Focalboard
Prometheus
| Feature | Focalboard | Prometheus |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | devops-engineers, sre-teams, kubernetes-users, infrastructure-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2012 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Metrics Collection | ✗ | ✓ |
| Alerting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Promql | ✗ | ✓ |
| Service Discovery | ✗ | ✓ |
| Grafana Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Dimensional Data | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Prometheus Pros
- Free and open-source
- Powerful query language
- Great Kubernetes integration
- Active community
✗ Prometheus Cons
- No built-in long-term storage
- Complex setup
- Steep learning curve
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Prometheus targets devops engineers and sre teams and leads with metrics-collection and alerting.
Both tools use custom enterprise pricing — you'll need to contact sales for a quote, which makes direct cost comparison difficult.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Prometheus 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: Prometheus has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.