Plane vs Taiga
Both are alternatives to Jira. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Taiga vs Plane — same comparison, one verdict.
Plane and Taiga are closely matched on ownership (92 vs 88) — 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.
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.
| Plane | Taiga | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 92 | 88 |
| 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 | AGPL-3.0 (frontend, relicensed 2024); MPL-2.0 (backend) — both OSI-approved |
| Pricing | Free to self-host (Community Edition, AGPL-3.0); paid cloud and Enterprise tiers available | 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. | 8 GB, the vendor's recommendation for production | 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 an 8 GB VPS, plus object storage if you follow the vendor's advice to move files off the box | $12–24/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 4 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 | 1–2 hours with taiga-docker, plus time to set up SMTP and TLS |
| 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. | 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. |
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
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 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 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/SAML, air-gapped deployment, and some advanced features require 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 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 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
Plane vs Taiga — common questions
Is Plane a better fit than Taiga for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Plane scores 92 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?
Plane 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 Plane 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 Plane 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.