Focalboard vs Octobox

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?
FeatureFocalboardOctobox
CategoryProject Management & TasksProject Management & Tasks
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptRuby
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 26,376★ 4,478
First released20212026
ReplacesTrello, Asana, Notion

Why pick each one

Choose Focalboard if…

  • Clean Trello-like UI
  • Lightweight
  • Mattermost integration
Focalboard details

Choose Octobox if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Ruby
Octobox details

Frequently asked questions

Is Focalboard or Octobox better?

Focalboard is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Octobox if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Focalboard and Octobox free and open-source?

Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and Octobox under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Focalboard and Octobox with Docker?

Focalboard: yes. Octobox: yes.

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