Kanboard vs Taskell
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kanboard
Minimalist kanban project management
VS
Taskell
Archived
Command-line kanban board stored in Markdown
| Feature | Kanboard | Taskell |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,881 | ★ 1,783 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Trello | Trello, Things |
What are Kanboard and Taskell?
Kanboard
Kanboard is a minimalist, free kanban project management tool focused on simplicity and a clear visual workflow. It targets individuals and small teams wanting a no-frills board. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Simple kanban boards
- WIP limits and automation
- Plugin ecosystem
- Lightweight PHP app
Taskell
Taskell is an open-source command-line kanban board application that stores boards as Markdown files. It offers a keyboard-driven terminal interface for managing personal task lists.
- Terminal kanban board
- Markdown file storage
- Keyboard-driven
- No database needed
Kanboard vs Taskell: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Taskell's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Kanboard is actively maintained. Kanboard is written in PHP, while Taskell is built with Haskell. Licensing differs — MIT for Kanboard versus BSD-3-Clause for Taskell. Taskell is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Kanboard. Kanboard is the more established project (first released 2014), while Taskell arrived in 2018. Kanboard has the considerably larger community, at 9,881 GitHub stars versus 1,783. Kanboard lists first-class Docker deployment; Taskell does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Kanboard if…
- Very lightweight
- Easy to learn
- Stable
Watch out for
- Minimal feature set
- Dated look
Choose Taskell if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Haskell
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanboard or Taskell 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 Taskell free and open-source?
Yes. Kanboard is licensed under MIT and Taskell under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kanboard and Taskell with Docker?
Kanboard: yes. Taskell: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Kanboard or Taskell?
Taskell has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Kanboard. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.