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Comparison · PM
Float vs Planka
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Float and Planka — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Float vs Planka: at a glance
What is Float?
Float is moving from who's-free scheduling toward staffing on experience and pricing on rate cards.
Float's 2026 releases add commercial and intelligence layers on top of its core scheduler: multi-currency rate cards, a Rates tab, and AI experience profiles that surface who has done similar work before. API and Zapier coverage for project templates and rate cards keeps those layers open to automation. The latest entry polishes how project and phase roles are displayed.
What is Planka?
Planka's release feed tracks its Helm chart, not the board app itself.
The four entries tracked for Planka, the self-hosted Kanban board, are Helm chart releases for deploying it on Kubernetes, from 2.0.2 in February to 2.2.0 in August. Each carries the same one-line chart description and no notes about what changed.
Float vs Planka: editorial side-by-side
Float
2.5PM
Float is moving from who's-free scheduling toward staffing on experience and pricing on rate cards.
◆ Current state
Float's 2026 releases add commercial and intelligence layers on top of its core scheduler: multi-currency rate cards, a Rates tab, and AI experience profiles that surface who has done similar work before. API and Zapier coverage for project templates and rate cards keeps those layers open to automation. The latest entry polishes how project and phase roles are displayed.
◆ Where it's heading
The product is reaching from resource availability into project economics and staffing judgment. Rates, roles and experience data are becoming first-class objects, which positions Float to recommend who should staff a project and what it will cost, not just show when people are free.
◆ Prediction
Expect role- and rate-aware forecasting next, such as budget or margin projections tied to the roles assigned in a plan. The entries show the data model forming but not yet the forecasting output.
Planka
0.0PM
Planka's release feed tracks its Helm chart, not the board app itself.
◆ Current state
The four entries tracked for Planka, the self-hosted Kanban board, are Helm chart releases for deploying it on Kubernetes, from 2.0.2 in February to 2.2.0 in August. Each carries the same one-line chart description and no notes about what changed.
◆ Where it's heading
The chart moved through two minor versions in six months, which points to ongoing support for Kubernetes deployments. The entries say nothing about changes to the Planka application itself.
◆ Prediction
Unclear from these entries; another chart release is likely when the app ships a new version, but its content can't be predicted.
Alternatives to Float and Planka
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 Float or Planka.
Camunda
Camunda's 8.10 RC train turns into a bug sweep while 8.7 Optimize stays on CVE duty.
SmartSuite
SmartSuite opens its workspace to AI assistants through a hosted MCP server that acts as the user.
Fibery
Fibery is letting AI build the entity page itself, not just the apps around it.
Tracecat
Tracecat is turning its agent runtime into enterprise infrastructure: sandbox limits, SCIM, unified executors.
NocoBase
NocoBase keeps wiring its AI employees into real data, citations and model choice.
See all Float alternatives → · See all Planka alternatives →
Recent activity from Float and Planka
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4d agoFloatProject and phase roles display enhancements
- 1mo agoFloatFloat is the #1 resource management software, 8 seasons running
- 1mo agoFloatRates tab, Zapier project templates, and people code
- 1mo agoFloatSmart insights: know who’s done this work before, with AI experience profiles ⚡
- 1mo agoPlankaPlanka Helm chart 2.2.0
- 1mo agoFloatNew API endpoints: project templates and rate cards, and Zapier project updates
- 2mo agoFloatA new look: updates to the sidebar navigation
- 6mo agoPlankaPlanka Helm chart 2.1.0
- 7mo agoPlankaPlanka Helm chart 2.0.3
- 7mo agoPlankaPlanka Helm chart 2.0.2
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Float and Planka?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Float is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Float better than Planka?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Float is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Float?
Top Float alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Float alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/float for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Planka?
Top Planka alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Planka alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/planka for the full list with editorial commentary on each.