PLANKA

PLANKA is a Kanban tool for teams to organize work visually, offered as self-hosted software or a hosted service. The free Community edition is self-hosted and includes boards, lists, cards, comments, attachments, real-time sync, and Docker deployment. Pro and Enterprise add six board views, calendar and map views, card inboxes, recurring cards, and advanced global search. Those plans also offer worker and guest roles with scoped access, live presence, collaborative description editing, and card sharing. PLANKA provides a REST API, personal API keys, webhooks with 50+ events, WebSocket updates, and SMTP notifications. Pro and Enterprise support OpenID Connect single sign-on and identity-provider role assignment. Self-hosting keeps application data and attachments on the customer's systems; the hosted service operates in Germany and offers a GDPR Article 28 DPA. Community is free. Pro Self-Hosted costs €36.00 per month billed annually; Pro Hosted costs €42.50 per month billed annually. Enterprise is directed to hosted deployments from 500 users or self-hosted deployments from 1,000 users.

PLANKA offers a free self-hosted edition and paid hosted or self-hosted plans with additional board and collaboration capabilities. Review the annual billing amounts and Enterprise user thresholds when choosing a deployment.

The Community edition is described as suitable for home, homelab, and club use. Pro and Enterprise are paid offerings for organizations that need expanded board, collaboration, or identity features.

PLANKA is a visual Kanban workspace for teams that need boards, cards and collaboration while retaining a choice between customer-managed and German-hosted deployment. It suits home labs, clubs and organizations with privacy or infrastructure requirements. The central decision is whether your team wants to run the free edition itself or pay for broader views, roles and support.

Overview

PLANKA organizes work through boards, lists and cards, with real-time synchronization across collaborators. The Community edition is aimed at home, homelab and club use, while Pro and Enterprise are positioned for organizations. Self-hosting keeps application data and attachments on your systems; the hosted service runs in Germany and includes a GDPR Article 28 data-processing agreement.

This deployment choice is PLANKA's clearest differentiator. Self-hosting offers control and privacy but leaves operation of the server to your organization. Hosted plans remove that infrastructure burden, though the free option is not hosted and the paid hosted tier starts at five users.

Key features

Community includes boards, lists, cards, comments, attachments and real-time sync, with Docker deployment. That is a solid visual-work baseline, provided you are willing to maintain the installation. There are no automation rules, so teams expecting trigger-based board workflows will need another tool or their own integration work.

Pro and Enterprise add six board views, including calendar and map views, plus card inboxes, recurring cards and advanced global search. Those additions matter when work arrives through multiple queues or must be reviewed by date or location; smaller groups may find the Community workflow sufficient.

Paid tiers also add worker and guest roles with scoped access, live presence, collaborative description editing and card sharing. Guest access and time tracking are supported, making PLANKA more practical for mixed internal and external teams. OpenID Connect single sign-on can assign roles from an identity provider, reducing manual account administration.

For connected workflows, PLANKA provides a REST API, personal API keys, webhooks covering more than 50 events, WebSocket updates and SMTP email notifications. Security measures include TLS-encrypted transmission, TOTP two-factor authentication, OIDC single sign-on, SSH-key server access, firewalls, fail2ban and regular backups. Pro support responds in German or English within 24 hours on business days; Enterprise adds SLA-backed priority support.

Pricing

A 30-day trial gives prospective customers time to assess the paid tiers. Community is the economical route only when someone can operate the infrastructure. Pro Self-Hosted lowers the entry point to one paid user and preserves data control, while Pro Hosted is better for teams that want PLANKA managed for them but must accept the five-user minimum and annual upfront billing. Organizations below the Enterprise thresholds can use Pro; very large deployments should discuss custom terms.

Platforms

PLANKA supports Android, iOS, web, Windows, macOS and Linux, plus API access and self-hosted deployment. That breadth suits teams moving between desktop, mobile and server environments rather than committing to one operating system.

Who it's for

Choose PLANKA Community for a home, homelab or club that wants a capable visual board and is comfortable running Docker. Choose Pro Self-Hosted when an organization needs paid-tier collaboration while keeping systems and attachments under its own administration. Pro Hosted fits teams that prefer German hosting and managed operation. Enterprise is for very large installations meeting the published user thresholds and requiring priority support.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Deployment control: self-hosting keeps application data and attachments on customer systems, while hosted service provides German operation and a GDPR Article 28 agreement.
• Useful paid-tier depth: six views, recurring cards, advanced search and scoped worker and guest roles address more demanding coordination.
• Integration surface: REST, webhooks, WebSocket updates and SMTP make it suitable for connected workflows.
• Broad access: mobile, desktop, web, API and self-hosted options cover varied environments.

Cons

• Free means self-hosted: teams wanting a no-cost hosted workspace have no Community option.
• No automation rules: automated board actions are not part of the feature set.
• Hosted Pro has a floor: the five-user minimum and annual upfront charge can be awkward for a very small team.
• Paid features are gated: advanced views, roles, presence, search and single sign-on require Pro or Enterprise.

Alternatives

For a general directory of Kanban Software, compare PLANKA with tools that may trade deployment control for simpler onboarding. Jotform is a better fit for form-led collection, with a free Starter plan limited to five forms and 100 monthly submissions. MeisterTask suits teams wanting a hosted task manager with a free tier offering unlimited tasks and up to three projects. Planio is worth considering when a project-and-customer structure is preferable. SwiftKanban fits a small free team needing three users and two boards. Trello is a straightforward hosted choice with a free workspace limit of 10 collaborators and 10 boards. Kanban Tool suits a tiny free setup capped at two boards and two users. KanbanFlow is an option for a no-time-limit free Kanban board. WeKan is the closest free, self-hosted alternative for users who want an open-source-style deployment choice.

Readers comparing broader categories can also browse Task Management Software and Project Management Software.

Verdict

PLANKA is a strong choice for teams that want Kanban work management with genuine self-hosting, privacy controls and a credible path to hosted collaboration. Pick it when deployment ownership, scoped guests and integration options matter more than built-in automation or a free hosted tier. Look elsewhere if you need automated board rules, a very small hosted starter plan or a simpler setup with no server responsibility.