OpenProject vs Plane: Which Should You Self-Host?
Quick Verdict
Plane is the better choice for software teams that want a modern issue tracker with a clean UI — think Linear or GitHub Issues. OpenProject is the better choice for organizations that need traditional project management: Gantt charts, cost tracking, resource planning, and time management.
Overview
OpenProject (GPLv3, started 2012) is a mature enterprise project management platform from OpenProject GmbH in Germany. Gantt charts, agile boards, time tracking, cost reporting, wiki, and meeting management. Plane (AGPLv3, started 2022) is a newer open-source issue tracker inspired by Linear, with cycles (sprints), modules, pages (docs), and multiple view modes.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | OpenProject | Plane |
|---|---|---|
| Gantt charts | Yes (interactive, drag-and-drop) | No |
| Issue/work item tracking | Yes (work packages) | Yes (issues with properties) |
| Kanban boards | Yes | Yes |
| Sprints/cycles | Yes (basic sprints) | Yes (cycles) |
| Modules (grouping work) | No | Yes |
| Pages/documentation | Yes (wiki) | Yes (Plane Pages — Notion-like) |
| Time tracking | Yes (built-in, per item) | No |
| Cost/budget tracking | Yes | No |
| Calendar view | Yes | No |
| Spreadsheet view | Partial (table view) | Yes |
| Meeting management | Yes | No |
| Resource planning | Yes (enterprise) | No |
| Custom fields | Yes (extensive) | Yes |
| Templates | Yes (project templates) | Yes (issue templates) |
| API | REST API | REST API |
| Mobile experience | Progressive web app | Responsive web |
| GitHub/GitLab integration | Limited | Yes (link PRs to issues) |
| Views per project | 4 (board, Gantt, table, calendar) | 4 (board, list, spreadsheet, calendar) |
| License | GPLv3 | AGPLv3 |
Installation Complexity
| Aspect | OpenProject | Plane |
|---|---|---|
| Containers | 1 (all-in-one) | 7+ (app, worker, beat, PostgreSQL, Redis, MinIO, proxy) |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | 10-15 minutes |
| Config complexity | Low | Medium (multiple services) |
| Default port | 8080 | 80 |
| First-startup time | 2-3 minutes | 1-2 minutes |
| Official Docker support | Yes (excellent) | Yes (docker-compose.yml in repo) |
OpenProject’s all-in-one image wins on simplicity — one container, two volumes, done. Plane’s architecture with separate workers, task scheduler, MinIO (S3-compatible storage), and proxy adds operational complexity. For the slim OpenProject deployment (external database), the container count is closer.
Performance and Resource Usage
| Metric | OpenProject | Plane |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | ~800 MB (all-in-one) | ~1 GB (7 containers) |
| RAM (active) | ~2-4 GB | ~2 GB |
| CPU | Medium (Rails app) | Low-medium (Python/Node.js) |
| Disk | ~1 GB base | ~1.5 GB base |
| Minimum recommended | 4 GB RAM | 2 GB RAM |
| Startup time | 2-3 min (first boot) | 1-2 min |
OpenProject is heavier per-instance as a monolithic Rails app. Plane distributes load across more containers but the total is lower. For small teams on limited hardware, Plane is more efficient.
Community and Support
| Metric | OpenProject | Plane |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 10k+ | 32k+ |
| Age | 14 years (2012) | 4 years (2022) |
| Development pace | Monthly releases | Frequent releases |
| Paid tier | Yes (enterprise features) | Yes (cloud-hosted, some gated features) |
| Documentation | Excellent | Good |
| Community | Established, smaller | Large, growing fast |
Plane has significantly more GitHub stars and community momentum. OpenProject has over a decade of production maturity and a well-established user base. Both are actively maintained with responsive development teams.
Use Cases
Choose OpenProject If…
- You need Gantt charts for project timelines and dependencies
- Your organization tracks time, costs, and budgets per project
- You manage projects with traditional/hybrid methodology (not purely agile)
- You need meeting management and wiki integrated with project tracking
- You need a calendar view for deadlines across projects
- You value enterprise maturity and a 14-year track record
- You want the simplest single-container deployment
Choose Plane If…
- Your team works like a software development team — issues, sprints, PRs
- You want a modern UI inspired by Linear and Notion
- You need GitHub/GitLab integration to link code changes to issues
- You want Plane Pages for in-project documentation (Notion-like editor)
- You want modules to group issues into features or deliverables
- Your team is small-to-medium and doesn’t need Gantt charts or cost tracking
- You prefer a lower RAM footprint on limited hardware
Final Verdict
Plane is the better fit for software teams and startups. Its modern issue-tracking workflow, GitHub integration, and Notion-like pages match how most dev teams actually work. If your project management looks like “write issues, assign them, track progress on a board, link to PRs,” Plane does that exceptionally well.
OpenProject is the better fit for organizations that need traditional project management. If you use Gantt charts, track budgets, log time, and run meetings as part of your project workflow, nothing self-hosted matches OpenProject’s breadth. It’s the tool for project managers, not just developers.
For teams between these — want more than a simple board but don’t need Gantt charts — Taiga offers full Scrum/Kanban with backlogs and burndown charts.
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