head to head · open source
Kaneo vs Backlog.md
Kaneo has 9,708 GitHub stars, 930 forks, 70 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Backlog.md has 7,273 stars, 480 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. Kaneo leads on adoption by 33% (9,708 vs 7,273 stars). Kaneo is written in TypeScript under MIT; Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT. Kaneo has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Backlog.md 7%. Kaneo 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
| Kaneo | Backlog.md | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.7K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 930 | ⑂ 480 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kaneo if
- You weight community size — 9.7K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Kaneo
Quick Start Website Cloud Discord Why Kaneo? After years of using bloated, overcomplicated project management platforms that distracted from actual work, we built Kaneo to be different. The problem with most tools isn't that they lack features, it's that they have too many . Every notification, every unnecessary button, every complex workflow pulls your team away from what matters: building great products . We believe the best tools are invisible . They should amplify your team's natural workflow, not force you to adapt to theirs. Kaneo is built on the principle that less is more : every feature exists because…
read the full Kaneo 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 Kaneo or Backlog.md more popular?
Kaneo has 9,708 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 7,273. Kaneo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kaneo and Backlog.md free?
Both are open source. Kaneo is licensed under MIT and Backlog.md under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kaneo and Backlog.md?
Kaneo is written in TypeScript 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, Kaneo or Backlog.md?
Choose Kaneo if you want the larger community (9,708 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.