Kimai2 vs Planka
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?
Kimai2
Multi-user application for time-tracking with support for mobile
VS
Planka
Realtime kanban board for workgroups
| Feature | Kimai2 | Planka |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 200 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,871 | ★ 12,330 |
| First released | 2023 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Hamster, RescueTime, Toggl Track | Trello |
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 Kimai2 or Planka better?
Neither is universally better. Planka has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kimai2 and Planka free and open-source?
Yes. Kimai2 is licensed under MIT and Planka under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kimai2 and Planka with Docker?
Kimai2: check the project docs for container support. Planka: yes.