RescueTime alternatives

Freelancers and small agencies that bill clients by the hour will get the most from Kimai. Its strength is the straight line from multi-timer tracking and calendar timesheets through team approvals to VAT-aware invoices, all free to self-host for unlimited users. The tradeoff is hands-on server administration and manual time entry, so teams that want automatic activity capture or zero setup should choose a hosted automatic tracker instead. If you can run a PHP and MySQL host or a Docker container, choose Kimai; if you need effortless personal tracking, choose RescueTime.[1][2][3]

Good fit. Freelancers who invoice hourly: free unlimited-user self-hosting plus invoice generation covers the whole billable workflow at zero licence cost.[1][2]

Keep in mind. Solo users wanting automatic tracking: Kimai records what people enter or punch, not what the computer observes, so anyone wanting passive capture should pick an automatic tracker.[1][2]