Kan vs Vikunja
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
Vikunja
Open-source to-do and project management app
| Feature | Kan | Vikunja |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,684 | ★ 5,482 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Trello | Todoist, Trello, Asana |
What are Kan and Vikunja?
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
Vikunja
Vikunja is an open-source to-do app and project management tool with lists, kanban, gantt, and calendar views. It targets individuals and teams wanting flexible task management. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- List, kanban, gantt and calendar views
- Reminders and recurring tasks
- REST API
- Lightweight single binary
Kan vs Vikunja: key differences
Kan is written in TypeScript, while Vikunja is built with Go. Vikunja is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Kan. Vikunja is the more established project (first released 2019), while Kan arrived in 2024.
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 Vikunja if…
- Flexible task views
- Lightweight
- Good API
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem
- Fewer integrations than rivals
Frequently asked questions
Is Kan or Vikunja better?
Neither is universally better. Kan has the larger community, while Vikunja is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kan and Vikunja free and open-source?
Yes. Kan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Vikunja under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kan and Vikunja with Docker?
Kan: yes. Vikunja: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kan or Vikunja?
Vikunja has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Kan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.