Focalboard vs Paheko

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?
FeatureFocalboardPaheko
CategoryProject Management & TasksProject Management & Tasks
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0-or-later
LanguageTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB200 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 26,376
First released20212023
ReplacesTrello, Asana, NotionCiel Associations

Why pick each one

Choose Focalboard if…

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

Choose Paheko if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0-or-later license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 200 MB RAM
Paheko details

Frequently asked questions

Is Focalboard or Paheko 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 Paheko free and open-source?

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

Can I run Focalboard and Paheko with Docker?

Focalboard: yes. Paheko: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons