Kimai vs Traggo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Kimai grades higher than Traggo: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Kimai grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
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
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 Traggo if
- Fits if you can run a small server and want to own your time data
- Works for people who sort their hours by tags rather than projects
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't run a server, as there is no hosted version
- Skip it if you need billing, invoicing or integrations, as none are described
- Not for you if you want phone apps, as the docs describe none
- Watch out: anyone with direct database access can read every user's data, and the install guide names version 0.0.9
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKimaiFair | 2.0GPATraggoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CFree software, but only if you run it on your own server, and there is no hosted version, so it is graded in the middle. |
| 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. | BFree with no paid plans, but you need your own server to use it. |
| 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. | CTagged time spans, dashboards and calendar views do that one job, a narrow one with no billing or integrations. |
| 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. | DNo store rating on record, and it needs a server set up with Docker or a downloaded binary. |
| 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. | CWeb only, with no mobile apps or integrations described. |
| Best for | open-source time tracking with invoices | a self-hosted tag-based time tracker |
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 Traggo. 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. Traggo has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Kimai scores higher, and starts $3.34 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 6 score higher than Kimai for less, and none scores higher than Traggo 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 also covers invoicing and reports.
- Traggo also covers calendar and dashboards.
At a glance
| Kimai | Traggo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | €2.99 per user / month, billed annually (€3.99 billed monthly) | Free |
| 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 to run on your own server, with no paid plans. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Kimai Cloud | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Kevin Papst | Traggo |
| Price read from | kimai.org | traggo.net |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Traggo
- You must host the server yourself; there is no hosted version.
- Anyone with direct database access can read all users' data, the docs warn.
- The docs describe no mobile apps, integrations or billing features.
- The install guide still names version 0.0.9 for its binary example.
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.
Traggo
- Tagged time spans
- Time is recorded as spans with start and end times, each carrying tags written as key and value pairs.
- Custom dashboards
- Dashboard entries chart tagged time as bar, stacked bar, pie or line charts over a chosen date range.
- List and calendar views
- Tracked time can be browsed as a list or on a calendar.
- Multiple users
- Simple user management with admin users, where each user's time spans, tags and dashboards stay private to them in the app.
- Easy self-hosting
- Runs from a Docker image or a single binary, with an SQLite database by default.
- Themes
- The web interface comes with several themes.
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.
Traggo
Self-hosted$0
Free software that you run yourself, with Docker images and downloadable binaries.
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.
Traggo
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kimai or Traggo?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Traggo is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $3.34 a month for each person for Kimai. Kimai starts at €2.99 per user / month, billed annually (€3.99 billed monthly), and Traggo is free.
Which has a free plan, Kimai or Traggo?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Kimai and Traggo have a free plan.
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.