Focalboard
Kong
| Feature | Focalboard | Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $0.05/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | platform-engineers, microservices-teams, api-gateway-users, devops-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2010 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api Gateway | ✗ | ✓ |
| Service Mesh | ✗ | ✓ |
| Load Balancing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Authentication | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rate Limiting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Plugins | ✗ | ✓ |
| Observability | ✗ | ✓ |
| Kubernetes Ingress | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Kong Pros
- Open-source core with large plugin ecosystem
- Sub-millisecond latency for API requests
- Platform-agnostic deployment (cloud, on-prem, hybrid)
- Strong Kubernetes-native support
✗ Kong Cons
- Enterprise features require paid license
- Configuration complexity for advanced setups
- Documentation could be more beginner-friendly
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Kong targets platform engineers and microservices teams and leads with api-gateway and service-mesh.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Kong starts at $0.05/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.
Feature-wise, Kong offers broader built-in capabilities (8 features vs 6), while Focalboard takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Kong has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.