Self-Hosted FOSS Alternatives to ActiveCollab
Comparison of self-hostable FOSS project management tools, evaluated for rights/permissions management, work assignment and collaborative project management.
OpenProject, Redmine and Tuleap were ruled out (OpenProject: poor team fit; Redmine/Tuleap: excluded by request).
Comparison¶
| Tool | License | Self-Host | SSO Integration | RBAC / Permissions | Assignment | Stack · Health | Project URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plane | AGPL-3.0 (advanced roles Enterprise-gated) | Docker Compose + K8s; 2 CPU/4 GB min | Google/GitHub OAuth free ✅ · OIDC/SAML Pro/Business 💰 · LDAP Enterprise 💰 | Strongest — workspace/project/teamspace scopes, custom roles, permission schemes | Assignees, @mentions, sub-items, subscribers, inbox, email/push | TypeScript · 54k★ · v1.3.1 (2026-05) | plane.so · github.com/makeplane/plane |
| Leantime | AGPLv3 ✅ | Docker/Compose; PHP 8.2+, MySQL/MariaDB | OIDC + LDAP/AD free ✅ · SAML paid plugin 💰 | 6 roles (Owner→Read-Only), per-project | Tasks, milestones, notifications, timesheets, Gantt | PHP · 10.7k★ · v3.9.8 (2026-07) | leantime.io · github.com/Leantime/leantime |
| Taiga | MPL-2.0 ✅ | Docker; PostgreSQL + RabbitMQ + NGINX | GitHub/GitLab OAuth free ✅ · OIDC via plugin · LDAP/SAML not official ⚠️ | Granular per-project agile roles (tasks/stories/issues/wiki) | Assign tasks/stories/issues, realtime board, webhooks | Python · 839★ · v6.10.1 (2026-05) | taiga.io · github.com/taigaio/taiga-back |
| Kanboard | MIT ✅ | Docker; SQLite/MariaDB/PostgreSQL | LDAP/AD + Google OAuth2 plugin + reverse-proxy free ✅ · OIDC/SAML not confirmed ⚠️ | App roles + project roles + custom project roles, group access | Assignee, comments, mentions, subtasks, time tracking | PHP · 9.7k★ · v1.2.52 (2026-04) | kanboard.org · github.com/kanboard/kanboard |
| Vikunja | AGPLv3 ✅ | Docker; PostgreSQL for larger installs | OIDC + LDAP free ✅ · SAML/social only via OIDC IdP | Coarse — read-only / read-write / admin only | Multiple assignees, mentions, reminders, webhooks | Go · 4.7k★ · v2.3.0 (2026-04) | vikunja.io · github.com/go-vikunja/vikunja |
Legend: ✅ free in self-hosted core · 💰 paid/Enterprise-gated · ⚠️ not confirmed in official docs
SSO Takeaways¶
- Plane's SSO is heavily paid-gated — only social OAuth is free; real enterprise SSO (OIDC/SAML/LDAP) requires a paid plan. Combined with its Enterprise-gated advanced roles, the free self-hosted edition may be thinner than it first appears.
- Leantime and Vikunja give you OIDC + LDAP free in core — the cleanest story if you run Keycloak/Authentik/Azure AD/Okta.
- Taiga and Kanboard cover the basics free but have gaps (no confirmed SAML; Taiga's OIDC needs a plugin).
- If your IdP speaks OIDC (most do), Leantime and Vikunja are the friction-free choices — and between those two, Leantime wins on RBAC whilst Vikunja's permissions are too coarse for serious rights management.
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