Kimai vs timr (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kimai and timr share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and Kimai starts cheaper, at about $3.34 a month for each person against about $8.04 a month for each person.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Kimai grades higher on value for money. timr grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kimai
Open-source time tracking with invoicing, self-hosted or cloud
timr
Working time, project time and mileage tracking for companies
Which one is for you
Pick Kimai if
- Fits if you want your time tracking data on a server you control
- Works for freelancers and agencies who invoice clients straight from timesheets
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want an official phone or desktop app, because Kimai itself only runs in the browser
- Not for you if you want a free hosted plan, as the cloud gives a 30-day trial and nothing after
- Tight if you self-host and need expenses, custom fields or kiosk mode, since they're paid plugins, expenses at €99
- Watch out: cloud prices are in euros before tax, and on Professional kiosk mode and SAML show only with annual billing
- Too light for automatic tracking, since nothing records by itself
Pick timr if
- Fits if you want to try it as one person on the free plan
- Works for small firms that want time, projects and mileage in one tool
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want more than one function on the free plan
- Pricey if you need overtime accounts, at EUR 21.60 each
- Watch out: admins need a full paid licence even if they don't track time
- Watch out: it doesn't renew automatically, so you pay in advance for a set term, and prices are in euros only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKimaiFair | 2.4GPAtimrFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCloud Standard is €2.99 a user a month billed annually, or €3.99 monthly, and invoicing, exports and the API are already in it. That puts it in the cheaper quarter of the category. Professional is €3.99. Prices are in euros and exclude taxes. | CEUR 7.20 per user a month billed annually, against a category middle of $6.99. Overtime accounts cost EUR 21.60 each, and workflows EUR 17.10. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree only if you host it. The open-source edition costs nothing on your own server, with unlimited users, customers and projects, and one person can stay on it. Extras like expenses are paid plugins, and Kimai Cloud has no free plan, just a 30-day trial. | BA free plan for 1 user with one function of working time, project time or a drive log, with limits. There is also a 14-day trial with no card. |
| Features | CTime goes against customers, projects and activities, with budgets, reports, exports and invoices from your own templates, plus teams, roles and SAML login. But nothing tracks by itself, and on the self-hosted edition expenses, custom fields and kiosk mode are plugins you buy, expenses at €99. | CWorking time, absences, projects, a mileage log, an attendance board and an API. But overtime and surcharge accounts, workflows and capping are paid extras. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. On the cloud it's a web app you sign in to, but it's one where you build the thing: customers, projects, activities and invoice templates before any of it reports. Hosting it yourself needs SSH access to a server. | CNo store rating on record. It has several modules to switch on. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA browser, and that's it from Kimai itself. There's a JSON API and a short list of links, GrandTotal, Bexio and VS Code, but every phone and desktop app on its integrations page is made by somebody else, and some of them cost money. | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps and a kiosk, with Personio and Slack and an API. No desktop app. |
| Best for | open-source time tracking with invoices | freelancers and small firms tracking time and mileage |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Kimai and timr. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kimai starts at about $3.34 a month for each person and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. timr starts at about $8.04 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
timr scores higher, and starts $4.70 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 8 score higher than Kimai for less, and 28 score higher than timr for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Kimai is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Kimai also covers invoicing.
- timr also covers time clock and time off.
At a glance
| Kimai | timr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €2.99 per user / month, billed annually (€3.99 billed monthly) | €7.20 per user / month, billed annually (€8 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Self-hosted Kimai is free and open source (AGPL 3) with unlimited users, customers and projects. Extras such as expenses, custom fields and kiosk mode are paid plugins. The Kimai Cloud pricing page lists no free plan. | Free plan for 1 user with one function of your choice: working time, project time or drive log, each with limits. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Kimai Cloud | 14-day free trial of all features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Kevin Papst | troii Software GmbH |
| Price read from | kimai.org | timr.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Kimai
- Cloud prices are in euros and exclude taxes; the pricing page lists no free cloud plan, only a 30-day trial.
- On Cloud Professional, kiosk mode, SAML single sign-on, a custom domain and IP access restriction are shown only with annual billing.
- Kimai runs in the browser; the mobile and desktop apps on its integrations page are made by third parties, and some are paid.
- Self-hosting needs SSH access to a server, and plugins such as expenses (99 €) are bought separately.
timr
- Prices are listed in euros only; no dollar prices are shown.
- Overtime and surcharge accounts cost €21.60 per account; workflows and permissions, and automatic capping, €17.10 each.
- Admins need a full paid license even if they do not record time.
- timr does not renew automatically; you pay in advance for a term of 1, 3 or 6 months or longer.
Key features
Kimai
- Project time tracking
- Time is recorded against customers, projects and activities, with budgets and order numbers on projects. Every installation supports unlimited users with roles.
- Invoicing
- Invoices are created from timesheets with configurable templates and invoice numbers, grouping options for entries, and output formats such as PDF and DOCX.
- Reports and exports
- Recorded time is analyzed by user, customer, project, activity, tag and period. Timesheets export as XLSX, PDF, CSV or HTML, and exported records can be locked.
- Teams and permissions
- Teams group users into units such as departments. Assigning customers and projects to a team limits who can see and record time on them.
- Login and security
- Supports LDAP and SAML login through providers such as Google Workspace, Azure AD or Authentik, plus optional two-factor authentication with TOTP tokens.
- JSON API and plugins
- A JSON API reads and writes data for external apps. Plugins add functions such as expenses, task planning and a kiosk mode with barcode or RFID scanning.
timr
- Working time recording
- Working time types and models, automatic breaks, time accounts, flexitime and monthly closing with export.
- Vacation and absence management
- Absence types with a request function, vacation accounts, substitute management, holiday calendars and an absence calendar.
- Project time tracking
- Project and task structures with task permissions, approval and invoicing of project times, and location-based task suggestions.
- Mileage log
- Manual or automatic drive log for tax purposes, with vehicle management and GPS position detection in the app.
- Apps and kiosk
- iPhone and Android apps with offline use and GPS, plus a kiosk app for Android tablets where a crew clocks in and out.
- Control and reporting
- Recording rights, a change history, geofencing, reports and exports, a live attendance board and an API.
Plans
Kimai
Self-hostedFree
The open-source edition on your own server, installed with Docker or over SSH. Community support; some features are paid plugins.
Cloud Standard€2.99
per user / month, billed annually (€3.99 billed monthly)
Hosted time tracking with billable hours, invoicing, data export, audit logs, the JSON API, 5 invoice templates and weekly backups.
Cloud Professional€3.99
per user / month, billed annually (€4.99 billed monthly)
Adds working hour accounts, vacation and sick leave, expenses, custom fields, task management, a customer portal and daily backups.
timr
Free Plan€0
1 user, one function: working time (2 working time types), project time (5 active tasks) or drive log (1 vehicle, 2 categories).
Regular€7.20
per user / month, billed annually (€8 billed monthly)
Working time, vacation and absences, project time, mileage log, live attendance board, API and SSO, with phone, email and chat support.
Ways to pay less
Kimai
- Annual discount
20 to 25% off Kimai Cloud with annual billing
Kimai's discount page says paid cloud plans cost 20 to 25% less when paid annually: Standard is €2.99 against €3.99 a month, and Professional €3.99 against €4.99.
- Nonprofit
Discounted annual cloud plan for nonprofits
Nonprofits, schools and clubs that register with an official email address and message support get a reduced annual cloud plan after a manual review.
timr
- Annual discount
Lower per-user rate with annual payment
The pricing calculator shows €7.20 per user with annual payment against a standard €8 rate; volume discounts apply from 20 users on request.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kimai or timr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kimai is cheaper to start with: about $3.34 a month for each person, against about $8.04 a month for each person for timr. Kimai starts at €2.99 per user / month, billed annually (€3.99 billed monthly), and timr starts at €7.20 per user / month, billed annually (€8 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Kimai or timr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Kimai and timr have a free plan.
Which platforms do Kimai and timr run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only timr lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.