Wekan vs OpenProject
Both are alternatives to Trello. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as OpenProject vs Wekan — same comparison, one verdict.
Wekan and OpenProject are closely matched on ownership (90 vs 91) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
Wekan
TOP PICKThe closest open-source, self-hosted match to Trello's own card-and-list model.
Wekan is a free, open-source Kanban board that deliberately mirrors Trello's UI: boards, swimlanes, lists, and cards with labels, checklists, due dates, and attachments. It self-hosts via Docker, a Linux Snap package (with automatic updates), or from source, and stores everything in MongoDB you control. It even ships a dedicated Trello-import tool for migrating existing boards and attachments.
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).
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.
| Wekan | OpenProject | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 90 | 91 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free / self-host (commercial support available separately) | Free / self-host (Community edition); paid Enterprise on-premises support from ~$5.95/user/month, or Enterprise Cloud hosting from ~$4.95/user/month |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 4 GB total, the README's production minimum | 4 GB. The vendor sizes its minimum for up to 200 users, so a 5–20 person team fits inside it |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $12–24/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 GB VPS | $24–48/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 vCPU / 4–8 GB VPS |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 30 minutes with Snap or docker compose | 1–2 hours with the official Docker Compose repo, longer if you put your own TLS proxy in front |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | Constant. New versions land every few days (v10.00 on 18 July 2026, v11.00 on 17 August, v12.00 on 24 September), and only the newest is supported. The README asks for a database backup at least once a day because there is no undo. | 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. |
Wekan is Macrostack's recommended Trello alternative, so it's our pick here.
Weighing both against staying on Trello? Is Trello free? What it actually costs →
Wekan
Strengths
- +Free MIT license, no per-seat cost ever
- +UI and workflow are the most Trello-like of any open-source option, so the switch is low-friction for a team used to Trello
- +Dedicated Trello JSON/attachment import tool eases migration
- +Active project with regular releases and a large, engaged community (20k+ GitHub stars)
Trade-offs
- −Interface is functional but less visually polished than Trello's current design
- −Advanced reporting/analytics views are limited compared to Trello Premium
- −You are responsible for your own backups, updates, and uptime once self-hosted
- −MongoDB dependency adds a small extra piece of infrastructure to operate versus a single-binary tool
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
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Wekan
if free MIT license, no per-seat cost ever.
Choose OpenProject
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and genuinely not an open-core product — the vendor states plainly that Enterprise plans pay for support and add-ons, not for unlocking withheld features.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — interface is functional but less visually polished than Trello's current design, and heavier to run than a Kanban-only tool — a Ruby on Rails + PostgreSQL stack needs more server resources than Wekan or Kanboard. 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 Wekan
4 GB total, the README's production minimum RAM · 30 minutes with Snap or docker compose
$12–24/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 GB VPS
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
Wekan vs OpenProject — common questions
Is Wekan a better fit than OpenProject for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: OpenProject scores 91 to Wekan's 90 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Wekan earns its place on a different axis — free MIT license, no per-seat cost ever. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Wekan keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. OpenProject 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 Wekan or OpenProject?
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 Wekan and OpenProject 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.