May 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?
May
Web-based vehicle maintenance and fuel mileage tracker
VS
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
| Feature | May | OpenProject |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 233 | ★ 15,794 |
| First released | 2026 | 2012 |
| Replaces | — | Jira, Asana |
Why pick each one
Choose May if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Frequently asked questions
Is May or OpenProject better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community, while May is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are May and OpenProject free and open-source?
Yes. May is licensed under MIT and OpenProject under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run May and OpenProject with Docker?
May: check the project docs for container support. OpenProject: yes.