Redmine vs OpenProject | Unicorn Factories – Unicorn Factories

Redmine and OpenProject share a common origin but have diverged significantly in their approach to open-source project management.

Overview

Both tools solve the same fundamental problem: providing teams with issue tracking, project planning, and collaboration capabilities without proprietary licensing costs. They both support Gantt charts, time tracking, and role-based access control. The core difference lies in their development philosophy and target audience.

Redmine follows a traditional open-source model with a plugin-centric architecture. The core remains lean while functionality extends through community plugins. This creates flexibility but also fragmentation—plugin quality varies widely and compatibility issues arise between versions.

OpenProject took a different path after forking in 2011. They focus on an integrated experience with enterprise features built directly into the core application. This reduces plugin dependency but increases complexity for self-hosters.

Feature comparison

Capability	Redmine	OpenProject
Core license	GPL-2.0	GPL-3.0
Primary language	Ruby on Rails	Ruby on Rails
Gantt charts	Built-in	Built-in
Time tracking	Built-in	Built-in
Agile boards	Via plugin	Built-in (Enterprise)
Cost reporting	Via plugin	Built-in
Mobile app	No	Yes (Enterprise)
Plugin ecosystem	Extensive	Limited
Self-hosted	Free	Community/Enterprise tiers
Cloud hosting	Third-party only	Official option available

When to choose Redmine

You need maximum flexibility through plugins and customizations
Your team has Ruby expertise for maintaining the application
You want a completely free self-hosted solution without feature tiers
You prefer a traditional issue-tracking workflow over agile methodologies
You already use Redmine and migration costs outweigh benefits

When to choose OpenProject

You need agile/scrum boards without plugin dependencies
You want official mobile app support
You prefer integrated enterprise features over plugin architecture
You want the option of official cloud hosting
You need professional support and SLA guarantees

Can they coexist?

Organizations rarely run both simultaneously due to overlapping functionality. However, some teams use Redmine for engineering issue tracking while OpenProject handles cross-functional project portfolios. Migration tools exist for moving from Redmine to OpenProject, though the process requires planning for custom fields and plugin data.