Trello vs Focalboard
Self-hosted for $4/mo on hetzner CAX11, versus $5-$17/user/mo on Trello.
Side-by-side
| Trello | Focalboard (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $5-$17/user/mo | $4.13/mo flat (any team size) |
| Hosting | Trello's servers | Your VPS (hetzner CAX11) |
| Data ownership | Trello controls the data | Your disk, your encryption |
| Source code | Closed | Open (NOASSERTION) |
| Customization | API + integrations only | Full source access; modify freely |
| Maintenance burden | Zero | Backups + updates (manual) |
| Health score (ossreplace) | — | 74 / 100 |
Why teams leave Trello
- Free tier capped at 10 boards per workspace
- Power-Ups gated behind paid tiers
- Atlassian-owned, cloud-only
- Per-user fees stack across teams
Focalboard answers this by: Focalboard, Wekan, and Planka give a Trello-style kanban experience self-hosted, unlimited boards.
The cost math
Assumes 5-person team using Trello at the midpoint price ($11/user/mo).
| Period | Trello | Focalboard on hetzner | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $55 | $4.13 | $50.87 |
| Yearly | $660 | $49.56 | $610.44 |
| 3 years | $1,980 | $149 | $1,831 |
Deploy Focalboard now
One-click deploys at the cheapest provider for this workload:
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Common questions
Is Focalboard a good alternative to Trello?
Focalboard is an open-source, self-hostable alternative to Trello with an ossreplace health score of 74/100 — a composite of project activity, maturity, community, security, and adoption. It runs on your own hetzner VPS from $4.13/mo with full source access under the NOASSERTION license, versus Trello's $5–17/user/mo hosted plans.
How much cheaper is Focalboard than Trello?
A 5-person team pays about $55/mo on Trello. Self-hosting Focalboard on hetzner CAX11 costs a flat $4.13/mo regardless of team size — roughly $1,831 less over three years (92% lower).
Is Focalboard hard to self-host?
Focalboard self-hosts on your own VPS. You handle the install, backups, and updates yourself in exchange for full data ownership and no per-seat fees.
Do you keep control of your data with Focalboard vs Trello?
Yes. Because Focalboard runs on your own server, the data lives on your disk under your encryption. With Trello, Trello controls the hosting, storage, and access.