Solidtime vs Watson
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
VS
Watson
Command-line time tracker with projects, tags, and reports
| Feature | Solidtime | Watson |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 43 · Fair |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,929 | ★ 2,538 |
| First released | 2024 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Toggl, Clockify, Harvest | Toggl, Harvest |
What are Solidtime and Watson?
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
Watson
Watson is a command-line time tracker written in Python. It records time frames per project with tags, stores data in local files, and generates reports and aggregates for billing or analysis. Maintained under the Jazzband organization.
- Command-line time tracking
- Project and tag support
- Detailed reports and aggregates
- Cross-platform
Solidtime vs Watson: key differences
Solidtime is written in PHP, while Watson is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Solidtime versus MIT for Watson. Watson is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Solidtime. Watson is the more established project (first released 2015), while Solidtime arrived in 2024. Solidtime has the considerably larger community, at 8,929 GitHub stars versus 2,538. Solidtime lists first-class Docker deployment; Watson does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Watson if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Solidtime or Watson better?
Neither is universally better. Solidtime has the larger community, while Watson is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Solidtime and Watson free and open-source?
Yes. Solidtime is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Watson under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Solidtime and Watson with Docker?
Solidtime: yes. Watson: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Solidtime or Watson?
Watson 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.