# MantisBT review (2026): is it any good? > Open source issue tracker for teams and clients Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. MantisBT is an open source, web-based bug tracking system written in PHP. Teams install it on their own Linux, Windows or macOS server to log issues, notify members and clients by email, and set per-project access roles. The project is released under the GNU General Public License. - **Category:** Project Management - **Made by:** MantisBT Team (since 2000) - **Website:** https://mantisbt.org - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a hosted version: that is MantisHub, a separate paid service by a different team. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, MantisBT is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Open source | $0 | Free to download and run on your own server under the GNU General Public License. | Read from https://mantisbt.org/download.php on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with MantisBT before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Teams that want a free, simple issue tracker on their own server - Software teams that give clients access to report issues - Administrators comfortable running a PHP application ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. MantisBT is a free open-source issue tracker with per-project access control, custom fields and email notifications. You install and maintain it yourself, and its site describes issue tracking only. - **Value for money: C.** Free under the GPL, but only if you host it yourself, which needs a server. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Free to download with no caps, no trial and no account. You supply the server. - **Features: C.** Email notifications, per-project access, custom fields and workflow, add-ons. It does issue tracking fully, but that is a smaller job than project management. - **Ease of use: D.** You install and maintain it yourself, and the 1.3 legacy line only gets security fixes. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with add-ons but no integrations list. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from MantisBT Team's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among project management tools - MantisBT's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 14 of the 149 other project management tools we grade, and level with 23. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 101 of 149) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - MantisBT has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/project-management ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** MantisBT is free, so making your own would save you nothing. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 112 of the 149 other project management tools grade higher. - You could make: Issue tracking: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Issue tracking, Open source, Self-hostable ## Alternatives - [Bugzilla](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bugzilla): Free open source bug tracker you run on your own server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bugzilla-vs-mantisbt) - [Redmine](https://toolgpa.com/tools/redmine): Free, self-hosted issue tracker and project management web app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mantisbt-vs-redmine) - [Trac](https://toolgpa.com/tools/trac): Open source wiki and issue tracker for software projects. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mantisbt-vs-trac) - [YouTrack](https://toolgpa.com/tools/youtrack): Issue tracker and project management tool from JetBrains. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mantisbt-vs-youtrack) - [Kanboard](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kanboard): Free, self-hosted kanban board software under the MIT License. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/kanboard-vs-mantisbt) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://mantisbt.org - https://mantisbt.org/download.php - https://mantisbt.org/hosting.php Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/mantisbt Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).