Huly, Kanboard, and Leantime are all open-source, self-hostable project management tools that can be run at zero cost, but they solve different problems. Huly…
Open Source · From Free (self-hosted); Cloud Pro from $8/user/month billed annually
Best for: Non-project-manager founders, neurodivergent-led teams, or anyone who wants goal-first planning with the option of a managed cloud plan instead of self-hosting.
At a Glance
Huly
Kanboard
Leantime
Primary category
Project Management
Project Management
Project Management
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Open Source
Open Source
Starting price
Free
Free
Free (self-hosted); Cloud Pro from $8/user/month billed annually
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Yes
Platforms
Web
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Yes
Public API
Yes
Yes
Not documented
Standout Differences
Huly bundles the most into one workspace
Huly combines issue tracking, a team planner, docs, built-in chat, and native video rooms in a single unified data model, aiming to replace Linear, Notion, and Slack-style tools at once.
Huly
Kanboard is the lightest to run
Kanboard's PHP/SQLite stack has no heavy infrastructure requirements, making it the cheapest and simplest of the three to self-host on modest hardware.
Kanboard
Leantime is built around ADHD- and neurodivergent-friendly workflows
Leantime was created specifically to reduce cognitive overwhelm, with goal- and motivation-based planning plus built-in Lean Canvas and SWOT tools rather than pure task lists.
Leantime
Managed cloud options differ
Huly and Leantime both sell a paid, vendor-hosted cloud tier for teams that don't want to self-host, while Kanboard has no official managed offering, only third-party hosts like Elestio.
Huly, Leantime, Kanboard
Self-hosting requirements vary a lot
Huly's stack (CockroachDB, Elasticsearch, Redpanda, MinIO) recommends 16 GB RAM for production, while Kanboard runs comfortably on cheap PHP hosting most self-hosters already have.
Huly, Kanboard
Feature-by-Feature
Core Task Management
Feature
Huly
Kanboard
Leantime
Kanban board
Available
Available
Available
Gantt / timeline view
Not documented
Available
Available
Time tracking
Not documented
Available
Available
Collaboration and Docs
Feature
Huly
Kanboard
Leantime
Built-in docs / wiki
Available
Not documented
Available
Built-in chat / messaging
Available
Not documented
Not documented
Native video / conferencing
Available
Unavailable
Not documented
Deployment and Extensibility
Feature
Huly
Kanboard
Leantime
Vendor-managed cloud option
Available
Unavailable
Available
AI-assisted task management
Not documented
Not documented
Limited
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Huly
Common — Free N/A
Rare — $19.99/month monthly, flat rate
Epic — $99.99/month monthly, flat rate
Legendary — $399.99/month monthly, flat rate
Kanboard
Self-Hosted (Open Source) — Free N/A
Managed Hosting (third-party) — From approximately $14/month monthly
Leantime
Community Edition (Self-Hosted) — Free N/A
Cloud Pro (Monthly) — $10/user/month monthly
Cloud Pro (Annual) — $8/user/month annual
Enterprise — Custom pricing annual
Pros & Cons
Huly
Pros
Fully open source and self-hostable at no licensing cost
Combines issue tracking, docs, chat, and video in one connected tool
Unlimited users and objects on every plan, including free
Flat monthly pricing on hosted tiers rather than per-seat fees
Native GitHub integration for two-way issue and PR sync
Affordable Cloud pricing relative to mainstream project management SaaS
Active open-source community and Discord support
Cons
Self-hosting requires technical setup and ongoing server maintenance
AI features and some advanced tools (strategy, program management) are Cloud-only, not in open source
Smaller ecosystem of integrations compared to Asana, ClickUp, or Monday.com
Enterprise pricing is not published and requires contacting sales
Younger company (founded 2022) with a smaller support team than larger competitors
Use Cases
Choose Huly: Teams that want a single open-source workspace combining issue tracking, docs, chat, and video instead of stitching together separate tools.
Choose Kanboard: Developers and sysadmins who want the lightest possible self-hosted Kanban board with no bloat and low hosting cost.
Choose Leantime: Non-project-manager founders, neurodivergent-led teams, or anyone who wants goal-first planning with the option of a managed cloud plan instead of self-hosting.
Huly
Software development project management — Engineering teams track issues, sprints, and pull requests in one tool tied directly to docs and chat.
Startup all-in-one workspace — Small teams replace several separate SaaS subscriptions (issue tracker, docs, chat, video) with one connected platform.
Self-hosted, privacy-conscious deployments — Organizations that must keep data on their own infrastructure self-host the full open-source stack.
Kanboard
Solo developer task tracking — A developer self-hosts Kanboard on a home server or VPS to track personal coding projects without paying for a SaaS subscription.
Small technical team workflow — A small engineering or IT team runs Kanboard behind their VPN to manage sprints and support tickets with LDAP-based single sign-on.
Privacy-conscious project management — Organizations with strict data residency or compliance requirements self-host Kanboard to keep all task data on infrastructure they control.
Leantime
Self-hosted PM for developer teams — Technical teams deploy the free open-source edition on their own infrastructure to avoid per-seat SaaS costs.
ADHD-friendly project management — Neurodivergent freelancers and small teams use Leantime's goal-based workflows to reduce overwhelm compared to traditional task-list tools.
Startup strategy and planning — Early-stage startups use the built-in Lean Canvas and SWOT tools alongside task management to plan and execute strategy in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which of Huly, Kanboard, and Leantime is completely free to self-host?
All three can be self-hosted for free: Huly's full self-hosted stack, Kanboard's entire open-source release, and Leantime's Community Edition are all available at no cost, with no user limits on Kanboard or Huly's self-hosted install.
Do any of these tools include built-in chat or video calls?
Only Huly does. It has native instant messaging, group channels, and audio/video conferencing rooms built into the platform. Kanboard has no native chat or video, and Leantime only offers notification integrations with tools like Slack and Discord rather than built-in chat.
Which tool needs the most server resources to self-host?
Huly is the heaviest, with a stack built on CockroachDB, Elasticsearch, Redpanda, and MinIO that recommends 4-plus vCPUs and 16 GB RAM for production. Kanboard is the lightest, running on a simple PHP/SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL stack, with Leantime somewhere in between.
Is Leantime's ADHD-friendly design just marketing, or does it change the product?
It shapes the core workflow: Leantime is built around goal- and motivation-based planning, reduced cognitive load in the interface, and built-in Lean Canvas and SWOT strategy tools, rather than the pure task-hierarchy approach used by most Kanban and issue trackers.
Can I avoid self-hosting entirely with any of these?
Huly and Leantime both sell managed cloud plans, Huly from about $19.99 per month flat and Leantime Cloud Pro from $8 to $10 per user per month, for teams that don't want to run their own servers. Kanboard has no official vendor-hosted cloud, though third-party hosts offer managed Kanboard instances starting around $14 per month.