Kan vs Leantime
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kan
Open-source, self-hosted kanban board and Trello alternative
VS
Leantime
Goal-oriented project management for teams
| Feature | Kan | Leantime |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,688 | ★ 11,645 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Trello | Asana, Trello, Notion |
What are Kan and Leantime?
Kan
Kan is an open-source, self-hosted kanban board application positioned as a Trello alternative. Built with TypeScript, it offers boards, lists, labels, member collaboration, and public board sharing in a modern web interface.
- Trello-style kanban boards
- Labels and members
- Public board sharing
- Modern responsive UI
Leantime
Leantime is an open-source project management system designed around goals, strategy, and accessibility for non-technical teams. It targets small businesses and creatives. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Goals and strategy boards
- Idea management and research
- Kanban and gantt views
- Designed for non-technical users
Kan vs Leantime: key differences
Kan is written in TypeScript, while Leantime is built with PHP. Leantime is the more established project (first released 2019), while Kan arrived in 2024. Leantime has the considerably larger community, at 11,645 GitHub stars versus 5,688.
Why pick each one
Choose Kan if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.7k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Leantime if…
- Goal-focused approach
- Accessible to non-techies
- Active development
Watch out for
- Less known
- Some features still evolving
Frequently asked questions
Is Kan or Leantime better?
Neither is universally better. Leantime has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kan and Leantime free and open-source?
Yes. Kan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Leantime under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kan and Leantime with Docker?
Kan: yes. Leantime: yes.