Fab-manager vs OpenProject
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Fab-manager
Fab Lab management solution
VS
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
| Feature | Fab-manager | OpenProject |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0-or-later | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 254 | ★ 15,794 |
| First released | 2023 | 2012 |
| Replaces | — | Jira, Asana |
Why pick each one
Choose Fab-manager if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Ruby
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Frequently asked questions
Is Fab-manager or OpenProject better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community, while Fab-manager is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Fab-manager and OpenProject free and open-source?
Yes. Fab-manager is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later and OpenProject under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fab-manager and OpenProject with Docker?
Fab-manager: check the project docs for container support. OpenProject: yes.