head to head · open source
OpenProject vs Kanba
OpenProject has 16,132 GitHub stars, 3,486 forks, 224 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kanba has 656 stars, 110 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. OpenProject leads on adoption by 2,359% (16,132 vs 656 stars). OpenProject is written in Ruby under GPL-3.0; Kanba is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenProject has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, Kanba 17%. 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 | Kanba | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 656 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Ruby | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 110 |
| 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 Kanba if
- You want the Kanba feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Kanba 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 Kanba
Kanba is an open source Kanban board application in the Business Software / Project & Work Management category, a lightweight Trello alternative written in TypeScript for makers, indie hackers, solo developers, and small teams who want to run their own project and task management boards.
read the full Kanba overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or Kanba more popular?
OpenProject has 16,132 GitHub stars and Kanba has 656. OpenProject has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenProject and Kanba free?
Both are open source. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Kanba under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenProject and Kanba?
OpenProject is written in Ruby and Kanba 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 Kanba?
Choose OpenProject if you want the larger community (16,132 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Kanba if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.