MantisBT vs Redmine (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Redmine grades higher than MantisBT: 3.0 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Redmine grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick MantisBT if
- Fits if your team can host its own server and wants a free issue tracker
- Works for teams that only track issues
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a hosted version: that is MantisHub, a separate paid service by a different team
- Too light for project planning, as the site mentions no boards, sprints or Gantt
- Watch out: on the 1.3 legacy line only security fixes are made
- Tight if you need support: nothing on the page offers a support plan
Pick Redmine if
- Fits if your team can install and look after its own server software
- Works for teams that want issues tied to Git or Subversion repositories across many projects
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if nobody on the team can set up Ruby and a database, because there's no hosted version
- Skip it if you need someone to call when it breaks, since help comes from community forums and volunteers
- Tight if you live on your phone, as the mobile clients are community tools the project doesn't support
- Watch out: SQLite is supported, but the install guide says it isn't for multi-user production use
- Too light for detailed time reporting, as the built-in time report is a simple one
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAMantisBTFair | 3.0GPARedmineVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree under the GPL, but only if you host it yourself, which needs a server. | AFree and substantial: GPL v2, no paid edition, no hosted tier, in a category where the middle plan is $8 a member a month. Your only cost is the server and whoever looks after it. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree to download with no caps, no trial and no account. You supply the server. | AFree outright. The complete application is a 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's community forums, an IRC channel and volunteers. |
| Features | CEmail notifications, per-project access, custom fields and workflow, add-ons. It does issue tracking fully, but that is a smaller job than project management. | BIt covers the whole job. Issues across many projects with statuses, types and workflows you define per role, a Gantt chart and calendar built from issue dates, 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 install and maintain it yourself, and the 1.3 legacy line only gets security fixes. | DYou host it yourself, and that's what pins this down. The project offers downloads, not hosting, and an install wants Ruby and a database such as PostgreSQL or MySQL. Then the statuses, roles and workflows are all the administrator's to build. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with add-ons but no integrations list. | BWeb, with a REST API serving XML or JSON, and it attaches to Git, Subversion, Mercurial, Bazaar and CVS repositories and to LDAP. No app of its own on any phone or desktop. The clients listed on its site are community tools the project doesn't support. |
| Best for | tracking issues 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: MantisBT and Redmine. How we grade
Price against what you get
MantisBT has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Redmine has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Redmine scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other project management tools on the chart, none scores higher than MantisBT for less, and none scores higher than Redmine 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
- Redmine also covers wiki, Gantt & timelines and time tracking.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostableIssue tracking
At a glance
| MantisBT | Redmine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | None | 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 | MantisBT Team | Jean-Philippe Lang and community volunteers |
| Price read from | mantisbt.org | redmine.org |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MantisBT
- You install and maintain it yourself; the download page offers a stable 2.x release and a legacy 1.3 line that gets security fixes only.
- The project site describes issue tracking only, with no mention of boards, sprints or Gantt charts.
- Hosted MantisBT is a separate paid service, MantisHub, run by a different team; its prices are not on the MantisBT site.
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
MantisBT
- Email notifications
- Team members and clients are notified by email when an issue is updated, resolved or commented on.
- Per-project access control
- Role-based access is set per project, so each user sees and changes only the projects they are given.
- Customizable fields and workflow
- Issue fields, notifications and the workflow can be adjusted to fit how a team handles its issues.
- Add-ons
- The project site lists add-ons that extend the core tracker with extra behavior.
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
MantisBT
Open source$0
Free to download and run on your own server under the GNU General Public License.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MantisBT or Redmine?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MantisBT and Redmine are free to use.
Which has a free plan, MantisBT or Redmine?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MantisBT and Redmine have a free plan.
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.