Etherpad vs Plane

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureEtherpadPlane
CategoryChat & CommunicationProject Management & Tasks
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 18,481★ 55,704
First released20112023
ReplacesGoogle DocsJira, Linear, Asana

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Plane if…

  • Polished modern interface
  • Good for product teams
  • Active development
Plane details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Plane better?

Neither is universally better. Plane has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Etherpad and Plane free and open-source?

Yes. Etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Plane under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Etherpad and Plane with Docker?

Etherpad: yes. Plane: yes.

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