If you're a freelancer like me, you probably have to juggle multiple projects at the same time. I initially tried using tools like Google Keep or Microsoft Excel to track all my deliverables, deadlines, and completed projects. However, none of these services offered niche features that could help manage projects. So, I turned to one of the most popular project management apps — Trello. For those unaware, Trello is used by several multinational organizations to manage projects. It's essentially a Kanban-style project tracker with multiple columns denoting the status of the task. While it worked well initially, I soon began seeing the limitations of Trello. For starters, it's an online-only tool. So if I wanted to work offline, it wouldn't load. Moreover, the interface was often sluggish in my experience, which ruined the experience.

As a result, I began searching for alternatives. I just needed something fast and simple. With my recent obsessions with self-hosted services, I resorted to skimming through multiple GitHub pages before zeroing in on Kanboard. Kanboard is a self-hosted Kanban board with a plethora of minute settings that let you handle everything from creating and managing tasks to adding comments and collaborating with colleagues. Since it's self-hosted, it works on my local server without the need for an internet connection. Moreover, all my data remains on the device, which is important for projects where I'm working with sensitive information. It's safe to say that Kanboard has become my go-to, replacing Trello. Here's why you should give it a shot, too.

Cannot get simpler than this

Clean and useful interface

Before exploring the interface, I would like to highlight how straightforward it is to deploy Kanboard on your local server. Simply run the following command inside Docker:

docker pull docker.io/kanboard/kanboard:v1.2.46

Then, run the container using:

docker run -d \
 --name kanboard \
 -v ~/kanboard_data:/var/www/app/data \
 -p 8080:80 \
 docker.io/kanboard/kanboard:v1.2.46

You can now access Kanboard via http://localhost:8080. Once you're in, log in with the default credentials — admin for both username and password. Ensure you update them as soon as you sign in. The homepage of Kanboard displays all your projects. Creating a project is fairly straightforward. As soon as you create one, you can start adding cards to each column. Enter the title, details, color, priority, etc. If you're collaborating with multiple users, you can assign the card to anyone on your team — just like Trello.

Move around the cards from one column to another freely as and when you progress with the task. Just like Trello, you can add attachments to cards, leave comments under them, create recurring tasks, etc. Through all of this, Kanboard performs brilliantly with no hiccups or lags.

All the features you need

Plus a few more

Apart from the basic features that aid in managing your tasks and projects, Kanboard has a few additional tricks up its sleeve. For starters, there's support for plugins that extend the functionality of Kanboard. Then, there's a universal search bar that can find a specific task in your project. If you don't prefer the Kanban style, you can also switch to a more traditional list view within the interface.

I also appreciate how Kanboard lets you import tasks from other apps or services. Head to whichever app you were using before switching to Kanboard, export your tasks as CSV files, and then import them into Kanboard. So, not only is the UI smooth and responsive, but the migration process from other apps is also seamless. Smaller but helpful features include limiting the number of tasks in each column, adding sub-tasks, automating actions when a task is moved to a certain column, etc. The main feature that a lot of users will appreciate is that, since Kanboard is open-source and self-hosted, you don't have to worry about adding sensitive data or confidential information to it. Thanks to this, even businesses can host Kanboard on a local server and take advantage of the app's functionality without relying on cloud storage or third-party servers.

Better than Trello in most respects

The biggest issue I had with Trello is that every time I loaded it on my browser, it would take a few seconds to stabilize and load all the tasks. Until then, the UI was extremely sluggish. Kanboard addresses this issue with an interface that's not only extremely fast but also extremely clean and minimalist. There are no confusing elements or unnecessary buttons/features scattered across the UI. It does exactly what it's meant to do. I wish there were an accompanying app for smartphone users, though. However, since it's self-hosted, I can always access it using my phone's browser, as long as I'm connected to the same network.