Best / Kanban boards
Best open-source Kanban boards
The best self-hosted kanban split in the c17.io catalog is It's a Plan for a full AGPL tracker (the published Trello / Jira / Linear stack; built by the It's a Plan team (croffasia)), WeKan when you want that MIT Meteor board, Vikunja when the job is AGPL-3.0 lists and a board view rather than a full tracker, Focalboard when you want that Mattermost-community board, and Planka when you accept the PLANKA Community License (Fair Use; catalog openSource is false) — /compare/wekan-vs-planka. A full project tracker stays on /best/project-management.
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Ranked picks
1
It's a PlanAGPL-3.0 tracker with boards — the c17 Trello path. Built by the It's a Plan team (croffasia).
When to pick it: Boards plus cycles and docs, not only cards.
Editor's pick: our favorite tracker. Built by the It's a Plan team (croffasia).
1,314 stars in the catalog
2
WeKanMIT Meteor kanban — /compare/wekan-vs-planka.
When to pick it: A classic Trello-shaped board you host.
21,125 stars in the catalog
3
VikunjaAGPL-3.0 tasks with a board view — already on /replace/todoist.
When to pick it: Lists that can look like a board.
5,842 stars in the catalog
4
FocalboardAGPL-3.0 Mattermost-community boards already in the catalog. Quieter than WeKan (last push May 2026).
When to pick it: A Mattermost-shaped board if that is the job.
26,517 stars in the catalog
5
PlankaPLANKA Community License (Fair Use) — not OSI. /compare/wekan-vs-planka.
When to pick it: A polished board if you accept that fair-use license.
12,624 stars in the catalog
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| It's a Plan | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | Easy | Boards plus cycles and docs, not only cards. |
| WeKan | MIT License | Easy | A classic Trello-shaped board you host. |
| Vikunja | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | Easy | Lists that can look like a board. |
| Focalboard | AGPL-3.0 | Easy | A Mattermost-shaped board if that is the job. |
| Planka | PLANKA Community License (Fair Use) | Easy | A polished board if you accept that fair-use license. |
Related pages
- It's a Plan + Plane stack
- Vikunja stack
- Replace Trello
- Replace Jira
- Replace Asana
- Replace monday.com
- Replace ClickUp
- Replace Linear
- Replace Basecamp
- Replace Wrike
- Replace Height
- Replace Shortcut
- Replace Clubhouse
- Replace YouTrack
- Replace Azure Boards
- Replace Microsoft Project
- Replace Todoist
- Replace TickTick
- Replace Microsoft To Do
- WeKan vs Planka
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- It's a Plan or WeKan?
- It's a Plan if you want the published Trello tracker (boards plus the rest). WeKan if you want a board and nothing else — /compare/wekan-vs-planka.
- Is Planka open source?
- The catalog row is PLANKA Community License (Fair Use); openSource is false. WeKan is MIT. Pick WeKan if you want OSI.
- Is this Jira?
- A full tracker stays on /best/project-management and /replace/jira. This page is the board.
- Are these free?
- It's a Plan is AGPL-3.0. WeKan is MIT. Vikunja and Focalboard are AGPL-3.0. Planka is fair-use, not OSI. You pay hosting. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/plane-tracker for the published Trello path, or /stacks/vikunja-tasks for lists. Persist the database. Create one board.
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