Choosing a Self-Hosted Project Management Tool

You’ve decided to take control of your project data and host your own management tools. Good call. Now comes the harder question: which one?

OpenProject and Redmine are two of the most popular self-hosted project management platforms. Both are mature, actively maintained, and free to run on your own infrastructure. But they serve different audiences and workflows. Pick the wrong one, and you’ll either be drowning in features you don’t need—or fighting against a tool that can’t handle your requirements.

We’ve helped customers deploy both platforms. Here’s what actually matters when choosing between them.

TL;DR: Quick Decision

If you need Gantt charts, time tracking, and waterfall-style project planning: Go with OpenProject. It’s built for traditional project management with visual timelines and resource allocation.

If you’re a development team that lives in issues, tickets, and bug tracking: Go with Redmine. It started as a bug tracker and still excels at issue-centric workflows.

If you want something lighter for small teams: Neither is ideal—look at Kanboard instead. OpenProject and Redmine both have significant setup and maintenance overhead.

What Is OpenProject?

OpenProject is an open-source project management suite designed for teams that need traditional PM capabilities: Gantt charts, work package hierarchies, time tracking, and resource management. It’s the self-hosted alternative to tools like Microsoft Project or Jira Portfolio.

The project has been around since 2012 and is maintained by a combination of open-source contributors and a commercial company that offers enterprise support. This hybrid model means the core product stays free while larger organizations can pay for guaranteed support and additional features.

Key strengths:

  • Visual Gantt chart editor with drag-and-drop scheduling—actually usable for project planning, not just display
  • Built-in time tracking with hourly cost rates for billing and budgeting
  • Wiki, forums, and meeting management modules for team collaboration
  • Agile boards (Scrum and Kanban) alongside waterfall views—supports hybrid methodologies
  • Strong access control and permission granularity for enterprise needs
  • Active development with regular security updates

Key limitations:

  • Resource-heavy—needs 4GB+ RAM for comfortable operation; 8GB is better for teams over 20
  • Complex setup with multiple dependencies (PostgreSQL, Ruby, Node.js)—Docker helps but doesn’t eliminate complexity
  • Steep learning curve for teams new to formal PM tools—expect a training period
  • Some advanced features (agile boards, cost reporting) require the Enterprise edition

Best for: Engineering teams, construction projects, agencies managing multiple client projects—any team that needs visual timelines and formal project phases. If you’ve ever exported a Gantt chart for a stakeholder presentation, OpenProject is designed for you.

What Is Redmine?

Redmine is a mature issue tracking and project management platform that’s been around since 2006. It’s written in Ruby on Rails and focuses on ticket-centric workflows. Think of it as a self-hosted alternative to Jira Core or Bugzilla.

Its longevity is both a strength and a weakness. The codebase is stable and battle-tested, but the UI and feature development move slowly. What you lose in modern UX, you gain in reliability and predictability.

Key strengths:

  • Excellent issue tracking with custom fields, workflows, and statuses—the core feature is bulletproof
  • Git, Subversion, and Mercurial repository integration built in—link commits to issues automatically
  • Lightweight compared to OpenProject (2GB RAM is often sufficient for teams under 50)
  • Huge plugin ecosystem (200+ plugins)—extend functionality without forking the code
  • Simple, stable architecture that’s easy to maintain and backup
  • Role-based access control that works for both public and private projects

Key limitations:

  • No native Gantt chart editor (basic Gantt view exists but isn’t interactive—you can view, not edit)
  • UI feels dated compared to modern tools—don’t expect drag-and-drop cards or real-time collaboration
  • Time tracking is basic—no built-in resource allocation, cost rates, or budgeting
  • Mobile experience is poor—rely on third-party apps or mobile web

Best for: Software development teams, IT helpdesks, support ticketing—any workflow that revolves around issues, bugs, and tickets rather than timelines. If your team lives in GitHub issues or Jira tickets, Redmine will feel familiar.

Feature Comparison

Feature OpenProject Redmine
Gantt Charts Full interactive editor Basic read-only view
Issue Tracking Good (work packages) Excellent (core feature)
Time Tracking Built-in with cost rates Basic plugin-based
Agile/Scrum Yes (native) Yes (via plugins)
Wiki Yes (native) Yes (native)
Repository Integration Git, SVN Git, SVN, Mercurial, CVS
Resource Management Yes (workload view) No
Plugin Ecosystem ~50 plugins 200+ plugins
API REST API REST API
Mobile App No official app Third-party apps
Licence GPL v3 GPL v2
First Released 2012 2006
Setup Complexity High Medium

Decision Guide: Which Fits Your Team?

Your Scenario Choose Why
Need interactive Gantt charts for client reports OpenProject Drag-and-drop timeline editor is the best in the open-source space
Software team tracking bugs and features Redmine Issue workflows are more mature; repository integration is better
Managing multiple projects with shared resources OpenProject Resource allocation and cross-project visibility are built-in
Lightweight ticketing for a small team Redmine Lower resource requirements; simpler architecture
Need billable hours tracking with rates OpenProject Time and cost tracking with hourly rates is native
Heavy plugin/customization needs Redmine 200+ plugins vs ~50 for OpenProject
Running on limited hardware Redmine 2GB RAM works; OpenProject needs 4GB minimum
Team of 3-8 people, kanban-style work Neither Use Kanboard instead—simpler and lighter

Hosting Requirements

Requirement OpenProject Redmine
Minimum RAM 4 GB 2 GB
Recommended RAM 8 GB 4 GB
Database PostgreSQL MySQL/PostgreSQL
Runtime Ruby + Node.js Ruby
Storage (with data) 20+ GB 10+ GB
Docker Support Yes (official image) Yes (community images)
Maintenance Effort Higher Lower
Recommended CWH Product Cloud VPS (4+ vCPU, 8GB RAM) Cloud VPS (2+ vCPU, 4GB RAM)

Our Take: What We Recommend

For most self-hosting teams, Redmine is the safer starting point. It’s lighter, more stable, and has a larger community. If your workflow is issue-centric—which describes most software teams—Redmine will feel natural and won’t require a training session. The setup is straightforward, the maintenance is minimal, and you can always migrate later if you outgrow it.

Choose OpenProject only if you genuinely need Gantt charts. Not “might need someday”—actually need for client presentations, resource planning, or regulatory reporting. The overhead is real: more RAM, more complexity, more maintenance. But if visual timelines are non-negotiable, OpenProject delivers where Redmine doesn’t. The interactive Gantt editor alone can justify the extra complexity for the right team.

Both tools benefit from running on a Canadian VPS with proper backups. We’ve seen too many teams lose project data to failed self-hosting experiments on underpowered hardware. A Cloud VPS with 4-8GB RAM gives either platform room to breathe—and with Canadian data centres, your project data stays in Canada, which matters for compliance and data sovereignty.

Not comfortable managing the setup yourself? Canadian Web Hosting offers Managed Support—we’ll handle the installation, updates, and security so your team can focus on actual project work. This is especially valuable for OpenProject, where the setup complexity can eat a weekend if you’re not familiar with Ruby deployment stacks.

Migration Considerations

Already using one and thinking about switching? A few things to consider:

  • Redmine to OpenProject: There’s a community migration script, but it’s not officially supported. Expect to manually recreate Gantt charts and resource allocations.
  • OpenProject to Redmine: You’ll lose Gantt chart data and time/cost tracking. Issues and wikis migrate cleanly via API.
  • From SaaS tools: Both platforms can import from CSV. Jira has limited Redmine export support; Trello exports work with both via third-party tools.

Our advice: start with the lighter option (Redmine or Kanboard) and upgrade complexity when you hit actual limitations. Don’t start with OpenProject “just in case” you need Gantt charts later.

Next Steps

  • Ready to deploy? Check our Kanboard setup guide if you want something lighter first—it’s a good way to test self-hosted PM tools without the overhead.
  • Need help choosing? The decision comes down to Gantt charts vs. issue tracking. If neither sounds critical, start with a simpler tool.
  • Want more options? Other self-hosted PM tools worth considering: Kanboard (kanban), Taiga (agile), Focalboard (Notion-like), WeKan (Trello clone).
  • Need infrastructure? Cloud VPS with 24/7 support gives you a stable foundation for any self-hosted tool.

Both OpenProject and Redmine are solid choices for the right team. Pick based on your actual workflow—not feature lists—and you’ll avoid the migration headaches we see from customers who chose wrong.