Replace / Microsoft Project
Best free Microsoft Project alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to Microsoft Project is It's a Plan (or Plane) with TaskView, self-hosted on Railway. Issues, boards, and cycles you host — Trello, Jira, Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Linear, Basecamp, and Wrike without the seat OS.
Editor's pick: our favorite tracker — a full AGPL tracker (boards, cycles, initiatives, docs) with AI agents as members, MCP, and a REST API. Built by the It's a Plan team (croffasia).
Estimated save $2,400 a year.
Official site GitHubOpen the stackStart on Railway
How Microsoft Project compares
| Microsoft Project | It's a Plan + Plane | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- It's a Plan
AGPL issue tracker where people and AI agents share boards, cycles, and initiatives (REST API, webhooks, MCP)
Built by the It's a Plan team (croffasia)
- Plane
Open-source product tracker (cloud, self-host, air-gap)
- TaskView
Self-hosted task board if you only need kanban
- Focalboard
Open-source Trello/Asana-style boards (Mattermost community)
- Huly
All-in-one tracker (issues, wiki, chat) you can self-host
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source Microsoft Project alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to Microsoft Project is It's a Plan (or Plane) with TaskView, self-hosted on Railway. Issues, boards, and cycles you host — Trello, Jira, Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Linear, Basecamp, and Wrike without the seat OS.
- Is it free?
- The It's a Plan + Plane licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Microsoft Project seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Microsoft Project?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The It's a Plan + Plane stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Microsoft Project links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the It's a Plan + Plane stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: It's a Plan (or Plane) + Postgres. One public site, a volume for uploads, and the first project imported from a CSV.
- What does this replace?
- Trello / Jira / Asana / monday.com / ClickUp / Linear / Basecamp / Wrike. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $2,400 a year.
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