Self-Hosted Gantt Chart Tools: OpenProject vs Redmine vs Taiga

Gantt charts remain one of the most effective ways to visualize project timelines, task dependencies, and resource allocation. While tools like Microsoft Project dominate the commercial space, three powerful open-source alternatives provide self-hosted Gantt chart capabilities: OpenProject, Redmine, and Taiga.

This guide compares these three platforms specifically through the lens of Gantt chart functionality, project timeline visualization, and dependency management — helping you choose the right tool for self-hosted project planning.

Comparison at a Glance

OpenProject: Enterprise-Grade Gantt Charts

OpenProject is the most feature-complete open-source project management platform with Gantt chart capabilities. Its interactive Gantt view supports drag-and-drop scheduling, dependency management, critical path analysis, and baseline comparison — features usually found only in commercial tools like Microsoft Project.

How It Works

OpenProject provides a rich, browser-based Gantt chart that updates in real-time. You create work packages (tasks, milestones, phases), define dependencies between them, assign resources, and the Gantt chart automatically recalculates schedules and highlights the critical path.

Key Gantt features:

• Drag-and-drop scheduling: Adjust dates by dragging bars directly on the chart
• Dependency visualization: Lines connecting dependent tasks with auto-scheduling
• Critical path highlighting: Automatically identifies tasks that determine project duration
• Baseline comparison: Save project baselines and compare actual vs. planned progress
• Zoom levels: Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly views

Docker Compose Deployment

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version: '3.8'

services:
  openproject:
    image: openproject/community:14
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - op-project-data:/var/openproject/assets
    environment:
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=your-secret-key-here
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/openproject
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=openproject
      - POSTGRES_USER=postgres
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
    volumes:
      - op-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  op-project-data:
  op-db-data:

Key Strengths

• Most complete Gantt implementation: Closest open-source equivalent to Microsoft Project
• Hybrid methodology: Supports both waterfall and agile in the same project
• Resource capacity planning: Track team workload and availability
• Budget tracking: Associate costs with work packages and track spending
• Enterprise features: LDAP, SAML, granular permissions, audit logs

Limitations

• Resource-heavy (requires PostgreSQL, significant memory)
• Some advanced features require the paid Enterprise edition
• UI can feel complex for small teams

Redmine: Time-Tested Project Tracking with Gantt

Redmine is one of the oldest and most widely deployed open-source project management tools. Its Gantt chart is simpler than OpenProject but reliable, functional, and backed by decades of real-world usage.

How It Works

Redmine creates a Gantt chart automatically from your project issues. Define issues with start dates, due dates, and predecessor relationships, and the Gantt view renders them as a timeline. You can filter by tracker, assignee, status, or version.

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version: '3.8'

services:
  redmine:
    image: redmine:5.1-alpine
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - REDMINE_DB_POSTGRES=db
      - REDMINE_DB_PASSWORD=redmine
    volumes:
      - redmine-data:/usr/src/redmine/files
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=redmine
      - POSTGRES_USER=redmine
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=redmine
    volumes:
      - redmine-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  redmine-data:
  redmine-db:

Key Strengths

• Battle-tested: Over 15 years of active development and community support
• Plugin ecosystem: Thousands of plugins extending Gantt functionality
• Multi-project support: View Gantt charts across multiple projects
• Issue tracking integration: Every task on the Gantt chart links to a full issue tracker
• Time tracking: Built-in time logging against Gantt tasks

Limitations

• Gantt chart is read-only (no drag-and-drop editing)
• Dependencies are finish-to-start only (no start-to-start or finish-to-finish)
• No critical path analysis or baseline comparison
• UI feels dated compared to modern alternatives

Taiga: Agile-Focused Project Management with Timeline View

Taiga is designed for agile teams using Scrum or Kanban. Its Gantt capabilities are more limited — Taiga calls it “Timeline view” rather than a traditional Gantt chart — but it excels at sprint planning, backlog management, and user story tracking.

How It Works

Taiga organizes work into user stories, which are grouped into sprints (Scrum) or swimlanes (Kanban). The Timeline view shows when sprints start and end, and you can assign stories to specific dates within sprints.

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version: '3.8'

services:
  taiga-back:
    image: taigaio/taiga-back:latest
    environment:
      - TAIGA_SECRET=your-secret-key
      - POSTGRES_USER=taiga
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=taiga
      - POSTGRES_DB=taiga
      - RABBITMQ_USER=taiga
      - RABBITMQ_PASS=taiga
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    depends_on:
      - taiga-db
      - taiga-rabbit

  taiga-db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=taiga
      - POSTGRES_USER=taiga
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=taiga
    volumes:
      - taiga-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  taiga-rabbit:
    image: rabbitmq:3-alpine
    environment:
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=taiga
      - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=taiga

  taiga-front:
    image: taigaio/taiga-front:latest
    environment:
      - TAIGA_URL=http://localhost:8000
      - TAIGA_WEBSOCKETS_URL=ws://localhost:8000
    ports:
      - "9001:80"

volumes:
  taiga-db-data:

Key Strengths

• Beautiful UI: Modern, responsive interface with excellent UX
• Agile-native: Built for Scrum and Kanban from the ground up
• Gamification: Built-in karma system for team engagement
• Burndown charts: Automatic sprint progress tracking
• Active community: Strong development pace and community support

Limitations

• No true Gantt chart — timeline view is sprint-focused
• No task dependency management
• No critical path analysis
• Less suitable for waterfall or hybrid projects

When to Use Each Tool

For project management tools focused on Kanban boards, see our Kanban board comparison. For content calendar planning with Gantt views, check our editorial planning tools guide.

Gantt Chart Best Practices for Open-Source Tools

When using self-hosted Gantt chart tools, follow these practices for maximum effectiveness:

1. Define clear task hierarchies: Break projects into phases, milestones, and individual work packages. A flat list of 50 tasks is harder to manage than 5 phases with 10 tasks each.
2. Set realistic dependencies: Avoid over-constraining your schedule with unnecessary dependencies. Only link tasks that truly depend on each other.
3. Use milestones for key deliverables: Mark important deadlines (product launches, client reviews, regulatory deadlines) as zero-duration milestones on the Gantt chart.
4. Review critical path regularly: In OpenProject, the critical path view shows which tasks directly impact project duration. Focus your attention here.
5. Update progress weekly: Gantt charts lose value when they don’t reflect reality. Set a weekly cadence for updating task completion percentages and actual dates.

Why Self-Host Project Management?

Self-hosting project management tools keeps your project data — timelines, budgets, team assignments, and strategic plans — under your control. SaaS project management platforms monetize your organizational data and can change pricing, features, or terms of service at any time.

With self-hosted tools, you control data retention, customize workflows to match your team process, and integrate with internal systems without API rate limits. For organizations managing sensitive projects (defense, healthcare, government), self-hosting is often a security requirement.

FAQ

Can OpenProject import from Microsoft Project?

Yes, OpenProject can import Microsoft Project files (.mpp) directly, preserving tasks, dependencies, resources, and baselines. This makes migration from Microsoft Project straightforward for teams switching to open-source.

Does Redmine support custom fields in the Gantt chart?

Yes, Redmine allows custom fields on issues, and these can be displayed as columns in the Gantt view. However, the Gantt chart rendering is basic compared to OpenProject — it shows bars and dependency lines but no drag-and-drop editing.

Is Taiga suitable for non-agile teams?

Taiga is designed primarily for Scrum and Kanban teams. While you can use it for non-agile projects, the lack of a true Gantt chart and dependency management makes it less suitable for waterfall or hybrid project management. Consider OpenProject for those use cases.

How do the three tools handle resource overallocation?

OpenProject has built-in capacity planning that shows when team members are over-allocated across projects. Redmine requires plugins for resource management. Taiga shows team assignment per sprint but does not calculate capacity or detect overallocation.

Can I run multiple projects with shared Gantt views?

OpenProject supports a portfolio-level Gantt view showing all projects with cross-project dependencies. Redmine can show Gantt charts across multiple projects in a single view. Taiga does not support cross-project timeline views — each project is independent.

What database do these tools require?

OpenProject and Redmine both support PostgreSQL and MySQL. Taiga requires PostgreSQL. All three can run with SQLite for development, but PostgreSQL is recommended for production use.