Best Self-Hosted Task Management Tools

Which Tool Do You Actually Need?

Task management tools range from dead-simple kanban boards to full enterprise project management suites. Picking the wrong category wastes your time. Start here:

• Personal to-do lists with calendars and reminders — You want Vikunja. It replaces Todoist, not Jira.
• Visual kanban boards for a small team — You want Planka or Kanboard. Trello replacements.
• Agile project management (sprints, epics, backlogs) — You want Taiga or OpenProject.
• Strategic project management (goals, milestones, timelines) — You want Leantime or OpenProject.
• Notion-like project boards embedded in a larger workspace — You want Focalboard.

If you just want the short answer: Vikunja covers the widest range of personal and small-team task management. Planka is the best pure kanban board. Read on for the details.

Quick Picks

Use Case	Best Choice	Why
Best overall	Vikunja	Lists, kanban, Gantt, CalDAV, reminders — covers everything
Simple kanban	Planka	Clean Trello-like UI, real-time updates, minimal setup
Minimal kanban	Kanboard	Lightweight, single container, no bloat
Agile/Scrum teams	Taiga	Sprints, backlogs, user stories, burndown charts
Enterprise projects	OpenProject	Gantt, work packages, budgets, time tracking, BIM
Strategic planning	Leantime	Goals, milestones, idea boards, strategy alignment
Mattermost users	Focalboard	Integrated boards inside Mattermost, multiple views
Trello clone	WeKan	Feature-for-feature Trello replacement

The Full Ranking

1. Vikunja — Best Overall

Vikunja is the most complete self-hosted task management tool for individuals and small teams. It supports four view types (list, kanban, Gantt, table), CalDAV sync for calendar integration, recurring tasks, reminders, labels, priorities, assignees, and file attachments. It replaced the old two-container frontend/backend split with a single unified container in the 0.22+ rewrite.

The CalDAV support is the killer feature. Sync your tasks to any calendar app — Thunderbird, DAVx5 on Android, Apple Reminders on iOS. No other self-hosted kanban tool does this well.

Pros:

• Four view types: list, kanban, Gantt chart, table
• CalDAV sync (tasks appear in your calendar app)
• Recurring tasks, reminders, due dates, priorities
• Labels, assignees, subtasks, comments, attachments
• Single container with embedded frontend
• REST API and CalDAV API
• Todoist import tool
• Low resource usage (~50 MB RAM with SQLite)

Cons:

• Mobile app is functional but basic
• No built-in time tracking
• UI is clean but less polished than Planka’s kanban
• Smaller community than some alternatives

Best for: Anyone who wants a single self-hosted tool for personal tasks, team projects, and calendar-synced to-do lists.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Vikunja]

Quick Start: Vikunja with Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  vikunja:
    image: vikunja/vikunja:0.24.6
    container_name: vikunja
    environment:
      VIKUNJA_SERVICE_PUBLICURL: "https://tasks.example.com"
      VIKUNJA_SERVICE_JWTSECRET: "change-this-to-a-long-random-string"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_TYPE: "postgres"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_HOST: "db"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_USER: "vikunja"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_PASSWORD: "vikunja-db-password"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_DATABASE: "vikunja"
    ports:
      - "3456:3456"
    volumes:
      - ./files:/app/vikunja/files
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: postgres:16
    container_name: vikunja-db
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: "vikunja"
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "vikunja-db-password"
      POSTGRES_DB: "vikunja"
    volumes:
      - vikunja-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U vikunja"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  vikunja-db:

Ensure the files directory has write permissions for UID 1000:

mkdir -p files && chown 1000:1000 files
docker compose up -d

Access the web UI at http://your-server:3456. Create your first account — the first user automatically becomes admin. For remote access, put this behind a reverse proxy.

2. Planka — Best Simple Kanban

Planka is the cleanest Trello replacement you can self-host. Drag-and-drop cards across lists, real-time updates when teammates move things, due dates, labels, checklists, attachments, and commenting. The UI is responsive and genuinely pleasant to use.

Planka hit v2.0 in February 2026, adding OpenID Connect authentication and improving the notification system. The interface stays focused — no feature creep, no configuration overwhelm. If your workflow is “move cards across columns,” Planka nails it.

Pros:

• Clean, responsive Trello-like interface
• Real-time board updates across users
• Checklists, labels, due dates, attachments, comments
• OpenID Connect support (v2.0+)
• 100+ notification providers
• Active development

Cons:

• Kanban only — no list view, no Gantt, no table view
• No CalDAV sync
• No recurring tasks
• No subtask hierarchy (checklists only)
• Requires PostgreSQL (no SQLite option)

Best for: Small teams that want a focused, beautiful kanban board without complexity.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Planka]

3. Kanboard — Best Minimal Kanban

Kanboard is the opposite of feature creep. A kanban board, swimlanes, task assignments, due dates, and time tracking. No JavaScript framework — the whole UI is server-rendered PHP. It runs on a single container with SQLite, uses about 30 MB of RAM, and just works.

The plugin system adds features if you need them (Slack notifications, calendar sync, custom fields), but the core stays lean. Kanboard is what you deploy when you want a board and nothing else.

Pros:

• Extremely lightweight (~30 MB RAM)
• Single container, no external database required
• Built-in time tracking
• Plugin system for extensibility
• Swimlane support
• Automatic actions (rules engine)
• API for integrations

Cons:

• Dated UI (functional but not pretty)
• No real-time updates (requires page refresh)
• No Gantt view
• No mobile app (web UI only)
• Slower development pace

Best for: Individuals or small teams who want the lightest possible kanban board.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Kanboard]

4. Taiga — Best for Agile Teams

Taiga is purpose-built for Scrum and Kanban agile workflows. Epics, user stories, sprints, backlogs, burndown charts, and velocity tracking are all first-class features. If your team runs sprints, Taiga understands your workflow natively — no hacking kanban columns to simulate a backlog.

The UI is polished and the project was recently revived with Taiga 6, now deployed as a set of Docker containers with a cleaner architecture.

Pros:

• Full Scrum support (sprints, backlogs, burndown)
• Kanban mode for non-Scrum teams
• Epics spanning multiple sprints
• Wiki per project
• Activity timeline
• REST API
• Polished, modern UI

Cons:

• Complex deployment (multiple containers: backend, frontend, events, async)
• Higher resource usage (~1 GB RAM)
• Overkill for personal task management
• Steeper learning curve

Best for: Software teams running agile sprints who need a self-hosted Jira alternative.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Taiga]

5. OpenProject — Best Enterprise Option

OpenProject is the heavyweight. Gantt charts with dependency tracking, work packages, budgets, cost reports, time tracking, meeting management, and BIM (Building Information Modeling) support. This is what you deploy when “project management” means coordinating dozens of people across multi-month timelines.

Pros:

• Full Gantt charts with dependencies
• Work packages with custom types and workflows
• Budget and cost tracking
• Time tracking with reporting
• Meeting agenda management
• LDAP/SAML authentication
• BIM module for construction projects

Cons:

• Heavy resource requirements (~2 GB RAM minimum)
• Complex configuration
• Community edition lacks some features (2FA, custom fields limited)
• Enterprise pricing for full feature set
• Slow UI compared to lighter tools

Best for: Organizations managing complex, multi-team projects that need Gantt-level planning.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host OpenProject]

6. WeKan — Most Complete Trello Clone

WeKan replicates the Trello experience more closely than any other self-hosted option. Boards, lists, cards, swimlanes, checklists, labels, due dates, card comments, activity log — if Trello has it, WeKan probably does too. It supports LDAP, OIDC, and SAML authentication.

Development has been inconsistent at times, and the codebase (Meteor.js) shows its age. But if feature parity with Trello is your priority, WeKan delivers.

Pros:

• Most Trello-like feature set
• Swimlanes, WIP limits, card aging
• LDAP, OIDC, SAML authentication
• REST API
• Board import from Trello

Cons:

• Higher resource usage than expected for a kanban tool (~400 MB RAM)
• Meteor.js codebase — heavier and harder to extend
• Inconsistent development pace
• UI feels less modern than Planka

Best for: Teams migrating from Trello who want a near-identical self-hosted experience.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host WeKan]

7. Focalboard — Best for Mattermost Users

Focalboard (originally by Mattermost) provides board, table, gallery, and calendar views for tasks — similar to Notion’s database views. It runs standalone or as a Mattermost plugin. The standalone version works well, but the real value is the Mattermost integration where boards live alongside team chat.

Note: Mattermost announced the standalone version is deprecated in favor of the plugin. The standalone Docker image still works but may not receive updates indefinitely.

Pros:

• Multiple views: board, table, gallery, calendar
• Notion-like database properties (select, date, person, checkbox)
• Mattermost integration
• Templates for common project types
• Clean, modern UI

Cons:

• Standalone version deprecated by Mattermost
• Uncertain long-term future outside Mattermost
• No CalDAV
• No Gantt view
• Limited API

Best for: Teams already using Mattermost who want integrated project boards.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Focalboard]

8. Leantime — Best for Strategic Planning

Leantime approaches project management from a strategy-first perspective. Define goals and milestones, then connect tasks to those goals. Idea boards, research canvases, and retrospectives are built in. It targets organizations that want to connect daily work to larger objectives.

Pros:

• Strategy-to-task alignment (goals → milestones → tasks)
• Idea boards and research canvases
• Retrospective templates
• Gantt-style timelines
• Clean UI with good onboarding

Cons:

• Smaller community than most alternatives
• PHP/MySQL stack (straightforward but dated)
• Fewer integrations than competitors
• Some premium features restricted to paid tiers

Best for: Teams that want to connect individual tasks to strategic goals and milestones.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Leantime]

Full Comparison Table

Feature	Vikunja	Planka	Kanboard	Taiga	OpenProject	WeKan	Focalboard	Leantime
Kanban boards	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
List view	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Gantt chart	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
CalDAV sync	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mobile app	Basic	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
REST API	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited	Yes
Multi-user	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Subtasks	Yes	Checklists	Subtasks	Yes	Yes	Checklists	No	Yes
Labels/tags	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time tracking	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Recurring tasks	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Docker support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
RAM usage	~50 MB	~200 MB	~30 MB	~1 GB	~2 GB	~400 MB	~150 MB	~200 MB
Containers	2	2	1	4+	1	1-2	1-2	2
License	AGPL-3.0	AGPL-3.0	MIT	MPL-2.0	GPL-3.0	MIT	AGPL-3.0/MIT	AGPL-3.0

How We Evaluated

We deployed each tool with Docker, configured a sample project with multiple users, and evaluated: setup complexity, UI responsiveness, feature coverage for common workflows, resource consumption at idle and under light use, API completeness, mobile usability, and long-term maintenance signals (commit frequency, issue response time, release cadence). We weighted practical daily usability and deployment simplicity highest.

Related

• How to Self-Host Vikunja
• How to Self-Host Planka
• How to Self-Host Kanboard
• How to Self-Host Taiga
• How to Self-Host OpenProject
• How to Self-Host WeKan
• How to Self-Host Focalboard
• How to Self-Host Leantime
• Planka vs WeKan
• Vikunja vs Todoist
• Replace Trello
• Replace Todoist
• Replace Asana
• Docker Compose Basics
• Reverse Proxy Setup