Focalboard
Hasura
| Feature | Focalboard | Hasura |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | backend-developers, startups, api-developers, full-stack-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2017 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graphql Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rest Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Real Time | ✗ | ✓ |
| Authorization | ✗ | ✓ |
| Event Triggers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Remote Schemas | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Focalboard Pros
- Completely free and open-source
- Self-hostable for data control
- Multiple view types (board, table, gallery)
- Integrates with Mattermost
✗ Focalboard Cons
- Limited to basic project tracking
- No built-in time tracking
- Smaller community than alternatives
✓ Hasura Pros
- Instant APIs
- Real-time subscriptions
- Great developer experience
- Performance
✗ Hasura Cons
- PostgreSQL-focused
- Complex authorization
- Pricing changes
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Hasura targets backend developers and startups and leads with graphql-api and rest-api.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Hasura starts at $99/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Hasura edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Hasura has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.