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Comparison · PM

Kanboard vs Leantime

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Kanboard and Leantime — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:self-hosted

Kanboard vs Leantime: at a glance

FeatureKanboardLeantime
SectorPMPM
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themeskanban, self-hosted, security-hardening, phpproject-management, self-hosted, permissions, plugins
Last editorial update12d ago2d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

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.

Read the full Kanboard trajectory →

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.

Read the full Leantime trajectory →

Kanboard vs Leantime: editorial side-by-side

K5.0

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.

L5.0

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 Kanboard 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 Kanboard or Leantime.

See all Kanboard alternatives → · See all Leantime alternatives →

Recent activity from Kanboard and Leantime

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 3d agoLeantimev3.14.0: per-permission access checks and a CalDAV sync plugin
  2. 14d agoKanboard1.2.57 hides inaccessible projects from API lookups
  3. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.2: digest changes, OIDC PKCE, marketplace install reporting
  4. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.1: clearer plugin install errors
  5. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.0: mobile push, per-project modules, Laravel 12
  6. 23d agoKanboard1.2.56 moves the Docker image to PHP 8.5
  7. 24d agoKanboard1.2.55 blocks proxy IP spoofing and adds WebP attachments
  8. 29d agoLeantimev3.12.0: self-updating plugins and a shared interface library
  9. 1mo agoLeantimev3.11.0: global search across the workspace
  10. 2mo agoKanboardPassword changes now kill sessions; API stops leaking private fields
  11. 3mo agoKanboardSecurity fixes and opt-in full-text task search
  12. 7mo agoKanboardComment visibility rules and timing-safe token checks

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Kanboard and Leantime?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within PM. Kanboard 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 Kanboard better than Leantime?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Kanboard 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 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.

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.