Vikunja vs Planka
Self-hosted Kanban with SSO that stays in the free version.
Planka is a good Kanban board. It is fast, looks clean, and a lot of homelabs and small teams run it. In August 2026 the project moved OIDC/SSO out of the Community edition and into the closed-source Pro tier. Version 2.2.0 shipped without it, and users who only ever logged in via SSO were deactivated on upgrade.
The maintainers have been open about their reasoning: SSO generated a lot of support requests and they see it as an enterprise feature. That's a legitimate business call for them to make. For Vikunja, that line is somewhere else: your requirements (compliance or otherwise) don't care how many users you have, and a login method shouldn't be the thing that decides which tier you're on.
Vikunja is an open-source, self-hosted task manager with Kanban, List, Gantt, and Table views. OpenID Connect and LDAP are freely available, documented, and have been for years. There is a paid Pro tier, but it ships in the same public repository under the same AGPL-3 license, and authentication isn't part of it.
There's also a Planka importer: it pulls your boards straight out of Planka's REST API. It's in unstable builds now and ships with the next release. More on that below.
Why people are looking for alternatives
From the GitHub thread announcing the SSO change:
"Security features, SSO or 2FA or auto-logout are in my opinion basic features and should not be put behind a paywall"
"I'm not expecting new versions to remove basic features."
"After updating to 2.2.0, all SSO-based users are deactivated, since they no longer have a password login."
What changes when you switch
SSO is a login button
OIDC and LDAP work in the free, self-hosted version. Point Vikunja at Authentik, Keycloak, Authelia, or your existing directory and log in. Users who come in via OIDC are regular users with the same permissions as anyone else.
A license that keeps it that way
Vikunja is AGPL-3 with no contributor license agreement. That means it's a constraint: I don't hold the rights I would need to move contributed code into a closed tier. Vikunja Pro exists and ships in the same public repo under the same license. Longer explanation of how that works is here.
Kanban and three more views
Planka gives you a Kanban board. Vikunja gives you List, Kanban, Gantt, and Table on the same data. View all tasks in all different ways, switch between them anytime.
Your data goes with you
Vikunja has a full data export built in: projects, tasks, attachments, everything in one ZIP. If you ever want to leave, you can. Planka currently has no native export.
Lightweight to run
Vikunja is a single Go binary. It runs on SQLite by default, or PostgreSQL and MySQL if you prefer, and it's happy on a Raspberry Pi alongside the rest of your homelab.
CalDAV, mobile, and a full API
CalDAV support puts your tasks in Thunderbird, Apple Reminders, or any CalDAV client. Vikunja works as a progressive web app on your phone, and the REST API has full OpenAPI docs.
Side by side
| Vikunja | Planka | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3, no CLA | Source-available "PLANKA Community License"; Pro is closed source; contributors sign a CLA |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| SSO / OIDC | Yes (OIDC, LDAP) | Pro only since 2.2.0 (issue #1754) |
| Kanban | Yes | Yes |
| Views | List, Kanban, Gantt, Table | Kanban |
| Data export | Full export (projects, tasks, attachments) | No native export (issue #670), REST API only |
| Importers | Trello, WeKan, Todoist, TickTick, Microsoft To Do, CSV | Trello |
| Import from Planka | Yes, built in | — |
| Backend | Go (single binary) | Node.js |
| Database | SQLite, PostgreSQL, or MySQL | PostgreSQL |
| CalDAV | Yes | No |
| Mobile | Progressive web app | Responsive web UI |
| REST API | All functionality, OpenAPI docs | Yes |
| Paid tier | Pro, same public repo, same license | Pro, closed source |
Pricing
Both Vikunja and Planka Community are free to self-host. The difference is where the paid line sits. Planka Pro is a separate closed-source product and, since 2.2.0, it's where SSO lives. Vikunja Pro adds features on top of the free version but leaves authentication where it is.
If you'd rather not manage a server, Vikunja Cloud starts at 4 €/month for personal use and 5 €/user/month for teams, hosted on EU infrastructure.
See Vikunja pricing for details.
How to switch
Vikunja's Planka importer connects to your running Planka instance, so you don't need an export file (Planka doesn't have one anyway):
- If your admin was SSO-only and you're locked out after 2.2.0, create a new admin user first so you can reach your data
- Set up Vikunja (Docker, binary, or start a free Cloud trial)
- In Vikunja, go to Settings > Import from other services and pick Planka
- Enter your Planka URL and an API key (or your username and password); credentials are used for the migration only and never stored
- Vikunja pulls your projects, boards, cards, labels, checklists, comments, and attachments. Boards become projects, lists become Kanban buckets, done cards stay done
What doesn't come across: assignees, memberships, and avatars, since your team's user accounts don't exist in Vikunja yet. The importer works with Planka v2; for v1 instances it fails with a clear message instead of importing something half right. It ships with the next Vikunja release and is in unstable builds today. See the Planka import help page for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import my Planka boards into Vikunja?
Yes. Planka has no native export (open issue), only a REST API, so Vikunja's Planka importer talks to that API directly. You enter your Planka URL and an API key (or username and password), and it pulls projects, boards, cards, labels, checklists, comments, and attachments across. Credentials are used for the migration only and never stored. The importer is in unstable builds now and ships with the next release; on Vikunja Cloud it's available as soon as the release lands.
Is SSO really free in Vikunja?
Yes. OpenID Connect and LDAP are part of the free, self-hosted version and have been for years. Vikunja Pro exists, but it does not gate authentication. The Pro FAQ says it in so many words: you don't need Pro for that.
Does Vikunja have Kanban boards like Planka?
Yes. Vikunja has a Kanban view with buckets you can create and reorder, plus List, Gantt, and Table views on the same data. Planka is a dedicated Kanban tool and does that one thing well. Vikunja gives you Kanban as one of four ways to look at your tasks.
Can I run Vikunja on the same server as Planka?
Yes. Vikunja is a single Go binary or Docker container with SQLite by default (PostgreSQL and MySQL are supported too). It runs alongside an existing Planka install while you migrate. See the installation guide.
Will Vikunja ever move SSO to Pro?
The license makes that structurally hard. Vikunja is AGPL-3 with no contributor license agreement, so I don't hold the rights I would need to relicense contributed code. Vikunja Pro ships in the same public repository under the same license. I wrote about why this setup keeps Vikunja open in Vikunja stays open. The same reasoning applies to feature tiering.
My Planka admin account was SSO-based and I am locked out. What now?
Planka 2.2.0 deactivates SSO-only users because they no longer have a password login. Planka documents how to create a new admin user via environment variables, so do that first to regain access and export your data. In Vikunja, OIDC users are regular users: they can be admins, they can be added to teams, and switching auth methods does not deactivate anyone.
Give it a try
Point it at your identity provider, bring one board over, and see how it feels.
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