🩺 Vitals
- Version: v1.1.0 (Released 2025-10-23)
- Velocity: Active (Last commit 2025-12-08)
- Community: 40.3k Stars · 3.0k Forks
- Backlog: 598 Open Issues
🏗️ Profile
- Official: plane.so
- Source: github.com/makeplane/plane
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Deployment: Docker / Kubernetes
- Data Model: SQL (Postgres) + Redis
- Complexity: Moderate (3/5) - Multi-container Stack
- Maintenance: Moderate (3/5) - Database Management
- Enterprise Ready: High (4/5) - Air-Gapped Support
1. The Executive Summary
What is it? Plane is an open-source project management platform designed to be the "sweet spot" between the complexity of Jira and the rigidity of Linear. It natively supports "Cycles" (Sprints) and "Modules" (Epics) and is built for high-velocity product teams.
The Strategic Verdict:
- 🔴 For Generic Tasks: Caution. Overkill for simple to-do lists.
- 🟢 For Product Teams: Strong Buy. Fast UX, rigorous data model, and full data sovereignty.
2. The "Hidden" Costs (TCO Analysis)
| Cost Component | Proprietary (Jira) | Plane (Self-Hosted) |
|---|---|---|
| License Fee | ~$10-15/user/mo | $0 (AGPLv3) |
| Infrastructure | $0 | ~$20-50/mo (VPS) |
| Speed | Slow (Legacy) | Fast (Modern Stack) |
3. The "Day 2" Reality Check
🚀 Deployment & Operations
- Installation: Docker Compose makes it easy to start. Kubernetes Helm charts available for scaling.
- Architecture: Requires Postgres (Data), Redis (Cache), and MinIO/S3 (File Storage).
🛡️ Security & Governance
- Compliance: Excellent. "God Mode" administration and Air-Gapped capabilities make it secure enough for defense/banking use cases.
- License: AGPL-3.0 ensures modifications remain open source (Copyleft).
4. Alternatives & Ecosystem
- Alternative: Linear is the design inspiration but is closed-source SaaS.
- Alternative: Jira is the enterprise standard but suffers from bloat and lock-in.