Workboard vs ClickUp
The open-source ClickUp alternative
ClickUp's pitch is that it does everything. That is also the complaint. Workboard does the part your team actually opens every morning, and you can run it on your own server.
Short answer: is Workboard a good ClickUp alternative?
Workboard is an open-source, MIT-licensed alternative to ClickUp that you can self-host for free with unlimited users. ClickUp is cloud-only, with paid tiers from $7 per user a month and SAML single sign-on on its higher tiers. Workboard covers boards, backlog, workflows, labels, roles, and time tracking, and stops there on purpose.
- License
- MIT, versus a proprietary licence for ClickUp
- Hosting
- Self-host anywhere, or EU-hosted cloud. ClickUp is cloud only
- Single sign-on
- Free on every Workboard build, Business tier and above on ClickUp
- Pricing
- $0 self-hosted, cloud from $4 / month
ClickUp details checked on 19 August 2026. ClickUp pricing, Workboard pricing.
Why teams choose Workboard
Fewer things to turn off
ClickUp ships docs, whiteboards, chat, goals, and forms, and most teams spend their first week disabling them. Workboard has one job and does not ask you to configure it.
Storage on your terms
ClickUp's free plan caps attachments at 60MB. Self-hosted Workboard keeps attachments in S3-compatible storage you control, including MinIO on your own hardware, so the limit is whatever you provision.
One product, one price
Self-hosted Workboard includes everything, SSO included. There is no Business tier to reach before your team can sign in with Google.
When ClickUp is the better choice
ClickUp is remarkably capable if you genuinely want one tool for docs, whiteboards, chat, dashboards, and tasks, and you have someone willing to set it up properly. Workboard will feel bare next to it. That is the trade being offered.
Workboard vs ClickUp, answered
Is there a self-hosted alternative to ClickUp?
Yes. Workboard, Plane, OpenProject, Vikunja, and Taiga can all be self-hosted. Workboard is MIT licensed and runs as a single container with PostgreSQL, which makes it one of the simplest to keep online.
Can ClickUp be self-hosted?
No. ClickUp is a cloud-only SaaS product. Enterprise customers get extra security controls, but there is no installable edition.
What is ClickUp's free plan limited to?
The Free Forever plan has unlimited tasks and members but caps storage at 60MB and limits several features by usage. Paid tiers are $7 per user a month for Unlimited and $12 for Business, billed annually, with Google SSO on Business and custom SAML at the Enterprise level.
Does Workboard replace ClickUp Docs and Whiteboards?
No. Workboard has task descriptions, comments, and attachments, but no document editor, whiteboard, or chat. If those are the reason you use ClickUp, Workboard is not a like-for-like swap.