Taiga vs Vikunja: Self-Hosted Project Management
Quick Verdict
Vikunja is the better choice for personal task management and small teams wanting a lightweight, versatile tool. Taiga is the better choice for teams running Scrum or Kanban with sprints, epics, and agile workflows. They serve different levels of project complexity.
Overview
Taiga is a full-featured open-source project management platform designed for agile teams. Written in Python (Django backend) with an Angular frontend, it supports Scrum (sprints, user stories, story points), Kanban (WIP limits, swimlanes), epics, issues, a wiki, and extensive team collaboration features. It’s aimed at software development teams.
Vikunja is a lightweight, open-source task management tool written in Go with a Vue.js frontend. It supports task lists, kanban boards, Gantt charts, labels, priorities, assignees, and CalDAV sync. It’s more of a personal/small-team task manager than a full project management suite.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Taiga | Vikunja |
|---|---|---|
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Backend | Python (Django) | Go |
| Frontend | Angular | Vue.js |
| Database | PostgreSQL (required) | SQLite/PostgreSQL/MySQL |
| Scrum sprints | Yes | No |
| User stories | Yes | No |
| Story points | Yes | No |
| Epics | Yes | No |
| Kanban board | Yes | Yes |
| WIP limits | Yes | No |
| Swimlanes | Yes | No |
| Task lists | No (uses stories/tasks) | Yes |
| Gantt chart | No | Yes |
| CalDAV sync | No | Yes |
| Wiki | Yes | No |
| Issues/bugs | Yes | No (use labels) |
| Custom fields | Yes | No |
| Burndown charts | Yes | No |
| Velocity tracking | Yes | No |
| File attachments | Yes | Yes |
| Due dates | Yes | Yes |
| Assignees | Yes | Yes |
| Labels | Yes | Yes |
| API | REST API | REST API |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
| SSO/LDAP | Yes | Yes |
| RAM usage | 500 MB - 1 GB | 50-100 MB |
Installation Complexity
Taiga is complex to deploy. The Docker setup includes multiple containers: backend (Django), frontend (Angular), events (RabbitMQ), async tasks (Celery), PostgreSQL, and optionally a media service. Configuration involves multiple environment files. Expect a 1-2 hour setup.
Vikunja is straightforward. With SQLite, it’s a single container with zero database setup. Even with PostgreSQL, the setup is just two containers and a handful of environment variables. Running in under 10 minutes is realistic.
Winner: Vikunja, by a wide margin.
Performance and Resource Usage
Taiga is resource-heavy. The Python/Django backend, Celery workers, RabbitMQ, and PostgreSQL collectively use 500 MB - 1 GB of RAM. You need at least a 2 GB VPS for a comfortable deployment.
Vikunja is exceptionally light. Go’s efficiency plus SQLite means 50-100 MB total RAM. Even with PostgreSQL, total stack stays under 250 MB. Runs comfortably on a Raspberry Pi.
Winner: Vikunja, by 5-10x.
Community and Support
Taiga has a mature community and has been around since 2014. It’s backed by Kaleidos, a company that offers commercial support and a hosted version (Taiga.io). Documentation is comprehensive.
Vikunja has a growing community with active development. Documentation is solid. Community support via forums and Matrix. Smaller but responsive.
Use Cases
Choose Taiga If…
- Your team runs Scrum with sprints, user stories, and story points
- You need burndown charts and velocity tracking
- Epics and issues tracking are essential
- You want a built-in wiki for project documentation
- Your team is 5+ people working in agile
- You need custom fields for workflow-specific data
Choose Vikunja If…
- You need a personal or small-team task manager
- CalDAV sync with your calendar is important
- You want Gantt chart views for timeline planning
- Minimal resource usage matters
- You want the simplest possible deployment
- You’re replacing Todoist, not Jira
Final Verdict
These tools don’t compete directly — they serve different scales of project management. Taiga is for teams running structured agile workflows with sprints, story points, and burndown charts. Vikunja is for individuals and small teams who want a clean task manager with multiple views.
If you’re a solo developer or a team of 2-3, Vikunja gives you everything you need at a fraction of Taiga’s resource cost. If you’re a team of 5+ running Scrum, Taiga provides the agile workflow features that Vikunja simply doesn’t have.
FAQ
Can Taiga be used for personal task management?
Technically yes, but it’s overkill. Taiga’s UI is designed for team agile workflows. Using it for personal tasks means navigating project, sprint, and story abstractions when you just want a to-do list. Use Vikunja for personal tasks.
Does Vikunja support sprints?
No. Vikunja doesn’t have sprint planning, story points, or burndown charts. If you need agile sprint management, use Taiga or Plane.
Can I migrate from Trello to either?
Taiga has a Trello import feature. Vikunja doesn’t have built-in Trello import but can import from Todoist. For Trello migration, Taiga or Planka are better options.
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