Focalboard
Shortcut
| Feature | Focalboard | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $8.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | software-teams, startups, engineering-managers, product-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2016 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Stories | ✗ | ✓ |
| Epics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Iterations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Milestones | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Shortcut Pros
- Intuitive UI for engineering teams
- Great API and integrations
- Flexible iteration planning
- Excellent GitHub integration
✗ Shortcut Cons
- Limited reporting on free plan
- No time tracking built-in
- Smaller ecosystem than Jira
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Shortcut targets software teams and startups and leads with stories and epics.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Shortcut starts at $8.5/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.
Shortcut 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: Shortcut has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.