Kimai
Best open source
Harvest alternative
Kimai is the #1 open-source time-tracking alternative for Harvest. Learn how Kimai measures up to Harvest, so you can choose the right solution for your business.
Harvest
vs.
Kimai
Kimai vs Harvest: 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 Harvest’s offerings. Whether you’re evaluating a new time tracking app, analyzing Harvest pricing options, or planning a Harvest 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 moreWhy you should choose Kimai over Harvest
Harvest has become one of the most popular time-tracking and invoicing solutions in the market. It offers a user-friendly interface and robust features for freelancers and agencies. However, its subscription-based pricing model and cloud-only infrastructure can be expensive for growing teams and organizations concerned about data privacy.
Shortly after being purchased by the private equity firm Bending Spoons in 2025, changes were made to the pricing structure, causing many customers to migrate to Kimai — not only because of its stable pricing.
Open source alternative with focus on privacy
Kimai stands out as an affordable, open-source alternative that puts control back in your hands. Built by developer who value transparency and data privacy, Kimai offers comparable features to Harvest at a fraction of the cost. Whether you choose to self-host your instance or use Kimai Cloud with servers located in Germany, you get data protection and GDPR compliance by default.
With Kimai, you’re not locked into expensive subscription tiers. You get flexibility, transparency, and the freedom to customize the platform to match your specific workflow needs. For organizations that value their data and want to avoid vendor lock-in, Kimai is the perfect choice.
Cost efficiency at scale
Harvest’s subscription model can become expensive as your team grows, with costs multiplying by the number of team members. Kimai Cloud offers predictable, per-user pricing starting at just €1/month for some industries, while the self-hosted option requires just the costs of server maintenance. For growing teams and organizations, Kimai delivers significant cost savings without compromising on functionality.
Migrate from Harvest to Kimai
Switching from Harvest 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 Harvest to Kimai.
Export your data from Harvest in CSV format and use Kimai’s 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.
Final thoughts
Choosing the right time-tracking solution is crucial for your team’s productivity and your company’s data security. Harvest has been a popular choice, but it comes with trade-offs: high costs, cloud-only limitations, and potential data privacy concerns for EU-based organizations.
Kimai offers a powerful, open-source alternative that doesn’t compromise on features while delivering superior data protection, flexibility, and affordability. Whether you need a self-hosted solution for maximum control or Kimai Cloud with EU-based servers, you get a modern time-tracking platform built for the modern workplace.
Make the switch today and experience open source time tracking.
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 system addresses our time tracking needs with an easy-to-use interface, which has been a major pain point with other providers. We run it in-house on our existing Docker infrastructure, helping us minimize costs. The ability to host it ourselves is something that many other solutions lack, and it’s been a deal-breaker for us in the past.
Jonas Sander
Software leadKimai 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 DeveloperKimai has been with my company since the very beginning. As a service provider, it is important for us and our customers that we can bill for projects down to the minute. Our customers appreciate the clear overview of the work performed (duration, activity, etc.). We appreciate no Excel, everything in one place, faster and easier support, open source, and many other features.
Laurin Berli
CEOAll 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 Harvest? Dive into this comprehensive comparison to find out why businesses are choosing Kimai over Harvest
See the difference
Compare Kimai vs. Harvest: 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 :
Harvest
- Open source software :
- Available on-premises :
- Available in the cloud :
- Server location : USA
- Max. customers : unlimited in Pro
- Max. projects : unlimited in Pro
- Max. activities : Unlimited
- JSON API :
- Invoicing :
- Data export :
- SAML : available in Premium
- 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 2025-10-19 from the Harvest 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.
Harvest 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 Harvest, 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
Harvest 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.
