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Kimai

HR & people

Free self-hostedEditorial overview
A CLOSER LOOK

What is Kimai?

Kimai is an open-source time-tracking application for teams and freelancers, organizing entries by customer, project and activity. Its self-hosted core supports reporting and billable-time workflows, while cloud hosting and some marketplace plugins are separately priced.

Time entries

Projects and activities

Time reports

Invoice support

Is it a good fit?

Best suited to

Project teams tracking time for staffing or billing.

Before you choose

Evaluate paid plugins separately from the free core.

Editorial assessment based on the provider’s published information. Our method

Know what you're signing up for.

Kimai can be used under AGPL-3.0 terms without a software subscription. Self-hosted time-tracking core; cloud hosting and some marketplace plugins are paid. Deployment, maintenance and any external services remain the user’s responsibility.

Open-source edition

$0software license

Self-hosted time-tracking core; cloud hosting and some marketplace plugins are paid.

  • Time entries
  • Projects and activities
  • Time reports
View official plan

Self-hosted time-tracking core; cloud hosting and some marketplace plugins are paid.

Check current official pricing

The useful parts. The trade-offs.

Why consider it

Project structure makes time reports useful for billing

Self-hosted core avoids a mandatory cloud subscription

What to keep in mind

Some capabilities require marketplace plugins

Time data quality depends on consistent staff habits

How to use it well

Create a small, consistent set of activity labels before asking staff to track time. Use customers and projects to reflect real work ownership, then review a sample week of entries for missing descriptions and inconsistent categorization.

Keep reporting requirements in mind when choosing the project structure. Kimai can connect recorded work to billing, but specialized functions may depend on plugins. A self-hosted installation needs backups and updates, and time-entry policies should explain what staff are expected to record and review.

A few things you might be wondering.

Is Kimai free?

Kimai can be used under AGPL-3.0 terms without a software subscription. Self-hosted time-tracking core; cloud hosting and some marketplace plugins are paid. Deployment, maintenance and any external services remain the user’s responsibility.

Does the free core include cloud hosting?

No. Kimai Cloud is a separate managed service.

How is time organized?

Entries are associated with customers, projects and activities to support reporting and billing workflows.

Where can I check the latest prices?

Use the provider link on this page. Billing period, location, team size, promotions, taxes, and optional extras may affect the amount you pay.

How should I compare this tool with alternatives?

Choose tools for the same task, then compare their feature limits, platform support, and total cost for your team. The Compare button helps you keep a shortlist.

Are the user reviews moderated?

Yes. New reviews are submitted for moderation. We show published user reviews separately from the editorial overview and never assign a default user rating.

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