Open-source project management software is a requirement as project management needs efficient strategies for every process, from project planning and implementation to its final delivery. Project management software plays an instrumental role in organizing and handling different aspects of a project at each step in its lifecycle.
The overall process is not a piece of cake; it requires effort from every single member of the team to work efficiently and produce a quality project on time. For this, project managers and leaders spend significant effort coordinating everything.
Even one single misinformation or mistake can lead the entire team to suffer the consequences of quality and turnaround times, let alone the business image and company culture. Using a project management tool can save you from these risks and inefficiencies and ensure you complete your project on time with client satisfaction.
Here’s a sneak peek at the best open-source project management software. I’ve covered the details of each based on my experience in the post below!
- 1. Kamatera’s OpenProject
- 2. Focalboard
- 3. ERPNext
- 4. Taskcafe
- 5. Orangescrum
- 6. Taiga
- 7. Twake
- 8. Wekan
- 9. ProjectLibre
- 10. Leantime
- 11. Plane
- 12. ZenTao
- 13. Tuleap
- Show less
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1. Kamatera’s OpenProject
OpenProject is an agile, efficient, classic, and hybrid open-source project management software. You will have access to secure your privacy with the highest standards in privacy and data security. Installing it in your infrastructure helps you get complete control and data ownership.
Using the tool will give you insights into all your data and its storage without any external influence. It will also allow your team to work more productive, more pleasant, and simpler way. In addition, your team will be able to track their work to get better results while organizing tasks quickly and distributing tasks to anyone within the team.
OpenProject has everything in a single place so that you can communicate better. Optimize the creativity and experience of the teammates via shared timelines to visualize and create project plans.
Analyze the detailed activities to develop a plan and let everyone know how to proceed and when to deliver the project by understanding the scope. Agile teams will also measure, learn, and build to deliver faster and better work with every iteration.
OpenProject provides the necessary tools to get methodologies like Kanban and Scrum and agile product development. It is a big community for developers, open-source enthusiasts, businesses, etc., where they can find the perfect setup to choose between premises and flexible hosting options.
The enterprise on-premises provides premium, professional support, and security features for the self-hosted OpenProject. According to your number of users, calculate your price. Choose the support options and subscription period to get your application starting at €357/year for 5 users.
If you need OpenProject hosting, then you can try the Kamatera platform.
2. Focalboard
Are you searching for an alternative to Notion, Asana, and Trello? Well, you can go for Focalboard, which is an open-source and self-hosted project management software.
It helps to organize, manage, track, and define work across your teams by using the Kanban board view. It has two editions:
- Focalboard Personal Desktop: It is a desktop app for personal and to-do projects. It is a single-tenant that runs on a local server to get optimal performance and speed.
- Focalboard Personal Server: It is a self-hosted server to help collaborate better with your team.
Click over “add new boards” to pick project tasks from the different templates.
Change the created date, priority, sort settings, filter settings, and group by settings according to your preference. You can also drag cards from one column to another to change the group property. In addition, edit the cards whenever you want to know the set of properties and content and the list of comments.
Table views help you view the cards in a single place to hover over the title to open one. Furthermore, every board has card templates and board templates to customize each board as per your team. Get a Personal Desktop on your Mac and Windows or Personal Server on Ubuntu.
3. ERPNext
Upgrade your daily working style through an open-source project management software ERPNext. It allows you to organize your tasks, schedule, plan, and analyse the projects by collaborating with your team to accelerate the work.
ERPNext can keep track of your project deadlines with a clear view of the plan. You can manage everything from a single workspace and simplify the projects by discovering a task-driven approach.
ERPNext offers easy collaboration by allowing you to split the project into bite-sized tasks and assign them to your teammates. You will also get access to the progress of your project and its efficiency via priorities and clear scope, milestones, and estimated timelines.
Moreover, ERPNext lets you share and upload multimedia files like images, documents, and videos. Achieve smooth communication with everyone with the help of auto-replies to incoming emails.
Get current and accurate insights anytime you need to stay on top of expenses and budgets, plan better for every project, and see how the budget has been spent. It also allows you to build software for open-source projects.
4. Taskcafe
Taskcafe is an open-source project management tool that helps manage different tasks via a Kanban board interface by setting due dates and adding checklists and labels. Once you get inside the “My Tasks” view, you will see each assigned task.
You will also get options like personal projects, task comments, task activities, etc. If you are searching for an alternative to NextCloud, Trello, etc., you can have Taskcafe that will fit your workflow and help you manage every project easily. It is in the alpha development stage and has many useful and unique features.
5. Orangescrum
Get a scalable and secure open-source project management tool – Orangescrum, to manage agile and simple projects for your teams. It helps you make strategies, plan well, execute your plan, and allow your team to finish within the deadline to complete a project successfully.
Orangescrum helps you plan everything strategically to achieve higher efficiency and optimal results. Apart from creating project plans, you can also monitor and deliver them seamlessly. It also helps in real-time collaboration and minimum resource utilization when you are assigning roles to your teammates.
Orangescrum integrates your workflow with visual project planning to increase success rates. Get insights into portfolio performance and initiatives through real-time data in your dashboards. Furthermore, you can manage financial activities and budgets by monitoring project expenses and resource costs to achieve higher profit margins.
Secure your data with role-based access control (RBAC) and Single Sign-On. You can also download Orangescrum on Android or iOS devices to manage the same work outside. In addition, centralize your project information to access easily from anywhere.
If you are a startup and want to keep track of the work, choose the startup plan at $4.09/user/month to avail benefits like unlimited tasks, projects, Gantt chart, status, task reminder, 5 GB storage, and 5 guest users.
6. Taiga
Deliver your project as promised within budget with Taiga – a project management tool that has rich features and simplicity with its intuitive interface for multi-functional agile teams. It lets you collaborate with your team to define deliverables and utilize their knowledge.
Start aligning tasks and prioritize the deliverables to allow each member for timely completion. As communication is a significant point in every management, Taiga helps you interact with your teammates quickly to share task progress. In addition, let your teammates view the ongoing activities and check the completed tasks.
With Taiga, you can enable better transparency with your team on the current status and resource allocation and better understand the effort required to complete the project. It has an easy-to-use interface to help improve the way of working and performing tasks.
You can change the workflows and add more features without any complex setup in between the projects. Taiga also offers reliability, independence, adaptability, flexibility, security, performance, and stability to help you deliver excellent projects.
Sign up for free to get up to 5 private projects, unlimited public projects, and up to 300MB of storage. If you want to have more benefits, go with the $70/month.
7. Twake
Twake is an open digital workplace that allows you to improve your organizational productivity. It will help you communicate with your team seamlessly, invite external users, share files, collaborate on documents, and start a video meeting.
Twake gives you the freedom to manage the whole project, create new tasks, move each task as per their progress, and assign work along with deadlines to your teammates. Its drag-and-drop file manager allows you to access your stored and shared documents easily.
You can manage labels and versions effortlessly and edit your files as well. When necessary, create new team events, attach video links for conference meetings, configure notifications for the members, attach relevant tasks and files, and set deadlines.
Moreover, install the application you require in your workflow seamlessly with Twake. Every application is independent of files, calendars, and discussions. You can work with the same document in any format, such as Google Docs, Libre Office, MS Office, etc.
Twake’s database is encrypted, and hence, your files are secure. Additionally, you have the power to decide who can access the files. All your data and files are securely stored in France. It complies with GDPR and allows secure transfers via HTTPS/SSL encryption.
8. Wekan
Another free and open-source project management software in this list is Wekan with the Kanban board. Kanban board is an unbeatable tool that keeps your work organized, such as maintaining a to-do list, working in a team, planning holidays, and viewing the project’s current status.
Wekan helps you enhance productivity by freeing time to focus on the items that matter the most. It has a one-click installation option on your computer or server. Wekan is used across many countries and is available in 63 different languages.
This tool has a real-time user interface that allows you to manage everything. In addition, it also supports various platforms. To have Wekan on your computer, you need basic requirements.
It would help if you had 64bit Linux Snap or Sandstorm/Windows/Mac, CPUs where MongoDB and Node.js exist, 1GB minimum RAM free for Wekan, a system server with 4GB RAM, and enough disk space.
9. ProjectLibre
If you are searching for a tool to solve your management work, ProjectLibre is an excellent option!
It is an open-source alternative for Microsoft Project, supports Mac, Windows, and Linux, and can open MS Project files. It also provides multi-project management options for teams.
ProjectLibre can be translated into 29 languages, and you can switch the language from the drop-down menu. It offers features and benefits like Gantt charts, PERT charts, network diagrams, RBS/WBS charts, earned value costing, resource histograms, etc.
10. Leantime
As the name suggests, Leantime offers “lean” project management that innovators and startups would love. It is designed to work flawlessly from project ideation to final delivery. This open-source tool is written in PHP and JavaScript and uses the MySQL database.
Its feature list includes Kanban boards for task management, calendar and table views, Gantt charts for milestone management, and Lean Canvas for research boards. In addition, it offers timesheet management, project dashboards, retrospectives, reports, two-factor authentication, and multiple user roles.
You can integrate Leantime with Slack, Zulip, and Mattermost; and export tasks, milestones, and timesheets to CSV. It uses a local file system or AWS S3 for file storage, and this tool is available in English, Russian, Spanish, and Dutch.
11. Plane
Plane is a Jira alternative open-source platform for project and product management. It enables the development of an entire task-tracking system that may evolve to accommodate several project management frameworks such as Agile, Waterfall, and others.
It assists users in managing issues, planning and sprinting with cycles and modules, documenting with Plane Pages, increasing productivity with Command K, and remaining secure with data encryption. With the Command K menu, you can search, administer, and traverse the platform in seconds.
These plane pages provide an easy way to document vital facts, such as issues, cycle plans, and module specifics. Furthermore, these plain pages can be synchronized with your issues, allowing for increased collaboration and efficiency in keeping track of important information.
The Plane is engineered with security in mind, and its data encryption and frequent security updates ensure that your data and privacy are fully protected.
The Plane platform integrates seamlessly with various third-party programs, including Notion and Slack, to provide users with a straightforward method to manage their Workspace and projects.
Users may efficiently address issues and notifications by enabling direct access to these tools within the platform without transferring between several interfaces. This centralized approach to project management promotes a smooth workflow and, as a result, increased productivity.
The Plane is designed to enhance performance, privacy, and workflow. The platform is easy to use, and the workplace may be customized to match individual needs.
12. ZenTao
ZenTao is one of the most popular professional development and project management tools tailored for agile teams. This platform has a top clientele that includes Haier, Dell Technologies, Hitachi, Walmart, Lenovo, Sharp, and many other leading brands.
It is an all-in-one, simple, and centralized platform that helps communicate with teams, transfer files, assign tasks, and more to streamline project management. The platform offers premise as well as cloud options.
Features include Sprint Planning, Bug Tracking, Roadmap Creation, Gantt Chart Analysis, Burndown Chart Generation, and Kanban Management, along with CMMI/Scrum concepts that all lead to ensuring successful software lifecycle project management.
ZenTao has been the No.1 Test Management Tool in China for five successive years, taking 43% of the market shares among the testing management tools.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Bug tracking | ❌ Beginners find difficulty in using the platform |
| ✅ Multiple views to track the projects | ❌ Minor bugs reported by various users |
| ✅ Code review | ❌ Advanced features are part of the paid version. |
Pricing: It is a project management platform that can also be utilized as an alternative to Jira, offered as open source, but premium versions, which start from $39.9, provide advanced features to manage your project more smartly and enhance work efficiencies.
13. Tuleap
Tuleap is a multi-awarded all-in-one software, bringing to his beloved customer’s full support of Agility and DevOps. Support all the agile teams as well as non-agile teams with features including real-time task planning and project tracking for enhanced efficiency.
It is a unique open-source tool optimized for both Agile management and Software Engineering at once, so it shines among Jira alternatives if you talk about Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or hybrid ways of working.
The list of its features includes Project management, Code versioning, Tracking as Code review, bug tracking, and Test management.
Tuleap comes in two editions; the Enterprise Edition is aimed to be used in mission-critical environments, whereas the Community Version is Free of cost and is ideal for users who are willing to get a first-hand feel of the Tuleap.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Budget-friendly | ❌ Community Edition has the basic features |
| ✅ All-in-one project workspace | ❌ Not all those great facilities for reporting |
| ✅ Adapts to workflows | ❌ Not a user-friendly mobile app |
| ✅ Painless integration with other tools | ❌ Integration challenges |
Pricing: While the community editions cost zero, the enterprise editions have premium features and professional support starting from €13/user/month. Tuleap ensures their enterprise editions are more stable and secure for business. Tuleap claims its enterprise editions are more stable and secure for business.
Now, let’s discuss the project management software and explore the reasons for its necessity.
What is Project Management Software?
Project management software is a tool that helps in project planning, resource allocation, and scheduling tasks and enhances coordination between team members. It also enables project managers, users, and stakeholders to manage budgeting and cost, documentation, quality management, and proper administration.
A project management tool is designed specially to help improve your team’s productivity and ensure projects are delivered on time with quality. Some of the common features of project management software include:
- Project planning
- Scheduling tasks
- Allocating resources
- Tracking progress
- Creating roadmaps
- Bug tracking
- Budgeting
- Ensuring security and data privacy
- Release planning
- Reporting and analytics
Thus, using project management software, it is easier to keep track of various aspects in relation to the project at hand.
Why do you Need Project Management Software?
Organizations with numerous projects and big teams can face challenges to accomplishing their projects. Many tasks need your attention, such as ideation, planning, implementation, and delivery. Each step is crucial to delivering a quality project and making your clients happy to drive your business.
Doing everything manually consumes a lot of time, money, and labour. You may also run into the risk of missing deadlines or compromising quality due to ineffective project management.
Project management software helps to streamline the overall process of completing a project. It enables you to optimize each step so you can deliver projects on time without compromising the quality. It enhances the bond with your customers, builds trust, and helps maintain a solid brand image.
Here are some of the benefits of using a project management tool:
Streamlines workflow
By using a project management tool, you can streamline your workflow across the entire project lifecycle. It will save you from doing manual, repetitive tasks that are annoying and time-intensive. Instead, the tool can automate various processes.
You can assign tasks easily, schedule tasks effectively, monitor the implementation, track progress, integrate other tools you already use, and leverage other features to complete your projects successfully in shorter turnaround times with top-notch quality.
Centralizes all information in the tool
When the actual work starts on a project, there’s a likelihood of misinformation or mismanagement. As a result, employees might feel overwhelmed by the workload, the number of files, and the goals of completing the project seem very distant.
But using an efficient project management tool with a centralized dashboard, every team member can be on the same page by sharing information via the tool. This way, your team works without interruptions, confusion, or burnout.
Promotes smooth communication flow
Communication gaps can result in project inefficiencies. It may create misinformation or disputes, and no one wants that in the middle of work (or at any time either). Exchanging information through emails is slow, and sometimes, you won’t even get answers when you need them urgently.
A project management tool helps promote communication flow within your team by allowing them to comment on the project directly, have healthy discussions, and provide feedback quickly while ensuring data security.
Enhances team transparency
Maintaining transparency within your team builds trust and opens the door to better collaboration. If tasks, processes, and progress are not clearly visible to all, it leads to doubts and overhead due to tracking processes at each step.
With a project management tool by your side, you can enable greater transparency, and everyone involved in the project will be aware of the project’s status and processes. It will help them understand their next steps and organize tasks effectively.
Increases cost-efficiency
Manual and repetitive processes consume not only time but also effort and cost. When you use a single software to plan and organize tasks, collaborate with people, and progress with centralized insights, it will save you money and time.
Benefits of Self-hosted Project Management Tools👍
If you start your hunt for the best project management software, you will get many options. At this time, shortlist software based on your team size, budget, and requirements. Here, you can go for self-hosted project management software.
The benefits associated with the former are that source code is available free to use by all, and you can also modify and redistribute it based on your needs. Open-source and free project management tools allow manipulating the code to optimize the software by adding more features, removing bugs, etc.
Wrapping Up
Project management software helps you accelerate your workflow, promote better communication, and save time and money. I hope the above-discussed open-source and free project management tools help you achieve these benefits to complete each project successfully.