Top Open Source Alternatives to ClickUp in 2024

There are several reasons why you might consider an open source alternative to ClickUp:

• Cost: Open source alternatives are often free, while ClickUp offers a limited free plan with paid upgrades.
• Customization: Open source tools provide access to the source code, allowing you to tailor the software to your specific needs.
• Security: With open source software, the code is publicly available for review and audit, enhancing security and privacy.
• Self-Hosting: You can host open source software on your own servers, giving you complete control over data storage and usage—crucial for compliance with data residency laws.
• Community: Open source projects usually have strong communities contributing to their development, resulting in frequent updates and improvements.

Here are five of our favorite open source alternatives to ClickUp:

Overview: tillywork is designed to offer a seamless, Linear-like experience for business project management. It includes three modules: Project Management, Sales CRM, and Agile Projects.

Pros:

• Intuitive User Interface: Easy to navigate and use.
• Customization: As an open source tool, you can modify it to fit your needs.
• Comprehensive Modules: Similar to monday.com, it offers multiple apps depending on what your project needs.
• Out of the Box Solution: Basically no setup required, just pick your app and get started.

Cons:

• Growing Community: As it is still new, the community may be smaller than those of established tools.
• Lack of Integrations: tillywork lacks integrations with 3rd party apps, but their rate of release will see them catch up soon.

Overview: OpenProject is a robust open source project management tool with a wide range of features suitable for various project management needs.

Pros:

• Feature-Rich: Comprehensive project management features, including Gantt charts, time tracking, and cost reporting.
• Community Edition: Free and open source, with a strong community.
• Enterprise Edition: Offers additional features and support for businesses.

Cons:

• Complexity: Can be overwhelming for smaller projects or teams new to project management tools.
• Performance: May require significant server resources for large projects.

Overview: Taiga is an open source project management tool that focuses on kanban and scrum workflows.

Pros:

• Agile-Friendly: Designed for agile project management.
• Customization: open source and highly customizable.
• Active Community: Strong community support and frequent updates.

Cons:

• Complex Setup: May require more technical know-how to set up and manage.
• Limited Integrations: Fewer third-party integrations compared to proprietary tools.

Overview: Plane is an open source project management and issue tracking tool that supports agile, traditional, and hybrid methodologies.

Pros:

• User-Friendly Interface: Plane boasts an intuitive and modern user interface.
• Customization: Highly customizable and extensible.
• Collaboration: Strong collaboration features.

Cons:

• Not Business-First: Plane leans more towards product/tech management than business management.

Overview: Vikunja is a self-hostable to-do and project management application.

Pros:

• Simple: Doesn't take a lot to get started using Vikunja.
• Fast: Minimal loading times.

Cons:

• User Interface: The UI is not as attractive as other solutions.
• Paid Only: Vikunja does not offer a free version.

Before choosing the right project management tools you need to contemplate what your exact needs are. Do you need to conform to certain data regulations? Do you have contracts or NDAs with clients that prevent you from uploading data about your work with them to third-party apps? And then you need to find a solution that doesn't feel like a chore to use.

Changing project management tools is a headache, so it's important to choose a tool that is flexible to fill your needs, and helps you get more done instead of slowing you down.