Zoho Projects vs Leantime
Leantime is a credible alternative for teams that want open-source, self-hostable project management with tasks, dependencies, Gantt views, time tracking, goals, and knowledge tools—especially when work must be approachable for non-project managers or neurodivergent users. Choose Zoho Projects instead when documented requirements include visual workflow automation, extensive project customization, or passing timese
Decision guide
The practical reasons to choose either option, based on documented capabilities.
Choose Leantime if
- Teams requiring self-hosted project management under an AGPL-3.0 license
- Non-project managers who organize delivery around goals, milestones, tasks, and dependencies
- Teams supporting ADHD, dyslexia, or autism through more personalized and visual work management approaches_fields? No. Need proper JSON.
Stay with Zoho Projects if
- Visual drag-and-drop workflow automation is required; equivalent coverage is not documented for Leantime
- Personalized fields, layouts, statuses, and workflows are required; equivalent coverage is not documented for Leantime
- Timesheet-to-Zoho Invoice billing is part of the workflow; no corresponding Leantime integration or migration path is documented
Deployment and operations
Leantime is AGPL-3.0 software and can be self-hosted through a local production installation or the maintained Docker image; managed hosting and SaaS are also offered. A local deployment requires PHP 8.2+, MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+, and Apache or Nginx, with IIS requiring modifications. Operators must manage backups and updates; Docker deployments need persistent database storage. Official support is limited to standard installations and the official Docker Compose configuration, on the most
Feature fit
What Leantime covers
- Task management
- Task dependencies
- Gantt planning
- Milestone scheduling
- Time tracking and timesheets
- Project dashboards and reports
- Mobile access
- Third-party integrations
What’s different or missing
- No documented visual workflow automation
- No documented custom fields or layouts
- No documented Zoho Invoice handoff
- No documented Zoho Projects importer
Project snapshot
- GitHub stars
- 11,368
- Contributors
- 193
- Language
- PHP
- Last commit
- Aug 15, 2026
- Latest release
- Jul 8, 2026
Categories: Workflow Automation, Customer Relationship Management, Project Management, Task Management, Knowledge Management, Digital Whiteboards, Document Collaboration, DevOps, Calendars & Scheduling, Business Intelligence
Sources and editorial review12 linked sources
Public documentation supports this comparison. Automation assists collection and classification; editorial standards and corrections remain the responsibility of Kris.
Leantime is an open source project management system for non-project managers.
readme · github.comTask management via kanban boards, gantt, table, list and calendar views
readme · github.comUnlimited subtasks and dependencies
readme · github.comProject Dashboards, reports & status updates
readme · github.comTimetracking & timesheets
readme · github.comThe first of which is to install all needed pieces of the system locally. The second is to use the officially supported Docker image.
readme · github.comLeantime is a goals focused project management system for non-project managers. Building with ADHD, Autism, and dyslexia in mind.
verdict · github.comTask management via<br>kanban boards, gantt, table, list and calendar views
shared feature · github.comTimetracking & timesheets
shared feature · github.comThere are two main ways to install LeanTime for production. The first of which is to install all needed pieces of the system locally. The second is to use the officially supported Docker image.
deployment · github.comLeantime is licensed under AGPLv3.
deployment · github.comPlease note: We currently only support the official Leantime docker compose and standard installations. We only offer support for the most recent version.
deployment · github.com
