Kan vs Kanboard
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kan
Open-source kanban boards, built as an alternative to Trello
Where they differ
- Kan starts at $8 per user / month, billed yearly. Kanboard is free.
- Kan also covers templates and tasks.
- Kanboard also covers workflow automation, time tracking and reports.
At a glance
| Kan | Kanboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $8 per user / month, billed yearly | Free |
| Free plan | Free cloud plan: 1 user with unlimited boards and cards, checklists, labels, board templates and Trello import. File uploads are capped at 10 MB and API access is limited. | Free and open source under the MIT License. The software is downloaded and run on your own server; the site lists no hosted version and no paid plan, and asks companies that use it for donations. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Open Engineering | Frédéric Guillot and contributors |
| Price read from | kan.bn | kanboard.org |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Kan
- Individuals who want a free, minimal kanban board
- Teams leaving Trello that want to bring their boards along
- Organizations that prefer to self-host open-source software
Kanboard
- Teams that want a kanban board on a server they control
- Organizations that sign in through LDAP, Active Directory or OAuth2
- People who prefer a deliberately small feature set
Worth knowing
Kan
- The free cloud plan is for one user; workspace members, assignees and mentions need Teams at $8 per user / month billed yearly.
- Free cloud workspaces are limited to 10 MB file uploads and limited API access.
- No mobile or desktop apps are listed; Kan runs in the browser.
- SAML SSO, an SLA and an account manager are Enterprise only.
Kanboard
- There is no hosted version: you install and maintain it yourself, which needs PHP 8.1 or later, a web server and a database.
- The project is in maintenance mode; the main developer makes only small fixes, and releases depend on community contributions.
- There is no official mobile app. The web interface is responsive, but the docs say the board is not practical on small screens.
- Gantt charts, a calendar and Slack or GitHub connections come from separately installed plugins, which the project does not review.
Key features
Kan
- Kanban boards
- Drag-and-drop boards made of lists and cards. Boards, lists and cards are unlimited on every plan, including the free one.
- Card details
- Cards carry labels, checklists and a comment thread, and an activity log records every change. Filters and search help find cards on a board.
- Board visibility and templates
- Each board has a visibility setting that controls who can view and edit it, and custom board templates can be saved for reuse.
- Trello import
- Existing Trello boards can be imported on every plan, following a step-by-step guide in the documentation.
- REST API and MCP server
- A REST API covers boards, lists, cards and workspaces. An MCP server lets AI clients such as Claude Desktop control boards; its hosted endpoint needs a paid workspace.
- Self-hosting
- The AGPL-3.0 code can be run on your own infrastructure with Docker Compose and PostgreSQL, or deployed from an official Railway template.
Kanboard
- Kanban board with WIP limits
- Tasks are dragged between columns that can be added, renamed or removed at any time. A column that goes over its task limit is highlighted.
- Tasks and subtasks
- Tasks are described in Markdown and carry comments, attachments, a category, a color, an assignee and a due date. Subtasks hold time or complexity estimates.
- Search and filters
- A query language finds tasks by assignee, description, category or due date, and custom filters can be applied to the board.
- Automatic actions
- Per-project rules react to events such as a task moving to a column, then close the task or change its assignee, color or category.
- Time tracking
- Tasks and subtasks record estimated and spent hours. A subtask timer logs the time between status changes and adds it to the task's total.
- Project analytics
- Each project has a cumulative flow diagram, a burndown chart based on story points, and reports on average lead and cycle time.
Plans
Kan
Free$0
1 user with unlimited boards and cards, checklists, labels and filters, board templates and Trello import. 10 MB file uploads.
Teams$8
per user / month, billed yearly; $10 billed monthly
Adds workspace members, assignees, mentions with email notifications, invite links, a custom workspace URL, unlimited file uploads and full API access.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds SAML SSO, advanced admin controls, a dedicated account manager, a custom SLA and an on-premise deployment option.
Kanboard
Kanboard$0
The complete application, installed on your own Linux, FreeBSD or Windows server with SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL.
Ways to pay less
Kan
- Annual discount
20% less with yearly billing
Teams costs $8 per user a month on yearly billing against $10 per user billed monthly, which works out to a 20% saving.
- Other savings
Free to self-host
Kan's FAQ says the software can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure free of charge; the paid cloud plans fund the project.
Kanboard
No public discounts listed.
