Backlog vs Redmine
We give Backlog a 3.4 GPA and Redmine a 3.2, out of 4.0. Backlog grades higher on ease of use and platforms. Redmine grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Backlog
Issue tracking and project management with built-in Git and SVN
How we grade them
| 3.4GPABacklogVery good | 3.2GPARedmineVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is a flat $30 a month billed annually for up to 30 users. That's a dollar a head if you fill it, and dear if there are two or three of you. It stops at 5 projects and 1 GB of storage. Gantt charts need Standard at $84, where users are unlimited. | AIt's free and open source under the GNU GPL v2, and the site lists no paid plans at all. Your only cost is the server you put it on, and the time of whoever looks after it. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for up to 10 users, with issues, a Kanban-style board, and Git and Subversion repositories. But it's 1 project and 100 MB of storage, with no subtasks or documents. And once you've paid, you can't go back down to Free. | AThe complete application is a free download, with nothing kept back for a paid tier. Roles, workflows, custom fields, the wiki and the REST API are all in it. Help is free too, though it comes from community forums, an IRC channel and volunteers. |
| Features | AIssues you can create by email, subtasks, a Kanban-style board, Gantt and burndown charts, shared documents, and Git and Subversion repositories built in, so code and bugs live in the same tool. Premium adds an AI Assistant with 2,000 credits a month. | AIssues across many projects, with statuses, issue types and workflows you define per role. A Gantt chart and calendar build themselves from issue dates, and there's time tracking, a wiki and forums per project, and a browser for Git or Subversion repositories. The time report is a simple one, mind. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. One flat price per plan means no counting seats, and the 30-day free trial of any paid plan needs no credit card. | DYou host it yourself. The project offers downloads, not hosting, and an install needs Ruby and a database such as PostgreSQL or MySQL. After that, the statuses, roles and workflows are the administrator's to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone and Android. It hooks into Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Jenkins, Google Drive, Dropbox and Nulab's own Cacoo. The Enterprise plan can also be installed on your own server. | BIt's a web app with a REST API that serves XML or JSON, and it attaches to Git, Subversion, Mercurial, Bazaar and CVS repositories and to LDAP. The mobile and desktop clients listed on its site are community tools that the project doesn't support. |
| Best for | software teams wanting issues and Git together | a free issue tracker on your own server |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Backlog and Redmine. How we grade
Where they differ
- Backlog starts at $30 / month flat for up to 30 users, billed annually. Redmine is free.
- Only Backlog lists iOS and Android apps.
- Redmine is open source, according to its own site.
- Backlog also covers tasks, kanban boards and documents.
- Redmine also covers wiki and time tracking.
At a glance
| Backlog | Redmine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $30 / month flat for up to 30 users, billed annually | Free |
| Free plan | Up to 10 users, 1 project and 100 MB of storage, with issues, a Kanban-style board, and Git and Subversion repositories. | Free and open source under the GNU GPL v2. Releases are downloaded from redmine.org and run on your own server; the site lists no paid plans or hosting of its own. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of any paid plan, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Nulab, Inc. | Jean-Philippe Lang and community volunteers |
| Price read from | nulab.com | redmine.org |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Backlog
- Software teams that want issues and Git or SVN repositories together
- Growing teams that prefer a flat fee to per-user pricing
- Teams of up to 10 starting with a single project on the free plan
Redmine
- Teams able to install and maintain their own server software
- Software teams that want issues tied to a code repository
- Organizations running many projects and subprojects in one installation
Worth knowing
Backlog
- The Free plan is limited to 10 users, 1 project and 100 MB of storage, and has no subtasks or documents.
- Gantt and burndown charts need Standard; custom fields, cross-project Gantt charts and the AI Assistant need Premium.
- A paid plan cannot be downgraded to Free, and a switch between paid plans takes effect only when the current billing period ends.
- Self-hosting is offered only on Enterprise, and SAML single sign-on, SCIM and audit logs come through the Nulab Pass security add-on.
Redmine
- The project offers downloads rather than hosting: you install it yourself, which needs Ruby and a database such as PostgreSQL or MySQL.
- Redmine itself is a web application. The mobile and desktop clients listed on its site are community tools that the project does not support.
- Help comes from community forums, an IRC channel and an unofficial Slack workspace; the project is maintained by volunteers.
- SQLite is supported as a database, but the install guide says it is not for multi-user production use.
Key features
Backlog
- Issues and subtasks
- Tasks, bugs and requests are logged as issues, which can also be created by email. Subtasks start on Starter, and Premium allows three levels of nesting.
- Boards, Gantt and burndown charts
- A Kanban-style board is on every plan. Gantt and burndown charts start on Standard, where the Gantt view covers 6 months; Premium removes that limit.
- Built-in Git and Subversion
- Every plan, including Free, has Git and Subversion repositories, so code, bugs and tasks are tracked in the same tool.
- Flat pricing per plan
- Each plan has one price regardless of headcount. Starter covers 30 users, and Standard, Premium and Enterprise have no user limit.
- Backlog AI Assistant
- Premium and Enterprise include an AI assistant that organizes tasks, drafts issues and writes summaries, with 2,000 credits a month. Extra credit packs start at $60 a month.
- Documents
- From Starter, project documents with to-do lists, tables and charts can be edited by several people in real time.
Redmine
- Configurable issue tracking
- Statuses and issue types are defined by the administrator, and workflow transitions are set for each issue type and role from the web administration interface.
- Gantt chart and calendar
- Both views are generated automatically from the start and due dates entered on issues.
- Time tracking
- Time can be entered at project or ticket level, with a simple report of time per user, issue type, category or activity.
- Per-project wiki and forums
- Each project can have its own wiki, with diff and annotate views, alongside forums, news, documents and file management.
- Repository browser
- Existing Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar or CVS repositories can be attached to a project to browse their contents, search changesets and view diffs.
- Roles, custom fields and REST API
- Roles and permissions are user-defined, custom fields cover issues, time entries, projects and users, and a REST API serves data as XML or JSON.
Plans
Backlog
Free$0
Up to 10 users, 1 project and 100 MB of storage, with issues, a board, and Git and Subversion repositories.
Starter$30
per month flat, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Up to 30 users, 5 projects and 1 GB of storage, adding subtasks, documents and custom statuses.
Standard$84
per month flat, billed annually ($100 billed monthly)
Unlimited users, 100 projects and 30 GB of storage, adding Gantt charts with a 6-month view, burndown charts and IP-based access control.
Premium$146
per month flat, billed annually ($175 billed monthly)
Unlimited users and projects, 100 GB, unlimited and cross-project Gantt charts, custom fields and the AI Assistant with 2,000 credits a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Premium plus SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning and audit logs, with the option to install Backlog on your own server.
Redmine
Redmine$0
The complete application, downloaded as a .tar.gz or .zip release or checked out from the source repository, and installed on your own server.
Ways to pay less
Backlog
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
Billed annually, Starter is $30 a month against $35, Standard $84 against $100 and Premium $146 against $175. Nulab states the saving as 17%.
Redmine
No public discounts listed.
