Free alternatives to Toggl Track

Five users get timers, projects and PDF reports one month at a time; CSV, billable rates and approvals are paid.

Versus paying: Free reporting is limited to one month and PDF export, while billable rates, approvals, invoicing, and richer controls are paid.

Setup: Hosted signup; optional desktop, mobile, and browser apps

Timesheets, rates, reports and invoices are all there; approvals need its free plugin and the server still needs an adult.

Versus paying: Kimai trades Toggl's polished hosted and native-app experience for a server, upgrades, backups, plugins, and ongoing administration.

Setup: Official Docker Compose stack

Watch for: A non-expert needs Docker, a domain and TLS, database and application secrets, email configuration, backups, upgrades, and optional plugins for some workflows.

4,900 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

A clean five-person timer with unlimited projects, clients and basic reports; approvals, rates and invoices are paid.

Versus paying: Billable rates, budgets, approvals, audit logs, invoices, scheduled reports, and richer exports are paid, making the free reporting layer thinner than Toggl.

Setup: Hosted signup plus optional mobile app

Modern multi-user timers, clients and billable rates in one Compose stack; the desktop apps are still beta.

Versus paying: The hosted free plan is solo-only, and the unrestricted open-source path requires running PostgreSQL, a reverse proxy, mail, migrations, backups, and updates.

Setup: Hosted signup, or Docker Compose with PostgreSQL and a reverse proxy

Watch for: The hosted free plan is solo-only; self-hosting needs Docker, PostgreSQL, application keys, a reverse proxy and TLS, migrations, mail configuration, and optional Gotenberg for PDFs.

8,846 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

A local task timer with tags, reports and exports; collaboration is not the point.

Versus paying: It is a personal task timer rather than a client-time system, with no shared workspace, approvals, billable rates, client reporting, or invoicing.

Setup: Desktop or mobile installer, or installable browser PWA

21,156 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

Unlimited people and projects get timers, auto-tracking and basic reports; app analytics, billable controls and approvals are paid.

Versus paying: The free plan's reporting, export, billable controls, approvals, and invoicing are materially thinner, with free report export restricted to PDF.

Setup: Hosted signup; optional desktop and mobile tracking apps

Watch for: The timer is clean, but automatic activity tracking needs a desktop agent and operating-system monitoring permissions.

A lean timeline, tags and PDF or CSV reports in one container; it is built for individuals, not payroll departments.

Versus paying: TimeTagger is designed around individual timelines and tags, not Toggl's collaborative clients, projects, billable rates, approvals, and team reporting.

Setup: Use the local web app, or self-host with pip or Docker Compose

Watch for: Remote self-hosting needs Python or Docker, HTTPS, and manually generated bcrypt credentials; the local single-user web app is considerably easier.

1,768 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

A tiny tag-based timer with useful dashboards in one container; invoices and mobile apps never arrive.

Versus paying: Its tag-only model omits conventional clients and projects, invoices, approvals, native mobile apps, and the broader reporting workflow Toggl users expect.

Setup: Single binary or one Docker container

Watch for: The container is simple, but internet exposure still needs a reverse proxy and TLS, and the default administrator password must be changed immediately.

1,615 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)