Trello vs WeKan

Overview

Trello is Atlassian's visual kanban board tool — simple, beginner-friendly, and widely used for personal and team task management. WeKan is an open-source kanban board that can be self-hosted, offering the same card/list/board model without vendor dependency.

Key Differences

• Cost: Trello's free tier is limited; paid plans start at $5/user/month. WeKan is completely free
• Data control: WeKan runs on your own server; Trello data lives on Atlassian's infrastructure
• Features: Trello has a larger Power-Ups (integrations) marketplace; WeKan covers core kanban features
• Setup: Trello requires zero setup; WeKan requires a server to self-host
• Customization: WeKan's open-source code can be extended; Trello cannot be modified

Pricing Comparison

Pros and Cons

Trello

Pros:

• Polished, professionally designed user interface
• Large ecosystem of official integrations
• Managed infrastructure — no server maintenance required
• Enterprise SLA and dedicated support available
• Mobile apps are well-maintained and reliable

Cons:

• Significant per-user monthly cost that scales linearly with team size
• Your data is stored on the vendor's infrastructure
• No ability to inspect or modify the source code
• Feature roadmap controlled entirely by the vendor
• Risk of pricing changes, acquisition, or discontinuation

WeKan

Pros:

• Free to self-host — costs only server infrastructure
• Complete data ownership and privacy control
• Source code is auditable and modifiable
• Active open-source community
• No vendor lock-in or risk of sudden pricing changes

📦 GitHub: wekan/wekan · ⭐ ~20k stars

Cons:

• Requires technical knowledge to self-host and maintain
• May lack some advanced features found in the proprietary version
• Support relies on community forums rather than a paid helpdesk
• UI polish may lag behind the proprietary tool
• You are responsible for updates, backups, and security patches

When to Choose Each

Choose Trello if: Trello is best for individuals and small teams wanting an instant, zero-setup kanban board with integrations to tools like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub.

Choose WeKan if: WeKan is ideal for teams wanting full data ownership, self-hosted deployments, or organizations that need to run project management tools in air-gapped environments.

Migration Path

Export Trello boards as JSON, then use WeKan's Trello importer (Settings → Import/Export) to recreate boards, lists, and cards with attachments.

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