OneTimeThe self-hosted Trello replacement — unlimited boards, your data in one SQLite file.
Trello charges $5 per user per month — a 10-person team pays $600 every year, forever, for lists with cards on them. Boardly is the same kanban workflow on your hardware: unlimited boards, as many people as your server allows, and your data in a single SQLite file you can copy, back up and export any time.
Boardly in 60 seconds
Everything in the box
Self-hosted kanban — drag & drop boards, checklists, labels, attachments, full JSON export.
Multiple boards
Color themes, emoji icons, starred favorites — organize work, clients or your whole life.
Drag & drop everything
Reorder lists, drag cards between lists — order persists exactly where you dropped it.
Rich cards
Markdown descriptions, due dates with overdue highlighting, colored board-scoped labels.
Checklists
With live progress bars right on the card front.
Attachments
Upload files straight onto cards — stored on your disk, with your limits, not a 250 MB plan cap.
Comments + activity log
Full history per card and per board.
Filter & search
By label, by due date (overdue / this week / none), plus full-text card search and keyboard shortcuts.
Full-fidelity export/import
One-click JSON round trip including attachment bytes — for backups or moving boards between installs. Archive instead of delete, restore anytime.
Boardly vs Trello
Trello charges $5/user/mo. Here's what actually differs.
| Boardly | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 once | $5/user/month (Standard) |
| 10-person team, 3 years | $49 total | $1,800 |
| Boards | Unlimited | Limited on free tier |
| Attachments | Your disk, your limits | 250 MB/file cap, plan-gated |
| Data ownership | SQLite file on your box | Atlassian's cloud |
| Works offline / air-gapped | Yes | No |
| Full JSON export | One click, attachments included | Plan-gated |
| Telemetry | None | Plenty |
Boardly costs less than ten months of a single Trello seat — for a team it pays for itself the day you install it.
Pick how you pay
Subscriptions if you want them — but the whole point is the lifetime tier.
Up and running in three steps
Buy once on Whop
One-time $49 — one of the cheapest apps in the suite. Installer, updates and setup support included.
Run it anywhere
Desktop app for personal boards, or docker compose up -d on a $5 VPS for the whole team.
Move your boards in
Create lists, drag cards, attach files, tick checklists. Export everything to JSON whenever you want proof you own it.
Fair questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/boardly-kanban-mvp, always. $49 buys the packaged installer, updates and setup support.
How do team members log in?
One shared password protects the whole install — there are no per-user accounts, permissions or assignee fields yet. That's fine for small teams on a trusted server or VPN; if you need granular roles and member management, Trello still wins there.
Does it have automations like Butler?
No — no rule engine, no scheduled commands. Boardly bets that most Trello boards never touch Butler, and most don't. If yours does, keep Trello.
Is there a mobile app?
No native app — the web UI works in a phone browser when you host it on a VPS. Desktop mode is Windows-first, and the MIT source builds anywhere Electron runs.
Can I get my data out?
Completely — one click exports a full-fidelity JSON file including attachment bytes, and importing it on another install reproduces your boards exactly. Try asking Trello's free tier for that.
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More about Boardly
Every page we publish about this app — comparisons, personas, platforms and the problems it solves.
For you
Platforms
Solves
Stop renting. Own Boardly.
Self-hosted kanban — drag & drop boards, checklists, labels, attachments, full JSON export.
Get Boardly — $49 forever