Taskcafe 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.
Worklenz
Open-source project and team management platform
| Feature | Taskcafe | Worklenz |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 21 · At risk | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,214 | ★ 3,181 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana | Asana, Monday.com |
What are Taskcafe and Worklenz?
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
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
Taskcafe vs Worklenz: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Taskcafe versus AGPL-3.0 for Worklenz. Taskcafe is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Worklenz. Taskcafe is the more established project (first released 2020), while Worklenz arrived in 2023.
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 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 Taskcafe or Worklenz better?
Neither is universally better. Taskcafe has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Taskcafe and Worklenz free and open-source?
Yes. Taskcafe is licensed under MIT and Worklenz under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Taskcafe and Worklenz with Docker?
Taskcafe: yes. Worklenz: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Taskcafe or Worklenz?
Taskcafe has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Worklenz. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.