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Comparison · PM
Huly vs OpenProject
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Huly and OpenProject — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:project-managementopen-source
Huly vs OpenProject: at a glance
What is Huly?
Huly ships near-weekly builds, but its release notes say almost nothing about what changed.
Huly's GitHub releases are a steady run of s0.7.x tags, roughly one every few days through July, each published as a bare 'merge develop' note. The only titled entries are a package update and a test fix. Readers get a cadence signal, not a feature signal.
What is OpenProject?
OpenProject's MCP Server gains write access — AI agents can now create tasks, add comments, and manage relations.
OpenProject 17.8.0 marks the most significant AI integration milestone in the product's history: the MCP Server can now create and update work packages, add comments, and manage relations — moving from a read-only query layer to a write-capable AI agent interface. The same release adds multiple target versions per work package, sprints and milestones to the project timeline, and relation display in the free Community edition. OpenProject 17.7.0 laid the organizational management foundation: departments, work-related user attributes, and individual work schedules for capacity planning.
Huly vs OpenProject: editorial side-by-side
Huly
0.0PM
Huly ships near-weekly builds, but its release notes say almost nothing about what changed.
◆ Current state
Huly's GitHub releases are a steady run of s0.7.x tags, roughly one every few days through July, each published as a bare 'merge develop' note. The only titled entries are a package update and a test fix. Readers get a cadence signal, not a feature signal.
◆ Where it's heading
The tag stream shows active development on the 0.7 line, but the releases record no user-facing changes, so the direction of the product cannot be read from them. The feed also goes quiet after 1 August, which is either a pause in tagging or a move to a different release channel.
◆ Prediction
The entries do not support a confident call on Huly's next feature; the clearest observable signal would be whether s0.7.x tagging resumes after the August gap.
OpenProject's MCP Server gains write access — AI agents can now create tasks, add comments, and manage relations.
◆ Current state
OpenProject 17.8.0 marks the most significant AI integration milestone in the product's history: the MCP Server can now create and update work packages, add comments, and manage relations — moving from a read-only query layer to a write-capable AI agent interface. The same release adds multiple target versions per work package, sprints and milestones to the project timeline, and relation display in the free Community edition. OpenProject 17.7.0 laid the organizational management foundation: departments, work-related user attributes, and individual work schedules for capacity planning.
◆ Where it's heading
The two-track development pattern is clear: broader project management capabilities for enterprises (resource management, capacity planning, PM² methodology support) and a rapidly maturing AI interface through the MCP Server. The progression from read-only MCP to write-capable MCP is a qualitative shift — AI assistants become active project participants rather than passive query tools. The XWiki integration in 17.6.0 shows the platform also extending into enterprise knowledge management.
◆ Prediction
The logical next step is workflow automation via the MCP Server — AI agents that can trigger status transitions, query resource availability from the 17.7.0 capacity data, or auto-assign work packages based on department membership. The data model is in place; the automation layer is the missing piece.
Alternatives to Huly and OpenProject
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 Huly or OpenProject.
Planka
Planka's release feed tracks its Helm chart, not the board app itself.
Hive
Hive keeps sanding down daily friction, now in timesheets and AI connection settings.
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.
See all Huly alternatives → · See all OpenProject alternatives →
Recent activity from Huly and OpenProject
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.8.0 ⚡
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.7.2: bug fix release
- 2mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.7.1: bug fix release
- 2mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.7.0
- 2mo agoHulyDevelop-branch merge build s0.7.437
- 2mo agoHulyDevelop-branch merge build s0.7.436
- 2mo agoHulyDevelop-branch merge build s0.7.435
- 2mo agoHulyDevelop-branch merge build s0.7.434
- 2mo agoHulyDevelop-branch merge build s0.7.433
- 2mo agoHulyDependency package updates for v0.7.432
- 2mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.6.0
- 3mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.5.1: bug fix release
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Huly and OpenProject?
Both compete on the same themes — project-management, open-source — within PM. OpenProject is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 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 Huly better than OpenProject?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenProject is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 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 Huly?
Top Huly alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Huly alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/huly for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to OpenProject?
Top OpenProject alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenProject alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openproject for the full list with editorial commentary on each.