OpenProject vs Plane
Both are alternatives to Jira. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Plane vs OpenProject — same comparison, one verdict.
OpenProject and Plane are closely matched on ownership (95 vs 92) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
OpenProject
TOP PICKGPL-3.0 self-hosted project management with Gantt, agile boards, and portfolio features in the free Community Edition.
OpenProject is a mature, GPL-3.0 open-source project management platform developed by OpenProject GmbH in Germany. Its free, self-hosted Community Edition covers a broad feature set — work packages, Scrum and Kanban boards, Gantt-based scheduling, time tracking and cost reporting, wikis, and portfolio management — with unlimited users and projects. A separate Enterprise edition (cloud or on-premises) adds premium and security add-ons such as SSO and certain admin features under a paid subscription. It is a strong fit for teams that want a comprehensive, Jira-style tool they run and own themselves, particularly where EU data residency and GDPR alignment matter.
Plane
AGPL-3.0, modern open-source project management for issues, cycles, and roadmaps — a lighter, contemporary Jira alternative.
Plane is a modern, AGPL-3.0 open-source project management platform built by Plane Software Inc. Its free Community Edition offers work items, cycles (sprints), modules (epics), roadmaps, and a built-in wiki with a clean, contemporary UI, plus a REST API and webhooks. It is self-hostable via Docker or Kubernetes and includes importers from Jira, Linear, and Asana. A separate Commercial/Enterprise edition adds features such as SSO/SAML, air-gapped deployment, and advanced admin under a commercial license. Plane suits product and engineering teams who want a fast, current alternative to Jira without the heavier configuration surface.
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.
| OpenProject | Plane | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 95 | 92 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 (Community Edition); Enterprise add-ons under a separate commercial subscription | AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); Enterprise edition under a separate commercial license |
| Pricing | Free to self-host (Community Edition, GPL-3.0); paid Enterprise cloud/on-premises tiers from about €5.95/user/month for premium and security add-ons | Free to self-host (Community Edition, AGPL-3.0); paid cloud and Enterprise tiers available |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 4 GB. The vendor sizes its minimum for up to 200 users, so a 5–20 person team fits inside it | 8 GB, the vendor's recommendation for production |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $24–48/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 vCPU / 4–8 GB VPS | $24–48/mo for a 5–20 user instance on an 8 GB VPS, plus object storage if you follow the vendor's advice to move files off the box |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 1–2 hours with the official Docker Compose repo, longer if you put your own TLS proxy in front | 1 hour with setup.sh; an afternoon if it sits behind your own reverse proxy and you test uploads properly |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | A minor release roughly every month in 2026 (17.4 in May, 17.9 on 30 September). Major versions must be taken one at a time, because going from X to X+2 needs X+1 in between, and the vendor strongly recommends a backup before each. | Frequent releases (Community Edition v1.4.2 in August 2026, v1.4.3 in review in September), applied through setup.sh's upgrade option. For production the vendor strongly recommends an external database and object storage, which means more services for you to run. |
OpenProject is Macrostack's recommended Jira alternative, so it's our pick here.
Weighing both against staying on Jira? Is Jira free? What it actually costs →
OpenProject
Strengths
- +GPL-3.0 Community Edition is genuinely open-source and free for unlimited users and projects
- +Broad, mature feature set including Gantt scheduling, agile boards, time tracking, cost reporting, and portfolio management
- +Fully self-hosted via Docker or native packages, so your project data stays on infrastructure you control
- +EU-based vendor with GDPR-aligned self-hosting; the GPL-3.0 license reduces the risk of a restrictive relicense
- +REST API and active, regular release cadence from a dedicated core team
Trade-offs
- −SSO/2FA and some advanced admin and security features are reserved for the paid Enterprise edition
- −Runs on a Ruby on Rails + PostgreSQL stack that needs a real server and ongoing maintenance, not a one-click app
- −You are responsible for backups, updates, database migrations, and SSL when self-hosting
- −Heavier to deploy and operate than lightweight tools, which can be more than a small team needs
Plane
Strengths
- +AGPL-3.0 Community Edition is OSI-approved open-source and free to self-host with unlimited users and projects
- +Modern, polished UI with cycles, modules, roadmaps, and a built-in wiki
- +Self-hostable via Docker or Kubernetes; your data stays on infrastructure you control
- +Built-in importers from Jira, Linear, and Asana ease migration
- +Very active project with frequent releases and a large, fast-growing community
Trade-offs
- −SSO/SAML, air-gapped deployment, and some advanced features require the paid Enterprise edition
- −A production self-hosted stack runs several services (Postgres, Redis/Valkey, object storage, message broker, proxy), so it is operationally substantial
- −Younger than Redmine or OpenProject, so some enterprise areas are still maturing
- −AGPL-3.0 network-copyleft terms may need legal review if you modify it and offer it as a service to others
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose OpenProject
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and gPL-3.0 Community Edition is genuinely open-source and free for unlimited users and projects.
Choose Plane
if aGPL-3.0 Community Edition is OSI-approved open-source and free to self-host with unlimited users and projects.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — sSO/2FA and some advanced admin and security features are reserved for the paid Enterprise edition, and sSO/SAML, air-gapped deployment, and some advanced features require the paid Enterprise edition. 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 OpenProject
4 GB. The vendor sizes its minimum for up to 200 users, so a 5–20 person team fits inside it RAM · 1–2 hours with the official Docker Compose repo, longer if you put your own TLS proxy in front
$24–48/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 vCPU / 4–8 GB VPS
Self-hosting Plane
8 GB, the vendor's recommendation for production RAM · 1 hour with setup.sh; an afternoon if it sits behind your own reverse proxy and you test uploads properly
$24–48/mo for a 5–20 user instance on an 8 GB VPS, plus object storage if you follow the vendor's advice to move files off the box
OpenProject vs Plane — common questions
Is OpenProject a better fit than Plane for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: OpenProject scores 95 to Plane's 92 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Plane earns its place on a different axis — aGPL-3.0 Community Edition is OSI-approved open-source and free to self-host with unlimited users and projects. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
OpenProject keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. Plane 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 OpenProject or Plane?
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 OpenProject and Plane both alternatives to Jira?
Yes — both appear in our Jira comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Jira and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
More Jira head-to-heads
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Facts verified 2026-10-12. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.