Kimai review

Kimai is the open source choice on this list. You can install it on your own server with Docker or by hand under the AGPL 3 license, keep every record yourself and pay nothing for the software. Kimai's site lists reports by user, customer, project, activity, tag and period, configurable invoice templates in PDF and DOCX, configurable invoice numbers, a JSON API, LDAP and SAML login and optional two factor authentication. A plugin marketplace adds more. If you would rather not run a server, Kimai Cloud is hosted in Germany with automatic updates, backups and a 30 day trial, but its pricing page shows euro prices from this location, so the price is marked as pending. The trade off is effort: self-hosting needs someone comfortable with servers, and help comes from the community forum. For a developer or a privacy minded firm, it delivers invoicing and reporting that most free cloud plans keep behind a paywall.

Who it is for

Technical freelancers and small firms that want full data ownership and are happy to run a server.

Price

Free to self-host (open source, AGPL 3); cloud plans priced in EUR (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Self-hosting with Docker or a manual install under the AGPL 3 license
• Reports by user, customer, project, activity, tag and time period
• Configurable invoice templates in PDF and DOCX
• Extensive JSON API for reading and writing data
• LDAP and SAML login and optional two factor authentication

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Self-hosted version is free open source software with full data ownership
• Strength: Invoicing and a JSON API come with the core product
• Strength: Kimai says it is trusted by over 7,500 companies
• Weakness: Self-hosting means you handle installs, updates and backups
• Weakness: Cloud prices are shown in EUR, so we could not confirm a USD price
• Weakness: Self-hosted users get community support rather than email support

Key facts

• Free option: Self-hosted, open source (AGPL 3)
• Cloud trial: 30 days
• Hosting: Cloud in Germany or self-hosted
• Invoices: PDF and DOCX templates
• API: JSON API

Where it ranks

Kimai is No. 8 in our Best Free Time Tracking Software verdict.