Focalboard
Photopea
| Feature | Focalboard | Photopea |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | designers, students, photo-editors, budget-conscious-creatives |
| Founded | 2021 | 2013 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Photo Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Psd Support | ✗ | ✓ |
| Layers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Batch Processing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Vector Tools | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Photopea Pros
- Free and browser-based
- Opens PSD files perfectly
- No installation needed
- Full editing capabilities
✗ Photopea Cons
- Ads on free version
- Can be slow with large files
- Limited batch processing
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Photopea targets designers and students and leads with photo-editing and psd-support.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Photopea starts at $5/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.
Photopea edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Photopea has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.