OpenProject alternatives 2026: 5 tools compared

OpenProject is usually sought out or abandoned for one of two reasons: it is open source and self-hostable, which for many people is the entire point — or running it, its interface, and the Enterprise minimum become the problem.

The alternatives

1. Stay on OpenProject (Community)

The Community edition is free and open source. If self-hosting is what you want and you can carry the maintenance, there is no compelling reason to switch — we write that down despite selling a competing product here.

2. Redmine

The classic among open-source trackers: highly customisable through plugins, visually from another era. Free, but running it is your job.

3. Jira

If self-hosting is no longer a requirement and breadth matters. Atlassian publishes no simple per-seat price, pricing through a calculator instead.

4. Zuuna

Hosted, but in Germany, with a DPA and no sales call — for teams whose actual requirement is "data in the EU" rather than "on our own metal". Plus git on the board, sprints and releases. If it genuinely has to be your own infrastructure, self-hosting is available by arrangement on an individual contract.

5. OpenProject Enterprise

If you need the add-ons and support: Basic €5.95, Professional €10.95 per user/month — both from 25 users — and Premium €15.95 from 100 users. For small teams the minimum is often the disqualifier.

Prices at a glance

All prices from each vendor's own pricing page, accessed 14 August 2026. Currencies are not converted — each figure carries the symbol the vendor publishes it in. Prices change; check before deciding.

The real question

Whether you genuinely need self-hosting — or whether what was meant was "the data must not go to the US". Those are two different requirements, and the second can be met without running a server. Anyone who truly needs the first is well served by OpenProject or Redmine, and that is not a polite formula.