Compare Kimai and DeskTime on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Time Tracking tools, Freemium / Open Source vs Freemium pricing to decide which…
At a Glance
Kimai
DeskTime
Primary category
Time Tracking
Time Tracking
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium / Open Source
Freemium
Starting price
Free (self-hosted); Kimai Cloud from EUR 2.99/user/month
Free
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Yes
Yes
Platforms
Web
Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Kimai
Self-Hosted — Free N/A
Kimai Cloud Standard — EUR 2.99/user/month (annual), EUR 3.99 monthly Monthly or annual
Kimai Cloud Professional — EUR 3.99/user/month (annual), EUR 4.99 monthly Monthly or annual
DeskTime
Free — $0 N/A
Pro — $7/user/month ($6.42 annual) Monthly or annual
Premium — $10/user/month Monthly or annual
Enterprise — Custom Annual contract
Pros & Cons
Kimai
Pros
Free, self-hostable open-source core with no user limits
Low per-seat pricing on Kimai Cloud compared to many SaaS competitors
Extensive JSON API and plugin ecosystem for customization
GDPR-compliant hosting option in Germany
Active development with a long project history since 2006
Cons
Self-hosting requires server setup and maintenance effort
Advanced features like approvals and expense tracking require the Professional plan or plugins
Smaller company behind the product compared to large SaaS time-tracking vendors
Interface may feel less polished than premium commercial competitors
Fully automatic tracking removes the need for employees to manually start and stop timers.
Built-in productivity scoring works out of the box with minimal configuration.
Free plan available for single users, making it accessible for freelancers.
Combines time tracking, scheduling, and invoicing in a single product.
Cons
Screenshot capture and scheduling tools are gated behind the higher Premium tier.
Employee monitoring features like screenshots can raise privacy concerns among tracked staff.
Free tier is limited to a single user, so teams must move to a paid plan almost immediately.
Enterprise pricing is not publicly listed and requires contacting sales.
Use Cases
Kimai
Freelance time and invoice tracking — Freelancers track billable hours per client and generate invoices automatically.
Agency project time management — Agencies track team hours across multiple clients and projects with approval workflows.
Self-hosted internal time tracking — Companies with data-residency requirements self-host Kimai to keep full control of timesheet data.
DeskTime
Remote team productivity monitoring — Distributed teams use DeskTime to automatically track work hours and understand productivity patterns without manual timesheets.
Freelance client billing — Freelancers use DeskTime's automatic tracking and invoicing to accurately bill clients for hours worked on specific projects.
Outsourced team verification — Companies working with outsourced or contractor teams use DeskTime's screenshot capture and productivity reports to verify billed work.