{"category":{"slug":"open-source-time-tracking","label":"Open-source time tracking software"},"methodology_url":"https://www.orbator.io/ai-index/methodology","license":"Free to use with attribution to orbator.io","date":"2026-08-18","engine":null,"available_dates":["2026-09-08","2026-08-19","2026-08-18","2026-08-10","2026-08-09","2026-07-29","2026-07-25","2026-07-22","2026-07-05","2026-07-04","2026-06-17","2026-06-16"],"policy":{"quotable_engines":["anthropic","openai","gemini"],"max_excerpt_chars":400,"full_text_public":false,"customer_runs_public":false,"full_text_retention":"retained at least 24 months, then operator review","notes":["Only Index category runs are archived publicly — customer scans never appear.","The quotable unit is a short excerpt of at most 400 characters, never the full answer.","Engines outside the verbatim allowlist are recorded as having answered, with the excerpt withheld under their terms.","Prompt intent is published; the prompt text itself is not."]},"status":"ok","count":28,"limit":50,"truncated":false,"engines":[{"engine":"gemini","count":7,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For freelancers seeking an open-source, self-hosted time-tracking tool to maintain full control over their data, several robust options are available. The best choice often depends on the specific features and level of automation desired.\n\n**Kimai** stands out as a highly recommended and mature open-source solution, lauded for its comprehensive feature set ideal for professional time management. I","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":242,"end":247,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For agencies billing clients by the hour and seeking self-hosted time tracking solutions, several robust options offer features crucial for accurate billing, project management, and reporting. Self-hosting provides full control over data and infrastructure, a key benefit for many organizations.\n\nHere are some of the best self-hosted time tracking software options for agencies:\n\n*   **SolidTime** i","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":387,"end":396,"name":"Solidtime"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a distributed team working across multiple time zones, several open-source time trackers offer features to manage time effectively. Among the prominent options are Kimai and Solidtime.\n\n**Kimai** is an open-source time-tracker designed for project-driven teams, suitable for businesses of all sizes. It offers extensive functionalities beyond basic time tracking, including unlimited users with d","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":168,"end":173,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":178,"end":187,"name":"Solidtime"},{"start":192,"end":197,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For law firms seeking self-hosted time tracking software with robust billable hour reports and client breakdowns, open-source solutions like Solidtime and Kimai offer viable options.\n\n**Solidtime** is an open-source time tracker designed for teams and agencies that allows for detailed insights into tracked time. It enables users to filter and group time entries by member, project, client, task, ta","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":141,"end":150,"name":"Solidtime"},{"start":155,"end":160,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":186,"end":195,"name":"Solidtime"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"For businesses seeking open-source, self-hosted alternatives to popular cloud-hosted employee time logging tools, several robust options provide cost savings, enhanced data privacy, and extensive customization capabilities. These tools typically allow businesses to host their data on their own servers, offering greater control and eliminating recurring licensing fees.\n\nHere are some notable open-s","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"Open-source time tracking tools offer flexibility and control, but the best choice depends heavily on whether the user is an individual developer or a team lead, each having distinct needs and priorities.\n\n### For Individual Developers\n\nIndividual developers typically prioritize tools that are non-intrusive, automate tracking, offer privacy, and integrate well with their development workflow. They","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"Self-hosting a time tracking system that seamlessly integrates with project management and invoicing can streamline your workflow and give you greater control over your data. Several open-source and self-hostable solutions offer these capabilities.\n\nHere's a guide to help you choose and set up such a system:\n\n### Popular Self-Hosted Options with Integrations\n\nSeveral robust self-hosted time tracki","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]}]},{"engine":"grok","count":7,"withheld":true,"answers":[{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"grok","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]}]},{"engine":"openai","count":7,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For a freelancer who specifically wants open-source + self-hosted + control of their data, I’d pick Kimai overall.\n\n- Kimai — Best all-around. Mature, AGPL-licensed, and built around clients, projects, billable rates, reports, exports, and invoicing. It also has an API and 2FA. That makes it particularly well suited to freelance work rather than merely recording where your hours went. ([github.com","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":100,"end":105,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":118,"end":123,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For an agency billing clients by the hour, I’d shortlist three: Kimai, Solidtime, and Invoice Ninja. My first choice would be Kimai if billing accuracy and flexibility matter most, or Solidtime if you want the nicer day-to-day experience.\n\n- Kimai — best overall for an established agency. It is explicitly designed around customers → projects → activities → timesheets, supports configurable hourly","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":64,"end":69,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":71,"end":80,"name":"Solidtime"},{"start":86,"end":99,"name":"Invoice Ninja"},{"start":126,"end":131,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":184,"end":193,"name":"Solidtime"},{"start":242,"end":247,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a distributed team, I’d start with Kimai. It’s mature, genuinely open-source, self-hostable, and explicitly supports multiple users and time zones. It also gives you projects, teams/permissions, reporting, exports, budgets, billable rates, invoicing, an API, and SAML/LDAP authentication. ([kimai.org](https://www.kimai.org/en/?utm_source=openai))\n\nA few options are worth considering:\n\n- Kimai —","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":39,"end":44,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":295,"end":300,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":318,"end":323,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":393,"end":398,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a law firm, I’d focus on systems that model Client → Matter/Project → Attorney → Activity and can distinguish billable/non-billable time. The strongest self-hosted options right now are:\n\n- Kimai — probably the safest choice. Mature, self-hosted, and specifically supports customers, projects, activities, billable status, rates, rounding, invoice/report generation, and an API. You can model eac","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":194,"end":199,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"If you're looking for open-source/self-hosted replacements for tools like Clockify, Toggl Track, Harvest, Hubstaff, or Time Doctor, these are the strongest options I’d evaluate:\n\n- Kimai — Probably the most mature general-purpose choice. Multi-user timesheets, projects/customers, reporting, invoicing, permissions, and self-hosting. It’s designed for organizations as well as freelancers and remains","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":74,"end":82,"name":"Clockify"},{"start":84,"end":89,"name":"Toggl"},{"start":97,"end":104,"name":"Harvest"},{"start":106,"end":114,"name":"Hubstaff"},{"start":119,"end":130,"name":"Time Doctor"},{"start":181,"end":186,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"For open-source time tracking, individual developers and team leads usually need quite different things. A developer benefits most from low-friction or automatic tracking; a lead needs aggregation, permissions, project budgets, and reports.\n\n- ActivityWatch — best for individual developers who want automatic, privacy-first tracking. It records application/window and browser activity locally and pr","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":244,"end":257,"name":"ActivityWatch"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"Yes. For a freelancer, agency, consultancy, or small services team, you can build a very capable self-hosted stack without writing the time-tracking system yourself.\n\nThe simplest architecture I'd recommend is:\n\nClient → Project → Task/Activity → Time entry → Billable hours → Invoice\n\nFor most deployments, start with Kimai. It's open source, specifically designed around customer/project/activity t","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":319,"end":324,"name":"Kimai"}]}]},{"engine":"perplexity","count":7,"withheld":true,"answers":[{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-08-18","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]}]}]}