OpenProject vs Trac
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
OpenProject
Open-source project management and collaboration
VS
Trac
Integrated wiki and issue tracker for software projects
| Feature | OpenProject | Trac |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,794 | ★ 541 |
| First released | 2012 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Jira, Asana | Jira |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenProject if…
- Very feature-complete
- Good for classic project management
- Strong permissions
Choose Trac if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or Trac better?
Neither is universally better. OpenProject has the larger community, while Trac is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenProject and Trac free and open-source?
Yes. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Trac under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenProject and Trac with Docker?
OpenProject: yes. Trac: check the project docs for container support.