Plane alternatives you do not have to host

By Darko Bačić, founder of App Tube · 9 October 2026 · Facts checked 9 October 2026

Pick devBoard if you want a board and a timer on each task, in an app on your phone and Mac. Pick Linear for fast issue tracking with sprints, or YouTrack for time tracking on a free plan. Pick Jira if you need deep custom workflows and reports. We make devBoard. It is first on the list. We say where the others are better.

Why small teams leave Plane

Plane is a well-liked tool. It is open source, and its Community Edition is free to run on your own server. Plane also runs a cloud version, hosted for you, with a free plan.

The one real reason teams leave is the hosting. A server needs updates, and someone has to fix it when one goes wrong. Plane's forum for self-hosted users shows what that looks like. Threads from February to August 2026 report trouble with installs and upgrades. One is a clash over port 80. Another reports errors on every page after version 3.0.0.

The cloud has a catch of its own. Plane's free plan has no time tracking. Work logs start on Pro, says its pricing page.

If you would rather not run anything yourself, every tool below is hosted for you.

The short list

devBoard

Pick it if

• You want nothing to host. You install the app, and there is no server for you to run.
• You want time on the task. Press Start on a task or subtask. The total shows next to the estimate. More on time tracking.
• You want three levels of work. An epic is a big piece of work split into smaller tasks. A subtask is one small step inside a task. See epics, tasks and subtasks.
• You want an app on your phone and Mac. It opens at once with your workspace outline and My Work list, even with no signal.

Skip it if

• You want the tracker on your own server. devBoard does not offer that.
• You need a web version. devBoard is an app only.
• You want to bring your Plane work items over in one go. There is no importer.
• You use pages or a wiki next to your work. devBoard has no docs or chat.
• You want a Gantt chart, a calendar or a spreadsheet layout. devBoard shows a board or a list.
• You rely on rules that run on their own. There are no automations.
• Someone on your team is on Windows or Linux. Those apps are not out yet.

Linear

Pick it if

• You want a fast tracker with little to set up, and no server.
• You plan in cycles. Plane has cycles, and so does Linear. Both are sprints.
• You want desktop apps for Mac and Windows, and native phone apps.

Skip it if

• You track time. Linear has none built in, and its estimates are points, not hours.
• You want a Linux desktop app. Plane has one. Linear lists none.
• You might go back to hosting it yourself one day. Linear is cloud only.

Our devBoard vs Linear page goes into more detail.

YouTrack

Pick it if

• You want time tracking without a paid plan. YouTrack has it on the free plan, with timesheets and reports.
• You want a knowledge base and a helpdesk next to your issues.
• You want a way back. YouTrack Cloud is hosted for you, and YouTrack Server can run on your own machine later.

Skip it if

• You want a light tool. Review summaries we saw in search results mention a steep learning curve.
• You want a desktop app. YouTrack runs in the browser and on phones.
• You care about the phone app. A three-star App Store review calls it clunky and far behind the web version.

We also keep a list of YouTrack alternatives.

Jira

Pick it if

• You need deep control. Jira has custom workflows, reports and dashboards. Automations are on every plan.
• Your team will grow past ten people. Jira pays off at that size.

Skip it if

• You might want to host it yourself later. Atlassian stopped selling Jira Data Center to new customers in March 2026.
• You want a timer. Jira logs work by hand, and an admin has to turn that on. Timers come from paid add-ons such as Tempo.
• You want less to set up. A Capterra review from September 2026 says Jira slows a five-person team, and its setup needs an owner.

See devBoard vs Jira for the two side by side.

Who should stay on Plane

• You want open source. The Community Edition uses the AGPL license.
• You have someone who runs servers and does not mind it.
• You need a closed network with no internet. Plane sells an air-gapped edition on its top plan.
• You like Plane but not the hosting. Then move to Plane's cloud version, not to another tool.
• You use its Gantt, calendar and spreadsheet layouts. All five layouts are on the free plan.

How we chose

We make devBoard, so we put it first. That is a bias. We kept to tools that are hosted for you, since that is why you are here. Each one has a board and a way to group work, and costs nothing to start. We checked built-in time tracking. We read each pricing page on 9 October 2026. Every page in our alternatives section works this way.

Moving off Plane

devBoard has no importer, so you move open work by hand. Make an epic for each module or big piece, then add its tasks. The guide to epics, tasks and subtasks shows how in about five minutes.

We did not find Plane on the import pages of Linear, YouTrack or Jira. Jira takes CSV files, and YouTrack takes custom import scripts. If you can get your work items out of Plane as a CSV file, Jira is the shortest path.