head to head · open source
Planka vs Backlog.md
Planka has 12,567 GitHub stars, 1,378 forks, 425 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Backlog.md has 6,787 stars, 427 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Planka leads on adoption by 85% (12,567 vs 6,787 stars). Planka is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT. Planka has attracted 11% 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
| Planka | Backlog.md | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 6.8K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 427 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Planka if
- You weight community size — 13K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 Planka
Planka is a self hosted Kanban board for project and task management. It lives in the open source project and work management ecosystem, with JavaScript as its implementation language, and it positions itself as an open alternative to Trello and Monday.com. The project provides a free Community edition for self hosting, while PLANKA Pro adds organization features and developer support.
read the full Planka 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 Planka or Backlog.md more popular?
Planka has 12,567 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 6,787. Planka has the larger community by that measure.
Are Planka and Backlog.md free?
Both are open source. Planka has no licence declared in this registry, and Backlog.md is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Planka and Backlog.md?
Planka is written in JavaScript 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, Planka or Backlog.md?
Choose Planka if you want the larger community (12,567 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.