Kimai
Best open source
Clockify alternative
Kimai is the #1 open-source time-tracking alternative for Clockify. Learn how Kimai measures up to Clockify, so you can choose the right solution for your business.
Clockify
vs.
Kimai
Kimai vs Clockify: Which time tracking software fits your team best in 2026?
Kimai is the #1 open-source time-tracking solution designed for teams and businesses seeking flexibility and control over their time tracking infrastructure. Discover why more than 5000 companies worldwide trust Kimai for their time tracking needs and find out how it compares to Clockify’s offerings. Whether you’re evaluating a new time tracking app, analyzing Clockify pricing options, or planning a Clockify migration, Kimai provides a compelling alternative with superior features and cost savings.
Choosing the right time tracking software can make a huge difference in productivity, transparency, and billing accuracy of a freelancer, an agency, or a business owner managing a big team.
When selecting a time tracking tool, most users consider:
- Features: Does it cover everything from tracking and reporting to invoicing and project management?
- Price: Is it affordable (or even free) for the size of your team?
- Flexibility: Can it adapt to your current workflow, integrations, and tech stack?
- Accessibility: Does it support both desktop and mobile platforms, and can it be self-hosted or cloud-based?
- Scalability: Will it still fit your needs as your business grows?
The year 2026 also brings focus on data privacy, automation, and team transparency in time management tools. At the same time the market offers a range of solutions for every use case, from solopreneurs to large enterprise teams, and you can always find the solution that best fits your needs.
Let’s explore the best time tracking tools for 2026 and see how Kimai compares with Toggl Track — two popular choices among professionals and successful teams worldwide.
Kimai features most used
Not all time tracking tools are created equal. The best solutions for agencies offer a specialized set of features to streamline your workflows.
JSON API
Featuring an extensive JSON API for reading and writing data, so external apps and custom tools can communicate with Kimai.
Read moreCustomer Portal
Share client and project statistics and timesheets with anyone using a secret URL, optionally password protected.
Read moreTeams
Teams connects users into logical groups, like departments. Limit access to data by assigning customers and projects to your teams.
Read moreSAML
Log in and register users with SAML via your existing SSO identity provider, like Google Workspace, Authentik or Azure Active Directory.
Read moreInvoicing
Configurable invoice templates, options for entry grouping, configurable invoice numbers, and multiple formats like PDF and DOCX.
Read moreReports and analyses
Analysis of recorded times by users, customers, projects, activities, tags, time periods and more.
Read moreClockify: a popular US time-tracking platform
Clockify is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects.
They offer different regions for storing data (USA, AU, EU, UK) only in their Pro and Enterprise plan.
Migrating from Clockify to Kimai
Switching from Clockify to Kimai is not a complex task anymore. We understand that your historical data matters, which is why we’ve built a robust CSV importer that lets you effortlessly transfer your time tracking records from Clockify to Kimai.
Export your data from Clockify in CSV format and use the Kimai importer to load all your projects, clients, and time entries in minutes. You’ll retain complete control over your data while gaining access to a more flexible and affordable time-tracking platform.
For detailed instructions, please refer to our importer documentation.
What users say about Kimai
At Kimai, we've designed our time tracking platform to meet the needs of agencies, teams, and freelancers. Our intuitive interface and powerful features help companies like yours work smarter and more profitably. You can now “listen” to the reviews of the real users.
The best software for time tracking for freelancers and small businesses. We have been using it for 16 years, first as a local installation, then in the cloud version. It works without any problems or interruptions. Top software, top support! Unique recommendation.
Armin Bittner
GeschäftsführerI needed to find a good time tracker on short notice, and wanted it to be EU hosted and open source. Luckily, I found Kimai and have been very happy with it ever since, especially because it is very straightforward and intuitive to use. After using it for my initial project, the Kimai team helped me migrate my data for company use, now allowing us to roll it out for the entire team without losing the original data. Keep up the good work!
Brian Osborn
Executive DirectorI was testing Kimai several years ago and then I decided to move to different time tracking tools and the last time I was mostly working with Clockify and now I found Kimai back and I’m very impressed how the software is working, How fast it is. And I also really like a lot the approach to host the software on my own so that we keep our confidential data in our own systems. The software is easy to use, it’s fast, and I get all the features that I need, and the possibility to discuss on GitHub also helps a lot to find fast solutions. Thank you very much for your very good work and let’s work together for the future.
Niels Przybilla
CEOWe recently made the switch from Toggl to a self-hosted Kimai. As a TYPO3 agency, open source, data sovereignty, and full control over the software were essential to us. We wanted to decide ourselves when to enable specific features and have the freedom to implement our own customizations. The migration of data from Toggl to Kimai was smooth, and our team quickly adapted to the interface, which resembles Toggl but offers more advanced options—especially for reporting and analytics.
Stefan Schütt
Member of the Boardkimai is a super web for keeping tracks of our daily work, the interface is clean and very useful, just easy, couple clicks and data, and that is done. we have used since 5 years ago, and the reports are easy to run. only 1 time i have to support a ticket, because we forgot the password!. thanks for all the work here!
Mathias
IT ConsultingWe have been using Kimai in our electrical company for the past two years, and we are currently transitioning to a fully paperless process with Kimai only for managing timesheets. Our employees adapted quickly, as we developed a customized workflow tailored to our business needs. Thanks to Kimai, we’ve reduced the time spent processing timesheets for our 20 employees, as well as managing project reports (construction reports, work reports, daily customer reports), from around 10 hours per week to just 2 hours. We also underwent a payroll tax audit without any issues; the only requirement is the employee’s signature on the timesheet. The developer of Kimai is also very receptive to useful feature suggestions, which makes me co
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Christoph Empl
CEOKimai was my first foray into open-source software; my company tasked me with migrating an old Kimai plugin called Period Insert, which I eventually decided to publish. My experience has been very positive. I am impressed by Kimai’s ease of use and by how my small contribution to it has been used around the world. I am also grateful to Kevin for his open communication and assistance with publishing the plugin, which served as a warm introduction to the open-source community. Kimai is a model example of how open-source software can improve the lives of people, not just companies. I highly recommend it!
Alan Nguyen
Software DeveloperAll your time-tracking needs in one platform
Time is money, and tracking it effectively has become a necessity for project-based teams. Kimai is a powerful time-tracker that's been the favorite of many businesses worldwide. But how does it stack up against Clockify? Dive into this comprehensive comparison to find out why businesses are choosing Kimai over Clockify
See the difference
Compare Kimai vs. Clockify: choose the options that make the most sense for your business.
Kimai
On-Premise
- Open source software :
- Available on-premises :
- Available in the cloud :
- Server location : Your choice
- Max. customers : Unlimited
- Max. projects : Unlimited
- Max. activities : Unlimited
- JSON API :
- Invoicing :
- Data export :
- SAML :
- Support : Forum (GitHub)
- Backups :
- TLS Certificate : Additional costs
- Custom domain : Additional costs
- Automatic upgrades :
- Server maintenance :
- IP access restriction :
- Custom content : Paid plugin
- Audit trail logs : Paid plugin
- Custom fields : Paid plugin
- Expense management : Paid plugin
- Task planning : Paid plugin
- Translations : Paid plugin
- Working hours, vacation, sickness, public holidays : Paid plugin
Kimai
Cloud
- Open source software :
- Available on-premises :
- Available in the cloud :
-
Server location
:
Hetzner Cloud
Germany (Falkenstein) - Max. customers : Unlimited
- Max. projects : Unlimited
- Max. activities : Unlimited
- JSON API :
- Invoicing :
- Data export :
- SAML :
- Support : Email, Forum
- Backups : Daily
- TLS Certificate :
- Custom domain :
- Automatic upgrades :
- Server maintenance :
- IP access restriction :
- Custom content :
- Audit trail logs :
- Custom fields :
- Expense management :
- Task planning :
- Translations :
- Working hours, vacation, sickness, public holidays :
Clockify
- Open source software :
- Available on-premises :
- Available in the cloud :
- Server location : USA
- Max. customers : Unlimited
- Max. projects : Unlimited
- Max. activities : Unlimited
- JSON API :
- Invoicing :
- Data export :
- SAML :
- Support :
- Backups :
- TLS Certificate :
- Custom domain : Additional costs
- Automatic upgrades :
- Server maintenance :
- IP access restriction :
- Custom content :
- Audit trail logs :
- Custom fields :
- Expense management :
- Task planning :
- Translations :
- Working hours, vacation, sickness, public holidays :
Germany (Falkenstein)
Please note that the above information were manually compiled on 2024-11-19 from the Clockify website. For the comparison, the best matching plans were chosen. Prices are subject to change. For the most current pricing, please visit the respective websites.
Kimai is open source
Kimai is #1 open-source time-tracking software, providing unparalleled transparency and flexibility. By choosing Kimai, you’re investing in a secure, cost-efficient solution with complete control over your data and the ability to customize it exactly as your team needs.
Clockify is a proprietary software, which includes a platform risk. Relying solely on a software vendor for code tweaks and feature implementations can feel and often is limiting.
Self-host with complete control
Kimai offers a self-hosted edition that puts data privacy to the front. With on-premises deployment, you maintain complete control over your sensitive business information, ensure compliance with stringent data protection regulations, and achieve a level of security that's often challenging with cloud-only solutions. Plus, Kimai's API allows seamless integration with your existing tools and workflows.
Unlike Clockify, which only operates in the cloud, Kimai gives you the flexibility to choose your deployment model.
EU-based data protection
If you decide to go with the cloud edition, you can be sure that your data is safe. With the headquarters located in Austria (EU), it is GDPR-compliant by default and all data is stored in Germany (Hetzner Cloud, Falkenstein). Learn more about our privacy-first approach
Clockify is located in the USA. Due to U.S. regulations such as the CLOUD Act, data hosted with U.S.-based providers may be subject to access requests by U.S. authorities — which can pose privacy concerns for organizations operating under EU data protection standards.
Conclusion
In today's digital age, data security is paramount. Kimai promises secure data protection and state-of-the-art encryption, ensuring that your business's sensitive information remains confidential.
Kimai offers a well-rounded solution that caters to a variety of workflows and use-cases for most project-based teams and companies. Its ease of use, integration capabilities, and commitment to data security and privacy make it a top choice for businesses seeking an efficient time-tracking software.