Measuring time spent on work has always been one of the simplest and most common ways to understand performance and calculate payable amounts. Therefore, important to keep track of work time for large companies and solo entrepreneurs.
Low price and ability to adapt the tool for specific needs are often crucial factors in choosing the right timekeeping software. In this selection, we’ve reviewed free and open source time tracking software that many tech-savvy specialists would definitely appreciate.
Time Tracking Software for Teams
1. OpenProject
Key features: Time tracking, Team collaboration, Project planning, Agile project management
OpenProject is an open source time tracking app for managing projects and tracking budgets.
In OpenProject, you can create projects and assign them to users, set up project budgets, and keep track of how your team is performing. The tool also has task management and Gantt charts modules for a more detailed picture of how project work is being performed.
The Community package of OpenProject is free forever and only available as an on-premises solution. Middle-tier paid plans users can choose between online and self-hosted options, while premium and corporate plan users are limited only to the on-premises solution.
2. eHour
Key features: Timesheet time tracking, Timesheet comments, User roles & permissions, Powerful reporting
eHour is an open source time tracking app for basic timekeeping and data analysis.
eHour is packed with project management, default projects assigned to all users, timesheet locking, rich reporting and automatic email reminders. While having more extensive features than most other open source timekeeping tools, eHour is designed to be as simple and user-friendly as possible.
eHour is available for Windows, Linux and macOS. Alongside with its downloadable version, a premium cloud-based version with a subscription-based pricing plan is available.
Bonus Tool: actiTIME
Key features: Time tracking, Task management, Analytics & reports, Mobile apps
Pricing: free (get your free 30-day trial), $5 user/month for businesses
actiTIME — free time tracking software for small teams with powerful work management and analytics features.
Although actiTIME isn’t open source, its flexibility and customization options are no less. It supports custom billing and pay rates, individual overtime calculation settings, time off accrual rules, and granular data access configuration. Its rich reporting options streamline work management, accounting and bookkeeping. Whether you are a business of any size or a self-employed individual, try actiTIME and get full control over your time.
3. Anuko
Key features: Calendar view, User roles, Time reports, Comments
Anuko is an open source time tracking app for individuals and small teams.
Anuko supports basic features, such as time tracking, reporting, team management, and data export. In Anuko, you can track time in two modes — projects, where each time entry is associated with a specific project, or projects and tasks, where time is tracked against tasks that build up a project.
Anuko works as a web application and can run on different operating systems. The tool is installed on a web server and works with a database where the data on time logged by the team is collected and stored. Teams of up to 5 users get free hosting of Anuko.
4. Redmine
Key features: Time tracking, Project management, User roles & permissions, Gantt chart
Redmine is open source time tracking software for project tracking available for Unix systems and Windows.
Redmine allows you to collaborate on tasks and monitor employee progress, it helps to keep a record of hours spent on work, leave comments and run detailed time tracking reports. Moreover, you may configure permissions for different users so that they have varying levels of access to versatile software features and project data.
5. Pendulums
Key features: Time charts, Unlimited projects, Unlimited users
Pendulums is an open source time tracking app for individuals and teams.
Pendulums includes automatic timers and lets you generate beautiful time tracking charts with all the submitted data carefully sorted by users and dates. In addition, Pendulums works well in the offline mode and is suitable for any computer platform. In other words, this solution is definitely worth a try.
Pendulums works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and online.
6. Baralga
Key features: Timers, Manual time tracking, Shortcuts, Comments
Baralga is a lightweight open-source time tracking app for team use.
Baralga allows to record time spent on projects using a timer, or to log time manually — fast data entry with shortcuts is available. The tool provides reports and charts based on the data logged for any specific period, and allows exporting them to Excel, CSV or iCalendar.
The tool is offered as a desktop application for Windows, Mac and Linux or portable edition — so you can use it from a USB drive instead of installing it on a machine.
7. Cattr
Key features: Activity tracking, On-premises, Extensions
Cattr is an open-source time tracking software designed for business and personal use.
Cattr provides uninterrupted time tracking experience integrated with your favorite tools and software. If you are looking for a team time tracker, Cattr will help you manage even remote teams with automatic screenshot capture and activity detection features, which will boost your team’s performance and make you sure that your team is not slacking off.
Cattr is available on macOS, Windows and Linux.
Software with Time Clock Functionality
8. TimeTrex
Key features: Time clock system, Leave tracking, Employee scheduling, Payroll tracking
TimeTrex is an HR management system designed to monitor employee attendance and ensure accurate and legally impeccable payroll.
TimeTrex serves as a simple time clock system that allows you to track when your team members start and end their workdays. It calculates payroll automatically and helps to manage your staff’s time off with ease.
TimeTrex’s Community Edition is available for free. It comprises limited functionality compared to the paid versions and can be accessed merely via the computer desktop.
9. Kapow
Key features: Time reports, Client billing, Punch-in system
Kapow is a free punch clock program available for Windows, Linux and MacOS.
Kapow is a punch-in and -out tool that allows tracking time for different tasks. Kapow time tracking is based on the time clock method: click on the start / stop button to clock in and out. The tool allows users to correct time entries captured automatically if necessary.
For those who use timekeeping tools for client billing, Kapow provides an ability to log hours since the client was last billed. To do that, flag previously recorded hours as “billed” using the special checkbox, and keep tracking time for the next dates.
10. Kimai
Key features: Invoicing, Data export, Expense tracking, Clock-in and -out
Kimai is open-source time tracking software working in the cloud and working best for startups and small businesses.
Kimai is a multifunctional time tracker that keeps record of your time and prints out your results when you need them. The tool works great for those who need a simple solution without any extra features: you can record time in multi-user mode, manage customer and project data, run reports, and export timesheet data or simply use Kimai as a clock-in and -out system to track employees’ attendance.
No database setup is required for installing the app — it has database support out-of-the-box. The new version of Kimai is based on the newest technologies and has a JSON API for setting up integration with other applications.
11. Time Clock MTS
Key features: Time reports, Time off management, Fingerprint tracking, Webcam photo capture
Time Clock MTS is online time tracking software that is free for teams of up to 4 users.
If you work in a small team of up to three members and need to have a clear idea of when your colleagues start and end their work, Time Clock MTS is a great open source time tracking app to consider. This punch-in system is super easy to apply, yet it provides immense value. For instance, it contains the payroll reporting functionality and fosters an effortless and streamlined time off request process.
The free version of the tool also includes such advanced security features as fingerprint attendance tracking and webcam capture. Besides, Time Clock MTS gets constantly updated regardless of whether you pay for it or not. In other words, it’s perfect if you want to get a cost-free attendance management solution that is robust enough and never becomes obsolete.
Time Tracking Software for Individuals
12. ActivityWatch
Key features: Activity tracking, Browser extension, Code editor plugins, Mobile app
ActivityWatch is open source time tracking software for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.
ActivityWatch is a great alternative to expensive activity tracking software. It tracks your app behavior, provides you with an overview of your time and productivity trends across activity categories, tracks tab usage in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox via browser extensions and more.
Unlike paid tools, ActivityWatch stores data locally on your device, eliminating data leaks, and works on multiple OS and Android devices.
13. Rachota
Key features: Personal time tracking, Data diagrams, Customized reports, Invoicing
Rachota is portable time tracking software that runs on Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac.
Rachota is a lightweight portable open source time tracking app that can run on various platforms. Its time tracking technology is timer-based: the app creates tasks and tracks time for them. Rachota also provides basic reports on how efficiently work time is spent, and gives recommendations on how to improve productivity. The reports can be exported in HTML, CSV or TXT format.
As the app is portable, there’s no need to install it on a computer. You can run it from a USB stick on any machine. Rachota works on various operating systems — Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac.
14. Charm
Key features: Timesheets, Task and event tracking, Activity reports
Charm is an open source time tracking app for OS X, Linux and Windows.
Charm time tracker is a relatively new and promising cross-platform time tracker app. It allows you to create tasks and subtasks and track time to them. It’s a simple solution for those who need just a time tracker with basic reporting options. Charm offers weekly and monthly performance reports that can be exported in XML or printed out.
15. Project Hamster
Key features: Intuitive interface, Activity tracking, Time reporting
Project Hamster is an open source time tracking app for individuals.
Project Hamster automatically tracks daily activities with time slots and shows them in a chart. You can add locations to your activities — for example append “work” location to the “meeting” task — or use tags to categorize your tasks. The tool also supports adding descriptions to specific activities.
Project Hamster allows you to run reports with statistics on how you’ve been spending your time, export them to different formats (HTML, XML, iCal), and print them out.
16. Hourglass
Key features: Automatic timer, Simple reporting, Calendar view
Hourglass is an open source personal time tracking app for Windows.
Hourglass is an open-source time tracking app for personal use that allows users to record time spent on various tasks, and then run reports to analyze performance. It supports several levels of time tracking hierarchy, calendar view, and recording time slots for specific activities. You can also use a timer to automate your timekeeping process.
Hourglass allows to generate basic reports (timecards) on time recorded throughout a week or any specific date range. You can use them for billing customers, working on productivity, or reviewing how time is spent.
Ready to Use Time Tracking Software?
Choosing software is never easy: you need to explore dozens of tools and spend hours playing around with each tool to see if it is the right one. That’s why we’d like to offer you actiTIME — free time tracking software for individuals and small teams.
actiTIME provides multiple time tracking features: online timesheets, browser extensions, mobile apps with automatic and manual time capture. What other tools in this list are missing is a solid task management module that you can find in actiTIME. It allows you to manage work, track its progress, see how you perform against estimates and deadlines and more. Give it a try — start with a free 30-day trial (no credit card required) and continue with a free plan anytime.
