Kimai
Best open source
Zeitguru alternative
Kimai is the #1 open-source time-tracking alternative for Zeitguru. Learn how Kimai measures up to Zeitguru, so you can choose the right solution for your business.
Kimai vs Zeitguru: 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 7000 companies worldwide trust Kimai for their time tracking needs and find out how it compares to Zeitguru’s offerings. Whether you’re evaluating a new time tracking app, analyzing Zeitguru pricing options, or planning a Zeitguru 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 moreWhat 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
HCM+ GmbHWe have been using Kimai for time tracking at Pulse of Europe for quite some time now and are extremely satisfied with the experience.
As a non-profit, pro-European citizens’ movement, we coordinate a wide range of projects, campaigns and activities involving both staff members and volunteers. Having a reliable and transparent time-tracking solution is therefore essential for our daily work.
What particularly impresses us about Kimai is its simple and intuitive user experience. Working hours can be recorded quickly and easily, while projects and tasks can be clearly categorised and flexibly filtered. This allows us to maintain an overview even across multiple teams, projects and responsibilities.
Kimai helps us make our internal processes more transparent and efficient – both in our day-to-day operations and when evaluating project-related working hours.
For organisations and teams looking for a powerful yet user-friendly time-tracking solution, we can wholeheartedly recommend Kimai.
Hendrik Michel, PoE
Pulse of Europe e.V.We use Kimai for project time tracking with our partner organizations. We particularly appreciate its clarity, evaluability, and ease of use. As an NGO, we also appreciate Kimai’s strong focus on this sector. The support is excellent. We are very satisfied.
Johannes Mertens
Fairtrade Deutschland e.V.When I started to identify a time reporting software for our medium size enterprise (~30 people distributed all over United States and Canada) in the software service industry for onsite and remote services, I had several programs in my mind. In my specification I had the following things to be covered
- Customer related time reporting
- Project related time reporting
- Time approval
- Various hierarchies in user and access levels
- Open data interface for potential interfaces to other software packages (such as various payroll software packages for Canada and US, ERP for invoicing)
- Time budget for hourly packages
- Time reporting to customers with time budget
- The data is mine and I always want to have access to it
- I would like to create plugins if I need to add features that do not yet exist
I continued my search but always came back to Kevin Papst’s time reporting software Kimai. So I installed it on a shared host. I continued to set up a few users and imported a few customers, projects and finally understood how activities are to be set up (global and local). This is a feature that surprised me even more. Well implemented! I finally rolled it out to a small group and then the entire team. The time reporting is now fully implemented within 2 months from first idea to fully operational.
Then the demands grow with the possibilities: I purchased a few plugins and these were installed as simple as the main software. Then, when I had even more requests that I didn’t find an answer by plugins, I reached out to the developer Kevin asking for help with changing a report and he simply answered to consider this for the entire software, not just a module for me. It may be within some of the next releases.
In summary, Kimai is a flexible time reporting package with active code, modern, responsive and fast user interface and a fast responding support.
Thanks, Kevin, for this nice software package!
Frank
Roptec GmbHWe have been using Kimai for many years, initially as a standalone solution on our own server, but for the past three years now in the kimai.cloud. With its structured layout, Kimai meets the time tracking requirements we have as an architecture firm and can flexibly map all of our processes, which is not possible with many time tracking systems. We remain impressed by its reliability, constant maintenance and improvement, and direct, personal service, combined with absolutely fair pricing. We can (and already have) highly recommend kimai.cloud!
Bela Schwier
BEHLESJOCHIMSEN&I love how I can combine time tracking, expense tracking, and invoicing into one app without features hidden behind nagging subscriptions. I can click one button to invoice my clients now! Seriously a godsend. Also, the clean UI is well thought-out and simple to learn. Highly recommend this one!
Isaac Mailach
FreelancerAll 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 Zeitguru? Dive into this comprehensive comparison to find out why businesses are choosing Kimai over Zeitguru
See the difference
Compare Kimai vs. Zeitguru: 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 :
Zeitguru
- Open source software :
- Available on-premises :
- Available in the cloud :
- Server location :
- Max. customers :
- Max. projects :
- Max. activities :
- JSON API :
- Invoicing :
- Data export :
- SAML :
- Support :
- Backups :
- 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 :
Germany (Falkenstein)
Please note that the above information were manually compiled on 2026-02-24 from the Zeitguru 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.
Zeitguru 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 Zeitguru, 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
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.