Vikunja vs Kanboard
Both are alternatives to Trello. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Kanboard vs Vikunja — same comparison, one verdict.
Vikunja and Kanboard are closely matched on ownership (89 vs 86) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
Vikunja
A modern task manager with List, Kanban, Gantt, and Table views in one app.
Vikunja is an open-source task and project manager that goes beyond a pure Kanban board: the same tasks can be viewed as a list, a Kanban board, a Gantt-style timeline, or a table. It ships as a single Go binary plus a Vue.js frontend, supports PostgreSQL/MySQL/SQLite, and includes CalDAV sync so tasks show up in any calendar app. A small set of admin-oriented features (admin panel, audit logs, time tracking) require a paid 'Pro' license key even for self-hosted instances; every core feature — including Kanban, Gantt, and the full API — remains free.
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
10 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Vikunja | Kanboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 89 | 86 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Pricing | Free / self-host for all core features; Pro add-ons (admin panel, audit logs, time tracking) via a paid license from ~$5/user/month; managed Cloud hosting also available | Free / self-host (paid cloud hosting plans available from the maintainer) |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 1 GB for Vikunja plus PostgreSQL on one box. The docs say you probably won't need Redis until you have more than a handful of users | 1 GB for Kanboard plus PostgreSQL on one box. It is a PHP app, and no source I found says a small team needs more |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $5–6/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 1 GB VPS | $5–6/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 1 GB VPS |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 20 minutes with docker compose, an hour with a reverse proxy and TLS | 15 minutes with Docker, 30 on an existing PHP host |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | Frequent releases. 2.0.0 in February 2026 fixed four critical security issues, and 2.1 through 2.6 followed by August. Upgrade promptly, and back up the database and files/ separately. | Low. The author calls it maintenance mode: small fixes and no major features. The community still ships releases: six between January and August 2026. Pin a version tag and read the ChangeLog before each upgrade, as the docs advise. |
Vikunja edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Weighing both against staying on Trello? Is Trello free? What it actually costs →
Vikunja
Strengths
- +Four task views (List, Kanban, Gantt, Table) cover more workflows than a Kanban-only tool
- +Natural-language 'Quick Add Magic' parses due dates, priority, labels, and assignee from one line of text
- +CalDAV support integrates tasks into existing calendar apps
- +Very actively developed with a comprehensive test suite and seven built-in importers, including one specifically for Trello
Trade-offs
- −AGPL-3.0 requires anyone who modifies and network-serves Vikunja to release those changes — a real consideration for companies building a hosted product on top of it
- −A handful of genuinely useful admin/audit features sit behind a paid license even when self-hosting, so 'fully free' has a practical asterisk
- −More moving parts (Go backend + Vue frontend + DB) than a single-file tool like Kanboard
- −Newer project than Wekan or OpenProject, so its long-term enterprise track record is shorter
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
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Vikunja
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and four task views (List, Kanban, Gantt, Table) cover more workflows than a Kanban-only tool.
Choose Kanboard
if very low resource requirements — runs comfortably on a small, cheap VPS.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — aGPL-3.0 requires anyone who modifies and network-serves Vikunja to release those changes — a real consideration for companies building a hosted product on top of it, and visual design is utilitarian — noticeably plainer than Trello or Wekan. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
What it takes to run these yourself
Real requirements and honest running costs, not the vendor quickstart.
Self-hosting Vikunja
1 GB for Vikunja plus PostgreSQL on one box. The docs say you probably won't need Redis until you have more than a handful of users RAM · 20 minutes with docker compose, an hour with a reverse proxy and TLS
$5–6/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 1 GB VPS
Self-hosting Kanboard
1 GB for Kanboard plus PostgreSQL on one box. It is a PHP app, and no source I found says a small team needs more RAM · 15 minutes with Docker, 30 on an existing PHP host
$5–6/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 1 GB VPS
Vikunja vs Kanboard — common questions
Is Vikunja a better fit than Kanboard for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Vikunja scores 89 to Kanboard's 86 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Kanboard earns its place on a different axis — very low resource requirements — runs comfortably on a small, cheap VPS. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Vikunja keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. Kanboard is still self-hostable, so the files stay on your server either way — but it is not local-first by design, so check what its export produces before you rely on it.
Can I self-host Vikunja or Kanboard?
Both can be self-hosted. The difference is what it costs you in time rather than whether it is possible — see the setup and maintenance rows above.
Are Vikunja and Kanboard both alternatives to Trello?
Yes — both appear in our Trello comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Trello and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
More Trello head-to-heads
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Facts verified 2026-07-18. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.