head to head · open source
OpenProject vs Backlog.md
OpenProject has 16,933 GitHub stars, 3,676 forks, 224 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Backlog.md has 7,245 stars, 479 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. OpenProject leads on adoption by 134% (16,933 vs 7,245 stars). OpenProject is written in Ruby under GPL-3.0; Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenProject has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, Backlog.md 7%. OpenProject 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
| OpenProject | Backlog.md | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 7.2K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Ruby | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 479 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenProject if
- You weight community size — 17K 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 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 OpenProject
OpenProject We empower teams to achieve great things together for the good of society. OpenProject is a web based open source project management software for teams and organizations that require transparency, flexibility, and data sovereignty. Manage projects, portfolios, products, tasks, bugs, agile workflows, roadmaps, and team collaboration in a single platform. OpenProject can be self hosted and is designed for organizations looking for an open source enterprise ready alternative to tools such as Jira, MS Project, Monday, Asana, YouTrack while maintaining full control over their data and infrastructure…
read the full OpenProject 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 OpenProject or Backlog.md more popular?
OpenProject has 16,933 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 7,245. OpenProject has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenProject and Backlog.md free?
Both are open source. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Backlog.md under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenProject and Backlog.md?
OpenProject is written in Ruby 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, OpenProject or Backlog.md?
Choose OpenProject if you want the larger community (16,933 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.