Best Redmine alternatives in 2026 for open-source and self-hosted teams

Redmine's licence costs nothing, which is exactly why teams misjudge what it costs. The real bill is paid in maintenance: a Rails application to keep patched, a database to back up, and a set of plugins that supply the features people actually use — agile boards, better reporting, a decent editor — and that have to be re-verified every time you upgrade. Most teams start looking for alternatives not because Redmine failed, but because the person who kept it running left.

So this list is organised around one question: do you still need to host it yourself? If yes, OpenProject, Taiga, and GitLab are the serious options. If the self-hosting requirement has quietly expired, Jira, YouTrack, Zoho Projects, Breeze, Trello, ClickUp, and Asana all remove the server from your life entirely, at a per-seat price.

Disclosure: Breeze publishes this comparison. We are hosted software with no self-hosted edition, so for a large share of Redmine teams we are simply not eligible — we say where that applies rather than pretending otherwise, and we point to OpenProject and Taiga for the self-hosting case.

How we chose these tools

We separated candidates by hosting model first, because that requirement usually decides the shortlist on its own, then ranked on:

• Concept mapping — how cleanly trackers, versions, roles, and time entries translate, since a bad mapping means a manual migration.
• Maintenance burden — whether features come from the core product or from plugins you own the upgrade risk for.
• Adoption outside engineering — Redmine's interface is the most common reason non-technical colleagues refuse to use it.
• Total cost including staff time — a free licence that consumes a day a month of sysadmin work is not free.

Review process: We compared current vendor documentation, pricing pages, published product interfaces, and the independent user reviews cited below. We evaluated each option against the migration criteria above.

Pricing and plan names checked against vendor sites on July 20, 2026. Vendors change packaging often; confirm the current total for your team before buying.

Contents

• How we chose these tools
• Why teams look for Redmine alternatives
• What to look for in a Redmine replacement
• Best Redmine alternatives
• Comparison table
• Which alternative should you choose
• FAQ

Why teams look for Redmine alternatives

The reasons are remarkably consistent across organisations, and almost none of them are about missing features:

• Upgrades are the recurring pain. Core Redmine upgrades cleanly; the plugin stack that gives you agile boards and better reporting frequently does not.
• The default interface looks its age, and non-technical colleagues quietly stop using it and go back to email and spreadsheets.
• Key capabilities depend on third-party plugins of varying quality and maintenance, so your workflow rests on volunteer release schedules.
• There is no official hosted edition, so the choice is run it yourself or pay a third-party host with its own upgrade cadence.
• Institutional knowledge concentrates in one administrator, and when that person leaves nobody wants to touch the server.
• Mobile access is poor, which matters more than it used to for anyone who is not at a desk.

What to look for in a Redmine replacement

Redmine's data model is richer than most people realise, so check the mapping before the interface:

• An equivalent for trackers and issue relations, including parent tasks and blocked-by links, not just a status column.
• Versions and roadmaps, if you release against them — several otherwise-good tools have no concept of a version at all.
• Time entries with the same granularity, since Redmine's built-in time tracking is often the feature teams most take for granted.
• A destination for wiki pages, which usually need a separate tool and are the most commonly forgotten part of a migration.
• An honest reckoning of whether the self-hosting requirement is a genuine policy or an old habit, because it removes most of this list if it is real.

Best Redmine alternatives

The tools below cover a range of team project management needs, from simple task boards to more structured workflows, reporting, and planning.

• Breeze
• OpenProject
• Jira
• Taiga
• GitLab
• YouTrack
• Zoho Projects
• Asana
• ClickUp
• Trello

Breeze

Best for: teams that want simple project management.

Breeze is a straightforward project management platform built around clear ownership, simple workflows, and fast team collaboration. If Redmine no longer fits the way your team works, Breeze gives you a cleaner way to manage tasks, deadlines, comments, time, and reporting in one place.

Key features

• Visual project boards that keep work easy to scan.
• Task ownership, deadlines, and comments in one view.
• Built-in time tracking and workload visibility.
• Reporting that helps teams stay on top of delivery.
• Simple setup that is easy for non-technical teams to adopt.

Best for: small teams, agencies, marketing teams, and organizations that want simple project management.

Pricing: Simple pricing at $10 per user per month, with all features included. You can save 10% with a yearly plan

Rating: 4.4/5 on Capterra

Time tracking is built in rather than added by a plugin, which is the specific piece Redmine teams most often want to keep. If you want a closer side-by-side view, compare Breeze with Breeze vs Jira, Breeze vs Basecamp, and Breeze vs Trello.

Migration perspective from Redmine

Moving from Redmine to Breeze makes the most sense for teams that want simple project management, and only if self-hosting is no longer a requirement. Pilot one real project first and check that issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about Breeze

Reviewers consistently describe Breeze as refreshingly lightweight — fast to load, easy to learn, and quick to roll out to non-technical teammates. The recurring praise is that it covers tasks, time, and reporting without the clutter of bigger suites; the flip side, noted by reviewers themselves, is that teams needing deep, configurable workflows can outgrow it.

Based on Breeze reviews on Capterra

OpenProject

Best for: teams that want a maintained Redmine with a modern interface.

OpenProject began life as a Redmine fork, and it shows in the best way: work packages, types, versions, roles, and time entries are the same concepts you already model, so the mental migration is close to zero. What you gain is a contemporary interface, Gantt charts and boards in the core product rather than in plugins, and a company shipping supported releases on a schedule.

Pricing: The Community edition is free and self-hosted; Basic is €5.95 per user per month with a 25-user minimum

Rating: 4.6/5 on Capterra

Where OpenProject fits

• Organisations with a genuine data-residency or on-premise requirement
• Teams that want to stop maintaining a plugin stack but keep Redmine's data model
• European public sector and regulated environments needing GDPR-native, self-hosted tooling
• Groups that want Gantt charts and boards without hunting for a compatible plugin

Where OpenProject isn't the right fit: Small teams that want the paid edition. The Enterprise plans carry a 25-user minimum, so a team of six either stays on the free Community edition — which still means you run the server — or pays for twenty-five seats. It is also still a self-hosted Rails application, so the operational work does not disappear, it just gets easier.

Migration perspective from Redmine

OpenProject is a practical next step from Redmine for teams that want a maintained Redmine with a modern interface. Before moving everything, recreate a typical workflow and confirm that issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about OpenProject

Reviewers describe OpenProject as a capable, all-in-one project workspace that has grown with their needs, singling out collaboration and built-in time tracking. The practical caveat is that it's still self-hosted software, so someone has to run and maintain the server.

Based on OpenProject reviews on Capterra

Jira

Best for: engineering teams ready to stop running a server.

Jira is the most common destination for teams leaving Redmine, and the trade is easy to state. You give up control and start paying per seat; you get someone else's operations team, a Marketplace instead of a plugin directory, and reporting that Redmine never had. Issue types, workflows, and versions map onto Redmine's trackers, role transitions, and roadmaps closely enough that the migration is mostly a data exercise.

Pricing: Free for up to 10 users, with advanced features starting at $7.91 per user per month when billed monthly

Rating: 4.4/5 on Capterra

Where Jira fits

• Teams whose self-hosting requirement was habit rather than policy
• Organisations that want an add-on ecosystem with commercial support behind it
• Groups needing agile reporting that Redmine only approximates through plugins
• Companies where the sysadmin time freed up is worth more than the licence

Where Jira isn't the right fit: Anyone with a real on-premise mandate — Atlassian retired Jira Server, so Data Center is the only self-hosted route and it is priced for large organisations. Small teams should also note that Jira's administration burden is a different shape from Redmine's, not obviously a smaller one.

For a direct side-by-side view, Redmine vs Jira covers cost, hosting, and setup effort in detail, and teams weighing the wider field usually also read Jira alternatives.

Migration perspective from Redmine

Jira is a practical next step from Redmine for engineering teams ready to stop running a server. Use a small pilot to see whether issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about Jira

Reviewers agree Jira is powerful and, once configured, hard to give up — it scales, integrates widely, and handles serious agile workflows. The just-as-consistent complaint is the administration and learning curve, with several noting the setup is a project in itself.

Based on Jira reviews on Capterra

Taiga

Best for: small agile teams that want open source with a modern interface.

Taiga is what a lot of people hoped Redmine plus agile plugins would feel like. Backlogs, sprints, user stories, and epics are core concepts rather than plugin additions, the interface is contemporary, and you can either self-host it or use the cloud service. For a team whose Redmine had effectively become a scrum board, it is a much cleaner fit than the tool they are leaving.

Pricing: Taiga Cloud Basic is free, and Taiga Cloud with premium support is $70 per month

Rating: 4.3/5 on Capterra

Where Taiga fits

• Small teams running scrum who were bolting agile plugins onto Redmine
• Organisations that want to stay open source but not stay on a dated interface
• Teams that want the self-hosting option available without being forced into it
• Groups where a flat monthly cloud price beats per-seat licensing

Where Taiga isn't the right fit: Anyone using Redmine's full breadth. Taiga has no equivalent to Redmine's tracker-per-work-type flexibility, its time tracking is weaker, and there is no wiki to receive your existing documentation. Larger organisations will also find the permission model and reporting thin.

Migration perspective from Redmine

Taiga is a practical next step from Redmine for small agile teams that want open source with a modern interface. Test the move with active work, not an empty demo, so you can verify that issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about Taiga

Reviewers like Taiga for being open source without feeling dated — a clean, attractive interface with scrum and Kanban built in. The limitations they note are thinner reporting, permissions, and integrations than the bigger platforms once a team scales.

Based on Taiga reviews on Capterra

GitLab

Best for: engineering teams that want to run one system instead of two.

Plenty of Redmine installations sit next to a self-hosted Git server, which means two applications to patch, two sets of accounts, and an integration between them. GitLab's Community Edition collapses that into one: issues, milestones, merge requests, CI, and a wiki in a single self-hosted install, with the same open-source-and-run-it-yourself posture Redmine teams already prefer.

Pricing: Free for basic use, with paid plans starting at $29 per user per month

Rating: 4.6/5 on Capterra

Where GitLab fits

• Teams already self-hosting Git alongside Redmine who can retire one of the two
• Organisations that want issues, code, CI, and a wiki under one authentication model
• Work where the issue and the merge request should genuinely be one thread
• Groups that want a self-hosted option with a company shipping regular releases

Where GitLab isn't the right fit: Non-engineering work. GitLab is organised around repositories, so client projects, marketing campaigns, and operations tasks sit awkwardly in it, and Redmine's per-project flexibility is genuinely better for that. Self-hosting GitLab is also considerably heavier than self-hosting Redmine.

Migration perspective from Redmine

GitLab is a practical next step from Redmine for engineering teams that want to run one system instead of two. Start with a project your team knows well and make sure issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about GitLab

Reviewers value GitLab most for unifying code, CI/CD, and issues in one platform, which removes tool-switching for engineering teams. The caveats are that it's built around repositories — awkward for non-engineering work — and that the paid tiers get expensive.

Based on GitLab reviews on Capterra

YouTrack

Best for: teams that want Redmine's depth at a very low per-seat price.

YouTrack is the closest thing to Redmine that a commercial vendor sells. Custom fields per project, scriptable workflows, built-in time tracking, and a Knowledge Base for the wiki pages you need to move — it covers Redmine's surface area unusually well. It is also cheap: free for the first ten users and $4.40 per user per month after, and JetBrains still ships a self-hosted server edition.

Pricing: Free for up to 10 users, with paid plans starting at $4.40 per user per month

Rating: 4.5/5 on Capterra

Where YouTrack fits

• Teams that want Redmine's configurability without maintaining the plugin stack
• Organisations needing a self-hosted option from a vendor that still supports one
• Groups that rely on Redmine's time tracking and need a native equivalent
• Small teams under ten people, who pay nothing at all

Where YouTrack isn't the right fit: Teams switching primarily for a nicer interface. YouTrack's own reviewers describe the UI as clunky and note that large projects load slowly — you would be solving the maintenance problem while inheriting a version of the usability complaint.

Teams weighing this option usually also read YouTrack alternatives to see the wider field first.

Migration perspective from Redmine

YouTrack is a practical next step from Redmine for teams that want Redmine's depth at a very low per-seat price. Pilot one real project first and check that issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about YouTrack

Reviewers rate YouTrack highly for configurability, powerful search, and an unusually low price, and many moved to it from pricier trackers. The consistent complaints are an interface that feels clunky and noticeably slow page loads on large projects.

Based on YouTrack reviews on Capterra

Zoho Projects

Best for: teams that want hosted project management at close to no cost.

For Redmine teams whose motivation is mostly budget, Zoho Projects is the cheapest credible hosted option at $4 per user per month. It covers tasks, issue tracking, Gantt charts, timesheets, and a document store, and it connects to the wider Zoho suite if you already use it. The value per pound is genuinely hard to beat.

Pricing: Free for small teams, with paid plans starting at $4 per user per month

Rating: 4.4/5 on Capterra

Where Zoho Projects fits

• Cost-driven teams who chose Redmine because it was free and now want it hosted
• Organisations that need timesheets and Gantt charts without assembling plugins
• Companies already running Zoho CRM, Books, or Desk
• Mixed teams where non-technical people also have to use the tool

Where Zoho Projects isn't the right fit: Anyone needing self-hosting, and teams that want a deep issue tracker — Zoho's issue module is a competent add-on rather than the centre of the product. Reviewers also note the interface can be slow to load and that customisation takes more effort than expected.

Migration perspective from Redmine

Zoho Projects is a practical next step from Redmine for teams that want hosted project management at close to no cost. Before moving everything, recreate a typical workflow and confirm that issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about Zoho Projects

Reviewers point to strong value and a broad feature set — tasks, Gantt charts, timesheets, and tight integration with the wider Zoho suite. The common gripes are slower load times and that meaningful customization takes more effort than expected.

Based on Zoho Projects reviews on Capterra

Asana

Best for: teams that need structured workflows.

A large number of Redmine installations are not really issue trackers any more. They are task lists with an assignee and a due date, kept because migrating felt like work. If that describes yours, Asana is the tool that model actually wants, and the adoption problem — colleagues refusing to use Redmine's interface — disappears immediately.

Pricing: Personal is free; Starter is $10.99 per user per month, billed annually

Rating: 4.5/5 on Capterra

Where Asana fits

• Teams whose Redmine has become a shared to-do list rather than a bug tracker
• Organisations where non-technical colleagues never adopted the old interface
• Cross-functional work needing portfolios and goals for a management rollup
• Intake handled by forms and rules rather than issue templates

Where Asana isn't the right fit: Real issue tracking. There is no concept of a version, no code integration worth the name, and nothing resembling Redmine's tracker model — and at $10.99 per seat it is also among the more expensive options here.

Teams considering Asana alternatives often also want a direct side-by-side view, and Breeze vs Asana covers that comparison.

Migration perspective from Redmine

Asana is a practical next step from Redmine for teams that need structured workflows. Use a small pilot to see whether issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about Asana

Reviewers value Asana's flexibility and its range of views, and long-time users tend to call it the most capable option once a team settles on a system. The repeated criticism is the upfront learning curve and a sense that its depth is more than the smallest teams need.

Based on Asana reviews on Capterra

ClickUp

Best for: teams replacing Redmine plus three plugins with one subscription.

The features Redmine teams typically add through plugins — agile boards, Gantt charts, better time tracking, document storage, dashboards — are all in ClickUp's $7 entry plan. That makes it a strong consolidation play: one hosted subscription instead of a server plus a plugin stack you re-test at every upgrade.

Pricing: Free for personal use; paid plans start at $7 per user per month

Rating: 4.7/5 on Capterra

Where ClickUp fits

• Teams running four or more Redmine plugins to get a workable setup
• Organisations that want native time tracking, docs, and dashboards in one product
• Mixed engineering and non-engineering groups sharing one workspace
• Budgets where $7 per seat is cheaper than the sysadmin time being spent

Where ClickUp isn't the right fit: Anyone needing self-hosting, and teams with no appetite for configuration. Reviewers repeatedly note that ClickUp rewards having one person own the setup — which is the same single-point-of-knowledge risk that made Redmine fragile.

Teams considering ClickUp alternatives often also want a direct side-by-side view, and Breeze vs ClickUp covers that comparison.

Migration perspective from Redmine

ClickUp is a practical next step from Redmine for teams replacing Redmine plus three plugins with one subscription. Test the move with active work, not an empty demo, so you can verify that issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about ClickUp

The recurring theme in ClickUp reviews is "everything in one place" — teams consolidate several tools and praise the customization and value. The equally recurring caveat is that getting there takes setup work, and reviewers stress it pays off best when one person owns the configuration.

Based on ClickUp reviews on Capterra

Trello

Best for: small teams that want to stop administering anything.

Trello is the maximum-simplification option. There is no server, no plugin compatibility matrix, no role and permission model to reason about — a card has a list, a member, and a due date. For a small team whose Redmine has been limping along unpatched because nobody wants to touch it, that is a rational trade even though it loses a great deal.

Pricing: Free for basic use; paid plans start at $5 per user per month

Rating: 4.5/5 on Capterra

Where Trello fits

• Small teams whose Redmine usage never went past a status board
• Groups with no one left who is willing to maintain a server
• Internal and side projects that never justified an issue tracker
• Teams that want to move today on a free plan and decide properly later

Where Trello isn't the right fit: Any team using Redmine as intended. No versions, no issue relations, no time tracking without a Power-Up, and no wiki — this is a deliberate downgrade in capability, and it is only the right answer when the maintenance burden is the actual problem.

Teams considering Trello alternatives often also want a direct side-by-side view, and Breeze vs Trello covers that comparison.

Migration perspective from Redmine

Trello is a practical next step from Redmine for small teams that want to stop administering anything. Start with a project your team knows well and make sure issues, trackers, custom fields, workflow role transitions, versions and roadmaps, time entries, and wiki pages have a clear destination.

What users say about Trello

Users almost universally credit Trello with being the easiest board to pick up — new teammates and clients get productive in minutes, and the card-and-list model just works. The common caveat is that it stays deliberately simple, so reviewers running larger or reporting-heavy work say it runs short without Power-Ups.

Based on Trello reviews on Capterra

Redmine alternatives comparison

Which Redmine alternative should you choose?

Answer the hosting question first, then match the rest to why you are actually leaving:

• Choose OpenProject if self-hosting is a real requirement and you want the same concepts with a supported release line.
• Choose Taiga if you must stay open source but your work is really scrum, and Redmine's breadth was never used.
• Choose GitLab if you self-host Git alongside Redmine and can retire one of the two systems.
• Choose Jira if the hosting requirement has expired and you want the largest ecosystem and best reporting.
• Choose YouTrack if you want Redmine-level configurability from a vendor, at the lowest per-seat price with a self-hosted option.
• Choose Zoho Projects if budget drove the original Redmine decision and you now want it hosted.
• Choose ClickUp if you are running several plugins to get a workable setup and want one subscription instead.
• Choose Breeze if the team needs tasks, time, and reporting in something colleagues will actually open.
• Choose Asana if your Redmine has quietly become a task list and adoption is the real problem.
• Choose Trello if nobody is left to maintain the server and you accept losing issue-tracking depth.

FAQ

What is the best alternative to Redmine?

OpenProject is the closest replacement if you want to keep self-hosting, and Jira or YouTrack are the usual choices if you are ready to stop running a server. Breeze and Trello suit teams whose Redmine had become a task list.

Why are teams switching from Redmine?

Redmine itself is free, but the upkeep is not. Teams leave when plugin upgrades keep breaking, when the interface is hard to get colleagues to adopt, or when the person who maintained the server moves on.

What tool is most similar to Redmine?

OpenProject is the nearest match, since it started as a Redmine fork and keeps the same concepts of trackers, versions, and roles while adding a modern interface and a supported release line.

Conclusion

The honest framing for Redmine is that you are not comparing a free tool against paid ones. You are comparing your own staff time against a subscription. A team that spends a day a month on upgrades, backups, and plugin compatibility is already paying more than $7 per seat — it is just paid out of a different budget and noticed less.

Decide the hosting question honestly first, because it eliminates most of this list either way. Then move one project with real history — issues, time entries, versions, and a wiki page or two — before you commit. Time entries and wiki content are the parts that most often have no clean destination, and finding that out during the pilot is much cheaper than finding it out afterwards.