Tasks.md vs Vikunja
We give Tasks.md a 3.0 GPA and Vikunja a 3.2, out of 4.0. Tasks.md grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Vikunja grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Vikunja
Open-source task manager to self-host or use as a paid cloud
Free plan · from €4/mo
How we grade them
| 3.0GPATasks.mdVery good | 3.2GPAVikunjaVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source under the MIT license, with no paid plans. You supply the server, which is the real cost. The maintainer accepts one-time sponsorship donations if you want to chip in. | BVikunja Cloud Personal is €4 a month, or €40 billed yearly, which is about what paid to-do apps typically start at. It's not cut down: unlimited lists, tasks, reminders and filters, with 10GB for attachments. Family covers up to 5 users for €10 a month. Prices are in euros only. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe full board is free, because there's nothing else to sell. No paid tier, no limits, no trial clock. You do need somewhere to run it. | BFree only if you host it. The open-source version has all core features, with unlimited tasks and projects, but the server, updates and backups are your job. Vikunja Cloud has no free plan, just a 14-day trial on every plan. |
| Features | BLanes, cards, tags, colors that flag a due date that's today or past, three themes and custom CSS. Solid for a board, and narrow on purpose: the maintainer calls it a low-maintenance project. The README mentions no user accounts or sign-in, so who gets in is left to you. | AList, kanban, Gantt and table views of the same project. Quick Add Magic sets dates, labels and assignees as you type. Tasks take reminders, repeats, subtasks and relations such as blockers, and importers bring your stuff over from Todoist, Trello, Microsoft To Do and TickTick. |
| Ease of use | DYou have to host it yourself. One docker run command starts it on port 8080, which is light as these things go, but it's still a server for you to run and guard. There's no hosted version to sign up for. | BOn Cloud the maker runs it for you, so it's sign up and start. Hosting it yourself is the harder road, with a server to maintain. There's no rating on record to go by, so a B. One thing to know: Quick Add Magic works in the web UI. |
| Platforms and integrations | BIt runs in a browser from your own server and installs as a PWA. The reach comes from the files: each card is a Markdown file you can open in Obsidian or any text editor. There are no native apps, and the PWA install doesn't work if BASE_PATH is anything but the root path. | BWeb, plus desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux, a REST API, webhooks, an n8n node and an MCP endpoint. Phones are the gap. The Android app is an alpha pre-release covering only very basic features, and the maker gives no iPhone support. |
| Best for | a kanban board made of Markdown files | open-source tasks with board and Gantt views |
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: Tasks.md and Vikunja. How we grade
Where they differ
- Tasks.md is free. Vikunja starts at €4 per month, or €40 billed yearly (Vikunja Cloud Personal).
- Only Vikunja lists macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Tasks.md also covers Markdown.
- Vikunja also covers natural-language input and Gantt & timelines.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostableTasksKanban boards
At a glance
| Tasks.md | Vikunja | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | €4 per month, or €40 billed yearly (Vikunja Cloud Personal) |
| Free plan | Tasks.md is free, open-source software under the MIT license with no paid plans. The user supplies the server, and the maintainer accepts one-time sponsorship donations. | Self-hosting is free under the AGPLv3 with all core features, on a server you maintain, update and back up yourself. Vikunja Cloud has no free plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial on every Vikunja Cloud plan |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Matheus Baldissara (BaldissaraMatheus) | Konrad Langenberg Software |
| Price read from | github.com | vikunja.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Tasks.md
- Self-hosters who want a task board on their own server
- People who keep tasks as plain Markdown files
- Homelab users who deploy apps with Docker
Vikunja
- People who want their task data on a server they control
- Households and teams sharing projects across list, board and Gantt views
- Moving off Todoist, Trello or Microsoft To Do with a built-in importer
Worth knowing
Tasks.md
- There is no hosted version: someone has to run the Docker image or the source code on a server.
- The README mentions no user accounts or sign-in, so restricting access is left to the host.
- The maintainer calls it a low-maintenance project and keeps the scope of features narrow on purpose.
- Installing as a PWA does not work when BASE_PATH is set to anything other than the root path.
Vikunja
- Vikunja Cloud has no free plan. The free option is self-hosting, where server maintenance, updates and backups are your job.
- The mobile app is an alpha pre-release for Android that the docs say covers only very basic features, and the maker gives no iPhone support.
- The admin panel, audit logs and time tracking belong to Vikunja Pro, a paid add-on for self-hosted instances in private beta with no public prices.
- Cloud prices are listed in euros only, and the vendor describes its CalDAV integration as early alpha with known bugs.
Key features
Tasks.md
- Board of lanes, cards and tags
- Cards, lanes and tags are created in a responsive web interface, and the color settings cover tag colors and highlights for due dates that are today or past.
- Cards are Markdown files
- Every lane added in the app is a directory on disk and every task is a Markdown file inside it, so tasks can be edited outside the app.
- Single Docker image
- One docker run command or a short docker-compose file starts the app on port 8080, with one volume for tasks and one for configuration.
- Sub-directories as projects
- Opening the app under a sub-path, such as /backlog, treats that directory as a separate project with its own lanes and tasks.
- Themes and custom CSS
- Light and dark modes follow the operating system, three color themes ship by default (Adwaita, Nord and Catppuccin), and a custom.css file overrides the colors.
- PWA, languages and reverse proxy
- The app can be installed as a PWA, picks its language from the browser, and takes a BASE_PATH variable for running behind a sub-path reverse proxy.
Vikunja
- List, kanban, Gantt and table views
- Each project can be shown as a list, a kanban board, a table with selectable columns or a Gantt chart, and you can switch between them at any time.
- Quick Add Magic
- Typing a date, a *label, an @assignee, a +project or a !priority into a task title sets those fields as the task is created. It works in the web UI.
- Sharing, teams and link shares
- A project can be shared with one user, a team or a link. Link shares let people view or edit tasks without an account, with the same permission levels.
- Reminders, repeats and relations
- Tasks take due dates, reminders, repeat intervals, priorities, labels, attachments and subtasks, and can be related to tasks in other projects, for example as blockers.
- Imports and CalDAV
- Built-in importers cover Todoist, Trello, Microsoft To Do, TickTick, WeKan, Planka and CSV files. A CalDAV integration syncs tasks with outside clients such as iOS Reminders.
- API, webhooks and MCP
- A documented REST API with token authentication, webhooks, a vendor-maintained community node for n8n and, from version 2.7.0, an MCP endpoint for AI assistants.
Plans
Tasks.md
Free$0
The full board, self-hosted from the project's Docker image or run from the source code.
Vikunja
Self-Hosted€0
The open-source version on your own server: unlimited tasks and projects, all four views, teams, sharing and CalDAV.
Personal€4
per month, or €40 billed yearly
One managed Cloud account with unlimited lists, tasks, reminders, share links and filters, and 10GB of attachment storage.
Organization€5
per user / month, or €50 per user billed yearly
Everything in Personal, plus unlimited teams, 50GB of attachment storage, priority email support and central team billing.
Family€10
per month for up to 5 users, or €99 billed yearly
Everything in Personal for up to 5 users, with shared household projects on one subscription and one bill.
Ways to pay less
Tasks.md
No public discounts listed.
Vikunja
- Annual discount
Lower price with yearly billing
Yearly billing costs €40 for Personal, €99 for Family and €50 per user for Organization, which the pricing page labels as 17.5% to 20% less than paying monthly.
