Plane vs Redmine
Both are alternatives to Jira. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Redmine vs Plane — same comparison, one verdict.
Plane and Redmine are closely matched on ownership (92 vs 90) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
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.
Redmine
GPL-2.0 veteran project management and issue tracker — lightweight, extensible, and runs on modest hardware.
Redmine is a long-established, GPL-2.0-or-later open-source project management and issue-tracking web application built on Ruby on Rails. It provides flexible issue tracking, role-based access control, Gantt charts and calendars, per-project wikis and forums, time tracking, custom fields, and integration with source-control systems, extended by a broad plugin ecosystem. It is fully self-hosted, database-agnostic, and light enough to run on modest hardware. Redmine is a solid choice for technical teams that want a stable, no-subscription tracker they fully control, and that don't mind a more utilitarian interface and some configuration to reach modern conveniences.
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.
| Plane | Redmine | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 92 | 90 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); Enterprise edition under a separate commercial license | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Pricing | Free to self-host (Community Edition, AGPL-3.0); paid cloud and Enterprise tiers available | Free / self-host (GPL-2.0-or-later); costs are hosting, maintenance, and optional third-party support only |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 8 GB, the vendor's recommendation for production | 2 GB for Redmine plus PostgreSQL or MySQL on one box. Each app process sits at 256–512 MB and can spike past 1 GB on large issue trees or expensive queries |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $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 | $6–12/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 2 GB VPS |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 1 hour with setup.sh; an afternoon if it sits behind your own reverse proxy and you test uploads properly | 1 hour with the Docker Official Image and a PostgreSQL container; half a day from source |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | 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. | Point releases drop in cleanly. Each major moves Rails (5.0 brought the Zeitwerk loader, 6.0 Rails 7.2, 7.0 in 2026 Rails 8.1), and it becomes a project if you run plugins. Back up the database and files/ before each one. |
Plane edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Weighing both against staying on Jira? Is Jira free? What it actually costs →
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
Redmine
Strengths
- +Fully GPL-2.0-or-later open-source with no paid tier gating core features
- +Lightweight and cross-database; runs comfortably on modest hardware, including small VPS or homelab setups
- +Long track record, very stable, with a large plugin ecosystem and REST API
- +Self-hosted with your data in a standard SQL database you control
Trade-offs
- −Interface is more utilitarian and dated than Jira or the newer alternatives here
- −Advanced planning (e.g. richer agile boards, portfolio views) often depends on third-party plugins of varying quality
- −Release cadence is steady but slower than fast-moving projects like Plane
- −You handle installation, upgrades, backups, and plugin compatibility yourself
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Plane
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and aGPL-3.0 Community Edition is OSI-approved open-source and free to self-host with unlimited users and projects.
Choose Redmine
if fully GPL-2.0-or-later open-source with no paid tier gating core features.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — sSO/SAML, air-gapped deployment, and some advanced features require the paid Enterprise edition, and interface is more utilitarian and dated than Jira or the newer alternatives here. 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 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
Self-hosting Redmine
2 GB for Redmine plus PostgreSQL or MySQL on one box. Each app process sits at 256–512 MB and can spike past 1 GB on large issue trees or expensive queries RAM · 1 hour with the Docker Official Image and a PostgreSQL container; half a day from source
$6–12/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 2 GB VPS
Plane vs Redmine — common questions
Is Plane a better fit than Redmine for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Plane scores 92 to Redmine's 90 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Redmine earns its place on a different axis — fully GPL-2.0-or-later open-source with no paid tier gating core features. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Plane keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. Redmine 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 Plane or Redmine?
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 Plane and Redmine 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.