What is the main difference between Focalboard and Plane?

Focalboard and Plane are both project management suites but differ in their approach, features, and target audience. Compare their GitHub stats, technology stack, and community adoption to make the best choice.

Which is better: Focalboard or Plane?

The choice between Focalboard and Plane depends on your specific needs, technical requirements, and team preferences. Both are quality open source solutions with active communities.

Can I migrate from Focalboard to Plane?

Migration between Focalboard and Plane is possible but requires careful planning. Consider data export/import capabilities, feature parity, and potential workflow changes.

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Focalboard vs Plane

Learn how Focalboard and Plane differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these project management suites is best for you.

Focalboard

Self-hostable project management tool with Kanban boards, calendars, and table views, built for teams using Mattermost or standalone.

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26,415stars+105(+0.4%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
3 months ago
Repository age
6 years
Version
v8.0.0
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
mattermost/focalboard

Plane

Open source project management platform combining issues, wikis, and AI agents in one workspace. Available on cloud, self-hosted, and air-gapped deployments.

Visit Plane Read more

56,610stars+1,748(+3.2%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
21 hours ago
Repository age
4 years
Version
v1.4.1
License
AGPL-3.0
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
makeplane/plane

Detailed Comparison

Plane appears to have several advantages over Focalboard, particularly in popularity, growth, activity and licensing. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Plane wins

Community & Popularity

Plane leads in popularity with 56,610 stars vs 26,415 stars for Focalboard. The 114% higher star count indicates stronger community adoption. In terms of developer contributions, Plane has 5,403 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Plane wins

Growth Momentum

Plane is growing faster, adding 1,748 stars in the last 30 days (+3.2%) against adding 105 stars for Focalboard (+0.4%). Plane is both larger and pulling further ahead.

Plane wins

Development Activity

Plane shows more recent development activity with its last commit 21 hours ago, while Focalboard was last updated 3 months ago. This suggests Plane is being more actively maintained.

Comparable

Technology Stack

Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, Bash, Typescript, JSX. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Focalboard uses SCSS, Golang, Swift, C# while Plane leverages CSS, Python, Next.js.

Focalboard wins

Project Maturity

Focalboard has been in development longer, starting 6 years ago, compared to Plane which began 4 years ago. This 2.1-year head start suggests Focalboard may have more mature features and established processes.

Plane wins