head to head · open source
ActivityWatch vs Sol
ActivityWatch has 19,481 GitHub stars, 1,068 forks, 186 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Sol has 3,194 stars, 193 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ActivityWatch leads on adoption by 510% (19,481 vs 3,194 stars). ActivityWatch is written in Python under MPL-2.0; Sol is written in TypeScript under MIT. ActivityWatch has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Sol 6%. Sol 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 | Sol | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 193 |
| 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 Sol if
- You want the Sol feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Sol 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 Sol
Sol Sol is an open source app launcher, focused on ease of use and speed. It has minimal configuration and runs natively. Visit official site Download Install via brew Or manually download the latest release. Discord Join the Discord Features App search Custom shortcuts Google translate Calendar Show upcoming appointement in Menu Bar Custom AppleScript commands Custom links Imports browser bookmarks Window Manager Emoji picker Clipboard manager Notes Scratchpad Retrieve Wi Fi password Show IP address Start a google meet Switch OS theme Process killer Generate NanoID Generate UUID Generate lorem ipsum Format and…
More in Productivity & Utilities
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Frequently asked questions
Is ActivityWatch or Sol more popular?
ActivityWatch has 19,481 GitHub stars and Sol has 3,194. ActivityWatch has the larger community by that measure.
Are ActivityWatch and Sol free?
Both are open source. ActivityWatch is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Sol under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ActivityWatch and Sol?
ActivityWatch is written in Python and Sol in TypeScript. 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 Sol?
Choose ActivityWatch if you want the larger community (19,481 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Sol if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.