head to head · open source
kanboard vs Backlog.md
kanboard has 9,874 GitHub stars, 1,996 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Backlog.md has 6,787 stars, 427 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. kanboard leads on adoption by 45% (9,874 vs 6,787 stars). kanboard is written in PHP under MIT; Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT. kanboard has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, Backlog.md 6%. Backlog.md was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| kanboard | Backlog.md | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.9K | ★ 6.8K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-11 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 427 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick kanboard if
- You weight community size — 9.9K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Backlog.md if
- You want the Backlog.md feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Backlog.md fits your workflow better
About kanboard
Kanboard is MIT licensed, self hosted Kanban project management software written in PHP, aimed at teams and individuals who want to run their own board based task tracking instead of renting a hosted service.
read the full kanboard overview →
About Backlog.md
Backlog.md is a Markdown native task manager and Kanban visualizer that turns any folder into a self contained project board. It lives in the Git ecosystem, written in TypeScript and released under the MIT license, and it is distributed as a zero config CLI alongside a terminal board and a local web interface. Every task is stored as a plain .md file inside the repository, so the project ledger travels with the code and remains readable to humans, teams, and AI agents alike.
read the full Backlog.md overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is kanboard or Backlog.md more popular?
kanboard has 9,874 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 6,787. kanboard has the larger community by that measure.
Are kanboard and Backlog.md free?
Both are open source. kanboard is licensed under MIT and Backlog.md under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kanboard and Backlog.md?
kanboard is written in PHP and Backlog.md in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, kanboard or Backlog.md?
Choose kanboard if you want the larger community (9,874 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.