head to head · open source
OpenProject vs 4gaBoards
OpenProject has 16,132 GitHub stars, 3,486 forks, 224 open issues and last shipped yesterday. 4gaBoards has 714 stars, 121 forks, 164 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenProject leads on adoption by 2,159% (16,132 vs 714 stars). OpenProject is written in Ruby under GPL-3.0; 4gaBoards is written in JavaScript under MIT. OpenProject has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, 4gaBoards 17%. OpenProject was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (boards, kanban), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| OpenProject | 4gaBoards | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 714 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 121 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenProject if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick 4gaBoards if
- You want the 4gaBoards feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and 4gaBoards fits your workflow better
About OpenProject
OpenProject is a web based open source project management software for teams and organizations that need transparency, flexibility, and data sovereignty. It lives in the open source project management ecosystem, with Ruby as the repository language and Angular as a listed topic. The project is positioned as an open alternative to Asana and Basecamp, and the README also compares it with Jira, MS Project, Monday, and YouTrack.
read the full OpenProject overview →
About 4gaBoards
4ga Boards is an open source, realtime kanban board system for project and work management that teams self host from a Docker Compose stack, built for anyone who wants Trello style boards without handing board data to a third party service.
read the full 4gaBoards overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or 4gaBoards more popular?
OpenProject has 16,132 GitHub stars and 4gaBoards has 714. OpenProject has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenProject and 4gaBoards free?
Both are open source. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and 4gaBoards under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenProject and 4gaBoards?
OpenProject is written in Ruby and 4gaBoards in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenProject or 4gaBoards?
Choose OpenProject if you want the larger community (16,132 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose 4gaBoards if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.