Free alternatives to OpenProject
OpenProject has the most complete free feature set for classic project management, including Gantt charts, but only if you host it yourself. There is no free cloud tier, just a 14-day trial, so free genuinely means running your own server, updates, and backups (as of July 2026). The interface also looks a decade older than newer trackers. If self-hosting or the dated feel is what sent you here, these tools take a lighter or more modern route.
Facts checked as of July 2026Read our OpenProject review
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Plane
Best Free Alternative ToOpenProjectA modern tracker with a free hosted tier, so you need not self-host at all
Plane fixes OpenProject's two big frictions: it has a free cloud tier for 12 members, and its interface is current, not dated. You get cycles, modules, and five views including a Gantt-style layout, or you can still self-host the AGPL Community Edition with no cap (as of July 2026). It is younger, and its integration catalog is thinner.
- Free plan, paid from $6/month (as of July 2026)
- Open source (AGPL-3.0)
- Best for:
- Teams who want OpenProject's structure with a modern UI and a hosted option
- The catch:
- Younger product with thinner integrations, and its Gantt-style view is lighter than OpenProject's dependency planning
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Free hosted tier for 12 members; OpenProject has no free cloud
- Advantage: Modern interface against OpenProject's dated one
- Advantage: Still self-hostable under AGPL-3.0 if you want it
- Tradeoff: Gantt-style view is lighter than OpenProject's dependency planning
- Tradeoff: Time tracking is free in OpenProject but paid in Plane
A fully hosted free plan with no member cap and nothing to run
ClickUp is the pick if you never wanted to run a server. The Free Forever plan has unlimited members and unlimited tasks across boards, sprints, and docs, all hosted (as of July 2026). The trade against OpenProject is Gantt: ClickUp reserves Gantt charts and time tracking for its paid Unlimited tier at $7 per user.
- Free plan, paid from $7/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
United States- Best for:
- Teams who want a free hosted tool and can live without free Gantt
- The catch:
- Gantt charts and time tracking need the paid $7 tier, and free storage is 60MB total
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Nothing to self-host; OpenProject's free tier is server-only
- Advantage: Boards, sprints, and docs included free
- Worth knowing: Both allow unlimited users, hosted or self-hosted
- Tradeoff: Gantt charts are paid; OpenProject includes them free self-hosted
- Tradeoff: 60MB total free storage against your own disk on OpenProject
A far lighter self-host that still gives you a Gantt view
Vikunja is the easy-server answer: a small open source task app with list, kanban, table, and Gantt views that runs on a Raspberry Pi, free under AGPL-3.0 (as of July 2026). It is much lighter to host than OpenProject, but also far simpler, with no work packages, dependencies, or cost tracking. Self-hosting is the only free option; the cloud tier has no free plan.
- Free plan, paid from €4/month (as of July 2026)
- Open source (AGPL-3.0)
- Best for:
- Small teams who want an easy self-host with a Gantt view, not a full suite
- The catch:
- No dependencies, cost tracking, or reporting; it is a task app, not a PM platform
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Much lighter to install and maintain than OpenProject
- Advantage: Gantt view included, free and self-hosted
- Worth knowing: No user limit, same as OpenProject Community
- Tradeoff: No dependencies, work packages, or cost tracking
- Tradeoff: Community-maintained mobile app that trails the web
Open source scrum for teams who want agile, not classic Gantt
Taiga is a self-hosted alternative for teams who run scrum rather than waterfall: backlogs, story points, burndown charts, and kanban, free under MPL-2.0 with no user limit (as of July 2026). It is a different shape from OpenProject, agile-first rather than Gantt-first. Development has slowed, so check the changelog before committing.
- Free plan, paid from €5/month (as of July 2026)
- Spain
- Open source (MPL-2.0)
Spain- Best for:
- Self-hosting teams who run scrum and do not need Gantt dependencies
- The catch:
- Agile-focused, so classic Gantt planning is not its strength, and its pace has slowed
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Story points and burndown charts built in
- Advantage: Self-hostable with no user limit, like OpenProject
- Tradeoff: Agile-first; weaker on the Gantt planning OpenProject leads on
- Tradeoff: Hosted free plan is tiny at 2 projects with 10MB storage
- Tradeoff: Development has slowed
A hosted free option with a timeline view and no server to run
Notion is the hosted, no-maintenance choice for lighter planning: a tasks database viewed as a board, calendar, or timeline next to your docs. The free plan is unlimited for one person with 10 guests; a second member triggers a block limit (as of July 2026). It is nowhere near OpenProject's depth, with no dependencies or cost tracking.
- Free plan, paid from $10/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
- Best for:
- Solo users and tiny teams who want simple hosted planning next to notes
- The catch:
- Effectively single-player free, and far shallower than OpenProject
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Nothing to self-host; OpenProject's free tier is server-only
- Advantage: Timeline and calendar views for a single user free
- Tradeoff: Free workspaces with 2 or more members hit a block limit
- Tradeoff: No dependencies, work packages, or cost tracking
- Tradeoff: Uploads cap at 5MB on free
A modern hosted tracker, if software work is the real job
Linear is worth a look if your OpenProject use was really software tracking dressed up as project management. It is fast and keyboard-first, with cycles, triage, and roadmaps, free for unlimited members but capped at 250 issues (as of July 2026). It has no Gantt charts and no self-host, so it is a narrower, more modern tool.
- Free plan, paid from $10/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
- Best for:
- Software teams who want a modern hosted tracker over a classic PM suite
- The catch:
- 250-issue cap, no Gantt, and only really fits software teams
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Modern, fast interface against OpenProject's dated one
- Advantage: Nothing to self-host
- Tradeoff: No Gantt charts, which are OpenProject's strength
- Tradeoff: 250-issue cap on the free plan
- Tradeoff: Built for software work only
A hosted free tier for 10 users, no server to maintain
Jira gives you a genuine hosted free tier where OpenProject gives you none: 10 users, 2GB storage, scrum and kanban boards, backlogs, and agile reports (as of July 2026). It leans agile rather than classic Gantt, and it is Atlassian-configurable, which cuts both ways. Pick it if a hosted free tracker for a small team beats self-hosting OpenProject.
- Free plan, paid from $7.91/month (as of July 2026)
- Australia
Australia- Best for:
- Small teams who want a free hosted tracker instead of running a server
- The catch:
- Admin overhead is real, and Atlassian may deactivate inactive free sites
Compared to OpenProject
- Advantage: Free hosted tier for 10 users; OpenProject has none
- Advantage: Backlogs and agile reports out of the box
- Tradeoff: Weaker on classic Gantt planning than OpenProject
- Tradeoff: Configuration and admin overhead
- Tradeoff: Free plan caps at 10 users; OpenProject self-hosted has no cap
How to choose
If you want a modern tracker with a real free hosted tier and a self-host option, Plane is our top pick. If you would rather not host anything at all, ClickUp's free plan has no member cap, though Gantt is paid. If you want a lighter server to run than OpenProject, Vikunja fits on a Raspberry Pi and still has a Gantt view. Match the tool to whether hosting, modern design, or Gantt matters most.