head to head · open source
Leantime vs Backlog.md
Leantime has 11,958 GitHub stars, 1,169 forks, 328 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Backlog.md has 7,273 stars, 480 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. Leantime leads on adoption by 64% (11,958 vs 7,273 stars). Leantime is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT. Leantime has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Backlog.md 7%. Leantime 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
| Leantime | Backlog.md | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.2K | ⑂ 480 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Leantime if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 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 Leantime
Leantime® ⭐ If you find Leantime useful, please star us on GitHub! ⭐ Leantime is an open source project management system for non project managers. We combine strategy, planning and execution while making it easy for everyone on the team to use. Built with ADHD, dyslexia and autism in mind. 🧠 💪 As simple as Trello but as feature rich as Jira 🔄 A perfect alternative to ClickUp, Monday, or Asana 🌐 🚀 Features yes, all of these features are included in the OSS version 📸 Screenshots ❗System Requirements PHP 8.2+ MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+ Apache or Nginx (IIS works with some modifications) PHP Extensions…
read the full Leantime overview →
About Backlog.md
Backlog.md Markdown‑native Task Manager & Kanban visualizer for any Git repository AI agents write the code. You review the tasks: before, during, and after. npm i g backlog.md Backlog.md turns any folder into a self‑contained project board powered by plain Markdown files and a zero‑config CLI. Why Backlog.md in the AI era AI agents can now produce more plausible code in an hour than you can carefully read in a day. The bottleneck is no longer writing code. It's your attention. You can't meaningfully review 15,000 generated lines in one sitting, but you can read a screenful of task specs with acceptance criteria…
read the full Backlog.md overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Leantime or Backlog.md more popular?
Leantime has 11,958 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 7,273. Leantime has the larger community by that measure.
Are Leantime and Backlog.md free?
Both are open source. Leantime is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Backlog.md under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Leantime and Backlog.md?
Leantime 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, Leantime or Backlog.md?
Choose Leantime if you want the larger community (11,958 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.