Head-to-Head Comparison · Alternative to Asana · 🗂️ project management
Asana vs Leantime
A small-team project suite that remembers goals and timesheets, not just tickets Here is how Leantime ($0/mo open source) stacks up against Asana ($13.49/mo) across cost, hosting, data privacy, and real-world trade-offs.
Leantime
$0.00/mo · AGPL-3.0+
Asana vs Leantime Specification Matrix
facts verified 2026-08-10
| Dimension | Asana (Paid) | Leantime (Replacement) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $13.49 / mo | $0 / mo |
| 1-Year Cost (1 seat) | $162 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $162) |
| 1-Year Cost (5 seats) | $809 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $809) |
| 1-Year Cost (10 seats) | $1,619 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $1,619) |
| Source & License | Proprietary SaaS | open source AGPL-3.0+ |
| Where It Runs | Vendor Cloud | Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud) |
| Platforms | Web / Cloud | webself-hosteddocker to self-host |
| GitHub Stars | — | ★ 10k (active aug 2026) |
Deep Dive: Switching from Asana to Leantime
Trade-offs, installation & data architecture
What you trade away
Leantime covers projects and goals but has fewer polished integrations, rules, mobile workflows, dashboards, and enterprise controls than Asana.
How to deploy Leantime
Paid hosted signup, or the free open-source edition via Docker Compose/official image or a PHP release archive plus MySQL/MariaDB
What it takes to run
There is no longer a permanent free hosted tier: the free route means operating PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, persistent storage, backups, and a web-facing Docker or LAMP stack.
Where your data lives
Self-hosted project data lives in MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.6+, while uploaded files use the local filesystem or configured S3-compatible storage; hosted-account data lives in Leantime's cloud.
Why fork Leantime instead of vibe-coding a Asana clone?
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Asana, track team work through projects, tasks, owners, dependencies, and status updates. The hard boundary is large integration ecosystem, automation, reporting, permissions, and organizational trust, plus collaboration, integrations, and organizational trust.
Asana vs Leantime FAQ
Is Leantime a good free alternative to Asana?+
Yes. Leantime is a verified open-source (AGPL-3.0+) replacement for Asana. A small-team project suite that remembers goals and timesheets, not just tickets
What is the catch when switching from Asana to Leantime?+
Leantime covers projects and goals but has fewer polished integrations, rules, mobile workflows, dashboards, and enterprise controls than Asana.
How much do you save switching from Asana to Leantime?+
Asana costs $13.49/mo ($162/yr) per seat, whereas Leantime is $0/mo. Switching saves $162/yr for a solo user, $809/yr for a 5-person team, and $1,619/yr for a 10-person team.
How do I install or self-host Leantime instead of Asana?+
Install: Paid hosted signup, or the free open-source edition via Docker Compose/official image or a PHP release archive plus MySQL/MariaDB. Setup: There is no longer a permanent free hosted tier: the free route means operating PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, persistent storage, backups, and a web-facing Docker or LAMP stack.
