Vikunja vs Plane: which self-hosted tool replaces Jira in 2026

Why replace Jira in 2026

Vikunja vs Plane CE — comparison table

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Vikunja — lightweight and versatile

Vikunja strengths

• Minimal memory footprint — 512 MB of RAM is sufficient for production; an entry-level VPS can run Vikunja without resizing.
• Go single binary — one binary bundles the API server and background task service; the Docker deployment reduces to a single application service and a database.
• Multiple native views — Kanban, list, Gantt and summary table are available with no additional extension or plugin.
• Complete REST API — every entity (task, list, project, user, label) is exposed via an OpenAPI-documented API, making agency workflow automation straightforward.
• Native mobile applications — official iOS and Android apps are published in the stores, which is rare among open-source task management tools.
• AGPL-3.0 licence — the source code is public, and community contributions are fast, particularly on security patches.

Install Vikunja on a VPS with Docker Compose

1. 01

   Create the working directory

   Connect to your VPS and create a dedicated directory: mkdir -p /opt/vikunja && cd /opt/vikunja. This directory will hold the docker-compose.yml file, the config.yml configuration file, and persistent data.

2. 02

   Write the docker-compose.yml file

   Create a docker-compose.yml file with two services: the database and Vikunja itself. Minimal example with PostgreSQL:

   services:
     db:
       image: postgres:16
       restart: unless-stopped
       environment:
         POSTGRES_USER: vikunja
         POSTGRES_PASSWORD: changeme
         POSTGRES_DB: vikunja
       volumes:
         - vikunja-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     vikunja:
       image: vikunja/vikunja:latest
       restart: unless-stopped
       ports:
         - "127.0.0.1:3456:3456"
       environment:
         VIKUNJA_DATABASE_TYPE: postgres
         VIKUNJA_DATABASE_HOST: db
         VIKUNJA_DATABASE_USER: vikunja
         VIKUNJA_DATABASE_PASSWORD: changeme
         VIKUNJA_DATABASE_DATABASE: vikunja
         VIKUNJA_SERVICE_PUBLICURL: https://vikunja.your-domain.com
       volumes:
         - vikunja-files:/app/vikunja/files
       depends_on:
         - db
   volumes:
     vikunja-db:
     vikunja-files:

3. 03

   Start the services

   Start the stack with docker compose up -d. On first start, Vikunja applies database migrations automatically. The interface is available on port 3456 within seconds — Vikunja starts very quickly thanks to its Go binary.

4. 04

   Configure the HTTPS reverse proxy

   Point Nginx or Caddy to 127.0.0.1:3456. With Caddy, the configuration is:

   vikunja.your-domain.com {
       reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:3456
   }

   Caddy manages the Let's Encrypt certificate automatically. With Nginx, add Upgrade and Connection headers to proxy WebSockets correctly if you use real-time notifications.

5. 05

   Create the first administrator account

   Open your subdomain in a browser. Vikunja displays a registration screen: the first account created automatically receives administrator rights. Then enable two-factor authentication (TOTP) from the account settings — essential if the instance is publicly exposed.

6. 06

   Verify backups

   Schedule a daily backup of the PostgreSQL volume and the vikunja-files volume. A sufficient command: docker exec vikunja-db-1 pg_dump -U vikunja vikunja | gzip > /backup/vikunja-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz. Test restoration on a test environment before migrating your production data.

Plane CE — enterprise features in open source

Plane CE strengths

• Native cycles (sprints) — create cycles with start and end dates, track progress by points or issues, and archive completed cycles without losing history.
• Modules and cross-project groupings — group issues from different projects in a thematic module, useful for agencies managing multiple clients in parallel.
• Native Jira importer — Plane CE includes a Jira import connector in Settings > Importers, transferring issues, statuses, priorities, comments and members in a few clicks.
• Native GitHub and GitLab integrations — link your repositories directly from workspace settings; commits and pull requests appear in the related issues.
• Clear Docker architecture — five documented services (web, API, worker, PostgreSQL, Redis) and optional MinIO for file storage; each service scales independently.
• Integrated wiki pages — each project has a structured documentation space, available without an external module.
• Complete REST API — all Plane entities are accessible via a versioned API; Python and JavaScript SDKs are maintained by the community.
• AGPL-3.0 licence — the source code is auditable, and the GitHub community counts several thousand active contributors.

Install Plane CE on a VPS

1. 07

   Check system requirements

   Plane CE requires at least 4 vCPU and 8 GB of RAM for a comfortable production deployment. Below this threshold, Celery workers compete for memory with PostgreSQL and Redis, causing unexpected restarts. Verify that Docker Engine ≥ 24 and Docker Compose ≥ 2.20 are installed: docker --version && docker compose version.

2. 08

   Download the official deployment script

   Plane CE provides an installation script that generates the docker-compose.yml and .env files with random secrets:

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/makeplane/plane/master/deploy/selfhost/install.sh | bash

   The script creates an /opt/plane directory and places all required files there. Review the generated .env before continuing: SECRET_KEY, DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL variables are pre-filled with secure random values.

3. 09

   Configure the domain in the .env file

   Open /opt/plane/.env and set WEB_URL=https://plane.your-domain.com. If you use MinIO for file storage, also set AWS_S3_ENDPOINT_URL, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY. Disable MinIO storage if you prefer to store files on the local volume — set USE_MINIO=0.

4. 10

   Start the five Docker services

   From /opt/plane, run docker compose up -d. The five main services start: web (React interface), api (Django REST), worker (Celery), beat (Celery periodic tasks), and db (PostgreSQL). Redis is included as a sixth service for caching and message queuing. Wait approximately two to three minutes for Django migrations to complete before opening the interface.

5. 11

   Configure the HTTPS reverse proxy

   Plane exposes the web service on port 3000 and the API on port 8000 internally. Your reverse proxy must route both: the React interface on / and API requests on /api/ and /auth/. With Nginx, use two location blocks in the same server block pointing to 127.0.0.1:3000 and 127.0.0.1:8000 respectively. WebSockets are used for real-time updates — forward the Upgrade and Connection headers.

6. 12

   Create the first workspace

   Open your domain in a browser. Plane displays a registration screen: create an administrator account, then follow the workspace creation wizard. Import your first project from Jira or create a blank project to validate the installation. Invite members from Settings > Members > Invite Members — each member receives an email invitation link.

7. 13

   Plan backups for the five stateful services

   Plane has five stateful services to back up: PostgreSQL (volume pgdata), Redis (volume redisdata), and MinIO if enabled (volume uploads). Schedule daily PostgreSQL dumps (pg_dump from the db container), and archive Docker volumes with your preferred backup tool. Systematically test restoration on a test VPS before putting the main instance into production.

Security — how quickly both projects respond

Decision guide — when to choose each tool

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