head to head · open source
ActivityWatch vs Kanri
ActivityWatch has 19,481 GitHub stars, 1,068 forks, 186 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Kanri has 2,080 stars, 178 forks, 140 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ActivityWatch leads on adoption by 837% (19,481 vs 2,080 stars). ActivityWatch is written in Python under MPL-2.0; Kanri is written in Vue under GPL-3.0. ActivityWatch has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Kanri 9%. Kanri was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ActivityWatch | Kanri | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 178 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ActivityWatch if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Kanri if
- You want the Kanri feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and Kanri fits your workflow better
About ActivityWatch
Records what you do so that you can know how you've spent your time . All in a secure way where you control the data . Website — Forum — Documentation — Releases Contributor stats — CI overview Do you want to receive email updates on major announcements? Signup for the newsletter! Table of Contents About Screenshots Is this yet another time tracker? Feature comparison Installation & Usage About this repository Server Watchers Libraries Contributing About The goal of ActivityWatch is simple: Enable the collection of as much valuable lifedata as possible without compromising user privacy. We've worked towards this…
read the full ActivityWatch overview →
About Kanri
Made with simplicity and user experience in mind, Kanri helps you create Kanban boards easily, right from your desktop. No internet connection or account needed. Demo Download Kanri is available for Windows, macOS and Linux (only supporting more recent versions of the respective operating systems). There are several ways to download Kanri: Recommended : Select the installer for your operating system on the official download page The same downloads can also be found under the GitHub releases For macOS, you can also use Homebrew: Note for Apple Silicon macOS users: Because Kanri is not signed (there is no funding…
read the full Kanri overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ActivityWatch or Kanri more popular?
ActivityWatch has 19,481 GitHub stars and Kanri has 2,080. ActivityWatch has the larger community by that measure.
Are ActivityWatch and Kanri free?
Both are open source. ActivityWatch is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Kanri under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ActivityWatch and Kanri?
ActivityWatch is written in Python and Kanri in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ActivityWatch or Kanri?
Choose ActivityWatch if you want the larger community (19,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kanri if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.