head to head · open source
kanboard vs Backlog.md
kanboard has 9,938 GitHub stars, 2,017 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Backlog.md has 7,273 stars, 480 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. kanboard leads on adoption by 37% (9,938 vs 7,273 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 7%. kanboard 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 | ★ 7.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 480 |
| 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 ======== Kanboard is project management software that focuses on the Kanban methodology. This application is in maintenance mode . What does it mean? Citing Wikipedia: In the world of software development, maintenance mode refers to a point in a computer program's life when it has reached all of its goals and is generally considered to be "complete" and bug free. The term can also refer to the point in a software product's evolution when it is no longer competitive with other products or current with regard to the technology environment it operates within. The author of this application is not actively…
read the full kanboard 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 kanboard or Backlog.md more popular?
kanboard has 9,938 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 7,273. 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 (9,938 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.