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Comparison · PM

Leantime vs Plane

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Leantime and Plane — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:project-management

Leantime vs Plane: at a glance

FeatureLeantimePlane
SectorPMPM
Velocity score6.36.3
Sparks · 30d01
Top themesproject-management, self-hosted, api, permissionsproject-management, ai-agents, wiki, automation
Last editorial update1mo ago15h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Leantime?

Leantime is stabilizing its big 3.9 rewrite while extending cross-project planning and a mobile API

Leantime is deep in a modernization cycle. The 3.9.0 release rebuilt the app around a native, fail-closed permission engine, a JSON-RPC API, and a consolidated Blueprints domain; the releases since then mostly stabilize that foundation. Recent point releases fix regressions (repeated Bearer/PAT auth fixes) while adding cross-project program views and a mobile app backend.

Read the full Leantime trajectory →

What is Plane?

Plane ships a fortnightly digest, and the AI layer is where the real work is going.

Plane releases on a strict twice-monthly cadence, each entry a bundle rather than a single feature. The current window covers Pages becoming a document surface (toggle blocks, embedded widgets, nested-page zip export), Intake getting dashboard visibility, and Automations extending to modules, milestones, and releases. Underneath, Plane AI has been accumulating capability faster than any other area — Skills, an AI Block in Pages, live PQL results in chat, open-weight model options.

Read the full Plane trajectory →

Leantime vs Plane: editorial side-by-side

L6.3

Leantime is stabilizing its big 3.9 rewrite while extending cross-project planning and a mobile API

◆ Current state

Leantime is deep in a modernization cycle. The 3.9.0 release rebuilt the app around a native, fail-closed permission engine, a JSON-RPC API, and a consolidated Blueprints domain; the releases since then mostly stabilize that foundation. Recent point releases fix regressions (repeated Bearer/PAT auth fixes) while adding cross-project program views and a mobile app backend.

◆ Where it's heading

The work is consolidation over expansion: hardening the new auth/permission and API layers, closing security IDORs domain by domain, and building the surface a mobile app and program-level planning need. The steady stream of small patch releases reflects shaking out regressions from the 3.9.0 refactor rather than opening new product directions.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued point releases fixing regressions from the permission-engine and JSON-RPC migration, plus buildout of the Leantime Mobile app now that its Bearer-authenticated backend API is landing.

Plane logo6.3

Plane ships a fortnightly digest, and the AI layer is where the real work is going.

◆ Current state

Plane releases on a strict twice-monthly cadence, each entry a bundle rather than a single feature. The current window covers Pages becoming a document surface (toggle blocks, embedded widgets, nested-page zip export), Intake getting dashboard visibility, and Automations extending to modules, milestones, and releases. Underneath, Plane AI has been accumulating capability faster than any other area — Skills, an AI Block in Pages, live PQL results in chat, open-weight model options.

◆ Where it's heading

The tracker is being rebuilt around two things it did not start as: a wiki with executable blocks, and a workspace where agent behaviour is authored and stored. Skills was the turn — instructions saved once and reused rather than re-typed — and the Pages work since has been about making the document a place where that output lands. The structural cleanups run alongside: epics folded into the work item type system, permissions redesigned into two layers, automations widened to more object types. It is consolidation, not sprawl.

◆ Prediction

The next digests likely extend Automations toward AI-triggered actions, since Skills, PQL, and rule-based automation now exist as separate pieces that obviously compose. The entries are digest summaries linking off-site, so per-feature depth is not readable from the feed.

Alternatives to Leantime and Plane

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Leantime or Plane.

See all Leantime alternatives → · See all Plane alternatives →

Recent activity from Leantime and Plane

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 5d agoPlaneCollapsible toggle blocks, Intake widgets, and more | Aug 14, 2026
  2. 19d agoPlaneSkills in Plane AI, richer Pages, Audit logs, and more | Jul 31, 2026
  3. 1mo agoPlaneShared dashboards, Bitbucket, and new AI models | Jul 15, 2026
  4. 1mo agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.8: milestone reporting and MCP endpoint fixes
  5. 1mo agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.7 adds cross-project program views
  6. 1mo agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.6: security hardening plus content templates
  7. 1mo agoPlaneMermaid JS diagrams, PQL filters, and more | Jun 30, 2026
  8. 2mo agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.5 adds mobile notification and calendar APIs
  9. 2mo agoPlaneAI Block in Pages | Jun 15, 2026
  10. 2mo agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.4 fixes cross-project 'My Work' loading
  11. 2mo agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.3 fixes Bearer-token API authentication
  12. 2mo agoPlaneEpics become a work item type, publish MCP apps, and more | May 31, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Leantime and Plane?

Both compete on the same themes — project-management — within PM. Leantime and Plane are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Leantime better than Plane?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Leantime and Plane are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Leantime?

Top Leantime alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Leantime alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/leantime for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Plane?

Top Plane alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Plane alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/plane for the full list with editorial commentary on each.