Focalboard vs Kan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Focalboard
Open-source project and task management boards
VS
Kan
Open-source, self-hosted kanban board and Trello alternative
| Feature | Focalboard | Kan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 26,483 | ★ 5,688 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana, Notion | Trello |
What are Focalboard and Kan?
Focalboard
Focalboard is an open-source project management tool with kanban boards, tables, and calendar views for organizing work. It targets teams wanting a self-hosted Trello-style board. It is deployed via Docker or as part of Mattermost.
- Kanban, table and calendar views
- Personal and team boards
- Integrates with Mattermost
- Templates for common workflows
Kan
Kan is an open-source, self-hosted kanban board application positioned as a Trello alternative. Built with TypeScript, it offers boards, lists, labels, member collaboration, and public board sharing in a modern web interface.
- Trello-style kanban boards
- Labels and members
- Public board sharing
- Modern responsive UI
Focalboard vs Kan: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Focalboard versus AGPL-3.0 for Kan. Focalboard is the more established project (first released 2021), while Kan arrived in 2024. Focalboard has the considerably larger community, at 26,483 GitHub stars versus 5,688.
Why pick each one
Choose Focalboard if…
- Clean Trello-like UI
- Lightweight
- Mattermost integration
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Fewer power features
Choose Kan if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.7k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Focalboard or Kan better?
Focalboard is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Kan if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Focalboard and Kan free and open-source?
Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and Kan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Focalboard and Kan with Docker?
Focalboard: yes. Kan: yes.