Skip to content
appsgit

10 top picks · 3 audience rankings

Best open source project management software

The best open source project management tool is Gitea (MIT, 58,738 GitHub stars, Docker image). Plane stands out for the most GitHub stars, and Gogs follows.

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Gitea leads for startups, small business, enterprise and freelancers.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Gitea

    go-gitea/gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Project ManagementGoDocker

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Gitea has 58,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,909 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.

  2. Rank 2:

    Plane

    makeplane/plane

    Track issues, epics, and product roadmaps in the simplest way possible (alternative to JIRA, Linear and Height).

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    Project ManagementTypeScriptDocker

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Plane has 61,588 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.

  3. Rank 3:

    Gogs

    gogs/gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Project ManagementGoDocker

    Gogs has 47,906 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.

At a glance

Open source project management software compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 25 apps in the project management category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Giteaa permissive MIT licenseMIT58,7381,909Oct 28, 2026Yes
Planethe most GitHub starsAGPL-3.061,588771Oct 27, 2026Yes
Gogs–MIT47,906227Oct 28, 2026Yes
Huly–EPL-2.028,004727Oct 26, 2026Yes
GitLabthe most commits in the last 12 months (2,376)MIT24,5462,376Oct 23, 2026Yes
OpenProject–GPL-3.016,75519,042Oct 28, 2026Yes
OneDev–MIT15,3291,058Oct 28, 2026Yes
Leantime–AGPL-3.011,917810Oct 27, 2026Yes
Kaneo–MIT9,6383,267Oct 27, 2026Yes
Octobox–AGPL-3.04,489798Oct 28, 2026Yes

1 of 4 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 25 apps in the project management category.

  1. 1

    Gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Gitea has 58,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,909 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.

  2. 2

    Plane

    Track issues, epics, and product roadmaps in the simplest way possible (alternative to JIRA, Linear and Height).

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Plane has 61,588 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.

  3. 3

    Gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    Gogs has 47,906 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.

  4. 4

    Huly

    All-in-one project management platform (alternative to Linear, Jira, Slack, Notion, Motion).

    Huly has 28,004 GitHub stars, uses the EPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 727 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.

  5. 5

    GitLab

    DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,376). GitLab has 24,546 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,376 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    OpenProject

    Manage your projects, tasks and goals. Collaborate via work packages and link them to your pull requests on Github.

    OpenProject has 16,755 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 19,042 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.

  7. 7

    OneDev

    All-In-One DevOps Platform. With Git Management, Issue Tracking, and CI/CD. Simple yet Powerful.

    AI-nativeOneDev has 15,329 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,058 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.

  8. 8

    Leantime

    Lean project management system for small teams and startups helping to manage projects from ideation through delivery.

    Leantime has 11,917 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 810 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.

  9. 9

    Kaneo

    Project management platform focused on simplicity and efficiency.

    Kaneo has 9,638 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 3,267 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira.

  10. 10

    Octobox

    Take back control of your GitHub Notifications.

    Octobox has 4,489 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 798 commits in the last year.

2 of 4 · 5 picks

Which open source project management tool is best for startups?

For startups, Gitea ranks first (MIT, 58,738 GitHub stars), followed by Plane and Gogs. Ranked for startups on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    Gitea has 58,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,909 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Plane

    Track issues, epics, and product roadmaps in the simplest way possible (alternative to JIRA, Linear and Height).

    Plane has 61,588 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    Gogs has 47,906 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    GitLab

    DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.

    GitLab has 24,546 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,376 commits in the last year. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    OneDev

    All-In-One DevOps Platform. With Git Management, Issue Tracking, and CI/CD. Simple yet Powerful.

    AI-nativeOneDev has 15,329 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,058 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

3 of 4 · 5 picks

Which open source project management tool is best for small business?

For small business, Gitea ranks first (MIT, 58,738 GitHub stars), followed by GitLab and Plane. Ranked for small business on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides.

  1. 1

    Gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    Gitea has 58,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,909 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab, and appsgit has a step-by-step deploy guide for it. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website, a commit in the last 90 days and an appsgit deploy guide.

  2. 2

    GitLab

    DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.

    GitLab has 24,546 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,376 commits in the last year; appsgit has a step-by-step deploy guide for it. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website, a commit in the last 90 days and an appsgit deploy guide.

  3. 3

    Plane

    Track issues, epics, and product roadmaps in the simplest way possible (alternative to JIRA, Linear and Height).

    Plane has 61,588 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    Gogs has 47,906 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Huly

    All-in-one project management platform (alternative to Linear, Jira, Slack, Notion, Motion).

    Huly has 28,004 GitHub stars, uses the EPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 727 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

4 of 4 · 5 picks

Which open source project management tool is best for enterprise and freelancers?

For enterprise and freelancers, Gitea ranks first (MIT, 58,738 GitHub stars), followed by Plane and Gogs. Ranked for enterprise and freelancers (the same order for each) on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    Gitea has 58,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,909 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Plane

    Track issues, epics, and product roadmaps in the simplest way possible (alternative to JIRA, Linear and Height).

    Plane has 61,588 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    Gogs has 47,906 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 227 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Huly

    All-in-one project management platform (alternative to Linear, Jira, Slack, Notion, Motion).

    Huly has 28,004 GitHub stars, uses the EPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 727 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    GitLab

    DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.

    GitLab has 24,546 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,376 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is Gitea free?

Yes. Gitea is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these project management software with Docker?

Yes, all of them. Gitea, Plane and Gogs publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.

Are all of these project management software open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these project management software is the most actively developed?

OpenProject, with 19,042 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v17.9.4, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 25 apps in the project management category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

The weekly digest

New self-hosted apps, every week

Fresh releases, rising projects and one deploy guide a week. Join home labbers and engineers who self-host.

One email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.