Project and task management decision
Clockify
A focused web app that covers Clockify's core time-tracking loop is realistic for a capable technical user to build and maintain; advanced enterprise features, native apps, and integrations explain most of the paid product’s additional value.
Visit website↗$4.99/mo
$60/yr
Per seat. Read off the official pricing page.
$50one-off30 h to build
$20/mo4 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 5 seats.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Clockify alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Record a timed or manual time entry linked to a project/task, persist entries to a database, view/edit timesheets, and generate basic usage reports/export.
What it still won’t have
- Mobile and desktop native apps
- Advanced features: GPS tracking, screenshots, kiosk photo capture, and idle detection
- SSO / SCIM provisioning and enterprise-grade audit logs
- Data-region hosting options and 24/7 support
- Prebuilt integrations and marketplace plugins
What remains hard
- Brand trust
Trusted by 7M+ users in companies worldwide
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 5 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a minimal self-hosted time-tracking web app using React for the frontend, Node.js/Express for the API, and Postgres for storage. Implement: user auth (email/password + JWT), team and project CRUD, start/stop timer and manual time-entry forms, weekly timesheet UI, CSV export of reports, and role-based access (admin/member). Out of scope: native mobile/desktop apps, SSO/SCIM, screenshots/GPS, and enterprise billing. Include error handling, input validation, and unit tests for API endpoints. Provide a Docker Compose setup and simple deployment docs for a small VPS.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Build verdict base78
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score93
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 5
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productClockify™ - Time Tracking Software
- official pricingPlans & Pricing - Clockify™
- official docsFeatures - Clockify™
- open sourcekimai/kimai
- open sourcesolidtime-io/solidtime
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
