Focalboard vs TaskBoard
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
TaskBoard
Simple self-hosted kanban board in PHP with SQLite
| Feature | Focalboard | TaskBoard |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 20 · At risk |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 26,484 | ★ 1,401 |
| First released | 2021 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana, Notion | Trello, Kanboard |
What are Focalboard and TaskBoard?
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
TaskBoard
TaskBoard is a simple self-hosted kanban application written in PHP with a SQLite database. It provides boards with customizable columns, cards, comments, and attachments, and requires minimal setup on a basic web server.
- Simple kanban boards
- Drag-and-drop cards
- Minimal dependencies
- Easy installation
Focalboard vs TaskBoard: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. TaskBoard is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Focalboard. TaskBoard is the more established project (first released 2015), while Focalboard arrived in 2021. Focalboard has the considerably larger community, at 26,484 GitHub stars versus 1,401. Focalboard lists first-class Docker deployment; TaskBoard does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Focalboard if…
- Clean Trello-like UI
- Lightweight
- Mattermost integration
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Fewer power features
Choose TaskBoard if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Focalboard or TaskBoard 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 TaskBoard free and open-source?
Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and TaskBoard under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Focalboard and TaskBoard with Docker?
Focalboard: yes. TaskBoard: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Focalboard or TaskBoard?
TaskBoard 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.