Kanboard vs Redmine
We give Kanboard a 3.0 GPA and Redmine a 3.2, out of 4.0. Redmine grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAKanboardVery good | 3.2GPARedmineVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt's free and open source under the MIT License, and the site lists no paid plan. It just asks companies that use it for donations. What it costs you is a server and the time to look after it. | 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 | AThe complete application is free, with nothing held back. There's no hosted version, so free means free to download and run on your own Linux, FreeBSD or Windows server. | 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 | BKanban columns with WIP limits, tasks written in Markdown, subtasks with time estimates, a query language for search, automatic actions and a subtask timer. Each project gets a cumulative flow diagram and a burndown chart. Gantt charts and a calendar need plugins, and the project is in maintenance mode. | 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 | DYou have to host it yourself. That means PHP 8.1 or later, a web server and a database, and then keeping it all running. There's no hosted version to fall back on. Fine if you run servers already. A wall if you don't. | 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 | BIt's a web app on your own server, with an API. There's no official mobile app, and the docs say the board isn't practical on small screens. Slack, GitHub and other connections come as separately installed plugins, which the project doesn't review. | 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 | a kanban board on your own server | 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: Kanboard and Redmine. How we grade
Where they differ
- Kanboard is free. Redmine is free.
- Kanboard also covers kanban boards, workflow automation and reports.
- Redmine also covers wiki, Gantt & timelines and issue tracking.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APITime tracking
At a glance
| Kanboard | Redmine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | 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 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 | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Frédéric Guillot and contributors | Jean-Philippe Lang and community volunteers |
| Price read from | kanboard.org | redmine.org |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
Kanboard
Kanboard$0
The complete application, installed on your own Linux, FreeBSD or Windows server with SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL.
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.
