Plane vs Worklenz
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Plane
Open-source project and issue tracking tool
VS
Worklenz
Open-source project and team management platform
| Feature | Plane | Worklenz |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 59,805 | ★ 3,181 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Jira, Linear, Asana | Asana, Monday.com |
What are Plane and Worklenz?
Plane
Plane is an open-source project management tool for tracking issues, sprints, and product roadmaps with multiple views. It targets software and product teams. It is deployed via Docker.
- Issues, cycles and modules
- List, kanban and gantt views
- Roadmaps and pages
- Modern fast UI
Worklenz
Worklenz is an open-source project management platform with task tracking, time logging, and resource scheduling. It helps teams plan projects and monitor workload across members.
- Task and project tracking
- Time logging
- Resource scheduling
- Workload monitoring
Plane vs Worklenz: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Worklenz is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Plane. Plane has the considerably larger community, at 59,805 GitHub stars versus 3,181.
Why pick each one
Choose Plane if…
- Polished modern interface
- Good for product teams
- Active development
Watch out for
- Resource heavy
- Some features still maturing
Choose Worklenz if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Plane or Worklenz better?
Neither is universally better. Plane has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Plane and Worklenz free and open-source?
Yes. Plane is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Worklenz under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Plane and Worklenz with Docker?
Plane: yes. Worklenz: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Plane or Worklenz?
Worklenz has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Plane. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.