OpenProject vs Kanboard
Both are free/open-source alternatives to Trello. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
OpenProject
A full open-source project management suite for teams that outgrow a simple board.
OpenProject is a complete, self-hostable project management platform: Kanban-style boards sit alongside Gantt charts, backlogs, roadmaps, work packages, time tracking, and fine-grained permissions. The Community edition is the entire open-source codebase and is fully functional with no feature paywall; paid Enterprise tiers add professional support and a handful of add-ons (which are themselves open source and periodically folded back into Community).
Kanboard
A minimalist, low-overhead Kanban board for teams who want speed over features.
Kanboard is a lightweight, self-hosted PHP Kanban application focused on simplicity: boards, swimlanes, task automation rules, subtasks, and time tracking, extendable through a plugin system. It runs on very modest hardware (a small VPS is plenty) and has no external database service dependency by default (SQLite works out of the box, with MySQL/PostgreSQL supported for larger installs).
Side by side
| OpenProject | Kanboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 91 | 86 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Pricing | Free / self-host (Community edition); paid Enterprise on-premises support from ~$5.95/user/month, or Enterprise Cloud hosting from ~$4.95/user/month | Free / self-host (paid cloud hosting plans available from the maintainer) |
OpenProject edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
OpenProject
Strengths
- +Genuinely not an open-core product — the vendor states plainly that Enterprise plans pay for support and add-ons, not for unlocking withheld features
- +Covers a much broader project-management surface than Trello: Gantt charts, backlogs, budgeting, and formal work-package tracking
- +Strong documentation and an active global community with regular releases
- +Enterprise add-ons are periodically released back into the free Community edition
Trade-offs
- −Heavier to run than a Kanban-only tool — a Ruby on Rails + PostgreSQL stack needs more server resources than Wekan or Kanboard
- −The extra structure (work packages, roadmaps, backlogs) is more than most Trello users need if all they want is a simple card board
- −Steeper learning curve for a team used to Trello's minimalism
- −Professional support requires an Enterprise subscription; community-only support is the default on Community edition
Kanboard
Strengths
- +Very low resource requirements — runs comfortably on a small, cheap VPS
- +Free MIT license with a genuinely simple, fast interface
- +Built-in automation rules and time tracking without needing plugins
- +Plugin ecosystem covers common gaps (Gantt, LDAP, extra integrations)
Trade-offs
- −Visual design is utilitarian — noticeably plainer than Trello or Wekan
- −Smaller contributor base than Wekan or Vikunja, so feature velocity is slower
- −Fewer native views than richer PM tools (no built-in Gantt or table view without a plugin)
- −Collaboration features (comments, mentions, notifications) are narrower than larger suites
More Trello head-to-heads
Facts verified 2026-07-08. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.