Focalboard
Insightly
| Feature | Focalboard | Insightly |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $29/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | growing-businesses, project-based-companies, professional-services, mid-market |
| Founded | 2021 | 2009 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contact Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pipeline Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Project Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Insightly Pros
- CRM plus project management
- Good workflow automation
- AppConnect integration platform
- Affordable pricing
✗ Insightly Cons
- Interface feels dated
- Limited marketing features
- Reporting could be stronger
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Insightly targets growing businesses and project based companies and leads with contact-management and pipeline-management.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Insightly starts at $29/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.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.