Should you build your own Clockify?
Track time, approve entries, and generate basic client or project reports
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Clockify, track time, approve entries, and generate basic client or project reports. The hard boundary is many platforms, team administration, kiosks, scheduling, and hosted scale, plus ubiquitous capture, coaching, and team workflow.
ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.
Build a personal replacement for Clockify in an empty repository.
Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, and optional OS accessibility APIs; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: track time and focused sessions, approve entries, generate basic client or project reports, review patterns locally, and export a transparent activity record.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Create one-click start and stop, manual entries, idle detection, tags, projects, and notes.
Keep any application-name tracking opt-in and never record window contents or keystrokes.
Add Pomodoro-style focus sessions, break reminders, and an optional allowlist blocker.
Provide daily, weekly, project, and category reports with editable corrections.
Export CSV and JSON and make the underlying event log inspectable.
Add automatic local backups and a privacy screen explaining every collected field.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out employee surveillance.
Deliberately leave out payroll and billing automation.
Deliberately leave out cross-device blocking and behavioral coaching services.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
What would building your own look like?
Track time and focused sessions, approve entries, generate basic client or project reports, review patterns locally, and export a transparent activity record.
What you will need
- desktop OS
- notification permission
- optional accessibility permission for app-name tracking
- local SQLite
People still pay for Clockify because the timer is simple, but people pay for frictionless capture and a history they trust enough to invoice or change habits from. The recurring cost buys idle detection, permissions, app metadata, privacy, notifications, sync, reports, integrations, and backups, not just the visible interface.
xmany platforms, team administration, kiosks, scheduling, and hosted scale
xcross-device history
xteam timesheets and payroll
xbehavioral datasets
xblocking across every platform
Prefer something ready-made?
KimaiTimesheets, rates, reports and invoices are all there; approvals need its free plugin and the server still needs an adult.Open source↗License, setup, and limitations for each alternative.
How much does Clockify cost?
- Monthly billing
- $4.99/mo$4.99/mo · per person
- Per year
- $59.88/yr$59.88/yr
- Annual billing
- $47.88/yr20% cheaper than paying monthly
- On a Brazilian card, with 3.5% IOF
- R$26.08/moR$250/yr
Saved to My list. You will see a notice on this site when the price changes.
You complete the purchase on Clockify’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/user | $0/user | Up to 5 users; unlimited time tracking, projects, and reports. |
| basic | $4.99/user≈ $4.99 | $3.99/user≈ $3.99 | Administration and audit features; unlimited tracked time. |
| standard | $6.99/user≈ $6.99 | $5.49/user≈ $5.49 | Timesheet approvals, invoicing, and attendance features. |
| pro | $9.99/user≈ $9.99 | $7.99/user≈ $7.99 | Scheduling, expenses, labor cost, and advanced reporting. |
| enterprise | $14.99/user≈ $14.99 | $11.99/user≈ $11.99 | SSO, custom subdomain, audit logs, and enterprise controls. |
| productivity suite | $15.99/user≈ $15.99 | $12.99/user≈ $12.99 | Clockify Enterprise + Plaky + Pumble; data-region option excluded. |
Free tierUp to 5 users; unlimited time tracking, projects, and reports.
Billing termsmonthly + annual (about -20%)
Additional costsAll active/invited Owners, Admins, Managers, and Members are billable; taxes are extra and refunds are generally unavailable. Kiosk seats cost $0.99/$0.79 Basic, $1.49/$1.19 Standard, $1.99/$1.59 Pro, or $2.99/$2.39 Enterprise monthly/annual per kiosk seat.
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Is it cheaper to build or buy Clockify?
Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.
Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.
Starting hours estimated from the analysis (one sitting). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).
Can I rebuild Clockify?
Kinda. The core of Clockify is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: many platforms, team administration, kiosks, scheduling, and hosted scale, cross-device history. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Clockify cost?
Clockify costs about $4.99/mo (Basic, checked 10/20/2026), which is $47.88 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Clockify?
Honestly: many platforms, team administration, kiosks, scheduling, and hosted scale; cross-device history; team timesheets and payroll; behavioral datasets; blocking across every platform. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Clockify?
Yes: Kimai (Timesheets, rates, reports and invoices are all there; approvals need its free plugin and the server still needs an adult.) The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.