Kimai
Open-source time tracking you can run yourself - European alternative based in Austria
Quick Overview
| Company | Kimai |
|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking Software |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
| EU/European | Yes - Austria |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
| Main Features | Open source, self-hostable, Plugin ecosystem, No per-seat cloud lock-in |
| Pricing | Free self-hosted + paid cloud |
| Best For | Teams that want their timesheet data on their own server |
| Replaces | Harvest, Toggl Track, Clockify |
Detailed Review
Kimai is an open-source time tracker developed in Vienna, run either on your own server for free or through the maintainer's hosted Kimai Cloud — the same application either way, which is unusual in a category built on SaaS.
What Makes Kimai Stand Out
Self-hosting timesheets removes a question rather than answering it. Hours worked, per person, per day, is employment data; keeping it on infrastructure you control means there is no processor agreement to negotiate and no export to arrange if you change your mind about the vendor.
What the Software Does
Time tracking against customers, projects and activities with budgets and rates, invoicing, exports to CSV, XLSX and PDF, a REST API, multi-user teams and permissions, and a plugin ecosystem for the rest.
European Data Protection and Works Councils
Kimai is developed and maintained from Vienna, and the code is AGPL — so where the data sits is your decision rather than the vendor's. Kimai Cloud is hosted in Germany for teams who would rather not run it.
Timesheets are employee data, and in much of Europe that pulls in more than the GDPR: works council agreement, purpose limitation, and strict limits on anything resembling behavioural monitoring. A vendor built inside that framework tends to ship defaults that keep you on the right side of it.
Pricing
Free and unlimited when self-hosted, with paid plugins sold separately; Kimai Cloud is a monthly subscription. A small team can run it at the cost of the server.
Kimai vs the US Alternatives
Against Harvest, Toggl Track, Clockify, the European difference is less about the timer and more about what surrounds it: statutory working time rules, accounting exports the local bookkeeper accepts, and a much narrower appetite for surveillance features that would be unlawful to switch on here anyway.
Who Should Use Kimai
Kimai fits agencies, freelancers and internal teams comfortable running a PHP application, or willing to pay for the hosted version of the same thing.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Open source and free to self-host, with no seat limit
- Timesheet data stays on your own infrastructure
- Invoicing, budgets and rates included
- REST API and a plugin ecosystem
- Hosted option in Germany if you do not want to run it
Cons
- Self-hosting means you run and update a PHP application
- Some functionality sits in paid plugins
- Interface is plainer than the commercial trackers
- Small team behind it rather than a large vendor
Alternatives to Kimai
Looking for other European time tracking tools? Here are the alternatives worth comparing:
Frequently Asked Questions
Kimai is based in Austria and operates under European data-protection rules including the GDPR. Timesheet data is employee data, so it stays under European jurisdiction rather than under US legislation.
Kimai is based in Austria. We list European time tracking tools because timesheets are employee data and, in much of Europe, a works council matter as well.
Time tracking against customers, projects and activities with budgets and rates, invoicing, exports to CSV, XLSX and PDF, a REST API, multi-user teams and permissions, and a plugin ecosystem for the rest.
Free and unlimited when self-hosted, with paid plugins sold separately; Kimai Cloud is a monthly subscription. A small team can run it at the cost of the server.
Kimai is a European alternative to Harvest, Toggl Track, Clockify, with European working time rules and accounting exports handled as core behaviour.
This is the question to ask of any tool in this category, and the answers differ sharply. Toggl Track deliberately has no screenshots, keystroke logging or activity scoring. Timeular captures activity locally on the employee's own machine. TimeCamp offers automatic capture that needs a clear legal basis and usually works council agreement before you switch it on.