Leantime
Open-source project management system for non-project managers — a lean alternative to Asana.
Overview
Leantime is a Hamburg, Germany-based European company building open source and project management software since 2019. As an EU-headquartered provider, Leantime operates under GDPR and is outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act, making it a privacy-friendly alternative to well-known US incumbents for European teams.
Why European teams pick Leantime
Teams in Europe pick Leantime when they want a open source provider that bills in EUR, supports their local data-protection officer requirements, and keeps customer data under Germany law, operating since 2019. Compared with well-known US incumbents, Leantime avoids cross-border data transfers under Schrems II and the US CLOUD Act, which is often the deciding factor for European procurement and legal teams.
See more EU open source tools or browse other startups from Germany.
About
Leantime is a German open-source project management platform designed for startups and non-project-manager teams, incorporating lean methodology into its workflow. It covers strategic planning, idea management (ideation board), project roadmaps, Kanban boards, time tracking, and retrospectives — all in one self-hosted tool. Leantime is available under the AGPL licence and can be deployed on any EU server. Its strategic planning features — OKR tracking and lean canvas integration — differentiate it from standard Kanban tools and make it particularly useful for early-stage product teams. Leantime offers a hosted cloud version on EU infrastructure as well.
Details
- Founded
- 2019
- Headquarters
- Hamburg, Germany
Categories
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Frequently asked questions
What is Leantime?
Leantime is a German open-source project management platform designed for startups and non-project-manager teams, incorporating lean methodology into its workflow. It covers strategic planning, idea management (ideation board), project roadmaps, Kanban boards, time tracking, and retrospectives — all in one self-hosted tool. Leantime is available under the AGPL licence and can be deployed on any EU server. Its strategic planning features — OKR tracking and lean canvas integration — differentiate it from standard Kanban tools and make it particularly useful for early-stage product teams. Leantime offers a hosted cloud version on EU infrastructure as well.
What does Leantime do?
Leantime is open-source project management system for non-project managers — a lean alternative to asana. It is listed under open source and project management on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European open source tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from well-known US incumbents.
Is Leantime a good European open source alternative?
Leantime is a fit for European businesses evaluating open source options where data residency and GDPR alignment matter — typical buyers include EU-based SaaS teams, public-sector projects, regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), and any organisation that needs to demonstrate that customer data does not leave the EU. It also overlaps with project management use cases.
Is Leantime GDPR compliant?
Leantime is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and falls under EU jurisdiction, so it processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by Germany's data protection authority, the Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit (BfDI). Because the company is not US-incorporated, it is not subject to the US CLOUD Act — meaning US authorities cannot compel Leantime to disclose customer data the way they can with well-known US incumbents. For European buyers, that often simplifies DPIA paperwork and standard contractual clauses.
How do teams switch from well-known US incumbents to Leantime?
Most teams move to Leantime from well-known US incumbents because they want EU data residency without giving up the core open source workflow. Leantime's Germany base means a single jurisdiction for both the company and (typically) its hosting infrastructure, so you can drop Schrems II transfer impact assessments for this part of your stack. Plan the migration in stages: export your data from the US incumbent, pilot Leantime with a small team, then move the rest once the integration coverage you need is confirmed.
Where is Leantime based?
Leantime is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company was founded in 2019. Its main website is https://leantime.io.