Overview

PLANKA is built around boards, lists and cards, with real-time sync and a choice between running it on your own systems and using hosting in Germany. The self-hosted option gives customers control over where application data and attachments remain; hosted service is the simpler route for teams that prefer not to operate their own instance. Its central trade-off is clear: the free Community edition is self-hosted only, and hosted Pro starts at five users.

Key features

Community includes boards, lists, cards, comments, attachments and real-time sync, with Docker deployment. That is a practical free package for home, homelab and club use, provided someone is willing to manage the server. It is not a free hosted workspace.

Pro and Enterprise add six board views, including calendar and map, alongside card inboxes, recurring cards and advanced global search. These additions suit organizations handling different kinds of work, though they may be more than a small group needs. Worker and guest roles with scoped access, live presence, collaborative description editing and card sharing support more structured team collaboration. OpenID Connect SSO, including role assignment from an identity provider, is also reserved for those tiers.

Integration options include a REST API, personal API keys, webhooks with 50+ events, WebSocket updates and SMTP email notifications. PLANKA supports time tracking and guest access, but has no automation rules; teams that rely on rule-driven board workflows should look elsewhere or account for that gap. Security measures include TLS-encrypted transmission, TOTP two-factor authentication, SSH-key server access, firewalls, fail2ban and regular backups.

Pricing

Community costs 0.00 EUR per free and is self-hosted. It is the sensible starting point for individuals and small groups who can run their own instance, but it lacks the expanded views, roles and SSO available to paid customers.

Pro Self-Hosted costs 36.00 EUR per month, billed annually as €432.00 once a year up front. It has a one-user minimum, includes five guests per user, runs on the customer's server and includes updates. This is the fit for organizations that want Pro features without moving application data and attachments off their own systems.

Pro Hosted costs 42.50 EUR per month, billed annually as €510.00 once a year up front. It requires at least five users and includes a shared storage pool of 5 GB base storage per user, five guests per user and hosting in Germany. It reduces hosting work, but the minimum seat count makes it a poor match for a small team seeking an inexpensive hosted board.

Enterprise has custom pricing and is directed at deployments from 500 users when hosted or 1,000 when self-hosted. Pro customers can get German- or English-language support with a first response within 24 hours on business days; Enterprise adds SLA-backed priority support. The pricing model includes a 30-day trial, while Community remains free.

Platforms

PLANKA supports web, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, as well as self-hosting and API access. The combination gives teams multiple client platforms and deployment flexibility; the specific deployment choice still determines who operates the service.

Who it's for

Community is aimed at home, homelab and club users comfortable managing self-hosted software. Pro fits organizations that need expanded board capabilities, differentiated worker and guest access, or SSO; the hosted plan suits teams willing to meet its five-user minimum, while self-hosted Pro suits those keeping data and attachments on their own systems. Large deployments should consider Enterprise at the stated user thresholds. Teams that need a free hosted tier or built-in automation rules are less well matched.

Pros and cons

Pros: Community provides the essential board workflow at no cost, including attachments and real-time sync, with Docker deployment.
Pros: Self-hosted and Germany-hosted options let organizations choose between retaining data on their systems and offloading service operation.
Pros: Pro and Enterprise combine expanded views, scoped roles and SSO with API, webhook and WebSocket integration options.
Cons: Community is self-hosted only, so free users must take on deployment and operation.
Cons: Hosted Pro starts at five users and has a shared storage pool, which may not suit a small team or a storage-heavy workload.
Cons: Automation rules are absent, limiting fit for teams expecting board actions to run automatically.

Alternatives

For a different free or open-source route, Kanboard is free, MIT-licensed and self-hosted, making it an option for teams specifically seeking that licensing and deployment combination. Vikunja offers Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows clients alongside self-hosting; its Personal plan is 4.00 EUR per month, billed at 4€ monthly or 40€ yearly, and is worth comparing for teams weighing a paid personal tier against PLANKA's self-hosted Community edition.

Trello offers a free plan for up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, so it is a relevant comparison for teams wanting a free hosted starting point. Sugester is another freemium alternative with a free plan capped at three users and three projects, alongside limits on email sends, clients, email boxes and storage.

Taskade AI Agents, todo.vu, Any.do and Asana are alternatives to compare. For broader category browsing, see Kanban Software, Task Management Software and Project Management Software.

Verdict

PLANKA is a strong choice for teams that want visual Kanban work management with a genuine self-hosted path, or organizations prepared to pay for expanded collaboration and hosted service. Its most compelling reason to choose it is deployment flexibility paired with capable API and event integrations. Look elsewhere if you need a free hosted workspace, built-in automation rules or a hosted plan without a five-user minimum.

	OrgBusiness Gantt Chart	PLANKA
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$49.95/mo	€36/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Windows	Android, api, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	No	Yes
Time tracking	—	Yes
Guest access	—	Yes

OrgBusiness Gantt Chart vs PLANKA

OrgBusiness Gantt Chart

PLANKA