Kan vs Wekan
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
Wekan
Open-source kanban board for collaboration
| Feature | Kan | Wekan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, snap |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,684 | ★ 21,094 |
| First released | 2024 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Trello | Trello |
What are Kan and Wekan?
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
Wekan
Wekan is an open-source kanban board application for collaborative task and project tracking with cards, swimlanes, and rules. It targets teams wanting a self-hosted kanban tool. It is deployed via Docker or Snap.
- Kanban boards with swimlanes
- Card automation rules
- Time tracking and checklists
- LDAP and OAuth support
Kan vs Wekan: key differences
Kan is written in TypeScript, while Wekan is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Kan versus MIT for Wekan. Kan is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Wekan. Wekan is the more established project (first released 2015), while Kan arrived in 2024. Wekan has the considerably larger community, at 21,094 GitHub stars versus 5,684.
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 Wekan if…
- Mature kanban tool
- Self-hostable
- Good permissions
Watch out for
- Can feel heavy
- UI is dated
Frequently asked questions
Is Kan or Wekan better?
Neither is universally better. Wekan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kan and Wekan free and open-source?
Yes. Kan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Wekan under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kan and Wekan with Docker?
Kan: yes. Wekan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kan or Wekan?
Kan has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Wekan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.