Kan 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.
Kan
Open-source, self-hosted kanban board and Trello alternative
VS
TaskBoard
Simple self-hosted kanban board in PHP with SQLite
| Feature | Kan | TaskBoard |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 20 · At risk |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,688 | ★ 1,401 |
| First released | 2024 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Trello | Trello, Kanboard |
What are Kan and TaskBoard?
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
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
Kan vs TaskBoard: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Kan versus MIT for TaskBoard. TaskBoard is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Kan. TaskBoard is the more established project (first released 2015), while Kan arrived in 2024. Kan has the considerably larger community, at 5,688 GitHub stars versus 1,401. Kan lists first-class Docker deployment; TaskBoard does not.
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 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 Kan or TaskBoard better?
Neither is universally better. Kan has the larger community, while TaskBoard is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kan and TaskBoard free and open-source?
Yes. Kan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and TaskBoard under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kan and TaskBoard with Docker?
Kan: yes. TaskBoard: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Kan or TaskBoard?
TaskBoard has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Kan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.