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Comparison · PM
Bonsai vs Kanboard
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Bonsai and Kanboard — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Bonsai vs Kanboard: at a glance
| Feature | Bonsai | Kanboard |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM | PM |
| Velocity score | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | crm, zoom integration, mcp, activity feed | kanban, self-hosted, security-hardening, php |
| Last editorial update | 4h ago | 19h ago |
| Website | — | Visit → |
What is Bonsai?
Bonsai is turning its CRM into the place Zoom notes, bookings and AI drafts all land.
Bonsai's autumn releases connect its CRM to the tools around a client meeting. Zoom My Notes and Zoom Scheduler bookings now sync to the matching client timeline, a redesigned dashboard lets users pick and order widgets, and AI tools connected through Bonsai's MCP can draft documents, manage invoices and set project budgets. The summer built the base: global notes, email and calendar sync, a self-serve API and the MCP connector.
What is Kanboard?
Kanboard shipped three security releases in ten days, plus a PHP 8.5 move.
Kanboard is a self-hosted PHP kanban board whose releases are now almost entirely security work, and October tripled the pace. 1.2.55 blocked spoofed proxy IPs from bypassing CAPTCHA and login lockouts and enforced project authorization across several board actions; 1.2.56 moved the Docker image to PHP 8.5 to pick up two PHP CVE fixes; 1.2.57 disables PHP session upload progress against another CVE and stops API lookups from revealing that inaccessible projects exist. WebP attachments and exact-email user search are the only feature additions.
Bonsai vs Kanboard: editorial side-by-side
Bonsai
5.0PM
Bonsai is turning its CRM into the place Zoom notes, bookings and AI drafts all land.
◆ Current state
Bonsai's autumn releases connect its CRM to the tools around a client meeting. Zoom My Notes and Zoom Scheduler bookings now sync to the matching client timeline, a redesigned dashboard lets users pick and order widgets, and AI tools connected through Bonsai's MCP can draft documents, manage invoices and set project budgets. The summer built the base: global notes, email and calendar sync, a self-serve API and the MCP connector.
◆ Where it's heading
Bonsai is pulling client history in from outside sources, first Gmail and Microsoft, now Zoom notes and bookings, so the CRM fills itself. At the same time the MCP connector keeps gaining write actions, so the work done on that data can happen from an AI chat. Billing remains, but the product is organized around the client record.
◆ Prediction
Expect more meeting and calendar sources to sync into the activity feed and more write actions through MCP. The entries do not show which integration comes next.
Kanboard
5.0PM
Kanboard shipped three security releases in ten days, plus a PHP 8.5 move.
◆ Current state
Kanboard is a self-hosted PHP kanban board whose releases are now almost entirely security work, and October tripled the pace. 1.2.55 blocked spoofed proxy IPs from bypassing CAPTCHA and login lockouts and enforced project authorization across several board actions; 1.2.56 moved the Docker image to PHP 8.5 to pick up two PHP CVE fixes; 1.2.57 disables PHP session upload progress against another CVE and stops API lookups from revealing that inaccessible projects exist. WebP attachments and exact-email user search are the only feature additions.
◆ Where it's heading
The audit that ran from LDAP escaping through API response shape is now reaching information leaks by error message: returning false instead of a 403 so the API doesn't confirm a project exists. The Docker image has become part of the security perimeter, with two of the three releases changing PHP runtime settings. Features remain small and incidental.
◆ Prediction
Expect further releases tracking upstream PHP and Alpine security fixes, since the Docker image now ships on PHP 8.5 and has needed two runtime changes in ten days.
Alternatives to Bonsai and Kanboard
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 Bonsai or Kanboard.
NocoBase
NocoBase's latest beta makes queued agent failures readable instead of vague.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 API now redirects merged entities instead of returning not-found errors.
Papertrail
Papertrail's changelog has gone quiet on product since its checklist logic rebuild.
Ellie Planner
Ellie follows its MCP opening with a 30-day Trash and Google Calendar editing.
Kitsu
Kitsu ships weekly production-management updates, from per-show roles to a new Kanban board.
See all Bonsai alternatives → · See all Kanboard alternatives →
Recent activity from Bonsai and Kanboard
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoKanboard1.2.57 hides inaccessible projects from API lookups
- 12d agoKanboard1.2.56 moves the Docker image to PHP 8.5
- 13d agoKanboard1.2.55 blocks proxy IP spoofing and adds WebP attachments
- 13d agoBonsaiSync Zoom Scheduler with Bonsai
- 17d agoBonsaiDraft documents and set budgets from your AI
- 1mo agoBonsaiSync Zoom My Notes with Bonsai
- 1mo agoBonsaiRedesigned dashboard with configurable widgets
- 2mo agoKanboardPassword changes now kill sessions; API stops leaking private fields
- 2mo agoBonsaiGlobal Notes
- 3mo agoBonsaiBonsai API
- 3mo agoKanboardSecurity fixes and opt-in full-text task search
- 7mo agoKanboardComment visibility rules and timing-safe token checks
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Bonsai and Kanboard?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Bonsai and Kanboard 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 Bonsai better than Kanboard?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Bonsai and Kanboard 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 Bonsai?
Top Bonsai alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Bonsai alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bonsai for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Kanboard?
Top Kanboard alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Kanboard alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/kanboard for the full list with editorial commentary on each.