OpenProject vs Taiga
Both are alternatives to Jira. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Taiga vs OpenProject — same comparison, one verdict.
OpenProject and Taiga are closely matched on ownership (95 vs 88) — 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.
Taiga
Open-source agile project management with clean Scrum and Kanban boards, self-hostable and free.
Taiga is an open-source project management platform focused on agile teams, with Scrum and Kanban boards, backlogs, sprints, epics, issue tracking, and a per-project wiki behind a clean, approachable interface. It is built as a Django/PostgreSQL backend with a separate frontend and is fully self-hostable via Docker, with importers from Jira, Trello, Asana, and others. Note the licensing split: the frontend was relicensed to AGPL-3.0 in 2024 while the backend remains MPL-2.0 — both OSI-approved open-source licenses. Taiga fits teams that want a visually pleasant, agile-first tool they can run themselves without per-seat cost.
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 | Taiga | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 95 | 88 |
| 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 (frontend, relicensed 2024); MPL-2.0 (backend) — both OSI-approved |
| 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 / self-host (open-source); optional paid hosted cloud plans available from Taiga |
| 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 | 2–4 GB. A community member running it on a 4 GB AWS t3.medium measured about 1.5 GB in use across all containers (September 2025) |
| 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 | $12–24/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 GB VPS |
| 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 | 1–2 hours with taiga-docker, plus time to set up SMTP and TLS |
| 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. | The app images follow :latest, so updates are a pull and restart. The database, brokers and gateway are pinned, and moving them is your job. Email prints to the console by default, so invitations go nowhere until you configure SMTP. |
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
Taiga
Strengths
- +Fully open-source (AGPL-3.0 frontend, MPL-2.0 backend) and free to self-host with unlimited users and projects
- +Clean, agile-first UI with Scrum and Kanban boards, backlogs, sprints, epics, and issue tracking
- +Self-hosted with your data in a PostgreSQL database you control; REST API for integration
- +Importers from Jira, Trello, Asana, and others help with migration
Trade-offs
- −Multi-service stack (Django, PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, Celery) makes self-hosting operationally involved
- −Native SSO options are limited and some setups need plugins or extra configuration
- −Development cadence is steady rather than fast-moving
- −The split frontend/backend licensing is worth understanding if you plan to modify and redistribute it
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 Taiga
if fully open-source (AGPL-3.0 frontend, MPL-2.0 backend) 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 multi-service stack (Django, PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ, Celery) makes self-hosting operationally involved. 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 Taiga
2–4 GB. A community member running it on a 4 GB AWS t3.medium measured about 1.5 GB in use across all containers (September 2025) RAM · 1–2 hours with taiga-docker, plus time to set up SMTP and TLS
$12–24/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 GB VPS
OpenProject vs Taiga — common questions
Is OpenProject a better fit than Taiga for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: OpenProject scores 95 to Taiga's 88 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Taiga earns its place on a different axis — fully open-source (AGPL-3.0 frontend, MPL-2.0 backend) 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. Taiga 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 Taiga?
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 Taiga 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.
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Facts verified 2026-10-12. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.