Trello is one of the best ways to organize your work, daily activities, and even improve collaboration between your team.
People love Trello because it uses a Kanban-style which is combined with list-making that’s easy to set up according to different needs.
Even though freelancers, solopreneurs, and smaller teams can take advantage of Trello’s features for free, Trello isn’t the perfect solution.
If you’re trying to take productivity or collaboration to another level, and you’ve been feeling that Trello doesn’t offer everything you need, that’s where Trello alternatives shine.
Most Trello alternatives either work better for larger teams, they’re much better at organizing large numbers of tasks across different projects, or are providing features that Trello doesn’t provide.
Why Look For Open-Source Alternatives?
If you’re looking for flexibility, a customizable tool can adjust to the way you manage things. Open-source software is the best choice in that case.
The biggest benefit of open-source Trello alternatives is better flexibility and agility. These two are super important for organizational tools as no one manages their schedule the same way as others.
The cost of the tools is another deterrent for some. Using open-source tools instead drastically reduces the cost.
Regardless of being open-source software, these tools tend to have great speed and solid security as well.
Let’s find out some of the best options we have at our disposal.
10 Best Open-Source Trello Alternatives
These 10 best open-source Trello alternatives will show you everything you need to know and yet will make it fairly easy to make the right choice according to your needs!
1. Focalboard
Focalboard is a self-hosted, open-source alternative to Trello and many other proprietary organizational tools.
What’s great about Focalboard is that it fits anyone’s needs. You can install it and run it from your computer or you can run it from the personal server.
I should also mention that Focalboard is still in an early phase of the beta stage but it is making huge progress and it’s already becoming recognized as a very efficient alternative.
If you tried combining Slack and Trello, you would get a similar interface that’s running Focalboard.
On the left side menu, you have all task categories, projects, and boards displayed for quick navigation. Yet on the right side (the main interface), you have a Kanban-style board where you can visually see, manage, add, and remove tasks on certain projects within the board.
It’s a very lightweight alternative so you can easily get started today by hosting it on your computer. Security is never an issue with self-hosted tools, but if you’re worried about data loss, either back up your Focalboard regularly or host it on the server so you can access it from any device.
2. OpenProject
OpenProject is one of the most known Trello alternatives. As the name says it all, it’s an open-source project which has been around for a long time now and has gained the trust of well-known companies such as Siemens, Bahn, Fraunhofer, The Linux Foundation, and many others.
It’s a part of FOSS (free and open-source software) which means that OpenProject gives you the freedom to run this organizational tool on your computer or server.
This improves the way you manage your data, security, reduces security breaches, and it provides many more benefits.
However, what’s also great about OpenProject is that it can be installed on their servers so you can access your boards from anywhere.
The interface is very simple, sleek, and easy to learn as it combines classic style with agility and hybrid project management features.
Time planning is a great feature that provides better and faster tracking of projects in real-time, as well as measures that learn with each iteration.
This means that this open-source Trello alternative won’t only let you manage your schedule and tasks the way you want, but it will also learn from your actions to provide even better customized service.
3. Restyaboard
If you’re looking for a proven and well-tested Trello alternative, Restyaboard is a great option.
Restyaboard has a great history and it is currently trusted by some of the world’s largest brands such as IBM, Twitter, Microsoft, and many others.
If you’re quickly trying to learn how Restyaboard compares to Trello, Restyaboard saves you some time by introducing a quick comparison that’s integrated into their website.
The biggest advantage of Restyaboard is that it fetches activities via polling which leaves plenty of room for scaling making it an ideal choice for larger teams or companies.
What I like the most about Restyaboard is that it can easily integrate existing boards, not only from Trello but from Asana and other similar project management tools.
Also, with Restyaborad, you can sync your boards with Google Calendar so you can import your tasks from the calendar instead of having to create them each time.
If you’re worried about security, you’ll rest assured that your data is safe as you can make offline syncs with Restyaboard. Therefore, if you host it on your computer, you’ll always have a backup or you can do a manual backup to a third-party device such as the USB flash drive.
Workflow automation is another great benefit as you can combine this board with over 500+ apps that are easy to integrate. What surprised me the most is that you can integrate Restyaboard with Amazon Echo to add notifications, tasks, and create boards using your voice.
When it comes down to design and user interface, Restyaboard is keeping things simple, organized, and accessible at any time, especially considering that you can download Restyaboard as an iOS app.
This means that your board will go everywhere you go and since it offers offline sync ability, you’ll be able to make changes in the most remote areas without losing any of them.
4. Clubhouse
Clubhouse is a Trello alternative that took all the good features of Trello, and then added more features that changed the organizational game and took it to another level.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that Clubhouse is aimed at growing teams and companies as it’s fairly easy to scale, but it’s also suitable for freelancers and small companies.
Clubhouse is full of robust features that make the change but I believe the biggest strength lies in the easy customization.
With that being said, you’d know why Clubhouse is known as the “Trello 2.0”. Even though it’s a lightweight tool with plenty of important features, it is easy to set up and even easier to maintain or grow.
The user interface looks very simple and it won’t take you long to get used to it. It’s a combination of Kanban-style and a quick-access navigation menu that improves productivity and efficiency.
Everything you might need is a click away and setting up the tool won’t take long either.
Clubhouse even made it simple to switch from either Trello or Jira by importing your boards so you won’t have to start from scratch.
When it comes down to pricing, Clubhouse is free for up to 10 users. If you have more than 10 people in your team, you will only pay $8.50 per user per month, with no limit on the number of users.
5. Taiga
Taiga is a project management tool that is very similar to Trello, but it took its course to help provide the much-needed interface for multi-functional teams.
Even though Taiga is a great fit for solopreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners, at the same time, it’s an even better fit for growing or large teams.
As a great concept of proof, Taiga is being used by companies such as HP, Orange, AirBus, Red Hat, and even by the University of Washington.
Planning is crucial and that’s why inside Taiga, you can get organized by deliverables, priority levels, and deadlines.
Team interaction is integrated into the Taiga and no matter how large your team is, Taiga can withstand the daily communication of the whole team.
Taiga’s biggest advantage over Trello is the insight section where you can track and check tasks and deliverables until it is completed (delivered to the user). This is also one of the great features that help you learn what to do to improve productivity and workflow.
Transparency is of huge importance for Taiga, and that’s why it’s easy to get started, and yet no matter how large you scale, you will always efficiently keep an eye on everything that’s happening inside your company.
6. Kanboard
Kanboard is one of the simplest and most efficient project management tools.
By the name of the tool, you can understand that this tool is based on Kanban-style organization. However, what you might not know is that Kanboard is all about visualizing your work, projects, and progress.
If you feel like you’ve always got too much work on your plate and yet you aren’t sure how to equally distribute that over the week, Kanboard is a good Trello alternative.
Why? Kanboard allows users to limit the work in progress so it’s fairly easy to focus on weekly, monthly, and even yearly goals.
Don’t let the simple interface fool you. Kanboard visualizes tasks and projects like no other tool and that’s the biggest advantage.
You can drag, drop, limit your work, search for tasks with its excellent search engine and filters, use subtasks or attachments, and even leave comments.
Another great advantage is the automatic action that helps you shorten the time it takes you to assign all work to your team or colleagues. And with the ability to use Kanboard in 30+ languages, it’s a perfect organizational tool for teams and companies from all around the world.
Security is always guaranteed thanks to the multiple authentication backend so you won’t have to worry about any breaches or data leaks.
7. Wekan
Wekan is another open-source organizational tool based on Kanban style, which is visually very similar to Trello, and yet it offers a couple of advanced features that make a huge difference.
On top of that, Wekan is also pretty good at giving customers and users what they want so you can easily adjust it and customize it to match your needs.
Wekan simplifies the member on-boarding process from one control panel where you can easily add or remove members and assign authentication methods.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Wekan is best when used for personal needs or smaller teams, organizations, or companies.
It’s really astonishing how similar Wekan is to Trello, but after short use, it is clear that some additional features can’t be seen in Trello.
These features include anything from simple WIP limits, the ability to restore archived boards, or the ability to “watch” boards and track their progress, to many more keyboard shortcuts that can make work quicker.
The interface is very similar to Trello’s interface, but this can actually remove the learning curve if you’re switching from Trello and even ensure a better navigational experience with all the additional features in place.
There are also many different ways to communicate between the board members and filtering members and their tasks by colorized categories makes workflow smoother and easier for everyone in the team.
8. TasksBoard
If you’re trying to move away from the web-based project management tools and yet you’d need something that can integrate with your Google account, TasksBoard is a perfect choice.
TasksBoard is a highly customizable, very simple board and yet the biggest advantage it provides is Google integration.
It’s a desktop app that’s made for Google Tasks so you can keep it on your computer, make lists, and share them with anyone.
On top of that, you can also export your lists, tasks, or boards to Google Spreadsheets, share them through Gmail, and more.
What’s so great about TasksBoard is its simplicity, the ability to install it on your computer or smartphone device, and the ability to use it along with your products from GSuite as if it was the product released by Google.
TasksBoard is made to improve productivity, workflow, communication, and remove distractions by featuring only the most important aspects of a project management tool into the sleek interface.
Even though this is a lightweight and small project management tool, it has no limits on how many boards you can create and how large you can scale one board. Collaboration is definitely in place and you won’t have to worry about staying organized and keeping everything in check.
TasksBoard is free to use and it even comes with a Premium feature that unlocks some of the features. It only costs $3.30/month which makes it one of the cheapest project management tools on the market.
9. Orgzly
Orgzly is an organizational tool that’s based on open-source code which makes it very simple and easy to use.
Even though it doesn’t offer as many features as Trello, it’s a great version you can upgrade to if you are looking for something simple with only a couple of features you need the most.
Orgzly is a lightweight tool that comes in the form of an app, but it is a well-integrated project management tool where you can input almost anything you wish.
It works perfectly with Dropbox, digital notebooks, WebDAV, and directories from local storage. With many ways to input, you won’t have to start from scratch and yet it will be well stored.
No matter how large your board gets, a functional search engine will allow you to find anything you need in only seconds.
Even though this isn’t one of the most attractive open-source tools, it is definitely in an early stage where it is still getting regular improvements.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that even though Orgzly is free, it is only available for Android devices.
If Trello “scares” you or you find it really hard to navigate Trello, you might not need a project management tool that provides more features yet a tool that’s easier to use, and that’s exactly what Orgzly is for.
10. Loomio
Loomio is a perfect project management tool for companies that require more than just a tool to keep a board with a to-do list on it.
It is an open-source solution ideal for every company that is operated remotely and a company that requires project planning, management, but most importantly, an efficient communication channel.
Loomio combines project management with communication channels so apart from keeping all your work on the board for everyone to access, you can also discuss, decide, and collaborate online like no other project management tool can offer.
This tool is available as a web-based service, but people can use it to stay up to date on work and tasks through email and even a smartphone.
With great communication channels, Loomio allows team members to discuss, share feedback, and combine talking with action-taking so you get the best of both worlds.
Needless to say, Loomio can help increase productivity, allow managers to get the best out of their teams, and assist groups in solving real problems while taking action.
Loomio also introduces some unique features to the project management tool such as time polls, proposals, and check and rank choices, which allow board owners to manage both projects and the team at the same time, through only one interface.
It’s definitely the unique approach to project management tools, but Loomio knew that every team uses one tool for planning and one tool for communication. It wasn’t hard to combine these two and go from there!
Conclusion
Trello is a very advanced project management tool, even though it looks simple, and it’s very easy to use it. However, Trello isn’t very customizable.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, not everyone manages their projects, teams, and time the same way as everyone else.
Therefore, customization, versatility, and agility are the top three reasons why you might need to try out any of these open-source Trello alternatives.
The open-source adds another great aspect to the abilities and it can drive the cost down drastically, so there’s no reason not to give something new a try, right?
Even some of the largest companies depend on some of these open-source Trello alternatives so it has never been a better time to make the change!
