planka
Open-source Kanban board with real‑time sync and markdown cards
Alternatives
Choose Focalboard if…
- you need Kanban inside your Mattermost workspace
- you want @mentions and comments synced with chat
- you prefer a single self‑hosted stack for messaging and
- you require native Mattermost notifications for board
Choose Wekan if…
- you need unlimited boards without a paid upgrade
- you want to export board data as JSON for backups
- you rely on webhooks or API for custom integrations
- you prefer a simple Docker/Snap deployment on any web server
Choose Kanboard if…
- you need a zero‑cost, fully open‑source solution
- you prefer hosting on a regular web server instead of Docker
- you want built‑in analytics without extra plugins
- you don’t require out‑of‑the‑box third‑party notifications
Choose OpenProject if…
- you need visual project timelines (Gantt)
- you track billable hours per task
- you want built‑in issue/bug tracking
- you run multiple PM methodologies (Scrum, Kanban)
- you prefer a single open‑source tool over separate apps
Choose Tasks.md if…
- you need Git‑style versioning of every card
- you want zero‑cost, fully free software
- you prefer plain‑markdown files you can edit directly
- you need offline access on a local network
How to Decide
Planka is an open-source Kanban board with real‑time sync and markdown cards used by teams that self‑host collaborative task boards. The alternatives split into a few clear camps: Wekan leans on a simple, intuitive UI with unlimited boards for small teams; Kanboard differentiates with built‑in analytics like cumulative flow diagrams and lead‑time charts; OpenProject stands out for its broader project‑management toolkit including Gantt charts, Scrum support and version‑control integrations; Tasks.md is chosen for its ultra‑lightweight, plain‑Markdown file storage and minimal Docker deployment; Focalboard is favored for deep Mattermost integration and highly customizable workflows.
When comparing these self‑hosted Kanban solutions, the key factors that actually shift the decision are: 1) deployment complexity – Planka and Tasks.md ship as ready‑to‑run Docker images while others require more manual setup; 2) integration breadth – Planka offers 100+ notification targets, OpenProject adds Git/SVN hooks, and Focalboard ties into Mattermost, whereas Kanboard and Tasks.md have little or no native third‑party links; 3) built‑in reporting and analytics – Kanboard provides cumulative flow and lead‑time charts, OpenProject supplies Gantt and time‑tracking reports, while Planka’s reporting is limited to its Pro tier; and 4) extensibility/customization – Focalboard and OpenProject allow extensive plugin or code‑level customization, whereas Wekan and Tasks.md keep the feature set minimal.
All Alternatives
About the Product
Is this your tool?
Claim this page to update details, reply to user reviews, and drive more traffic to your product.
Claim this Product →