OpenProject vs Asana

Why Switch from Asana to OpenProject?

Asana is a polished project management tool, but it is a US SaaS product that stores all your project data — tasks, timelines, discussions, and files — on American servers. Your entire project portfolio, resource allocation, and strategic planning data sits in a proprietary system you do not control. Asana’s pricing escalates sharply as teams grow, and critical features like portfolios, goals, and advanced reporting are locked behind expensive tiers.

OpenProject, developed by OpenProject GmbH in Berlin, Germany, is a comprehensive open-source project management platform. It combines classic project management (Gantt charts, work breakdown structures) with agile methodologies (Scrum boards, backlogs) in a single tool. The community edition is free to self-host, and the cloud edition runs on European servers with full GDPR compliance.

OpenProject is particularly strong for structured project management — the kind used in engineering, government, and construction — where Gantt charts, dependencies, and resource planning matter more than colorful kanban boards.

Feature Comparison

Feature	OpenProject	Asana
Gantt charts	✅ Interactive with dependencies	⚠️ Timeline (paid only)
Agile boards	✅ Scrum and Kanban	✅ Board view
Time tracking	✅ Built-in	❌ Requires integration
Self-hostable	✅ Full control	❌ SaaS only
Open source	✅ GPLv3	❌ Proprietary
BIM support	✅ IFC model viewer	❌ Not available
Wiki / documentation	✅ Built-in	❌ Not built-in
Cost tracking	✅ Budget and cost reports	⚠️ Limited (paid)
Custom fields	✅ Yes	✅ Yes (paid)
Integrations	⚠️ Growing (Nextcloud, Git)	✅ 200+ apps
Data location	Your choice or EU cloud 🇪🇺	United States 🇺🇸

Pricing

OpenProject’s open-source model offers significant cost advantages:

• OpenProject Community: Free — self-hosted, core features, unlimited users
• OpenProject Basic: €5.95/user/month — cloud-hosted, all Community features plus team collaboration
• OpenProject Professional: €11.95/user/month — advanced features, multi-project management, SSO
• OpenProject Premium: Custom pricing — enterprise features, SLA, dedicated support
• Asana Basic: Free — limited to 10 users, basic features
• Asana Premium: $10.99/user/month — timeline, workflow builder, forms
• Asana Business: $24.99/user/month — portfolios, goals, advanced reporting
• Asana Enterprise: Custom pricing

OpenProject’s self-hosted community edition is unlimited — no user caps, no feature time-bombs. For a 50-person team, Asana Business costs $1,250/month. OpenProject self-hosted costs nothing beyond server infrastructure, and the cloud Professional plan would be €597.50/month with far more features included.

Privacy & Data Sovereignty

OpenProject takes a principled stance on data sovereignty:

• Open-source code (GPLv3) means complete transparency about data handling
• Self-hosting ensures project data never leaves your organization’s infrastructure
• The cloud edition uses servers exclusively within the European Union (Germany)
• OpenProject GmbH is a German company, fully subject to EU data protection law
• No data is shared with third parties for advertising or analytics
• OpenProject is used by the European Commission, the German federal government, and numerous EU public sector organizations
• A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available for all cloud customers
• Full data export capabilities prevent vendor lock-in

Asana, as a US company, processes data on American infrastructure and is subject to US government data requests under the CLOUD Act. For project data that includes strategic plans, personnel information, and financial details, this jurisdiction issue is a genuine risk for European organizations.

Migration Guide

Migrating from Asana to OpenProject requires careful planning but is achievable for most teams within one to two weeks.

1. Export your Asana data — Use Asana’s CSV export feature for each project. Download all tasks, subtasks, assignees, due dates, and custom fields. For larger organizations, use the Asana API to create a comprehensive export. (1-2 hours)
2. Set up your OpenProject environment — Install the Community edition on your own server using Docker, or sign up for the cloud edition. Configure your project structure, work package types, and custom fields to match your existing workflow. (2-4 hours)
3. Import projects via CSV — Use OpenProject’s CSV import to bring in your task data. Map Asana columns to OpenProject work package fields. Review the import preview carefully before confirming. (1-2 hours per project)
4. Rebuild project structures — Set up Gantt chart dependencies, milestones, and work breakdown structures in OpenProject. Configure agile boards if your team uses Scrum or Kanban. This is where OpenProject’s strengths shine compared to Asana. (2-4 hours per project)
5. Migrate team members and permissions — Create user accounts, assign roles, and set up project memberships. Configure notification settings so the team receives relevant updates. (1-2 hours)
6. Run a parallel period — Operate both tools for one to two weeks. Let your team adapt to OpenProject while keeping Asana accessible as reference. Collect feedback and adjust configurations before fully retiring Asana. (1-2 weeks)

Estimated total time: 1-2 weeks for a mid-sized team. Difficulty: Moderate — the main challenge is adapting workflows to OpenProject’s more structured approach.

Real-World Use Cases

German municipal government modernizes project management — A mid-sized German city administration migrated 15 departments from Asana to a self-hosted OpenProject instance to comply with data sovereignty requirements. The Gantt chart and dependency features replaced multiple spreadsheets previously used for infrastructure project planning, and the built-in time tracking eliminated a separate tool. Data stays entirely within the municipality’s own IT infrastructure.

Dutch engineering firm streamlines construction project workflows — A construction and civil engineering firm in Rotterdam adopted OpenProject for its BIM integration and Gantt planning capabilities. They manage bridge and infrastructure projects with detailed work breakdown structures and time tracking, features that Asana could not provide without expensive third-party integrations. Project data remains on EU servers under Dutch jurisdiction.

Belgian university coordinates EU-funded research projects — A university research department in Leuven uses OpenProject to manage multi-partner EU Horizon research projects. The wiki feature serves as project documentation, while Gantt charts help coordinate deliverables across partner institutions in different countries. The self-hosted instance satisfies the university’s data governance requirements and the project reporting obligations of EU funding programs.

Company Background

OpenProject GmbH was founded in 2012 in Berlin, Germany, as a spin-off from a collaborative research project at the Technical University of Berlin. The software originated from a project management tool developed for engineering and research contexts, which explains its strength in structured project management methodologies like Gantt-based planning and work breakdown structures. Niels Lindenthal serves as the company’s managing director and has guided its growth from an academic project into a commercially viable open-source product.

The company is headquartered in Berlin and employs approximately 50-60 people, primarily software developers, UX designers, and support engineers. OpenProject GmbH maintains a lean, sustainable business model: the Community Edition is fully free and open source under the GPLv3 license, while revenue comes from cloud hosting subscriptions and Enterprise Edition licenses that add features like multi-project dashboards, advanced reporting, and dedicated support.

OpenProject has been adopted by some of Europe’s most data-sensitive organizations. The European Commission, the German federal government, Siemens, and numerous European universities and public institutions use OpenProject for their project management needs. The software’s endorsement by the German government’s Center for Information Technology Hartmut (ZenDiS) as part of the German public sector’s digital sovereignty strategy underscores its credibility. OpenProject’s commitment to open-source principles and European data sovereignty makes it a cornerstone of the growing movement toward sovereign digital infrastructure in Europe.

Security & Compliance

OpenProject implements security practices designed for public sector and enterprise deployment:

• Open-source code (GPLv3) — the entire codebase is publicly auditable on GitHub, enabling organizations to verify security properties before deployment
• ISO 27001 aligned — the cloud hosting infrastructure follows ISO 27001 information security practices
• Self-hosting option for complete data sovereignty — organizations can deploy OpenProject on their own servers within their own security perimeter
• Cloud hosting exclusively in the EU — the managed cloud edition runs on servers in Germany, with all data processing within EU jurisdiction
• GDPR compliant as a German company, with formal Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) available for all cloud customers
• Role-based access control with granular permissions for projects, work packages, and modules — supporting complex organizational structures with multiple project teams
• LDAP/Active Directory and SAML SSO integration for enterprise authentication and user management, ensuring secure access aligned with organizational identity policies
• Regular security updates published through the open-source release process, with a responsible disclosure policy for vulnerability reports

Integration Ecosystem

OpenProject provides focused integrations designed for enterprise project management workflows:

• Comprehensive REST API for programmatic access to projects, work packages, time entries, budgets, and all other resources — fully documented with OpenAPI specification
• Nextcloud integration for linking files stored in Nextcloud directly to work packages, enabling sovereign document management alongside project planning
• Git and SVN integration for linking code repositories and commits to work packages, providing traceability between development activity and project tasks
• BIM/IFC model viewer for construction and engineering projects, displaying Building Information Models directly within work packages — a unique feature among open-source project management tools
• iCalendar (ICS) feeds for syncing project milestones and deadlines with external calendar applications like Google Calendar, Outlook, or Thunderbird
• Excel and CSV import/export for bulk data operations, enabling migration from other tools and integration with spreadsheet-based reporting
• Webhooks for triggering external automations when work packages are created, updated, or completed — integrable with custom workflows and notification systems
• LDAP, SAML, and OpenID Connect for enterprise single sign-on, allowing users to authenticate with their existing organizational credentials

Who Should Switch?

OpenProject is ideal for:

• EU public sector organizations that need sovereign, GDPR-compliant project management
• Engineering and construction firms who need Gantt charts, dependencies, and BIM integration
• Mid-to-large teams that want to eliminate escalating per-user SaaS costs
• Organizations with structured project management needs (waterfall, hybrid, or agile)
• IT teams that want self-hosted project management integrated with their existing infrastructure

The Bottom Line

OpenProject is a serious project management platform that excels at structured, enterprise-grade project planning. Its Gantt charts, time tracking, cost management, and BIM support put it in a different class from Asana’s task-management focus. The self-hosted option provides genuine data sovereignty at zero software cost.

The trade-off is user experience. Asana has a more modern, intuitive interface that non-technical users can pick up in minutes. OpenProject has a steeper learning curve and a more traditional UI that reflects its enterprise heritage. For small creative teams wanting a lightweight task board, Asana is more appropriate. But for organizations that need real project management — with Gantt dependencies, resource planning, and data sovereignty — OpenProject is the stronger tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import my existing Asana projects into OpenProject?

Yes. OpenProject supports CSV import for tasks and work packages. You can export your Asana projects to CSV and import them into OpenProject. For larger migrations, the OpenProject API allows automated bulk imports with custom field mappings.

Does OpenProject work for agile teams, or is it only for waterfall project management?

OpenProject supports both methodologies. It offers Scrum boards with sprints and backlogs, Kanban boards for lean workflows, and traditional Gantt-based project planning. Many teams use it in a hybrid setup combining agile and classic approaches.

How difficult is it to self-host OpenProject?

OpenProject provides Docker and package-based installation methods. A basic self-hosted setup can be running within an hour on a Linux server. The Community edition includes all core features and has no user limits. For production environments, you should plan for regular backups and updates.

Is OpenProject suitable for small teams, or only for large enterprises?

While OpenProject excels at enterprise-scale project management, the free Community edition works well for small teams too. It is more feature-rich than what small teams typically need, but the cloud Basic plan at 5.95 euros per user per month is competitive with simpler tools.

Does OpenProject comply with GDPR for EU organizations?

Yes. OpenProject GmbH is a German company fully subject to EU data protection law. The cloud edition runs on servers exclusively in Germany, and a Data Processing Agreement is available for all cloud customers. Self-hosting gives you complete control over data residency.