Kanboard vs Kimai2
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?
Kanboard
Minimalist kanban project management
VS
Kimai2
Multi-user application for time-tracking with support for mobile
| Feature | Kanboard | Kimai2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 200 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,776 | ★ 4,871 |
| First released | 2014 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Trello | Hamster, RescueTime, Toggl Track |
Why pick each one
Choose Kimai2 if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (4.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanboard or Kimai2 better?
Neither is universally better. Kanboard has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kanboard and Kimai2 free and open-source?
Yes. Kanboard is licensed under MIT and Kimai2 under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kanboard and Kimai2 with Docker?
Kanboard: yes. Kimai2: check the project docs for container support.