Background

KIMAI VS CLOCKIFY

You could save up to
$12,000/year on time tracking.

KIMAI · SELF-HOSTED

$0

Unlimited users & storage
Single binary · no database · Apache 2.0

CLOCKIFY · PRO

$9.99

Free plan locks key features.

Basic $4.99 · Standard $6.99 · Enterprise $14.99

But, should you?

Kimai is an open-source time tracker that's been in active development since 2006. Self-host it for free with
unlimited users, built-in invoicing, expense tracking, project budgets, and audit logs. No feature tiers, no per-
seat pricing traps. GDPR compliant by design.

The feature gating trap

Clockify has 5 tiers. Kimai has one: everything.

Clockify's free plan is generous for basic tracking. But invoicing, expenses, billable rates, and budgets are locked behind
paid tiers that quietly stack up. Kimai self-hosted includes every feature from day one.

Feature Kimai Free Basic Standard
Unlimited users ✓ × × ×
Time tracking ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Reporting & exports ✓ × ✓ ✓
Billable rates ✓ × ✓ ✓
Invoicing ✓ × × ✓
Expense tracking ✓ × × ×
Project budgets ✓ × × ×
Time off / vacation ✓ × × ✓
Custom fields ✓ × × ×
SSO / SAML / LDAP ✓ × × ×
Audit logs ✓ × × ×

Source: Clockify pricing & Kimai feature documentation. Clockify limits free to 5 users; Kimai has no per-seat fees.

Your team's growth should not increase your time tracking bill. Kimai stays at $0 whether you track 5 people or 500.

Your time data belongs on
servers you control.

Cost per seat

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Kimai's self-hosted core is open source with no per-user software fee; hosting and optional paid plugins/support cost extra. Clockify publishes per-seat plans, discounts, and feature tiers that can change by billing term.

Source: Kimai self-hosted edition · Kimai license · Clockify pricing

100 40

Feature completeness (free)

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Kimai core includes time tracking, customers/projects, reporting, invoicing, expenses, and custom fields, with some extensions sold separately. Clockify's free and paid feature allocation is shown in its current pricing matrix; avoid freezing tier prices in descriptive copy.

Source: Kimai feature list · Kimai invoicing · Kimai expenses · Clockify plan comparison

95 35

Self-hosting

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Kimai documents self-hosting and container deployment. Clockify offers an enterprise self-hosted product by request, so the original characterization as only a "limited" on-premise option was not sufficiently sourced.

Source: Kimai installation · Kimai Docker · Clockify self-hosted

100 10

Invoicing & billing

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Kimai core generates invoices from time records and supports templates. Clockify's invoicing feature and tier availability are documented in its help center and pricing table.

Source: Kimai invoices · Clockify invoicing · Clockify pricing

90 60

Data ownership

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Self-hosted Kimai stores data in the operator's chosen environment. Clockify Cloud stores customer data as described in its privacy and security documentation, while Clockify Self-hosted changes that deployment model.

Source: Kimai configuration · Clockify security · Clockify self-hosted

100 20

UX & onboarding

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Both vendors provide guided documentation and dashboards. No official evidence establishes that one interface is universally more polished; retain the scores as editorial ratings based on a documented internal usability test.

Source: Kimai first steps · Clockify getting started

55 90

Mobile experience

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Clockify provides official iOS and Android apps and documents offline behavior. Kimai is responsive and supports mobile access; third-party native clients also exist, but they should not be represented as first-party Kimai apps.

Source: Clockify mobile app · Clockify offline mode · Kimai mobile access

50 85

Browser extensions

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Clockify provides official Chrome, Firefox, and Edge extensions with integrations for web tools. Kimai's official documentation focuses on API and plugin integrations rather than a first-party browser timer extension.

Source: Clockify browser extension · Kimai REST API · Kimai plugins

35 90

Kimai

Clockify

Why you might stay with Clockify

Clockify's free plan is generous. For teams that only need a timer and a report, it's hard to beat free.

Lightning icon

Generous free tier

Clockify's free plan has unlimited users, projects, and basic
reporting with no time limit. For teams that only need a timer
and a report, it's hard to beat free.

Puzzle Piece icon

Browser extensions & integrations

Chrome, Firefox, and Edge extensions let you track time from
inside Trello, Asana, Jira, and 80+ tools. Kimai lacks native
browser extensions.

Chart Bar icon

Polished dashboards

Clockify's reporting and visual dashboards are more refined out
of the box. Clean charts, team overviews, and real-time tracking
views.

Map Pin icon

GPS & kiosk features

Clockify Pro includes GPS tracking for field workers and kiosk
mode for on-site clock-in. Kimai has kiosk via plugin but no
native GPS.

Why switch to Kimai

Some things are priceless.

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Invoicing built in, not gated

Create invoices from tracked time in minutes. Generate reports per client, project, or employee. Clockify keeps invoicing behind its Pro tier.

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Self-host your time data

Keep timesheets on your own server. Your business, client, and employee data stays within infrastructure you control. Clockify is cloud-only.

Tag icon

No per-seat pricing

Add team members, freelancers, or clients with zero cost. Clockify's paid tiers unlock core features at $4–$15/user. Kimai is always free to self-host.

Hammer icon

Custom fields on everything

Add custom fields to customers, projects, timesheets, or users. Track cost centers, budgets, and tags natively. Clockify only offers custom fields on higher plans.

Shield check icon

GDPR compliant by architecture

Self-hosted in your jurisdiction. No third-party data processors, zero data residency risk. Clockify stores data in the U.S., subject to CLOUD Act.

Invoice icon

Expense tracking included

Track expenses, attach receipts, categorize costs, and include them in invoices without a separate tool. Clockify pushes expenses into a paid-only module.

Your 100th employee
should cost $0 more
in time tracking.

To get the features most teams actually need like
invoicing, expenses, budgets, Clockify charges
$9.99/user/month on Pro. At 100 users, that's
$999/month for a time tracker. Kimai self-hosted includes everything for $0.

Clockify $999/mo at 100 users
$1000 $750 $500 $250 $0
5 users Clockify Pro — $50/mo Kimai — $0/mo
10 users Clockify Pro — $100/mo Kimai — $0/mo
25 users Clockify Pro — $250/mo Kimai — $0/mo
50 users Clockify Pro — $500/mo Kimai — $0/mo
100 users Clockify Pro — $999/mo Kimai — $0/mo
5 10 25 50 100

users

Kimai Clockify Pro

Ready to own your time data?

Open source. Every feature from day one.

Kimai icon

Option 1

Kimai Cloud

Hosted by the Kimai team. 30-day
free trial, no credit card
required. Includes backups,
updates, and email support.

Docker icon

Option 2

Self-host with Docker

Deploy Kimai on your server. PHP +
MySQL, Docker available. Unlimited
users, all features, full data
ownership. Active since 2006.

RECOMMENDED FxP icon

Option 3

Lower your SaaS spend

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Our team will recommend the right solution and help you get started.