Kanboard
Free, self-hosted Kanban board with WIP limits
- Researched profile
- Free plan
- Open source
- Starting price
- Free (open source, MIT license)
- Free option
- Free plan
- Pricing
- Free
- Licence
- Open source
- Deployment
- Web, Self-hosted (Linux, FreeBSD, Windows), Docker
- Founded
- 2014
The lean-stack take
Lean teams can use it as a simple, self-hosted visual board with WIP limits. The GitHub page says the project is in maintenance mode, with small fixes rather than new major features.
Best for
Small teams that want a lightweight Kanban board on their own server at no license cost.
Watch out for
The project is in maintenance mode and you host, update and back up the server yourself.
About
About Kanboard
Kanboard is a free, open-source Kanban board released under the MIT license. Its main developer is Frédéric Guillot, and the GitHub project lists more than 300 contributors.
Written by lean-stack from Kanboard's public pages. Vendors can replace it with their own description by claiming this profile.
Features
What Kanboard offers
Kanban boards
Drag-and-drop cards across columns you define, with swimlanes. This is the core visual management view.
WIP limits
Set a work-in-progress limit per column to discourage multitasking and keep work flowing.
Tasks and subtasks
Tasks carry subtasks, attachments, comments and Markdown descriptions, so the card holds the work details.
Automatic actions
Rules change tasks when events happen, such as moving a card or assigning a user. This helps standardize the workflow.
Search and filters
A query language filters tasks by assignee, due date, column and more.
Authentication options
Supports LDAP and Active Directory, plus OAuth2 sign-in with Google, GitHub or GitLab through plugins.
Plugins
A plugin directory adds webhooks and chat notifications for tools such as Slack, Mattermost and GitHub.
Languages
The interface is translated into more than 30 languages.
Lean techniques supported
The lean practices Kanboard is built to support.
Pricing
Kanboard pricing
Checked October 2, 2026
Starting price
Free (open source, MIT license)
- Pricing
- Free
- Free option
- Free plan
How pricing works
Kanboard is free and open source under the MIT license; you pay only for your own hosting.
Requires PHP 8.1 or later and SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL is the recommended database.
See current prices on kanboard.orgKanboard doesn't publish a full plan list, so we show what it does publish. Confirm prices with the vendor.
Strengths and limitations
What stands out, and what to watch
Strengths
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Column WIP limits built in
- Runs on Linux, FreeBSD or Windows with common databases
- LDAP and OAuth sign-in options
- Plugin directory for chat and code-hosting webhooks
Limitations
- The project is in maintenance mode, with no major new features planned
- You must host, secure and back it up yourself
- No vendor support contract or SLA
- No built-in flow metrics such as cycle time scatterplots
Based on the vendor's published plans and documentation, not a hands-on test.
Fit
Is Kanboard right for your team?
A good fit if…
- You want a free Kanban board under your own control
- Your team is small and needs WIP limits more than analytics
- You have someone who can run a PHP application
- Your data must stay on your own server
Look elsewhere if…
- You need vendor support or a hosted service
- You want built-in flow metrics and forecasting
- You plan to scale boards across many teams and portfolios
Integrations
Connects with
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
- Gitea
- Gogs
- Slack
- Mattermost
- Rocket.Chat
- Telegram
- Matrix
- Zulip
- Mailgun
- Google sign-in
- LDAP / Active Directory
From the vendor's own integrations list.
Support and training
- Support
- Documentation, Community forum (Discourse), GitHub issues
- Training
- Docs
- Deployment
- Web, Self-hosted (Linux, FreeBSD, Windows), Docker
Reviews
What Kanboard users say
We haven't found published reviews of Kanboard on G2 or Capterra yet. Smaller lean tools often have none, so judge it on the facts above and a trial.
Similar tools
Kanboard alternatives
Businessmap
Price on request
Kanban-native work management platform (formerly Kanbanize) with portfolio boards, flow analytics, OKRs and X-matrix planning.
Planview AgilePlace
Price on request
Enterprise Kanban tool (formerly LeanKit) linking team boards to roadmaps, OKRs and dependencies, with lean flow metrics.
Tervene
Price on request
Connected leader software for leader standard work, tiered meetings, gemba walks, LPAs and visual management boards.
| Tool | Pricing | Starting price | Free plan or trial | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanboard | Free | Free (open source, MIT license) | Free plan | Web, Self-hosted (Linux, FreeBSD, Windows), Docker |
| Businessmap | Price on request | Not published | Free trial | Web, iOS, Android |
| Planview AgilePlace | Price on request | Quote-based | Free trial | Web |
| Tervene | Price on request | Quote-based | Free trial | Web, Smartphone, Tablet |
From each vendor's published pricing. Check current prices on their sites.
FAQ
Kanboard: common questions
Is Kanboard free?
Does Kanboard support WIP limits?
Is Kanboard still maintained?
What do I need to run Kanboard?
Can Kanboard send notifications to Slack?
Is there a hosted version of Kanboard?
For the Kanboard team
Claim this profile
Add your own description, screenshots, case studies and customer logos. We check your domain before anything goes live. Claiming is free and does not change our research or the tool's place in any list.
Claim KanboardSources, checked October 2, 2026
- Kanboard home page
- Kanboard requirements
- Kanboard plugins
- Kanboard on GitHub
- Kanboard on Wikipedia (first release 2014)
Listed October 2, 2026.