Self-Hosted Time Tracking: Kimai vs Traggo vs TimeTagger Compared

Why Self-Host Your Time Tracking?

Tracking billable hours is one of the most critical tasks for freelancers, agencies, and distributed teams. While cloud-based solutions like Toggl and Harvest dominate the market, self-hosted time tracking platforms give you complete control over your data, eliminate recurring subscription costs, and allow unlimited customization.

When you self-host your time tracker, your timesheet data stays on your own infrastructure — no third-party access, no vendor lock-in, and no per-seat pricing that balloons as your team grows. For agencies handling sensitive client billing data, this data sovereignty is non-negotiable.

Self-hosted time tracking also integrates naturally with your existing self-hosted stack. If you already run your own project management, invoicing, and documentation platforms, adding a self-hosted time tracker completes the workflow without introducing yet another SaaS dependency. Your entire operational pipeline runs on infrastructure you control.

For teams already using self-hosted project management tools, see our Gantt chart comparison guide. If you handle client billing directly, check our self-hosted invoicing platforms comparison. For task management workflows, our Kanban board guide covers the leading options.

Kimai: The Professional Time Tracker

Kimai is the most mature self-hosted time tracking platform available today, with over a decade of development history and 4,716+ GitHub stars. Built with PHP and Symfony, it offers a polished web interface with multi-user support, role-based permissions, and comprehensive reporting.

Key Features:

• Multi-user and multi-client support with teams and projects
• Invoice generation with customizable templates (PDF, DOCX, ODT, CSV, XLSX)
• Built-in expense tracking alongside time entries
• REST API for programmatic access and integrations
• Plugin ecosystem for extending functionality (custom fields, approval workflows)
• LDAP/SAML authentication for enterprise environments

Docker Compose Setup

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version: '3.8'
services:
  kimai:
    image: kimai/kimai2:apache
    ports:
      - "8001:8001"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=mysql://kimai:${DB_PASSWORD}@mysql/kimai
      - APP_SECRET=${APP_SECRET}
    volumes:
      - kimai_data:/opt/kimai/var/data
    restart: unless-stopped

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=kimai
      - MYSQL_USER=kimai
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  kimai_data:
  mysql_data:

Traggo: Tag-Based Time Tracking

Traggo takes a fundamentally different approach to time tracking. Instead of the traditional project/task hierarchy, it uses a flexible tag-based system where you label time entries with arbitrary tags and later filter, aggregate, and analyze by any combination.

Key Features:

• Tag-based organization with no rigid project/task structure
• Interactive timeline view with drag-and-drop time entry editing
• Built-in dashboards with configurable charts and statistics
• Single binary deployment (Go) with embedded SQLite database
• Lightweight resource usage — uses ~30MB RAM at idle
• No external database required for basic operation

Docker Compose Setup

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version: '3.8'
services:
  traggo:
    image: traggo/server:latest
    ports:
      - "3030:3030"
    volumes:
      - traggo_data:/opt/traggo/data
    environment:
      - TRAGGO_DEFAULT_USER=admin
      - TRAGGO_DEFAULT_PASS=${TRAGGO_PASSWORD}
    command: >
      --listen.addr :3030
      --database /opt/traggo/data/traggo.db
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  traggo_data:

TimeTagger: Interactive Timeline Tracking

TimeTagger is a Python-based time tracker that emphasizes visual interaction with your time data. Its standout feature is an interactive timeline where you can click, drag, and paint time intervals — making it feel more like a visual tool than a data-entry form.

Key Features:

• Interactive timeline with click-and-drag time entry
• Tag-based organization with hierarchical tag support
• Real-time WebSocket updates (no page refreshes needed)
• REST API with Python client library
• Single-user focus (ideal for freelancers and individual professionals)
• Export to CSV, JSON, and PDF reports

Docker Compose Setup

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version: '3.8'
services:
  timetagger:
    image: ghcr.io/almarklein/timetagger:latest
    ports:
      - "8085:8085"
    volumes:
      - timetagger_data:/root/_timetagger
    environment:
      - TIMETAGGER_CREDENTIALS=${CREDENTIALS}
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  timetagger_data:

Comparison Table

Deployment Architecture

All three platforms can run behind a reverse proxy like Caddy, Nginx, or Traefik for TLS termination. Kimai requires the most resources due to its PHP/MySQL stack but offers the most features. Traggo is the fastest to deploy — a single Go binary with no external database. TimeTagger sits in the middle, offering the most intuitive UI but limited to single-user workflows.

For production deployments, consider:

• Kimai for agencies managing multiple clients with invoicing needs
• Traggo for teams that want flexible categorization without rigid hierarchies
• TimeTagger for solo professionals who prioritize visual interaction

Time Tracking Workflow Patterns

Different teams use time tracking differently, and each platform supports specific workflows better than others:

Agency Billing Workflow: For agencies billing clients by the hour, Kimai’s client→project→task hierarchy with built-in invoicing is the natural fit. A project manager creates client accounts, assigns projects, and team members log time against specific tasks. At month-end, invoices are generated directly from tracked time with customizable templates — no external tools needed.

Flexible Tag-Based Workflow: Traggo and TimeTagger shine when you need to slice and dice time data in multiple ways simultaneously. Tag a time entry with client:acme, project:website, and activity:development — then filter by any combination to see time spent per client, per project, or per activity. This flexibility is particularly valuable for consultants juggling multiple clients and project types simultaneously.

Personal Productivity Tracking: For individual professionals who want to understand where their time goes without the overhead of client/project management, TimeTagger’s interactive timeline is the most intuitive entry point. Click and drag on the timeline to mark time blocks, apply tags retroactively, and generate weekly summary reports — all without touching a timesheet form.

Security Considerations

All three platforms support TLS termination via reverse proxy. Kimai offers the most robust authentication options with LDAP and SAML support for enterprise SSO. Traggo and TimeTagger use basic authentication — ensure you place them behind a VPN or authenticated reverse proxy if exposing to the internet. Regular database backups are essential for Kimai (MySQL) while Traggo and TimeTagger can be backed up by copying the single SQLite file.

FAQ

Can I migrate data from Toggl or Clockify to these self-hosted tools?

Yes. Kimai provides importers for Toggl, Clockify, and several other cloud services via its plugin system. Traggo and TimeTagger support CSV import, so you can export from your current provider and import the data. TimeTagger’s API also allows custom migration scripts.

Which tool is best for a team of 5-10 people?

Kimai is the best choice for teams. It offers multi-user support with role-based permissions (admin, team lead, user), team management, and approval workflows. Traggo works for smaller teams but lacks advanced permission controls. TimeTagger is single-user only.

Can I generate invoices from tracked time?

Only Kimai includes built-in invoicing with customizable templates for PDF, DOCX, ODS, CSV, and XLSX formats. It can generate invoices per client, per project, or per time period. Traggo and TimeTagger require external invoicing tools — you can export data and use a separate system to create invoices.

How do these tools handle idle detection or automatic tracking?

None of these three tools include automatic activity tracking like ActivityWatch or RescueTime. They are manual time tracking platforms where you intentionally log your hours. Kimai supports a “running timesheet” mode where you start and stop a timer. Traggo and TimeTagger both allow you to click and drag time blocks retroactively.

What’s the minimum server requirement to run these?

Traggo is the most lightweight — a $5/month VPS with 512MB RAM comfortably runs it. TimeTagger needs about 1GB RAM for smooth operation. Kimai requires at least 1GB RAM for the PHP/MySQL stack, with 2GB recommended for teams. All three run on ARM64 (Raspberry Pi 4/5) in addition to x86_64.

Do any of these integrate with project management tools?

Kimai has the most integrations, including native plugins for Jira, GitLab, and GitHub issue tracking plus a full REST API for custom integrations. Traggo’s API is read-only. TimeTagger’s API supports full CRUD operations and can be integrated with project management tools via custom scripts or middleware like n8n.

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