Focalboard vs Kanri
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
Kanri
Offline-first kanban board desktop app built with Tauri
| Feature | Focalboard | Kanri |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 77 · Good |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 26,483 | ★ 2,035 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana, Notion | Trello |
What are Focalboard and Kanri?
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
Kanri
Kanri is an offline-first kanban board desktop application built with Tauri and Vue. Boards are stored locally on your machine and support drag-and-drop cards, custom themes, and import/export, with no server or account required.
- Offline kanban boards
- Drag-and-drop cards
- Cross-platform desktop app
- Local data storage
Focalboard vs Kanri: key differences
Focalboard is written in TypeScript, while Kanri is built with Vue. Kanri is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Focalboard. Focalboard has the considerably larger community, at 26,483 GitHub stars versus 2,035.
Why pick each one
Choose Focalboard if…
- Clean Trello-like UI
- Lightweight
- Mattermost integration
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Fewer power features
Choose Kanri if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Focalboard or Kanri better?
Neither is universally better. Focalboard has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Focalboard and Kanri free and open-source?
Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and Kanri under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Focalboard and Kanri with Docker?
Focalboard: yes. Kanri: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Focalboard or Kanri?
Kanri has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Focalboard. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.