Kanboard vs Planka: Which Kanban Board to Self-Host?

Want a self-hosted Kanban board but can’t decide between Kanboard’s power-user features and Planka’s clean simplicity? They solve the same problem — visual task management — but target different users entirely.

Quick Verdict

Kanboard is built for individuals and small teams who want time tracking, Gantt charts, subtasks, and automation rules alongside their Kanban boards. Planka is built for teams who want a Trello-like experience with real-time sync and minimal setup friction. If you need project management features beyond cards on a board, choose Kanboard. If you want the closest self-hosted equivalent to Trello, choose Planka.

Overview

Kanboard has been around since 2014, built as a minimalist PHP application with a deliberately simple UI. It prioritizes function over form — time tracking, Gantt chart views, swimlanes, automatic actions (rules that trigger on card events), and a JSON-RPC API. It runs on SQLite by default, meaning a single container with zero dependencies handles everything.

Planka launched as a modern Trello clone built with React and Node.js. It delivers real-time board updates via WebSocket, drag-and-drop card management, board backgrounds, and keyboard shortcuts. The UI is polished and immediately familiar to anyone who’s used Trello. It requires PostgreSQL but stays lean — 80 MB RAM idle.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Kanboard	Planka
Board Views	Kanban only	Kanban only
Swimlanes	Yes	No
Time Tracking	Yes (built-in)	No
Gantt Charts	Yes	No
Subtasks	Yes (with status tracking)	Yes (checklists)
Automatic Actions	Yes (trigger-based rules)	No
Custom Fields	Yes	No
File Attachments	Yes	Yes
Real-time Sync	No (page refresh)	Yes (WebSocket)
Board Backgrounds	No	Yes
Keyboard Shortcuts	Basic	Comprehensive
LDAP/SSO	Yes (built-in)	No
API	JSON-RPC	REST
Mobile Experience	Functional but dated	Modern, responsive
Docker Image	kanboard/kanboard:v1.2.51	ghcr.io/plankanban/planka:v2.0.3

Installation Complexity

Both tools are among the simplest self-hosted apps to deploy.

Kanboard at minimum needs one container. SQLite is embedded — no database container required. Drop a docker-compose.yml with the Kanboard image, map port 8080, mount a data volume, and you’re running. PostgreSQL is optional for multi-user setups.

Planka needs two containers — the app plus PostgreSQL. Configuration requires a SECRET_KEY (32+ characters), database credentials, and BASE_URL. Slightly more setup than Kanboard’s zero-config SQLite, but still under 5 minutes.

Setup Aspect	Kanboard	Planka
Minimum Containers	1 (SQLite)	2 (app + PostgreSQL)
Database	SQLite (embedded) or PostgreSQL	PostgreSQL (required)
Config Complexity	Minimal (env vars)	Low (env vars + secret key)
Default Credentials	admin / admin	Created during first setup
Time to First Board	2-3 min	4-5 min

Performance and Resource Usage

Resource	Kanboard	Planka
RAM (idle)	80-100 MB	80 MB app + 100 MB PostgreSQL
RAM (10 users)	200 MB	150 MB app + 150 MB PostgreSQL
CPU (minimum)	1 core	1 core
Disk (application)	100 MB	500 MB
Image Size	~45 MB	~200 MB

Both are lightweight. Kanboard with SQLite is the lightest Kanban board you’ll find — it runs on a Raspberry Pi without breaking a sweat. Planka’s PostgreSQL dependency adds overhead, but the app itself is equally frugal. On a 1 GB VPS, both run comfortably alongside other services.

Community and Support

Metric	Kanboard	Planka
GitHub Stars	~8k	~8k
License	MIT	AGPL-3.0
First Release	2014	2019
Active Development	Yes (steady)	Yes (active)
Plugin/Extension System	80+ plugins	None
Commercial Backing	None	None
Documentation	Good	Adequate

Kanboard’s plugin system is its differentiator — 80+ community plugins add features like calendar sync, Slack notifications, custom themes, and Gitlab/GitHub integration. Planka has no plugin system; what ships is what you get. Both projects are community-maintained with consistent commit activity.

Use Cases

Choose Kanboard If…

• Time tracking is essential — you need to log hours spent on tasks directly on the board
• You want Gantt chart visualization for project timelines
• You need automatic actions (e.g., “when a card moves to Done, assign it to QA”)
• LDAP/Active Directory authentication is required for your organization
• You want the absolute lightest setup — one container, SQLite, done
• You need plugins for integrations (Slack, GitLab, calendar sync)
• The dated UI doesn’t bother you — function matters more than form

Choose Planka If…

• You want a Trello-like experience that your team can adopt without training
• Real-time board sync matters — multiple people working on the same board simultaneously
• UI polish and modern design are important for team adoption
• You don’t need time tracking, Gantt charts, or automation rules
• You prefer a focused tool that does one thing well over a feature-rich tool
• Board backgrounds and visual customization improve your workflow

Final Verdict

For solo developers and project managers who track time and need process automation, Kanboard is the right tool. Its 80+ plugins, Gantt charts, swimlanes, and automatic actions make it a genuine project management tool, not just a card shuffler.

For teams migrating from Trello who want something that looks and feels familiar with zero learning curve, Planka delivers. The real-time WebSocket sync means multiple team members can work on the same board without stepping on each other’s changes.

The deciding factor is usually the UI. If your team won’t adopt a tool because it looks like it was built in 2014 (Kanboard’s aesthetic), Planka’s modern interface wins by default. If you personally don’t care about aesthetics and want time tracking plus Gantt charts, Kanboard is the more capable tool.

FAQ

Can Kanboard do real-time sync like Planka?

No. Kanboard uses traditional page refreshes. Changes made by other users appear when you reload the page, not instantly. For teams working on the same board simultaneously, this is a real limitation.

Does Planka support time tracking?

No. If time tracking is important, Kanboard has it built-in, or consider Taiga which offers it alongside Scrum/Kanban workflows.

Can I migrate from Trello to either tool?

Kanboard has a Trello import plugin. Planka has no built-in import — you’d need to recreate boards manually or script it via the REST API.

Which uses less server resources?

Kanboard with SQLite is lighter (~80 MB RAM, single container). Planka needs PostgreSQL, pushing the baseline to ~180 MB. Both are negligible on modern hardware.

Related

• How to Self-Host Kanboard
• How to Self-Host Planka
• Planka vs WeKan
• Kanboard vs WeKan
• Vikunja vs Planka
• Best Self-Hosted Task Management
• Self-Hosted Trello Alternatives