Timewarrior vs timetrace
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted time tracking options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Timewarrior | timetrace |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 13 · At risk |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,663 | ★ 794 |
| First released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Toggl | Clockify, Toggl |
What are Timewarrior and timetrace?
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
timetrace
timetrace is a simple command-line time tracker that records hours spent on projects and tasks directly from the terminal. It stores records as local files and produces reports for billing and review.
- Terminal-based tracking
- Local file storage
- Project and task records
- Reporting commands
Timewarrior vs timetrace: key differences
Timewarrior is written in C++, while timetrace is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Timewarrior versus GPL-3.0 for timetrace. Timewarrior is the more established project (first released 2016), while timetrace arrived in 2021. Timewarrior has the considerably larger community, at 1,663 GitHub stars versus 794.
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 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 Timewarrior or timetrace better?
Neither is universally better. Timewarrior has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Timewarrior and timetrace free and open-source?
Yes. Timewarrior is licensed under MIT and timetrace under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Timewarrior and timetrace with Docker?
Timewarrior: check the project docs for container support. timetrace: check the project docs for container support.