Focalboard vs Smederee

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?
FeatureFocalboardSmederee
CategoryProject Management & TasksProject Management & Tasks
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptScala
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 26,376
First released20212020
ReplacesTrello, Asana, Notion

Why pick each one

Choose Focalboard if…

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

Choose Smederee if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Written in Scala
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Smederee details

Frequently asked questions

Is Focalboard or Smederee better?

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

Are Focalboard and Smederee free and open-source?

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

Can I run Focalboard and Smederee with Docker?

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

Related comparisons