head to head · open source
ActivityWatch vs TimeScribe
ActivityWatch has 18,919 GitHub stars, 1,012 forks, 186 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TimeScribe has 899 stars, 85 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. ActivityWatch leads on adoption by 2,004% (18,919 vs 899 stars). ActivityWatch is written in Python under MPL-2.0; TimeScribe is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. ActivityWatch has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, TimeScribe 9%. ActivityWatch was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (productivity), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| ActivityWatch | TimeScribe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 899 |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 85 |
| 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 TimeScribe if
- You want the TimeScribe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and TimeScribe fits your workflow better
About ActivityWatch
ActivityWatch is the free and open source automated time tracker in the productivity and time tracking ecosystem. It is written in Python and uses the MPL 2.0 license. The project records what a user does so the user can know how time has been spent, while keeping the data under the user's control.
read the full ActivityWatch overview →
About TimeScribe
TimeScribe is a free, offline first desktop time tracker for macOS and Windows, built for freelancers, remote workers and anyone who needs to log work hours without a subscription, an account or a cloud service.
read the full TimeScribe overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Time & Task Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Time & Task Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is ActivityWatch or TimeScribe more popular?
ActivityWatch has 18,919 GitHub stars and TimeScribe has 899. ActivityWatch has the larger community by that measure.
Are ActivityWatch and TimeScribe free?
Both are open source. ActivityWatch is licensed under MPL-2.0 and TimeScribe under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ActivityWatch and TimeScribe?
ActivityWatch is written in Python and TimeScribe in PHP. 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 TimeScribe?
Choose ActivityWatch if you want the larger community (18,919 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose TimeScribe if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.