Best Open-Source Project Management Software 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best open-source Project Management Software compared: OpenProject, Plane, Taiga, Vikunja and 2 more, with licenses, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 24, 2026.
•3 min read•Project & Task Management
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenProject | Free (Community edition with no minimum users and community-only support); paid from EUR 5.95 per user/month, 25-user minimum (Basic) | Web, Self-hosted | Scheduled projects with dependencies | Docs only |
| Plane | Free (up to 12 users with basic roles and views); paid from $6 per user/month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly, Pro) | Web, Self-hosted | Software teams | Docs only |
| Taiga | Free (Free and open source; you host it yourself) | Web, Self-hosted | Agile teams | Docs only |
| Vikunja | Free (Self-host free forever); paid from EUR 4 per month, Vikunja Cloud Personal (Organization EUR 5 per user/month) | Web, Self-hosted | Small teams and personal projects | Docs only |
| Kanboard | Free (Free self-hosted Kanban) | Web, Self-hosted | Teams that only need a board | Docs only |
| WeKan | Free (MIT-licensed Kanban app you host yourself) | Web, Self-hosted | Trello-like boards | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You plan projects with dependencies and Gantt charts (OpenProject is the pick)
- You run sprints and manage a backlog (Plane is the pick)
- You want something a non-technical team will use (Vikunja is the pick)
- You need a board and nothing else (Kanboard is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You cannot host, patch and back up a server yourself and want a vendor to run it
Open-source project management software gives you tasks, schedules and reports without per-seat pricing, and the real choice is how much structure you need. OpenProject is the most complete, with Gantt charts, work packages, time tracking and roles; its community edition has no minimum users. Plane and Taiga are issue-and-sprint trackers closer to Jira, suited to software teams. Vikunja is a friendlier task and project app with several views, good for small teams and personal planning. Kanboard and Wekan are board-first, offering Kanban and little else, which is exactly what some teams want. If you manage construction-style schedules with dependencies, pick OpenProject. If you run sprints and backlogs, pick Plane or Taiga. If you want a light tool a non-technical team will adopt, pick Vikunja or Kanboard. Self-hosting means you handle servers, backups and upgrades, and mobile apps are weaker than the commercial ones. Hosted plans exist for several of these, with their own limits, for example Plane's free cloud plan for up to 12 users. Licences come from each project's pages as of the check date; none was installed for this guide, so trial one with a real project before you commit your team.
OpenProject
GPL-3.0 community edition with no minimum users and community-only support. Gantt charts, roles and time tracking make it the most complete pick.
Price: Free (Community edition with no minimum users and community-only support); paid from EUR 5.95 per user/month, 25-user minimum (Basic) (OpenProject pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 16.7k GitHub stars · latest release v17.9.4 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Scheduled projects with dependencies.
Plane
AGPL-3.0 issue tracker with cycles and modules. The hosted free plan lists up to 12 users; self-hosting lifts the cap.
Price: Free (up to 12 users with basic roles and views); paid from $6 per user/month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly, Pro) (Plane pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 61.6k GitHub stars · latest release v1.4.2 (Aug 23, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Software teams.
Worth knowing: SSO (SAML, OIDC), wiki, time tracking and intake forms are paid features.
Taiga
Back end MPL-2.0, front end AGPL-3.0; offers Scrum and Kanban views. Hosted plans were not checked.
Price: Free (Free and open source; you host it yourself) (Taiga pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MPL-2.0 (back end); AGPL-3.0 (front end) (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 858 GitHub stars · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Agile teams.
Vikunja
AGPL-3.0 task and project app, free to self-host forever. Views include lists, boards and calendars.
Price: Free (Self-host free forever); paid from EUR 4 per month, Vikunja Cloud Personal (Organization EUR 5 per user/month) (Vikunja pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 5.9k GitHub stars · latest release v2.7.1 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Best for: Small teams and personal projects.
Kanboard
MIT minimalist Kanban in PHP with few features, so little training is needed. It lacks sprints and Gantt charts, which keeps it simple.
Price: Free (Free self-hosted Kanban) (Kanboard pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 9.9k GitHub stars · latest release v1.2.56 (Oct 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Best for: Teams that only need a board.
WeKan
MIT Trello-style board app you host yourself. Hosted SaaS is mentioned on GitHub without a price.
Price: Free (MIT-licensed Kanban app you host yourself) (WeKan pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 21.1k GitHub stars · latest release v12.65 (Oct 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Trello-like boards.
Which one to pick
- You plan projects with dependencies and Gantt charts: OpenProject
- You run sprints and manage a backlog: Plane
- You want something a non-technical team will use: Vikunja
- You need a board and nothing else: Kanboard
Limits of this review
Docs-only for OpenProject, Plane, Taiga, Vikunja, Kanboard, WeKan: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-24: OpenProject, Plane, Taiga, Vikunja, Kanboard, WeKan. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.