Planka vs WeKan: Lightweight Kanban Tools Compared

Planka is the elegant minimalist. WeKan is the feature-complete Trello clone. Both are open source kanban boards, but they serve different needs.

Quick Verdict

Choose Planka for a beautiful, simple kanban experience for small teams. Choose WeKan for the most feature-complete Trello replacement.

The Comparison

Feature	Planka	WeKan
Design	Modern, clean	Functional, Trello-like
Real-time updates	✅	✅
Swimlanes	❌	✅
WIP limits	❌	✅
Card labels	✅	✅
Due dates	✅	✅
Checklists	✅	✅
Attachments	✅	✅
Comments	✅	✅
User management	✅	✅
Notifications	✅	✅
Custom fields	❌	✅
Board templates	❌	✅
Import from Trello	❌	✅
Stack	Node.js, React, PostgreSQL	Meteor, MongoDB
License	AGPL-3.0	MIT
Stars	8K+	19K+
RAM	200MB	500MB+

When to Choose Planka

• You value clean, modern design
• Your team is small (< 15 people)
• You want the simplest possible kanban
• Real-time collaboration is important
• PostgreSQL is preferred over MongoDB

When to Choose WeKan

• You need advanced kanban features
• Swimlanes and WIP limits matter
• Custom fields are required
• You want to import from Trello
• Larger teams with complex workflows

The Bottom Line

Planka is what you get when a designer builds a kanban app. WeKan is what you get when a developer builds a Trello clone. Both work well — pick based on whether you value aesthetics and simplicity (Planka) or completeness (WeKan).

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Compare kanban tools on OSSAlt — features, design quality, and deployment options side by side.