is a command-line time tracking utility that records start and stop times of tracked activities. It offers flexible tagging, reports, and analytics for personal productivity.
- Pure command-line workflow
- Tag-based tracking
- Flexible reports and charts
- Integrates with Taskwarrior
Solidtime
Solidtime is a modern, open-source time tracking application built for freelancers and agencies. It supports projects, clients, billable rates, and team reporting.
- Project and client billing rates
- Team time reporting
- Modern responsive UI
- REST API
Timewarrior vs Solidtime: key differences
Timewarrior is written in C++, while Solidtime is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Timewarrior versus AGPL-3.0 for Solidtime. Timewarrior is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Solidtime. Timewarrior is the more established project (first released 2016), while Solidtime arrived in 2024. Solidtime has the considerably larger community, at 8,929 GitHub stars versus 1,663. Solidtime lists first-class Docker deployment; Timewarrior does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Timewarrior if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Choose Solidtime if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.9k GitHub stars
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Timewarrior or Solidtime better?
Neither is universally better. Solidtime has the larger community, while Timewarrior is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Timewarrior and Solidtime free and open-source?
Yes. Timewarrior is licensed under MIT and Solidtime under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Timewarrior and Solidtime with Docker?
Timewarrior: check the project docs for container support. Solidtime: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Timewarrior or Solidtime?
Timewarrior has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Solidtime. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.