head to head · open source
Kimai vs TimeScribe
Kimai has 5,129 GitHub stars, 878 forks, 350 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TimeScribe has 928 stars, 91 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Kimai leads on adoption by 453% (5,129 vs 928 stars). Kimai is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; TimeScribe is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. Kimai has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, TimeScribe 10%. Kimai 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
| Kimai | TimeScribe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.1K | ★ 928 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | PHP | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 878 | ⑂ 91 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kimai if
- You weight community size — 5.1K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- 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 Kimai
Kimai 1 Open Source Time Tracker Kimai is a professional grade time tracking application, free and open source. It handles use cases of freelancers as well as companies with dozens or hundreds of users. Kimai was build to track your project times and ships with many advanced features, including but not limited to: JSON API, invoicing, data exports, multi timer and punch in punch out mode, tagging, multi user multi timezones multi language (over 30 translations existing!), authentication via SAML/LDAP/Database, two factor authentication (2FA) with TOTP, customizable role and team permissions, responsive design…
read the full Kimai overview →
About TimeScribe
Smart & Private Time Tracking for macOS & Windows Track, analyze, and own your work hours No cloud. No registration. No paywall. Just productivity. Download Now 🚀 About TimeScribe is the easiest way to track your work hours — without the hassle. It is designed for everyone who needs to keep track of their time but doesn't want to pay for a subscription, create an account, or upload their private data to the cloud. Whether you are a freelancer billing clients, a remote worker logging hours, or just want to improve your personal productivity, TimeScribe gives you full control. Why use TimeScribe? Completely Free…
read the full TimeScribe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kimai or TimeScribe more popular?
Kimai has 5,129 GitHub stars and TimeScribe has 928. Kimai has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kimai and TimeScribe free?
Both are open source. Kimai is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and TimeScribe under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kimai and TimeScribe?
Kimai is written in PHP 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, Kimai or TimeScribe?
Choose Kimai if you want the larger community (5,129 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose TimeScribe if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.