Wekan vs Vikunja
Both are alternatives to Trello. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Vikunja vs Wekan — same comparison, one verdict.
Wekan and Vikunja are closely matched on ownership (90 vs 89) — 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.
Vikunja
A modern task manager with List, Kanban, Gantt, and Table views in one app.
Vikunja is an open-source task and project manager that goes beyond a pure Kanban board: the same tasks can be viewed as a list, a Kanban board, a Gantt-style timeline, or a table. It ships as a single Go binary plus a Vue.js frontend, supports PostgreSQL/MySQL/SQLite, and includes CalDAV sync so tasks show up in any calendar app. A small set of admin-oriented features (admin panel, audit logs, time tracking) require a paid 'Pro' license key even for self-hosted instances; every core feature — including Kanban, Gantt, and the full API — remains free.
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 | Vikunja | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 90 | 89 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free / self-host (commercial support available separately) | Free / self-host for all core features; Pro add-ons (admin panel, audit logs, time tracking) via a paid license from ~$5/user/month; managed Cloud hosting also available |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 4 GB total, the README's production minimum | 1 GB for Vikunja plus PostgreSQL on one box. The docs say you probably won't need Redis until you have more than a handful of users |
| 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 | $5–6/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 1 GB VPS |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 30 minutes with Snap or docker compose | 20 minutes with docker compose, an hour with a reverse proxy and TLS |
| 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. | Frequent releases. 2.0.0 in February 2026 fixed four critical security issues, and 2.1 through 2.6 followed by August. Upgrade promptly, and back up the database and files/ separately. |
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
Vikunja
Strengths
- +Four task views (List, Kanban, Gantt, Table) cover more workflows than a Kanban-only tool
- +Natural-language 'Quick Add Magic' parses due dates, priority, labels, and assignee from one line of text
- +CalDAV support integrates tasks into existing calendar apps
- +Very actively developed with a comprehensive test suite and seven built-in importers, including one specifically for Trello
Trade-offs
- −AGPL-3.0 requires anyone who modifies and network-serves Vikunja to release those changes — a real consideration for companies building a hosted product on top of it
- −A handful of genuinely useful admin/audit features sit behind a paid license even when self-hosting, so 'fully free' has a practical asterisk
- −More moving parts (Go backend + Vue frontend + DB) than a single-file tool like Kanboard
- −Newer project than Wekan or OpenProject, so its long-term enterprise track record is shorter
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Wekan
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and free MIT license, no per-seat cost ever.
Choose Vikunja
if four task views (List, Kanban, Gantt, Table) cover more workflows than a Kanban-only tool.
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 aGPL-3.0 requires anyone who modifies and network-serves Vikunja to release those changes — a real consideration for companies building a hosted product on top of it. 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 Vikunja
1 GB for Vikunja plus PostgreSQL on one box. The docs say you probably won't need Redis until you have more than a handful of users RAM · 20 minutes with docker compose, an hour with a reverse proxy and TLS
$5–6/mo for a 5–20 user instance on a 1 GB VPS
Wekan vs Vikunja — common questions
Is Wekan a better fit than Vikunja for project management?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Wekan scores 90 to Vikunja's 89 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Vikunja earns its place on a different axis — four task views (List, Kanban, Gantt, Table) cover more workflows than a Kanban-only tool. 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. Vikunja 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 Vikunja?
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 Vikunja 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.
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Facts verified 2026-07-18. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.