Open source alternatives to Trello

What Trello does

Trello organizes work on boards of lists and cards. Cards carry assignees, due dates, checklists, labels and attachments, and move from list to list as work progresses. Power-Ups connect boards to other services, and built-in automation runs rules counted as command runs each month. Trello is sold as Free, Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans, and the calendar, timeline, table, dashboard and map views are part of Premium and above.

Why people look for an alternative

• The 10-collaborator limit. Atlassian announced on 4 March 2024 that free Workspaces would be limited to 10 collaborators, counting members, guests and pending invitations. Since 20 May 2024, boards in a free Workspace with more than 10 collaborators are view-only until the Workspace is upgraded or the number is reduced.
• Other free plan limits. Free Workspaces hold up to 10 boards, files are capped at 10 MB each, and automation has a monthly allowance of command runs.
• Views and exports on paid plans. Calendar, timeline and table views need Premium. Any board can be exported as JSON, but CSV export also needs Premium, and Trello’s documentation says exports cannot be imported back into Trello to re-create a board.
• Hosted only. There is no self-hosted Trello.

What to compare in an alternative

1. Trello import. Whether the tool imports from a Trello JSON export or through Trello’s API, and which parts (checklists, labels, comments, attachments) come across.
2. Board features. Swimlanes, checklists, custom fields, templates and work-in-progress limits.
3. Automation. Rules similar to Trello’s Butler.
4. Other views. Calendar, table or Gantt, if you need them.
5. Running it. Database and server needs, mobile apps and how upgrades work.

Which one to choose

WeKan is the closest Trello clone, with swimlanes, automation rules and a long list of importers including Trello. Kanboard is a minimal, very light kanban tool with work-in-progress limits and flow analytics, now in maintenance mode. Vikunja imports from Trello and adds list, Gantt and table views, which suits people who also want a personal task manager. If you already run Nextcloud, Nextcloud Deck adds boards with a Trello importer at no extra cost. For teams that want more structure, Kaneo, Plane, Taiga and Leantime combine boards with lists, backlogs or timelines.