{"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":"2026-09-08","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":21,"limit":50,"truncated":false,"engines":[{"engine":"gemini","count":7,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","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 needs regarding features, complexity, and user interface.\n\n**Solidtime** stands out as a strong recommendation for freelancers. It's a modern, open-source time-tracking application specifically designed","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":258,"end":267,"name":"Solidtime"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For agencies that bill clients by the hour and prioritize data control, self-hosted time tracking software offers a robust solution. These platforms typically integrate time tracking with project management, client billing, and invoicing functionalities, streamlining workflows and ensuring accurate financial records.\n\nHere are some of the best self-hosted time tracking software options for agencie","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a distributed team operating across multiple time zones, several open-source time trackers offer robust features to manage and monitor work efficiently. Key considerations for such teams include ease of use, project management integration, reporting capabilities, and the flexibility to accommodate diverse working hours.\n\nHere are some strong open-source options:\n\n*   **Solidtime** stands out a","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":376,"end":385,"name":"Solidtime"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a law firm seeking a self-hosted time tracking solution that provides robust billable hour reports and client breakdowns, Kimai and Solidtime are strong open-source contenders.\n\n**Kimai**\nKimai is a professional-grade, free, and open-source time-tracking application that supports on-premise hosting, making it suitable for firms prioritizing data control. It is designed to track and analyze tim","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":126,"end":131,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":136,"end":145,"name":"Solidtime"},{"start":184,"end":189,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":192,"end":197,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"For organizations seeking open-source and self-hosted alternatives to popular cloud-hosted employee time logging tools, several robust options offer flexibility, data control, and a range of features. These alternatives cater to various needs, from individual freelancers to larger teams requiring comprehensive project management and invoicing capabilities.\n\nHere are some notable open-source time t","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"Open-source time tracking tools offer distinct advantages for individual developers and team leads, catering to their specific needs for privacy, control, and functionality. While individual developers often prioritize tools that integrate seamlessly with their coding workflows and provide personal insights, team leads require broader features for project oversight, team management, and client bil","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"To self-host a time tracking system that integrates with project management and invoicing, you have several robust open-source and commercial options. These solutions provide control over your data and can be customized to fit specific workflows. Key considerations include installation complexity, feature sets, and the range of integrations offered.\n\nHere are some prominent self-hosted time tracki","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]}]},{"engine":"openai","count":7,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For a freelancer who specifically wants open-source + self-hosted + full control of their data, I’d pick Kimai.\n\nKimai is mature, actively maintained, AGPL-3.0 licensed, and explicitly supports self-hosting via Docker or a manual installation. It’s also built around the things freelancers actually need: clients, projects, activities, hourly rates, reports, exports, and invoicing. ([kimai.org](http","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":105,"end":110,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":113,"end":118,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":211,"end":217,"name":"Docker"},{"start":385,"end":390,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For an agency billing clients by the hour, I’d shortlist Kimai and solidtime, with Kimai as the safest overall choice.\n\n1. Kimai — best overall for an agency\n   - Customer → project → activity hierarchy\n   - Billable/non-billable time\n   - Rates can be defined per customer, project, activity, user, or even user-specific combinations. ([kimai.org](https://www.kimai.org/documentation/initial-setup.h","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":57,"end":62,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":67,"end":76,"name":"Solidtime"},{"start":83,"end":88,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":123,"end":128,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":338,"end":343,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":361,"end":366,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a distributed team across multiple time zones, I’d start with Kimai. It explicitly supports multi-user, multi-timezone setups, and has mature team permissions, reporting, project/customer tracking, budgets, exports, API access, SAML/LDAP, and 2FA. You can self-host it or use their hosted service. ([github.com](https://github.com/kimai/kimai?utm_source=openai))\n\nThe main options I’d consider ar","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":66,"end":71,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":335,"end":340,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":341,"end":346,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a law firm, I’d start with Kimai. It’s one of the better fits if the requirement is genuinely self-hosted rather than merely “private cloud.”\n\nKimai supports customers, projects/matters, activities, billable vs. non-billable entries, per-user/project rates, timesheets, reporting, invoicing, and exports. Its hierarchy maps reasonably naturally to a firm: Customer = client, Project = matter/case","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":31,"end":36,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":147,"end":152,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"Yes. If by “popular cloud-hosted tools” you mean products like Toggl Track, Clockify, Harvest, Hubstaff, or Time Doctor, there are several credible open-source/self-hosted replacements.\n\n- Kimai — probably the strongest general-purpose choice for a company. It supports multiple users, projects/customers, timesheets, reporting, invoicing, permissions, and related business workflows. It's AGPL-3.0 a","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":63,"end":68,"name":"Toggl"},{"start":76,"end":84,"name":"Clockify"},{"start":86,"end":93,"name":"Harvest"},{"start":95,"end":103,"name":"Hubstaff"},{"start":108,"end":119,"name":"Time Doctor"},{"start":189,"end":194,"name":"Kimai"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"The main split is this: individual developers benefit most from automatic, low-friction tracking; team leads need structured projects, users, permissions, and aggregate reporting.\n\n- ActivityWatch — best for individual developers. It automatically records application/window use, browser activity, AFK time, and can integrate with editors. Data is stored locally by default, so it's particularly good","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":183,"end":196,"name":"ActivityWatch"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"Yes. There are two particularly sensible ways to do this, depending on whether you want one integrated application or a modular stack.\n\nFor most small businesses/consultancies, I'd start with Kimai. It is designed specifically around self-hosted time tracking and already has customers, projects, activities, billable rates, invoice templates, and an API. Its official Docker deployment makes it rela","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":192,"end":197,"name":"Kimai"},{"start":369,"end":375,"name":"Docker"}]}]},{"engine":"perplexity","count":7,"withheld":true,"answers":[{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-08","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]}]}]}