Focalboard vs Planka
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
Planka
Realtime kanban board for workgroups
| Feature | Focalboard | Planka |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 26,483 | ★ 12,576 |
| First released | 2021 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana, Notion | Trello |
What are Focalboard and Planka?
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
Planka
Planka is an open-source kanban board for workgroups with real-time updates, labels, and a clean Trello-like interface. It targets small teams wanting fast, simple boards. It is deployed via Docker.
- Real-time collaborative boards
- Cards, labels and due dates
- Markdown descriptions
- Clean Trello-like UI
Focalboard vs Planka: key differences
Focalboard is written in TypeScript, while Planka is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Focalboard versus AGPL-3.0 for Planka. Planka is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Focalboard. Planka is the more established project (first released 2019), while Focalboard arrived in 2021. Focalboard has the considerably larger community, at 26,483 GitHub stars versus 12,576.
Why pick each one
Choose Focalboard if…
- Clean Trello-like UI
- Lightweight
- Mattermost integration
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Fewer power features
Choose Planka if…
- Fast real-time updates
- Familiar interface
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Fewer features than rivals
- Requires Postgres
Frequently asked questions
Is Focalboard or Planka 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 Planka free and open-source?
Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and Planka under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Focalboard and Planka with Docker?
Focalboard: yes. Planka: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Focalboard or Planka?
Planka has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Focalboard. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.