Kanban Tool vs OpenProject
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Kanban Tool
Advanced Kanban boards with time tracking
VS
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
| Feature | Kanban Tool | OpenProject |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | ⊘ Proprietary | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 15,794 |
| First released | 2020 | 2012 |
| Replaces | — | Jira, Asana |
Why pick each one
Choose Kanban Tool if…
- Released under the ⊘ Proprietary license
- Written in Ruby
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanban Tool or OpenProject better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community, while Kanban Tool is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kanban Tool and OpenProject free and open-source?
Yes. Kanban Tool is licensed under ⊘ Proprietary and OpenProject under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kanban Tool and OpenProject with Docker?
Kanban Tool: check the project docs for container support. OpenProject: yes.