TimeTagger vs Timewarrior (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, TimeTagger and Timewarrior share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan, and Timewarrior has no paid plan to buy, against about $3.35 a month for TimeTagger.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
TimeTagger grades higher on ease of use. Timewarrior grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
TimeTagger
Open-source time tracker built on tags and a timeline
Which one is for you
Pick TimeTagger if
- Fits if you freelance and want a €3-a-month tracker with PDF or CSV reports for clients
- Works for developers who want to self-host their time data or script it through the web API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a team tracker, as it's aimed at individuals and team subscriptions are arranged by email
- Not for you if you want a native phone app, because on phones it's a web app installed from the browser
- Watch out: the hosted service has no free tier, and when a subscription lapses the app turns read-only, though data can be exported
- Tight if you self-host, since the server, updates, authentication and backups are all yours to run
- Too light for billing or project tracking, as it has no projects, invoicing or integrations, only #tags
Pick Timewarrior if
- Fits if you live in the terminal and want a timer you can script
- Works for developers who feed tracked time into their own tools
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a window to click in, as there is no graphical interface
- Skip it if you use Windows, as no Windows package is listed
- Not for you if you need team or sync features, as none are described
- Watch out: distribution packages are made by community maintainers, not the project
How we grade them
| 2.6GPATimeTaggerGood | 2.6GPATimewarriorGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe hosted basic plan is €3 a month billed annually, €4 monthly, VAT included, which is the cheaper quarter for this category. There's a Lifetime plan at €144 once for the same service, worth it if you expect to stay four years. | AFree, open source and downloadable, with no paid plans, against a time-tracking middle of $6.67 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree only if you host it: the open-source app costs nothing on your own server and holds nothing back. The hosted service has no free tier at all, just a 14-day trial with no card, and after that it goes read-only until you subscribe. | AFree outright with no paid plans and no caps. |
| Features | CRecords sit on a timeline you zoom and drag, any word starting with # becomes a tag, and the report button makes a PDF or CSV for any period, with targets and a Pomodoro mode. It does that fully, and it's a smaller job: no projects, no invoicing, no teams, nothing automatic. | CStopwatch, tags, annotations, corrections, reports and extensions; it does that job fully, but a smaller one, with no team or syncing features. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but on the hosted service there's nothing to set up, not even projects: drag on the timeline, type a description, add a #tag. Host it yourself and the server, updates, authentication and backups are all yours. | DNo store rating on record, and it is a command-line tool you drive by typing commands. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA browser, and that's the lot. It installs as a web app on Android, iOS and desktop and keeps working offline, but it isn't in the App Store or Google Play, and no integrations are on record beyond its own web API and a command-line tool. | CLinux and Mac only, with no Windows package, phone apps or integrations on record. |
| Best for | a €3-a-month solo tracker built on tags | tracking time from the command line |
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: TimeTagger and Timewarrior. How we grade
Price against what you get
TimeTagger starts at about $3.35 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Timewarrior has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
TimeTagger scores higher, and starts $3.35 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other time tracking apps on the chart, 3 score higher than TimeTagger for less, and none scores higher than Timewarrior 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
- TimeTagger is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- TimeTagger also covers Pomodoro timer.
At a glance
| TimeTagger | Timewarrior | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | €3 per month, billed annually (€4 billed monthly) | Free |
| Free plan | Self-hosted TimeTagger is free and open source (GPLv3). The hosted service at timetagger.app has no free tier: once the 14-day trial ends a subscription is needed to keep adding records. | Free and open source, with no paid plans. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the hosted service, no card required; a longer trial on request | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Almar Klein scientific computing | Gothenburg Bit Factory |
| Price read from | timetagger.app | timewarrior.net |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
TimeTagger
- It is not in the App Store or Google Play; on phones it is installed as a web app from the browser.
- The hosted service has no free tier, and after a subscription lapses the app becomes read-only, though data can still be exported.
- Prices are set in euros; the vendor says buyers in most countries pay in their local currency.
- It is aimed at individuals: buying several subscriptions for a team is arranged by email.
Timewarrior
- It is a command-line tool with no graphical interface.
- The install page lists packages for Linux distributions and macOS only; no Windows package is listed.
- Distribution packages are made by community maintainers, not the project.
- There is no team or syncing feature described on the site.
Key features
TimeTagger
- Interactive timeline
- Records sit on a timeline that scrolls and zooms from a day to longer ranges. A record is created by dragging on the timeline and edited by dragging its start, its end or the whole block.
- Tags instead of projects
- Any word in a description that starts with # becomes a tag. Tags exist only through the records that use them, can be renamed in bulk, and filter the overview into a breakdown.
- PDF and CSV reports
- The report button builds a table for the selected period and tags. It saves as a PDF for billing clients or as CSV with durations in decimal hours for a spreadsheet.
- Targets and Pomodoro
- Targets can be set and progress followed against them, and a built-in Pomodoro mode structures work into focused sessions.
- Installable and usable offline
- TimeTagger is a progressive web app: it installs from the browser on Android, iOS and desktop, keeps working without a connection and syncs changes when back online.
- Web API and command line
- A documented web API and a separate CLI tool let records be read and timers started from scripts or a terminal. The source is on GitHub and can be run locally or self-hosted.
Timewarrior
- Simple stopwatch
- Start and stop tracking with single commands, or record backdated and already-closed intervals.
- Tags and annotations
- Label each interval with tags and notes, and change them later with tag, untag and retag commands.
- Corrections
- Commands to move, lengthen, shorten, split, join, fill and delete intervals, with an undo command.
- Reports and export
- Day, week, month and summary reports, plus an export command for use in other tools.
- Extensions
- An extension API lets scripts build custom reports, and a Taskwarrior on-modify hook ties tasks to tracked time.
- Work week and holidays
- Configuration for a work week, holidays and color themes.
Plans
TimeTagger
Self-hostedFree
The open-source app (GPLv3) on your own server. You handle hosting, updates, authentication and backups yourself.
Basic plan€3
per month, billed annually (€4 billed monthly), incl. VAT
The hosted service at timetagger.app: no server to manage, an account that syncs across devices, and daily data backups.
Lifetime plan€144
one-time payment, incl. VAT
The same as the basic plan, paid once and used indefinitely.
Timewarrior
Free$0
Free and open-source software, installed from distribution packages, Homebrew or built from source.
Ways to pay less
TimeTagger
- Lifetime license
Lifetime plan for €144
The pricing section offers a Lifetime plan at €144, paid once, with the same service as the basic subscription.
- Annual discount
€1 a month less with annual billing
The basic plan is €3 a month when billed annually, the default. Monthly billing costs €1 more a month, which the vendor attributes to transaction costs.
Timewarrior
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, TimeTagger or Timewarrior?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Timewarrior is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $3.35 a month for TimeTagger. TimeTagger starts at €3 per month, billed annually (€4 billed monthly), and Timewarrior is free.
Which has a free plan, TimeTagger or Timewarrior?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both TimeTagger and Timewarrior have a free plan.
Which platforms do TimeTagger and Timewarrior run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only TimeTagger lists a web app and only Timewarrior lists macOS and Linux apps. 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.