Best fully open-source Plane alternative in 2026
It's a Plan and Plane are both open-source, self-hosted issue trackers. The difference is where the line between free and paid falls. Plane's open edition matches the free tier of its cloud, and the rest of the product is closed source. It's a Plan has one AGPL-3.0 edition, and every feature is in the repository.
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0. Plane's paid editions are closed source.
- Hosting
- Your own server, with Docker, Railway, Coolify or Kubernetes.
- Pricing
- Free, or $240 a year for Pro. Plane bills per seat.
- AI agents
- Project members with an @username. Plane AI is an assistant.
Why teams look for a Plane alternative
Plane is a capable tracker with a large community. Teams leave it for four reasons, and they repeat.
The open edition is the free tier
The Community Edition matches the free tier of Plane Cloud. Initiatives, teamspaces, custom work item types, the wiki, time tracking, dashboards and integrations belong to the closed-source Commercial edition.
The stack is large to operate
A Plane install runs a Django API, Celery workers, a separate realtime service, a proxy, PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ and object storage. OpenSearch is optional. Each part needs a person who knows it.
The paid line can move
The Commercial and Airgapped editions are closed source, and their self-hosted price is on request. A feature that is free today can arrive in a tier you do not have.
AI is an assistant, not a teammate
Plane AI answers next to the work item. On the cloud it runs on AI credits per seat, 500 on Free and 1,000 on Pro. A self-hosted instance takes your own OpenAI or Anthropic key.
It's a Plan vs Plane
| It's a Plan | Plane | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Yes. AGPL-3.0, one edition. There is no closed-source tier. | In part. The Community Edition is AGPL-3.0. The Commercial edition is closed source, and the Airgapped edition extends it. |
| What the open edition gives you | Yes. Every feature in the product, at any headcount. | In part. The feature set of the free cloud tier. Workflows, approvals, SSO, audit trails, epics, initiatives, teamspaces, custom work item types, the wiki and integrations need the Commercial edition. |
| Price | Yes. Free. No licence fee, no per-seat cost. You pay only for the server. | In part. Plane Cloud is free up to 12 users. Pro is $6 and Business is $13 per seat per month, billed yearly. The self-hosted Commercial price is on request. |
| Deployment | In part. Docker Compose, a Railway template, Coolify, and a Helm chart for Kubernetes. | Yes. Docker Compose, Kubernetes with Helm, Docker Swarm, Podman, Coolify, Portainer, and an air-gapped edition. Documented minimum: 2 CPU cores and 4 GB RAM. |
| Stack to operate | PostgreSQL, an S3-compatible store, and four services: api, web, worker and bot. | A Django API and Celery workers, a React frontend, a realtime service, a proxy, PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ and object storage. OpenSearch is optional. |
| AI agents | Yes. An agent is a project member with its own @username. Delegate an issue to it, mention it in a comment, or give it a schedule. | In part. Plane AI answers beside the work item and drafts content. It is an assistant, not a member of the project. |
| Model choice | Yes. Per agent. A key from any of 150+ providers, or a local endpoint. | In part. A self-hosted instance takes an OpenAI key, an Anthropic key, or both. The cloud runs on AI credits per seat. |
| Coding agents | Yes. A runner on your machine gives each task to Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Copilot CLI or opencode, so the repository stays there. | No. None in the product. |
| MCP | Yes. Part of the API, served from the same instance at /mcp. | In part. A separate MIT-licensed server, plane-mcp-server, that you run beside the instance. Plane Cloud also has a hosted one. |
| API | Yes. REST with an OpenAPI reference, API keys, per-role permissions and webhooks. | Yes. REST on the cloud and on a self-hosted instance, with a personal access token or OAuth. |
| Sign-in | Yes. Password, magic link, passkey, Google, or single sign-on with any OIDC provider. SCIM 2.0 provisioning included. | In part. Password, Google and GitHub in the open edition. SSO needs the Commercial edition. |
| Importers | In part. From Plane and Linear, in the project settings. Other trackers through the REST API. | Yes. Jira, Linear, Asana, ClickUp and a CSV file. |
| Cloud option | No. None today. Self-hosting is the only way to run it. | Yes. Plane Cloud, with a free tier up to 12 users. |
Checked against Plane's own pages on 21 July 2026.
Move a Plane project in four steps
The import is built in. It reads Plane Cloud or your own Plane instance over the API and copies one project at a time, while the team keeps working. No script and no CSV file.
01
Add your team
Invite the people with the email they use in Plane. Assignees and comment authors are matched by that email.
02
Connect Plane
In the project settings, open Import/Export, choose Plane, and enter its URL, the workspace slug and an API token.
03
Check the states
Pick the Plane project. Each of its states shows the column it lands in. Change any that read wrong.
04
Start the import
Issues arrive with comments, labels, cycles, relations and files. Custom fields, modules and work item types stay in Plane. Pause it or run it again: nothing is copied twice.
What the same feature set costs a year
Initiatives, custom work item types, dashboards, time tracking and the wiki need Plane Pro or Business. Here they are in the open edition, at any headcount.
| Team | Plane Pro | Plane Business | It's a Plan | It's a Plan Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | $360 | $780 | $0 | $240 |
| 20 people | $1,440 | $3,120 | $0 | $240 |
| 50 people | $3,600 | $7,800 | $0 | $240 |
Plane Cloud is free up to 12 users, with the Community Edition feature set. The self-hosted Commercial price is on request, and it bundles 12 free seats. The open edition of It's a Plan has no licence fee: you pay only for the server, and agent runs bill to your own provider key. Pro is $240 a year or $24 a month for one domain, with any number of people.
When to stay on Plane, and when to switch
Stay on Plane
- You need a hosted option, or a documented path to Kubernetes and an air-gapped install.
- You are moving from Jira, Asana, ClickUp or a CSV file. Plane imports all four. We import only from Plane and Linear.
- You want a large project with a long history and many contributors behind it.
- You want commercial support, and the closed-source edition that carries it is acceptable.
Move to It's a Plan
- You want one open edition, with no feature reserved for a paid tier.
- You want a smaller stack to operate: no Redis, no RabbitMQ, no Celery, no separate MCP service.
- You want initiatives, custom fields and custom work item types without a Commercial licence.
- You want agents as members of the project, not an assistant panel beside it.
- You want the REST API and the MCP server in the same instance you already run.
Best open source Plane alternatives in 2026
It's a Plan is not the only one. These are the trackers teams shortlist next to Plane, and what makes each different.
Huly
Tracker, docs, HR and chat in one workspace, under EPL-2.0. The hosted service is closing, so self-hosting is the only option now.
OpenProject
Classic, agile and hybrid project management under GPL-3.0, with Gantt charts and time tracking. Single sign-on, SCIM and custom workflows are paid Enterprise add-ons.
Taiga
A Scrum and Kanban tool under MPL-2.0, built around sprints and burndown charts. No agents and no MCP.
Vikunja
A light AGPL-3.0 task manager with list, board, table and Gantt views. Closer to a shared to-do list than to an issue tracker.
GitLab
Issues, boards and epics inside a full DevOps platform. Right if you already run GitLab, heavy if you only want a tracker.
Linear
The hosted product both of them are measured against. Closed source, no self-hosted edition, and priced per user.
Plane alternative FAQ
Is Plane fully open source?
In part. The Community Edition is AGPL-3.0 and matches the free tier of Plane Cloud. The Commercial and Airgapped editions are closed source. They hold the workflows, approvals, SSO, audit trails, epics, initiatives, teamspaces, custom work item types and the wiki.
What does It's a Plan include that Plane keeps for a paid tier?
Initiatives, custom fields, custom issue types, dashboards, time tracking, roles and permissions, single sign-on over OIDC, and SCIM provisioning. All of it is in the one AGPL-3.0 edition.
Does it have AI like Plane AI?
Yes, in a different shape. Plane AI is an assistant beside the work item. Here an agent is a project member with its own @username. Delegate an issue to it, mention it in a comment, or give it a schedule. Internal agents run on your instance, on a key from any of 150+ providers or a local model. External agents run on your own machine through Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Copilot CLI or opencode.
Can I import my Plane issues?
Yes. In the project settings, under Import/Export, connect Plane Cloud or your own Plane instance with an API token and import one project at a time. The data lands in your own PostgreSQL, in no proprietary format.
What do I need to run it?
Docker and a domain behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. Clone the repo and run docker compose up. It starts PostgreSQL, the object store and the four services, and applies the migrations on start. There is also a one-click deploy for Railway, a ready compose file for Coolify, and a Helm chart for Kubernetes.
Does it have an MCP server?
Yes, inside the API at /mcp on your own instance. Plane ships plane-mcp-server as a separate MIT-licensed process that you run and keep updated yourself.
Is there a hosted version?
No. Self-hosting is the only way to run it today. Plane sells a cloud, free up to 12 users, and a self-hosted Commercial edition priced on request.
Start planning on your own terms
Self-host it today and have your team tracking work by tonight.
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