Zoho Projects Alternatives 2026: 8 Free Options
Zoho Projects alternatives: OpenProject, Plane, Vikunja, Kanboard and 4 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•4 min read•Project & Task Management
Verdict:Zoho Projects has a free plan for up to 5 users and 3 projects according to its pricing page, and paid editions that sit inside the wider Zoho suite. Check the Premium price before comparing costs. If you left Zoho Projects because of limits or cost, the best open-source answer is OpenProject, whose Community edition has no minimum users and covers Gantt planning and work packages, provided you can host it. Plane is the better pick for software teams that think in issues and cycles, with a free tier for up to 12 users. If your team only needs visual task flow, Kanboard or Wekan are free and easy to install, and Trello is the no-hosting equivalent with 10 collaborators on its free plan. ClickUp's free plan is generous on members but tight on 60 MB of storage. Asana is the smoother product for a very small team, limited to 2 users on Personal. The trade-off is integration: Zoho Projects ties into Zoho CRM, Books and Desk, and every alternative here means rebuilding those links with exports or automation tools, so teams already deep in Zoho have the strongest reason to stay.
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 | Self-hosted Gantt-style planning | 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 | Modern issue and cycle tracking | 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 that want simple views | Docs only |
| Kanboard | Free (Free self-hosted Kanban) | Web, Self-hosted | Plain self-hosted Kanban | Docs only |
| WeKan | Free (MIT-licensed Kanban app you host yourself) | Web, Self-hosted | Free Kanban with full control | Docs only |
| Trello | Free (up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, 250 Workspace command runs a month, 10 MB per file); paid from $5 per user/month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android | Easy boards for non-technical teams | Docs only |
| ClickUp | Free (Free Forever plan with unlimited members, 60 MB of storage, 5 Spaces and 100 automation actions a month) | Web, iOS, Android | Many views on a free plan | Docs only |
| Asana | Free (Personal plan for up to 2 users with unlimited tasks and projects and list, board and calendar views); paid from $10.99 per user/month, billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android | Polished task tracking for small teams | Docs only |
| Smartsheet | Paid from $9 per member/month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly; Pro, 1-10 members, new customers only) | Web, iOS, Android | Project management | Docs only |
| Basecamp | Free (Free plan: 1 project, 1 GB storage, up to 3 users); paid from $29 per per month, Freelancer plan (monthly billing shown on page) | Web, iOS, Android | Project management | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- I want self-hosted Gantt planning (OpenProject is the pick)
- My team tracks software issues in cycles (Plane is the pick)
- I only need free Kanban boards (Kanboard is the pick)
- I want hosted boards without running a server (Trello is the pick)
- I want many views on a free plan (ClickUp is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Zoho Projects features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Zoho Projects today: Free (Free plan for up to 5 users and 3 projects per the pricing page (its FAQ mentions two projects after a downgrade)) (Zoho Projects pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Zoho Projects alternatives
Zoho Projects' Free plan covers up to 5 users, 3 projects and 5 GB of storage, with no project templates. Unlimited projects, custom views and statuses, task blueprints, time logs and timesheets, budgets and recurring tasks start at Premium, which also lifts storage to 100 GB. Critical path, baselines, custom roles and profiles, single sign-on and a sandbox are Enterprise features. The pricing FAQ adds that a downgrade to Free leaves two projects with limited features.
OpenProject
Compared with Zoho Projects: OpenProject is GPL-3.0 with a free Community edition and no minimum users, and it covers Gantt charts and work packages like Zoho Projects. You host and maintain it yourself, and support is community-only on the free tier.
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).
Project activity: 16.7k GitHub stars · latest release v17.9.4 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosted Gantt-style planning.
Plane
Compared with Zoho Projects: Plane is AGPL-3.0 and offers a free tier for up to 12 users, with Pro at $6 per user per month billed yearly. It is more issue-tracker oriented than Zoho Projects, lighter on timesheets, billing and reporting.
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).
Project activity: 61.6k GitHub stars · latest release v1.4.2 (Aug 23, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Modern issue and cycle tracking.
Worth knowing: SSO (SAML, OIDC), wiki, time tracking and intake forms are paid features.
Vikunja
Compared with Zoho Projects: Vikunja is a lighter, self-hostable tool with list, kanban and Gantt views, free to run yourself or EUR 4 per month on its cloud. It lacks Zoho Projects' timesheets, billing and the wider Zoho suite integrations.
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).
Project activity: 5.9k GitHub stars · latest release v2.7.1 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Best for: Small teams that want simple views.
Kanboard
Compared with Zoho Projects: Kanboard is a free, MIT-licensed self-hosted Kanban board. It is far simpler than Zoho Projects, with no Gantt-heavy planning or bundled suite, but it is quick to install and costs nothing to run.
Price: Free (Free self-hosted Kanban) (Kanboard pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 9.9k GitHub stars · latest release v1.2.56 (Oct 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Best for: Plain self-hosted Kanban.
WeKan
Compared with Zoho Projects: Wekan is an MIT-licensed Kanban app you host yourself. It gives you boards and cards without Zoho Projects' Gantt charts, time tracking or reports, which suits teams that only need visual task flow.
Price: Free (MIT-licensed Kanban app you host yourself) (WeKan pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 21.1k GitHub stars · latest release v12.65 (Oct 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Free Kanban with full control.
Trello
Compared with Zoho Projects: Trello's free plan allows up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with Premium-style plans from $5 per user per month billed annually. It is board-based and lacks Zoho Projects' native Gantt and timesheets.
Price: Free (up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, 250 Workspace command runs a month, 10 MB per file); paid from $5 per user/month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) (Trello pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Easy boards for non-technical teams.
ClickUp
Compared with Zoho Projects: ClickUp's Free Forever plan includes unlimited members, 60 MB of storage and 5 Spaces. It offers many views like Zoho Projects, with a steeper learning curve and tight free-plan storage.
Price: Free (Free Forever plan with unlimited members, 60 MB of storage, 5 Spaces and 100 automation actions a month) (ClickUp pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Many views on a free plan.
Asana
Compared with Zoho Projects: Asana has a Personal plan for up to 2 users with unlimited tasks and projects, and paid plans from $10.99 per user per month billed annually. It is easier to adopt than Zoho Projects but the free plan suits only very small teams.
Price: Free (Personal plan for up to 2 users with unlimited tasks and projects and list, board and calendar views); paid from $10.99 per user/month, billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly) (Asana pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Polished task tracking for small teams.
Other popular options (paid)
Smartsheet
Compared with Zoho Projects: Pro is $9 per member per month billed yearly ($12 monthly) for 1 to 10 members, with a 30-day trial and no free plan. It is spreadsheet-style, so expect a different feel from Zoho Projects, and you lose the free tier.
Price: Paid from $9 per member/month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly; Pro, 1-10 members, new customers only) (Smartsheet pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Basecamp
Compared with Zoho Projects: Flat pricing instead of per-user: Pro is $79 per month and Pro Unlimited $199 per month billed annually, while the free plan allows 1 project and up to 3 users. Simpler than Zoho Projects, with fewer project controls.
Price: Free (Free plan: 1 project, 1 GB storage, up to 3 users); paid from $29 per per month, Freelancer plan (monthly billing shown on page) (Basecamp pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Which one to pick
- I want self-hosted Gantt planning: OpenProject
- My team tracks software issues in cycles: Plane
- I only need free Kanban boards: Kanboard
- I want hosted boards without running a server: Trello
- I want many views on a free plan: ClickUp
Limits of this review
Docs-only for OpenProject, Plane, Vikunja, Kanboard, WeKan, Trello, ClickUp, Asana: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Zoho Projects. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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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 and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Zoho Projects, OpenProject, Plane, Vikunja, Kanboard, WeKan, Trello, ClickUp, Asana, Smartsheet, Basecamp. 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.