Open-Source Trello AI Alternatives: Kanban Boards With AI You Can Host Yourself
Trello's AI can now build a board from a goal, merge duplicate cards, write checklists and plan your focus time, but only on paid plans, and your cards are processed in Atlassian's cloud. If you want a kanban board with AI that you can host on your own server, ideally with your own or a local model, the open-source options look very different from a plain list of Trello clones: most open-source boards still have no AI at all. We checked each tool below on its official website, documentation and GitHub in October 2026 and sorted them by how much real AI they offer, from built-in assistants to bring-your-own-model setups and MCP connections. If you need Gantt charts, dashboards and workload views rather than a simple board, our guide to open-source monday.com AI alternatives covers the self-hosted work management tools.
Quick answer: for free AI that runs on your own computer next to a kanban board, use AppFlowy with its Local AI; if your team already uses Nextcloud, pair Nextcloud Deck with Nextcloud Assistant and a local model; for a modern project tool with AI agents, use Plane (AI on paid plans or the self-hosted Commercial Edition); and if you want a simple Trello-like board, Kanboard, Wekan or Vikunja work well, but you add AI yourself through an MCP connection or automation.
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What Trello AI Does in 2027 and What It Costs
To know what you are replacing: according to Atlassian's AI features in Trello page (checked October 2026), Trello's AI can create a board with lists and cards from a goal you describe, merge duplicate or related cards, generate a checklist of subtasks, suggest focus time in your calendar, generate board backgrounds and card covers, and spot due dates in card titles. Its writing tools, which Atlassian now presents as Rovo, generate, summarise, shorten and improve card descriptions and comments, and find action items. The AI features are included in the Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans; Free users can try them with a 14-day Premium trial. On the Trello pricing page, Standard costs $5 per user per month billed yearly ($6 monthly), Premium $10 ($12.50 monthly) and Enterprise $17.50 billed yearly. Trello also offers an MCP server that connects your boards to outside AI assistants, available to any Trello user. The open-source tools below give you the board for free; the AI part is free only when you run the model yourself.
Open-Source Trello AI Alternatives Compared
Sources: each project's official website, pricing page, documentation and GitHub repository, checked 27 October 2026. Self-hosting is free, but you pay for the server, the AI model and your own time.
The Best Open-Source Trello AI Alternatives in 2027
1. AppFlowy: kanban boards with free local AI
AppFlowy is an open-source (AGPL-3.0) workspace for docs, wikis and projects, and its databases include a Kanban board view for tasks. AppFlowy AI covers chat, writing help, AI search and meeting notes. The part that matters most for a Trello AI replacement is AppFlowy Local AI: since April 2025 it is free for everyone and runs open-source models through Ollama on your own computer (macOS with an M1 chip or newer, Windows 10 or later, Linux), so your data is not sent to an AI provider. It handles AI chat and writing tools such as summarising, fixing grammar and continuing text. You can self-host AppFlowy or use its cloud, where Pro costs $12 per member per month billed yearly. Version 0.14.11 came out in October 2026.
2. Nextcloud Deck with Nextcloud Assistant: a Trello-style board with a local AI agent
Nextcloud Deck is a kanban app (AGPL-3.0-or-later) for personal planning and team projects inside Nextcloud, where you put tasks on cards, order them on boards and organise them with labels. On its own it has no AI, but Nextcloud Assistant adds an open-source, self-hosted assistant that works with local large language models on your own server. Through the Context Agent you can ask it in plain language to list your Deck boards and cards, add a card, label or assign it, and read or write card comments. It needs a text generation backend: the local llm2 app (whose default model supports tool calling) or the OpenAI integration. Context Agent also exposes an MCP server for other AI tools. Nextcloud itself is free to self-host; Nextcloud's business customers get the Assistant through the Ultimate subscription. Deck 1.19.1 was released in October 2026.
3. Plane: project boards with Plane AI and agents
Plane is an open-source (AGPL-3.0) alternative to Jira, Linear, Monday and ClickUp with Board, List, Spreadsheet and Gantt views. Plane AI answers questions about your workspace, such as cycle status or project blockers, finds duplicate work items, searches across work items, pages and projects, and can hand work to built-in agents that triage requests and post updates. The catch: AI is not in the free Community Edition. On the Plane pricing page the Free plan has no AI credits, Pro costs $6 per seat per month billed yearly ($8 monthly) with 500 AI credits per seat, and Business $13 ($15 monthly) with 1,000. If you self-host the Commercial Edition, Plane AI works with OpenAI, Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including Ollama, although Plane warns that a custom model needs at least 1 trillion parameters for every feature to work reliably. Plane also has an MCP server and released updates in October 2026.
4. Leantime: AI for people who are not project managers
Leantime is an AGPL-3.0 project manager built with ADHD and neurodivergent users in mind, with kanban boards, Gantt, table, list and calendar views, goals and docs. Its AI, called L.E.O., collects status updates from the team, writes status reports, helps you prioritise tasks and creates "Story Time" introductions to upcoming work. On the Leantime pricing page these AI features belong to Leantime Pro, which costs $8 per user per month billed yearly ($10 monthly) with 500 AI credits a month and a 14-day trial; the free open-source edition includes the free plan's features. Leantime also sells an MCP Server plugin, still in beta, that lets Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor read your projects, create tasks and log time. Version 3.12.0 came out in October 2026.
5. OpenProject: boards plus an MCP server for your own AI
OpenProject is GPL-3.0 project management software for classic, agile and hybrid projects, with boards and Gantt charts. Its AI approach is to connect rather than build in: OpenProject 17.2, released on 11 March 2026, added an MCP Server that lets AI assistants create and update work packages, add comments and manage relations, but not delete work packages. It is an Enterprise add-on in the Professional plan and higher. Its AI page says you can connect self-hosted language models through any MCP client, and lists AI writing help, semantic search and reporting support as planned, without dates. Version 17.9.4 came out in October 2026.
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6. Baserow: database boards with AI and Ollama support
Baserow is an open-source Airtable alternative (MIT outside its premium and enterprise folders) where a table can be shown as a kanban board. Its AI includes Kuma, an AI assistant, an AI field that fills a column from a prompt, an AI formula generator and an MCP server. According to its generative AI documentation, you can use OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, OpenRouter or a local Ollama model, set for the whole instance or per workspace. Two limits for a Trello-style setup: on the free cloud plan you only get grid, form and gallery views, and the AI prompt field needs Premium ($10 per user per month billed yearly) or higher. Version 2.4.1 came out in October 2026.
7. Kanboard: minimal kanban, AI through an MCP plugin
Kanboard is a minimalist MIT-licensed kanban board that runs on ordinary PHP hosting. It has no AI of its own, but its official plugin directory lists a community Model Context Protocol plugin (version 1.0.0, last updated in June 2025) that gives AI assistants such as Claude or Cursor 26 tools to manage your boards. Choose it if you want a light board and are happy to connect your own AI client. Version 1.2.56 came out in October 2026.
8. Wekan, Vikunja and Taiga: good boards, no built-in AI
Wekan (MIT), Vikunja (AGPL-3.0-or-later) and Taiga (MPL-2.0) are actively maintained open-source boards that feel close to Trello: Wekan released version 12.65 and Vikunja 2.7.1 in October 2026, and Taiga released 6.10.2 in July 2026. None of their official sites mention built-in AI. You can still add it: community MCP servers exist for Vikunja, and Wekan connects to automation tools such as n8n, which can pass cards to an AI model. If you do not need AI, our list of open-source Trello alternatives covers these boards in more detail.
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Trello AI Alternatives That Are Discontinued, No Longer Open Source or Changed
The 2025 version of this article listed tools that no longer belong on an open-source Trello AI shortlist:
- Plexo: the AI-powered project tool from Minsky has had no code change on GitHub since February 2024. Use Plane or AppFlowy instead.
- Taskcafe: its GitHub repository has had no code change since September 2022. Kanboard or Vikunja are maintained alternatives.
- Focalboard: its GitHub README says the standalone app is not maintained, and focalboard.com did not load when we checked. Boards lives on as a plugin for Mattermost, a team chat tool.
- Planka: still active, but it is now fair-code under its own Fair Use License with a paid Pro version, so it is no longer open source in the strict sense, and it has no built-in AI; only community MCP servers connect it to AI assistants.
Which Open-Source Trello AI Alternative Should You Choose?
- You want free AI that never leaves your machine: AppFlowy with Local AI and Ollama.
- Your team already uses Nextcloud for files and chat: Nextcloud Deck plus Nextcloud Assistant with a local model.
- You want AI agents that triage and update work: Plane, on Pro or the self-hosted Commercial Edition.
- You are a solo founder who hates status meetings: Leantime Pro for AI status reports and prioritisation.
- You run bigger projects and want your own AI client: OpenProject with its MCP Server.
- Your board is really a database (leads, content, inventory): Baserow with Ollama or your own API key.
- You just want a light Trello-style board: Kanboard, Wekan or Vikunja, and connect AI later.
Comparing other options too? See our lists of free Trello AI alternatives, open-source ClickUp AI alternatives and open-source Monday.com AI alternatives. If you plan in docs more than on boards, read our guide to open-source Notion AI alternatives.
How Founders Use Open-Source Boards With AI
For an early-stage startup, a board is where ideas turn into tasks, and AI helps most with the boring parts: turning meeting notes into cards, summarising long threads and writing weekly updates. Start with one board per goal, keep cards small, and let the AI draft rather than decide. If customer or investor data sits on your cards, a self-hosted board with a local model keeps it on your own server. For workshops and roadmaps on a canvas, add one of the open-source Miro alternatives or the free Miro alternatives, and draw your architecture with the open-source draw.io alternatives. To move cards automatically between tools, look at the open-source Zapier alternatives, and if you code, our open-source GitHub Copilot alternatives run on the same local models.
See how other women founders combine these tools in our guide to AI tools for female founders' productivity and in the essential startup tool stack on mean.ceo. Before you build anything, validate your startup idea with real customers, and turn what you learn into articles with the F/MS AI SEO Tool so people find you in Google and AI assistants.
FAQ About Open-Source Trello AI Alternatives
What is Trello's AI called now?
Atlassian's help page calls them AI features in Trello. The writing tools are presented as Rovo, and the page also refers to Atlassian Intelligence when you switch AI on for a Workspace. They are included in the Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans.
Is there an open-source Trello alternative with free AI?
Yes. AppFlowy's Local AI has been free for everyone since April 2025 and runs open-source models through Ollama on your own computer. Nextcloud Deck with Nextcloud Assistant and a local model is another free self-hosted option.
Which open-source kanban board works with a local LLM?
AppFlowy (Ollama), Nextcloud Deck through Nextcloud Assistant (the local llm2 app), Baserow (Ollama) and Plane's self-hosted Commercial Edition (any OpenAI-compatible endpoint) all support your own model.
Does Plane have AI in the free version?
No. Plane's Free plan has no AI credits. Plane AI comes with Pro, from $6 per seat per month billed yearly with 500 AI credits per seat, or with the self-hosted Commercial Edition.
Are Wekan, Kanboard and Vikunja AI-powered?
Not out of the box. None of them has built-in AI. Kanboard has a community MCP plugin, community MCP servers exist for Vikunja, and Wekan connects to automation tools such as n8n that can call an AI model.
Is Focalboard still maintained?
The standalone Focalboard app is not: its GitHub README says the repository is not maintained. Boards continues as a plugin for Mattermost.
Is Planka open source?
Not in the strict sense any more. Planka is now fair-code, released under its own Fair Use License with a paid Pro version, and it has no built-in AI.
Can AI assistants like Claude or ChatGPT manage my open-source board?
Yes, through MCP. OpenProject and Plane have MCP servers, Leantime sells an MCP Server plugin, Nextcloud's Context Agent exposes one, and community MCP servers exist for Kanboard and Vikunja. Trello also has an official MCP server.
How much does Trello cost in 2027?
When we checked in October 2026, Trello Standard cost $5 per user per month billed yearly, Premium $10 and Enterprise $17.50. The Free plan has no AI features beyond a 14-day Premium trial.
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About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
