Etherpad vs Planka

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?
FeatureEtherpadPlanka
CategoryChat & CommunicationProject Management & Tasks
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 18,481★ 12,330
First released20112019
ReplacesGoogle DocsTrello

Why pick each one

Choose Etherpad if…

  • Very mature and stable
  • Highly extensible
Etherpad details

Choose Planka if…

  • Fast real-time updates
  • Familiar interface
  • Lightweight
Planka details

Frequently asked questions

Is Etherpad or Planka better?

Neither is universally better. Etherpad has the larger community, while Planka is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Etherpad and Planka free and open-source?

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

Can I run Etherpad and Planka with Docker?

Etherpad: yes. Planka: yes.

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