OpenProject vs phpCollab
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?
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
VS
phpCollab
Lightweight project collaboration for teams and clients
| Feature | OpenProject | phpCollab |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Ruby | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,794 | ★ 56 |
| First released | 2012 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Jira, Asana | Basecamp |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Choose phpCollab if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or phpCollab better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community, while phpCollab is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenProject and phpCollab free and open-source?
Yes. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and phpCollab under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenProject and phpCollab with Docker?
OpenProject: yes. phpCollab: check the project docs for container support.