Asana alternatives: 5 free & open-source picks
Curated, verified, and actually free. No trials, no crippled tiers. Star counts and last-activity dates checked by hand, not scraped and forgotten.
ZombieLinear-and-Jira-shaped work tracking without the subscription; the stack behind it is not small
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup, or the official Docker/Kubernetes self-hosting stack
dataSelf-hosted Plane keeps workspaces, projects, work items, users, comments, and settings in PostgreSQL; attachments, images, and exports live in MinIO or another S3-compatible object store, with RabbitMQ and optional OpenSearch alongside them. Plane Cloud stores the equivalent data in Plane's infrastructure.
vs AsanaPlane is built around software-style work items and lacks Asana's mature goals, portfolios, workload planning, forms, rules, and broad cross-functional template ecosystem.
setupSelf-hosting is a multi-service deployment: Docker or Kubernetes plus PostgreSQL, RabbitMQ, object storage, a domain, TLS, and usually email configuration.
facts verified 2026-08-10
The enterprise project suite; free in money, expensive in menus
licenseGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted Enterprise Cloud signup, or Community Edition via Docker Compose/all-in-one Docker or supported Linux packages
dataSelf-hosted application data lives in PostgreSQL; uploaded attachments live on a persistent filesystem volume or configured S3-compatible object storage, while configuration and any linked repositories must be backed up separately. Cloud data lives in OpenProject's hosted infrastructure.
vs AsanaOpenProject can model more formal project plans, but its denser interface and weaker no-code automation make ordinary team coordination slower than Asana.
setupThe free Community Edition needs a Linux server; the recommended Docker setup still requires persistent database/file volumes, a hostname, TLS, and mail configuration.
facts verified 2026-08-10
A small-team project suite that remembers goals and timesheets, not just tickets
licenseAGPL-3.0+
runsyour machine or their cloud
installPaid hosted signup, or the free open-source edition via Docker Compose/official image or a PHP release archive plus MySQL/MariaDB
dataSelf-hosted project data lives in MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.6+, while uploaded files use the local filesystem or configured S3-compatible storage; hosted-account data lives in Leantime's cloud.
vs AsanaLeantime covers projects and goals but has fewer polished integrations, rules, mobile workflows, dashboards, and enterprise controls than Asana.
setupThere is no longer a permanent free hosted tier: the free route means operating PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, persistent storage, backups, and a web-facing Docker or LAMP stack.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Project tracking, time sheets, Gantt, and wikis from the era when software admitted it needed configuration
licenseGPL-2.0+
runsyour server
installInstall the Ruby on Rails application against PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, or SQLite; packaged containers/appliances are third-party conveniences
dataIssues, users, projects, time entries, and configuration live in the configured SQL database; uploaded attachments live as files in Redmine's `files` directory.
vs AsanaRedmine gives up Asana's modern collaboration, mobile experience, forms, automation, portfolio reporting, and real-time polish in exchange for a highly configurable server.
setupThe official install is a real Rails deployment, Ruby and gem versions, database creation, migrations, a production web server, email, backups, and upgrades are all the operator's job.
facts verified 2026-08-10
A full project tracker for ten people; user eleven is where JetBrains remembers billing
licenseproprietary, free
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted YouTrack Cloud signup, or the official Docker image for YouTrack Server
dataYouTrack Server stores issues, users, projects, and configuration in its own integrated on-disk database under the data directory, with separate configuration, logs, and backups directories; YouTrack Cloud keeps the data in JetBrains-managed infrastructure.
vs AsanaYouTrack is developer-centric and free only through ten users, with much thinner goals, portfolio, workload, and cross-functional campaign planning than Asana.
setupThe cloud edition installs cleanly; self-hosting requires Docker volume mapping, enough storage, a one-time setup token, and external HTTPS/reverse-proxy work for a public server.
facts verified 2026-08-10
last updated 2026-08-10 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
FocalboardStill recommended everywhere; Mattermost stopped maintaining it and the last standalone release was April 2023
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plane | AGPL-3.0 | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted | 55,600 | 2026-08 |
| OpenProject | GPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 15,200 | 2026-08 |
| Leantime | AGPL-3.0+ | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 10,000 | 2026-08 |
| Redmine | GPL-2.0+ | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted | 6,000 | 2026-08 |
| YouTrack | proprietary, free | they host it | web, ios, android | — | — |
People still pay for Asana because teams pay because project state has to remain authoritative through staff changes, outages, and years of accumulated workflow exceptions. The recurring cost buys auth, permissions, notifications, search, migrations, audit history, integrations, backups, and uptime, not just the visible interface. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $161.88 a year.
Is there a free alternative to Asana?
Yes: Plane, OpenProject, Leantime and 2 more. Every tool on this page is either open source or genuinely free to use long-term: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Should I just build my own Asana?
Our verdict is KINDA. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Asana, track team work through projects, tasks, owners, dependencies, and status updates. The hard boundary is large integration ecosystem, automation, reporting, permissions, and organizational trust, plus collaboration, integrations, and organizational trust. If you'd rather build, the exact one-shot prompt is free at canivibecodeit.com/asana.
