FlowInquiry 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.
FlowInquiry
Archived
Project management and ticket tracking with SLA monitoring
VS
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
| Feature | FlowInquiry | OpenProject |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 95 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | HTML | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 221 | ★ 16,196 |
| First released | 2024 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Jira, Zendesk | Jira, Asana |
What are FlowInquiry and OpenProject?
FlowInquiry
FlowInquiry is an open-source platform that combines project management, ticket tracking, workflow automation, and SLA monitoring. Teams organize work with kanban boards, epics, and iterations following agile practices.
- Kanban boards, epics, and iterations
- Workflow automation
- SLA compliance monitoring
- Email, Slack, and GitHub integrations
OpenProject
OpenProject is a comprehensive open-source project management application with gantt charts, agile boards, and time tracking. It targets organizations managing complex projects. It is deployed via Docker or packages.
- Gantt charts and roadmaps
- Agile boards and backlogs
- Time and cost tracking
- Wiki and document management
FlowInquiry vs OpenProject: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: FlowInquiry's repository is archived and no longer developed, while OpenProject is actively maintained. FlowInquiry is written in HTML, while OpenProject is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for FlowInquiry versus GPL-3.0 for OpenProject. FlowInquiry is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OpenProject. OpenProject is the more established project (first released 2012), while FlowInquiry arrived in 2024. OpenProject has the considerably larger community, at 16,196 GitHub stars versus 221.
Why pick each one
Choose FlowInquiry if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in HTML
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Watch out for
- Resource heavy
- Premium features gated
Frequently asked questions
Is FlowInquiry or OpenProject better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are FlowInquiry and OpenProject free and open-source?
Yes. FlowInquiry is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OpenProject under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FlowInquiry and OpenProject with Docker?
FlowInquiry: yes. OpenProject: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FlowInquiry or OpenProject?
FlowInquiry has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OpenProject. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.