Taskcafe vs Wekan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Wekan
Open-source kanban board for collaboration
| Feature | Taskcafe | Wekan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 21 · At risk | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, snap |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,214 | ★ 21,094 |
| First released | 2020 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana | Trello |
What are Taskcafe and Wekan?
Taskcafe
Taskcafe is an open-source project management tool inspired by Trello and Asana. It offers kanban boards, task assignment, due dates, and a clean interface.
- Kanban project boards
- Task assignment and labels
- Due dates and checklists
- GraphQL API
Wekan
Wekan is an open-source kanban board application for collaborative task and project tracking with cards, swimlanes, and rules. It targets teams wanting a self-hosted kanban tool. It is deployed via Docker or Snap.
- Kanban boards with swimlanes
- Card automation rules
- Time tracking and checklists
- LDAP and OAuth support
Taskcafe vs Wekan: key differences
Taskcafe is written in TypeScript, while Wekan is built with JavaScript. Taskcafe is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Wekan. Wekan is the more established project (first released 2015), while Taskcafe arrived in 2020. Wekan has the considerably larger community, at 21,094 GitHub stars versus 5,214.
Why pick each one
Choose Taskcafe if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.2k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Wekan if…
- Mature kanban tool
- Self-hostable
- Good permissions
Watch out for
- Can feel heavy
- UI is dated
Frequently asked questions
Is Taskcafe or Wekan better?
Neither is universally better. Wekan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Taskcafe and Wekan free and open-source?
Yes. Taskcafe is licensed under MIT and Wekan under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Taskcafe and Wekan with Docker?
Taskcafe: yes. Wekan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Taskcafe or Wekan?
Taskcafe has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Wekan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.