Bugzilla vs OpenProject (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick OpenProject: it is third in our ranking of project management tools, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
OpenProject grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
OpenProject
Open-source project management for classic and agile teams
Which one is for you
Pick Bugzilla if
- Fits if your team can host its own server and wants a free bug tracker
- Works for teams that only track defects
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a hosted version, as none exists
- Too light for project planning: no boards, timelines or Gantt
- Tight if you need support: it is community-run by a small nonprofit
- Watch out: the download page recommends a source checkout over a packaged release
Pick OpenProject if
- Fits if your organization wants to self-host an open-source project tool and has someone to run the server
- Works for teams mixing Gantt-based planning with Scrum or Kanban, with cloud data hosted in the EU
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free hosted plan, as the cloud starts at paid Basic with a 5-user minimum
- Pricey if you're a small team needing single sign-on, since Professional requires at least 25 users at $13.50 each
- Not for you if you'd run projects from your phone, because the mobile apps are beta companions to the web app
- Tight if you want portfolios or resource management, which need Premium with at least 100 users
- Watch out: on-premises Enterprise plans start at 25 users and a one-year term, and SCIM is Corporate only
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABugzillaFair | 2.6GPAOpenProjectGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, but only if you host it yourself, which needs a server. | CCloud Basic is $7.25 a user a month billed yearly, $8.50 monthly, which is mid-pack for this category, and it holds you to 5 users. The steps up carry big minimums: Professional $13.50 from 25 users, Premium $19.50 from 100. Self-hosting the Community edition costs nothing but your servers. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree to download with no caps, no trial and no account. You supply the server. | BFree means hosting it: the Community edition has no user minimum and keeps Gantt charts, agile boards, Scrum backlogs, time tracking, wiki and meetings. Support is community only, and there's no free cloud, just a 14-day trial. |
| Features | CSearch, reports and charts, custom fields, email filing, time tracking. It does defect tracking fully, but that is a smaller job than project management. | BWork packages on Gantt charts with relations and automatic or manual scheduling, Kanban and sprint boards with a backlog and burndown charts, time and costs against budgets, meeting minutes linked to the work, and a wiki. Both planning styles covered; portfolios and resource management wait for Premium. |
| Ease of use | DInstall from a source checkout on your own server, per the download page. | CNo store rating on record. The paid cloud is hosted for you in the EU, but this is a big tool with work package types, roles and statuses to arrange, and the free edition is a Linux server job: DEB or RPM packages, Docker, Kubernetes or Helm. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with extensions and web services but no integrations list. | BWeb with iPhone and Android apps, and no desktop app. The phone apps are in beta and the vendor calls them companions to the web version. It connects to Nextcloud, GitHub, GitLab and Excel, with OneDrive, SharePoint and an MCP server from Professional. |
| Best for | tracking software defects on your own server | self-hosting classic and agile planning |
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: Bugzilla and OpenProject. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bugzilla has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. OpenProject starts at $7.25 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
OpenProject scores higher, and starts $7.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other project management tools on the chart, none scores higher than Bugzilla for less, and 12 score higher than OpenProject for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bugzilla also covers reports.
- OpenProject also covers wiki, kanban boards, Gantt & timelines and time tracking.
At a glance
| Bugzilla | OpenProject | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $7.25 per user / month, billed yearly (5-user minimum) |
| Free plan | None | Community edition: free and open source, installed on your own servers, with no user minimum and community support only. It is not offered as a hosted cloud plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of the Enterprise cloud, or a 14-day trial license for a self-hosted installation |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Zarro Boogs Corporation | OpenProject GmbH |
| Price read from | bugzilla.org | openproject.org |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bugzilla
- It must be installed on your own server; the project describes no hosted version.
- It is built around tracking defects, and the project says it is not aiming to become a project management tool.
- The download page recommends installing from a source code checkout rather than a packaged release.
- Support is community-run: the project is managed by a small nonprofit and appeals for sponsors to hire a developer.
OpenProject
- The free Community edition is self-hosted only. The hosted cloud starts at the paid Basic plan with a 5-user minimum.
- Professional requires at least 25 users and Premium at least 100. On-premises Enterprise plans start at 25 users and a one-year term.
- Single sign-on needs Professional or higher, and SCIM provisioning is limited to the Corporate plan.
- The iOS and Android apps are in beta and described by the vendor as companions to the web application.
Key features
Bugzilla
- Advanced search
- A plain full-text search for new users, plus a query builder that supports time-based conditions and saved, shareable searches.
- Reports and charts
- Cross-tabulate bugs by any two fields and view the result as a table, line graph, bar graph or pie chart, or have reports emailed on a schedule.
- Custom fields and workflow
- Administrators can add custom fields, define their own workflow, and control who sees or edits bugs through groups.
- Email notifications and filing by email
- Users choose which changes they are emailed about, and bugs can be filed or modified by email.
- Time tracking and requests
- Bugs can carry time estimates and actuals, and a request system lets users ask others for reviews or information.
- Extensions and web services
- An extension mechanism customizes installations, and XML-RPC and JSON-RPC interfaces let other programs work with the data.
OpenProject
- Work packages and Gantt charts
- Work is broken into work packages such as tasks, features, phases and milestones, then scheduled on Gantt charts with relations and automatic or manual scheduling.
- Agile boards and Scrum
- Kanban, team, version and subproject boards, a product backlog, sprint boards, story points and burndown charts are all part of the free Community edition.
- Time tracking, costs and budgets
- Time is logged on work packages, unit and labor costs are tracked against budgets, and reports break down spent time and costs.
- Meetings, wiki and documents
- Meeting agendas and minutes link to work packages, and a wiki, forums and collaboratively edited documents hold project information in one place.
- Self-hosting or vendor cloud
- The Community edition installs on your own Linux servers from DEB or RPM packages, Docker, Kubernetes or Helm charts. Enterprise cloud is hosted by OpenProject in the EU.
- Tiered Enterprise add-ons
- Paid plans unlock extra features by tier: the team planner on Basic, single sign-on on Professional, and portfolio and resource management on Premium.
Plans
Bugzilla
Open source$0
Free to download and run on your own server under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. There is no hosted edition.
OpenProject
CommunityFree
Self-hosted open-source edition with no user minimum: Gantt charts, agile boards, Scrum backlogs, time tracking, wiki and meetings, with community support.
Basic$7.25
per user / month, billed yearly ($8.50 monthly, cloud only)
From 5 users in the cloud or 25 on-premises. Adds the Basic Enterprise add-ons, such as the team planner, baseline comparisons and a custom theme, plus email support.
Professional$13.50
per user / month, billed yearly
Minimum 25 users. Adds single sign-on, OneDrive and SharePoint integration, sharing work packages with external users, the MCP server and phone support.
Premium$19.50
per user / month, billed yearly
Minimum 100 users. Adds portfolio management, resource management, LDAP user and group sync, and remote-hands support.
CorporateCustom
Priced on request and recommended from 250 users. Adds SCIM provisioning, XWiki and openDesk integrations, and a dedicated support engineer.
Ways to pay less
Bugzilla
No public discounts listed.
OpenProject
- Annual discount
Yearly billing is $1.25 per user cheaper
Cloud Basic can be billed monthly for an extra $1.25 per user / month, so a one-year subscription costs $7.25 instead of $8.50 per user / month.
- Other savings
Free months on multi-year subscriptions
The pricing calculator lists 5 months free on a 2-year subscription, 8 on 3 years, 11 on 4 years and 15 on 5 years.
- Education
Special rates for educational institutions
OpenProject states that it offers discounted rates for educational institutions. No percentage is published; eligibility is checked by its sales team.
- Nonprofit
Special rates for NGOs
The same pricing page offers discounted rates for NGOs on request, again without a published percentage.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bugzilla or OpenProject?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Bugzilla is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7.25 a month for each person for OpenProject. Bugzilla is free, and OpenProject starts at $7.25 per user / month, billed yearly (5-user minimum).
Which has a free plan, Bugzilla or OpenProject?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Bugzilla and OpenProject have a free plan.
Which platforms do Bugzilla and OpenProject run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only OpenProject lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.