Kan vs Restyaboard
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
Restyaboard
Open-source kanban board with offline sync
| Feature | Kan | Restyaboard |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 17 · At risk |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | OSL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,688 | ★ 2,089 |
| First released | 2024 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Trello | Trello |
What are Kan and Restyaboard?
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
Restyaboard
Restyaboard is an open-source kanban board similar to Trello, featuring offline sync, plugins, and import tools. It targets teams wanting a self-hosted, extensible board. It is deployed via Docker.
- Trello-like kanban boards
- Offline sync support
- Plugin and theme system
- Import from Trello
Kan vs Restyaboard: key differences
Kan is written in TypeScript, while Restyaboard is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Kan versus OSL-3.0 for Restyaboard. Restyaboard is the more established project (first released 2014), while Kan arrived in 2024. Kan has the considerably larger community, at 5,688 GitHub stars versus 2,089.
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 Restyaboard if…
- Trello-compatible imports
- Extensible
- Offline support
Watch out for
- Slower development
- Dated interface
Frequently asked questions
Is Kan or Restyaboard better?
Neither is universally better. Kan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kan and Restyaboard free and open-source?
Yes. Kan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Restyaboard under OSL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kan and Restyaboard with Docker?
Kan: yes. Restyaboard: yes.