Kan

Key features

• One-click Trello import The Trello importer preserves boards, lists, cards, labels, members, and attachments, so a team can move an existing Trello workspace to Kan without rebuilding structure or re-uploading files.[1][2]

• Drag-and-drop boards Boards hold lists and cards with drag-and-drop ordering, labels, members, dates, checklists, attachments, and comments, covering the everyday Trello-style task workflow.[1][2]

• Custom fields Paid workspaces can add text, number, date, select, multi-select, checkbox, URL, and currency fields to cards, which lets teams track structured data such as cost or priority on the card itself.[1][2]

• Templates and gallery Users can save any board as a template and start from a public template gallery, which shortens setup for repeated project shapes such as sprints or content pipelines.[1]

• Roles and board permissions Workspaces carry member, admin, and owner roles, and boards can be private or public with granular member permissions, so teams can separate internal work from shared client boards.[1][2]

• REST API and MCP server A public REST API complements the SDK and an MCP server, which lets developers integrate boards with other tools and gives AI agents a documented path to read and update work.[1][2]

• Activity and notifications Assignment notifications, mentions, watchers, and per-board activity keep members aware of changes without a separate status meeting.[1][2]

• Cloud and self-hosted editions Kan Cloud offers a free single-user plan and paid Teams seats, while technical teams can self-host with Docker Compose or the CLI against Postgres, Redis, and MinIO.[1][2]

Who will love it

• Solo makers and small teams who find Trello's upsells heavy will like Kan's minimal boards, templates, and a free single-user cloud plan.[1][2]

• Teams already on Trello will like the one-click importer that preserves boards, lists, cards, labels, members, and attachments.[1][2]

• Privacy-minded teams with Docker operations will like documented self-hosting and the Enterprise on-premise option.[1][2]

Who should avoid it

• Teams needing SSO, audit log, backups, or dedicated support should avoid the free and Teams tiers, because SAML SSO, audit log, backups, and SLA-backed support sit on the Enterprise plan.[1]

• Teams that need a proven large-scale track record should avoid committing yet, because public ratings are few and unverified and the project is younger than its incumbents.[1][2]

• Teams needing documented offline boards or native mobile apps should look elsewhere, because official pages describe a web board application with no stated offline mode.[1][2]

Kan compared with Trello