Best self-hosted project management for Startups (2026)

Plane is a modern, fast open-source project management platform positioned as an alternative to Jira, Linear, and ClickUp. Its AGPL-3.0 Community Edition self-hosts on Docker or Kubernetes at full parity with Plane Cloud, offering issue tracking, sprints/cycles, Kanban and Gantt views, project wikis (Pages), and an AI workspace. Founded in 2022 with teams in San Francisco and Hyderabad, it is the most-starred open-source PM project on GitHub.

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Taiga is a free, open-source project management platform built for cross-functional agile teams working in Scrum or Kanban. Self-hostable on your own server (Docker), it offers backlogs, sprints, story points, customizable Kanban boards, issue tracking, a wiki, and time-tracking integrations, with a deliberately clean, usability-first interface. It is developed by Kaleidos Ventures SL in Madrid, Spain, and the backend is built on Django/Python.

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AppFlowy is a privacy-first, open-source workspace that brings projects, wikis, and team collaboration together, widely regarded as the leading open-source alternative to Notion. It offers documents, databases with grid/board/calendar views, project tracking, and AI features, and can be self-hosted (AppFlowy Cloud) so teams keep full control of their data. Built largely in Rust and Dart (Flutter) for cross-platform native apps, it is AGPL-3.0 licensed and was founded in 2021.

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Huly is an open-source, all-in-one project management platform positioned as an alternative to Linear, Jira, Slack, Notion, and Motion. It combines issue/project tracking, virtual office with built-in chat and video, collaborative docs, a team planner with time-blocking, two-way GitHub sync, and modules spanning HR/ATS and CRM. Licensed under EPL-2.0 with a Docker-first self-host repo (huly-selfhost), it is built by Hardcore Engineering Inc. and is one of the fastest-growing open-source PM platforms.

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Leantime is an open-source, goals-focused project management system designed for non-project managers and built with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind. It combines strategy, planning, and execution with task management, Kanban and Gantt views, time tracking, docs, goals, blueprints, retrospectives, and a personalized My Work dashboard. The core is AGPL-3.0 and self-hostable via Docker or direct install; paid Cloud and Enterprise tiers add advanced features and support.

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Kanboard is a free and open-source Kanban project management tool focused on simplicity and minimalism. Created by Frédéric Guillot and first released in 2014, it offers a clean drag-and-drop board with configurable columns, work-in-progress (WIP) limits, swimlanes, task filtering via a simple query language, subtasks, automatic actions, and a plugin system. It is MIT-licensed and self-hosts on a basic PHP server using SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL.

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Vikunja is a fast, self-hostable open-source to-do and project manager positioned as an alternative to Todoist, ClickUp, and Notion-style task tools. Written in Go, it offers list, Kanban, Gantt, and table views, subtasks, reminders, attachments, filters, and team sharing, with core features (including reminders and attachments) not paywalled. The core is AGPL-3.0 and free to self-host; Vikunja Cloud and a Pro tier add hosted convenience and admin features.

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Planka is a Kanban-style project management tool built with React and Node.js as an open alternative to Trello, backed by PostgreSQL and shipped as a single Docker image. It offers unlimited boards and cards, real-time synchronization, markdown card descriptions, file attachments, OIDC single sign-on, and 35+ languages. Its source is publicly available under a custom PLANKA "Fair Use License" (not OSI-approved): a free Community tier covers internal organizational use, while some features require a paid Pro license.

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Worklenz is an open-source, all-in-one project and work management platform built to help teams plan, assign, and track work, with task management, multiple views, time tracking, resource/workload management, and client portals. Developed by Ceydigital Solutions in Bandarawela, Sri Lanka, it was open-sourced in May 2024 under the AGPL-3.0 license and self-hosts via Docker; a free hosted tier (up to ~12 seats) and paid Pro/Business plans are also offered.

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Orangescrum is a project management and collaboration tool offered in Cloud, Self-Hosted, and free open-source editions. The open-source Community edition (GPLv3, written in CakePHP) provides task management, project planning, agile/Scrum boards, document sharing, time tracking, Gantt charts, and collaboration, and self-hosts on a PHP stack. It is developed by Andolasoft; the free Community edition is limited to 5 users, with paid self-hosted Enterprise and Cloud editions removing that cap and adding features.

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Tracks is a free, open-source, self-hosted web application built to help you implement David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. Written in Ruby on Rails and licensed under the GNU GPL, it organizes work into projects and contexts, supports next actions, deferred/tickler items, notes, and recurring todos, and ships with a built-in web server for easy self-hosting. It is maintained by a team of community contributors.

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