Phabricator vs Redmine
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Phabricator
Suite of web apps to build software faster
VS
Redmine
Flexible project management and issue tracking
| Feature | Phabricator | Redmine |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,299 | ★ 6,012 |
| First released | 2011 | 2006 |
| Replaces | GitHub, Jira | Jira |
Why pick each one
Choose Phabricator if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 12.3k GitHub stars
- Written in PHP
Choose Redmine if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is Phabricator or Redmine better?
Neither is universally better. Phabricator has the larger community, while Redmine is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Phabricator and Redmine free and open-source?
Yes. Phabricator is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Redmine under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Phabricator and Redmine with Docker?
Phabricator: check the project docs for container support. Redmine: yes.