Leantime vs Vikunja
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Leantime
Goal-oriented project management for teams
VS
Vikunja
Open-source to-do and project management app
| Feature | Leantime | Vikunja |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,645 | ★ 5,494 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Asana, Trello, Notion | Todoist, Trello, Asana |
What are Leantime and Vikunja?
Leantime
Leantime is an open-source project management system designed around goals, strategy, and accessibility for non-technical teams. It targets small businesses and creatives. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Goals and strategy boards
- Idea management and research
- Kanban and gantt views
- Designed for non-technical users
Vikunja
Vikunja is an open-source to-do app and project management tool with lists, kanban, gantt, and calendar views. It targets individuals and teams wanting flexible task management. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- List, kanban, gantt and calendar views
- Reminders and recurring tasks
- REST API
- Lightweight single binary
Leantime vs Vikunja: key differences
Leantime is written in PHP, while Vikunja is built with Go. Vikunja is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Leantime. Leantime has the considerably larger community, at 11,645 GitHub stars versus 5,494.
Why pick each one
Choose Leantime if…
- Goal-focused approach
- Accessible to non-techies
- Active development
Watch out for
- Less known
- Some features still evolving
Choose Vikunja if…
- Flexible task views
- Lightweight
- Good API
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem
- Fewer integrations than rivals
Frequently asked questions
Is Leantime or Vikunja better?
Neither is universally better. Leantime has the larger community, while Vikunja is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Leantime and Vikunja free and open-source?
Yes. Leantime is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Vikunja under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Leantime and Vikunja with Docker?
Leantime: yes. Vikunja: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Leantime or Vikunja?
Vikunja has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Leantime. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.