Vikunja 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.
Vikunja
Open-source to-do and project management app
VS
Wekan
Open-source kanban board for collaboration
| Feature | Vikunja | Wekan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, snap |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,494 | ★ 21,094 |
| First released | 2019 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Todoist, Trello, Asana | Trello |
What are Vikunja and Wekan?
Vikunja
Vikunja is an open-source to-do app and project management tool with lists, kanban, gantt, and calendar views. It targets individuals and teams wanting flexible task management. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- List, kanban, gantt and calendar views
- Reminders and recurring tasks
- REST API
- Lightweight single binary
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
Vikunja vs Wekan: key differences
Vikunja is written in Go, while Wekan is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Vikunja versus MIT for Wekan. Vikunja 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 Vikunja arrived in 2019. Wekan has the considerably larger community, at 21,094 GitHub stars versus 5,494.
Why pick each one
Choose Vikunja if…
- Flexible task views
- Lightweight
- Good API
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem
- Fewer integrations than rivals
Choose Wekan if…
- Mature kanban tool
- Self-hostable
- Good permissions
Watch out for
- Can feel heavy
- UI is dated
Frequently asked questions
Is Vikunja or Wekan better?
Neither is universally better. Wekan has the larger community, while Vikunja is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Vikunja and Wekan free and open-source?
Yes. Vikunja is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Wekan under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Vikunja and Wekan with Docker?
Vikunja: yes. Wekan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Vikunja or Wekan?
Vikunja 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.