Comparison

Open-source project management for agencies.

For an agency with several clients, three things count: clients work in the tool without seeing internal matters, time is logged per task, and everything runs on your own server. OpenProject and Redmine are the most mature. With OpenProject, client sharing and internal comments cost Enterprise; with Redmine, a board, a timer and AI come only through plugins. Worklenz and Leantime are built for agencies, Plane for development teams. Lalabase is the youngest, with AI across all project data and guest roles at no extra cost.

Checked in October 2026 against the projects' repositories, documentation and price pages. The sources are listed below. If you find a mistake, write to us and we will correct it.

// What matters

Four questions an agency asks.

Clients in the tool

Can clients see and comment on tickets without reading internal notes? And does every client account cost a paid seat?

Time per task

Is time logged on the task, can it be kept as billable, and can it be exported for the invoice?

Everything in the free edition

Does what you need run on your own server without a licence, or are important features behind a paid edition?

AI under your control

Is there AI, and do you decide which model gets to see your clients' data?

// At a glance

Six tools, five questions.

Tool Licence Time tracking Clients in the tool AI Hosted version
OpenProject GPL-3.0, open core In the free edition, per work package, with a timer. No "billable" flag. Sharing with external people and internal comments only in Enterprise. An MCP server, Enterprise only. In Frankfurt or in the EU, per user, from 25 users.
Redmine GPL-2.0, no paid edition In core, per issue, with CSV export. No "billable" flag, a timer only through a plugin. Roles per project, private issues and private notes in core. Only through plugins. No official one, only third-party hosts.
Worklenz AGPL-3.0 Per task, with a timer, billable, export to Excel and CSV. Guests per project and a client portal with requests, invoices and chat. What stays internal is not documented. None. Yes, location not stated.
Plane AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition), open core Only in the paid editions. Guests see only their own requests, commenters the whole project. There are no private comments. Only in the Commercial Edition. Yes, processing in the USA according to its sub-processors.
Leantime AGPL-3.0, open core (add-on plugins are paid) In core, with a timer and the states billable, invoiced, paid. Clients as an entity of their own, a "commenter" role, no client portal. Only in the cloud. Yes, location not stated.
Lalabase AGPL-3.0, every feature in the free edition Per ticket, several entries, billable one by one, with export. No timer. Guest roles at no extra cost, private comments. Free choice of provider up to your own model, answers with sources, MCP. Off by default. Yes, in Germany, with a DPA.
// One by one

When which tool fits.

OpenProject

Fits when: You want a mature tool made in Germany, and Gantt, boards, wiki and time reports in the free edition are enough.

Less so when: Clients should work in the tool. Sharing with external people and internal comments cost Enterprise, which starts at 25 users.

Full comparison

Redmine

Fits when: You want a free tool proven since 2006 and separate clients through roles, private issues and private notes.

Less so when: You want a board, a timer or AI without plugins. Every plugin makes updates harder, and there is no official cloud.

Full comparison

Worklenz

Fits when: Client portal, workload planning and billable hours should live in one tool. Self-hosted, the Business features are currently free.

Less so when: You need a wiki or AI, or want it documented what clients see in the portal. A licence check for the Business features is being planned.

Plane

Fits when: A development team wants a modern board with Gantt and pages, with no user limit in the free edition.

Less so when: You bill by the hour. Time tracking and export come only with the paid editions, and clients see the whole project as commenters.

Leantime

Fits when: You want time with billing states and Gantt in the free edition, on a simple PHP stack.

Less so when: You need AI on your own server or a client portal with internal content. AI is cloud-only, and clients get the commenter role.

Lalabase

Fits when: Clients should take part without seeing internal matters, and an AI should answer questions across tickets, docs, time and meetings, with a model of your choice.

Less so when: You need Gantt, a timer, or a tool proven over years by many teams.

Self-hosting
// Honestly

Where Lalabase does not fit

We stand in this table ourselves. So here is what speaks against us.

  • Public only since October 2026. In use with clients since September 2025, but without the reach of the other five.
  • No Gantt and no portfolios. If you plan dates through dependencies, OpenProject serves you better.
  • No timer. Time is entered with date and duration.
  • No client portal with invoices. The hours go to your accounting by export.
  • A small team. We do not accept pull requests; bugs and ideas as issues are welcome.
// Frequently asked

Common questions

Which open-source tool has time tracking in the free edition?
OpenProject, Redmine, Worklenz, Leantime and Lalabase. Plane has time tracking only in its paid editions. Worklenz, Leantime and Lalabase can keep single entries as billable; OpenProject and Redmine lack that flag.
In which tool do clients see only what they should?
In the free edition, Redmine with private issues and notes, and Lalabase with guest roles and private comments. With OpenProject this costs Enterprise. Plane has no private comments; for Worklenz and Leantime it is not documented.
Which tool has AI on your own server too?
Lalabase, with a free choice of provider up to your own model. Plane only in its Commercial Edition, OpenProject only as an MCP server in Enterprise, Leantime only in the cloud, Redmine through plugins, Worklenz not at all.
Which tool is the most mature?
Redmine, since 2006, and OpenProject, since 2012. Plane has the most stars on GitHub. Lalabase is the youngest, public since October 2026.
How current is this comparison?
Checked in October 2026 against the projects' repositories, documentation and price pages; the sources are on this page. If you find a mistake, write to us and we will correct it.
// Sources

Where the details come from.

Only from the projects' own repositories, documentation and price pages, as of 13 October 2026.

All comparisons