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Comparison · PM
ActiveCollab vs Leantime
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ActiveCollab and Leantime — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:project-managementself-hosted
ActiveCollab vs Leantime: at a glance
What is ActiveCollab?
ActiveCollab adds a smarter MCP server and 2FA for self-hosted — AI-agent and security foundations in one release.
ActiveCollab is a project management platform with both cloud and self-hosted versions targeting agencies and teams. Recent releases have focused on two threads: AI agent connectivity (MCP server improvements, task ID visibility for API/AI use, Limit MCP Tools) and security hardening for the self-hosted offering (2FA, IP firewall). The product also ships quality-of-life updates — dark mode, task list reordering, rebuilt desktop apps, and chat conversation controls — at a steady pace.
What is Leantime?
Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.
Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.
ActiveCollab vs Leantime: editorial side-by-side
ActiveCollab adds a smarter MCP server and 2FA for self-hosted — AI-agent and security foundations in one release.
◆ Current state
ActiveCollab is a project management platform with both cloud and self-hosted versions targeting agencies and teams. Recent releases have focused on two threads: AI agent connectivity (MCP server improvements, task ID visibility for API/AI use, Limit MCP Tools) and security hardening for the self-hosted offering (2FA, IP firewall). The product also ships quality-of-life updates — dark mode, task list reordering, rebuilt desktop apps, and chat conversation controls — at a steady pace.
◆ Where it's heading
The MCP work is the most directional signal: smarter MCP tools that browse projects, teams, and task lists with fewer errors position ActiveCollab as a project context source for AI coding and productivity agents. The security additions for self-hosted (2FA, IP firewall) suggest ActiveCollab is actively maintaining its self-hosted audience — a differentiator against cloud-only competitors — while the AI connectivity features compete with the growing set of project management tools adding MCP/agent support.
◆ Prediction
The next move is likely deeper MCP tooling (write operations for task creation and updates via AI agents) and expanding the IP firewall controls into full RBAC or SSO support for enterprise self-hosted deployments.
Leantime
5.0PM
Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.
◆ Current state
Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.
◆ Where it's heading
The release cadence is roughly one feature version every two weeks, split between finer access control and a plugin marketplace that carries more functionality. Core changes increasingly exist to give plugins stable hooks, as the calendar rework shows.
◆ Prediction
Expect more marketplace plugins built on the new calendar and permission hooks, and further permission work extending to the remaining modules.
Alternatives to ActiveCollab and Leantime
Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either ActiveCollab or Leantime.
Asana
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
NocoBase
NocoBase's v3 beta lets apps ship their own CLI, separate from Agents.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 documents API now keeps plain web addresses and emoji as ordinary text.
Hive
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
Tracecat
Tracecat 1.5 alpha patches add sub-cases and lock down agent sandboxes.
See all ActiveCollab alternatives → · See all Leantime alternatives →
Recent activity from ActiveCollab and Leantime
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoLeantimev3.14.0: per-permission access checks and a CalDAV sync plugin
- 14d agoLeantimev3.13.2: digest changes, OIDC PKCE, marketplace install reporting
- 14d agoLeantimev3.13.1: clearer plugin install errors
- 14d agoLeantimev3.13.0: mobile push, per-project modules, Laravel 12
- 29d agoLeantimev3.12.0: self-updating plugins and a shared interface library
- 1mo agoLeantimev3.11.0: global search across the workspace
- 2mo agoActiveCollabReorder Task Lists
- 2mo agoActiveCollabTwo-Factor Authentication for Self-Hosted
- 2mo agoActiveCollabA Smarter MCP Server
- 3mo agoActiveCollabTask ID Column
- 3mo agoActiveCollabLight, Dark, or Automatic
- 4mo agoActiveCollabBetter Control of Chat Conversations
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ActiveCollab and Leantime?
Both compete on the same themes — project-management, self-hosted — within PM. ActiveCollab and Leantime are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is ActiveCollab better than Leantime?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ActiveCollab and Leantime are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to ActiveCollab?
Top ActiveCollab alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ActiveCollab alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/activecollab for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Leantime?
Top Leantime alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Leantime alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/leantime for the full list with editorial commentary on each.