Kan vs Taiga
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
Taiga
Agile project management for cross-functional teams
| Feature | Kan | Taiga |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 77 · Good |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,684 | ★ 851 |
| First released | 2024 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Trello | Jira, Trello |
What are Kan and Taiga?
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
Taiga
Taiga is an open-source project management platform for agile teams supporting Scrum and Kanban methodologies. It targets development teams practicing agile. It is deployed via Docker.
- Scrum and Kanban support
- Backlog and sprint planning
- Issue tracking and wiki
- Powerful REST API
Kan vs Taiga: key differences
Kan is written in TypeScript, while Taiga is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Kan versus MPL-2.0 for Taiga. Kan is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Taiga. Taiga is the more established project (first released 2014), while Kan arrived in 2024. Kan has the considerably larger community, at 5,684 GitHub stars versus 851.
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 Taiga if…
- Strong agile features
- Mature platform
- Good API
Watch out for
- Multi-container setup
- Heavier to operate
Frequently asked questions
Is Kan or Taiga better?
Kan is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Taiga if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Kan and Taiga free and open-source?
Yes. Kan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Taiga under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kan and Taiga with Docker?
Kan: yes. Taiga: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kan or Taiga?
Kan has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Taiga. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.