Tracecat
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Comparison · PM
Kanboard vs SmartSuite
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Kanboard and SmartSuite — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Kanboard vs SmartSuite: at a glance
| Feature | Kanboard | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM | PM |
| Velocity score | 2.5 | 7.5 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | kanban, self-hosted, security-hardening, php | project-management, automations, no-code, linked-records |
| Last editorial update | 17d ago | 5d ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Kanboard?
Six straight releases of security hardening, now reaching the API's own response shape
Kanboard is a stable, self-hosted PHP kanban board whose release stream is now almost entirely security work. Version 1.2.54 continues that pattern and pushes it further than most: API procedures no longer return private user fields, and changing a password invalidates every existing session and remember-me token. Feature development is close to dormant; the maintenance effort is going into closing whole categories of vulnerability rather than adding surface.
What is SmartSuite?
SmartSuite ships viewer-interactive linked record filters and conditional automation branching in rapid succession.
SmartSuite is in an aggressive multi-surface shipping phase, pushing significant features across automations, linked records, forms, dashboards, and mobile in a single two-week window. The Sep 3–10 push alone covers viewer-interactive linked record filters, conditional branching in automations, Slack actionable approval buttons, and workspace-wide mobile search. This is a product closing real capability gaps against Airtable and Notion for complex enterprise workflows.
Kanboard vs SmartSuite: editorial side-by-side
Kanboard
2.5PM
Six straight releases of security hardening, now reaching the API's own response shape
◆ Current state
Kanboard is a stable, self-hosted PHP kanban board whose release stream is now almost entirely security work. Version 1.2.54 continues that pattern and pushes it further than most: API procedures no longer return private user fields, and changing a password invalidates every existing session and remember-me token. Feature development is close to dormant; the maintenance effort is going into closing whole categories of vulnerability rather than adding surface.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc from 1.2.49 through 1.2.54 is a systematic audit that works outward from one surface to the next — LDAP escaping, SSRF, deserialization, CSRF, comment visibility, bulk-operation ownership, and now API response shape and session lifetime. Each release also tightens the deployment story, from trusted-proxy configuration to an nginx config that only lets front controllers execute PHP. New user-facing features arrive rarely and small: opt-in full-text search, RTL support, richer API links.
◆ Prediction
Expect the audit to keep moving through remaining surfaces, with more permission checks in API procedures and continued PHP-version and base-image maintenance. Nothing in these entries points to a new feature direction.
SmartSuite ships viewer-interactive linked record filters and conditional automation branching in rapid succession.
◆ Current state
SmartSuite is in an aggressive multi-surface shipping phase, pushing significant features across automations, linked records, forms, dashboards, and mobile in a single two-week window. The Sep 3–10 push alone covers viewer-interactive linked record filters, conditional branching in automations, Slack actionable approval buttons, and workspace-wide mobile search. This is a product closing real capability gaps against Airtable and Notion for complex enterprise workflows.
◆ Where it's heading
The pattern across these entries is systematic composability at every layer: filtering at the widget level, branching at the automation level, viewer control at the linked record level, and parity at the mobile level. SmartSuite is assembling the building blocks — conditional logic, nesting, viewer-facing filters — that distinguish an enterprise-grade no-code platform from a feature-rich spreadsheet. The mobile parity push (Calendar, Card, Charts, Forms, Power Search across six weeks) is a parallel track, not a distraction.
◆ Prediction
The automation roadmap points toward a Wait or Delay step next — the loop, branch, and nesting primitives are in place, but long-running async workflows still require that missing block. A timer-based or external-trigger wait action would complete the core automation primitive set.
Alternatives to Kanboard and SmartSuite
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 SmartSuite.
NocoBase
NocoBase adds an AI knowledge base retrieval API, connecting no-code workflows to external knowledge sources.
RentRedi
RentRedi embeds AI into its maintenance workflow end-to-end, handling tenant intake and drafting landlord replies.
Camunda
Camunda 8.10 alpha cycles through broad platform bug fixes while 8.7 gets routine security patches
Asana
Asana embeds AI into Slack threads and closes the rich-text gap with Notion
Rize
Rize pivots from solo time tracker to agency operations platform with invoicing, profitability reporting, and a ChatGPT integration.
See all Kanboard alternatives → · See all SmartSuite alternatives →
Recent activity from Kanboard and SmartSuite
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5d agoSmartSuiteForms: Support for Checklist Field Type
- 5d agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Advanced Settings
- 5d agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Static Filters
- 5d agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Dynamic Filters ⚡
- 12d agoSmartSuiteDashboards: View-Based Widget Preset Filters
- 12d agoSmartSuiteMobile: Power Search
- 18d agoKanboardPassword changes now kill sessions; API stops leaking private fields
- 1mo agoKanboardSecurity fixes and opt-in full-text task search
- 5mo agoKanboardComment visibility rules and timing-safe token checks
- 6mo agoKanboardSSRF protection and safer deserialization
- 7mo agoKanboardAuthorization and CSRF checks across controllers
- 8mo agoKanboardLDAP injection fix and trusted-proxy config
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Kanboard and SmartSuite?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 2.5), with 1 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 Kanboard better than SmartSuite?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 2.5), with 1 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 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 SmartSuite?
Top SmartSuite alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SmartSuite alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/smartsuite for the full list with editorial commentary on each.