What Redmine does

Redmine is an open-source flexible project management web application written in the Ruby on Rails framework, founded in 2006 by Jean-Philippe Lang and released under the GNU General Public License v2. The software is cross-platform and cross-database, supporting MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Microsoft SQL Server, and offers an integrated feature set including multiple project support, flexible role-based access control, issue tracking, Gantt charts and calendars, per-project wikis and forums, time tracking, custom fields for issues/time-entries/projects/users, native SCM integration with SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, and Bazaar, multiple LDAP authentication, email-driven issue creation, and multilingual support across more than 10 languages. A comprehensive REST API covers Issues, Projects, Users, Time Entries, Wiki Pages, News, Attachments, Custom Fields, Groups, Queries, and Versions, enabling third-party integrations and SDK usage in Ruby, Java, Python, PHP, Perl, Delphi, PowerShell, and C#.

The project is built and maintained by a community of volunteer contributors administered by a small core team (Jean-Philippe Lang, Etienne Massip, Go Maeda, Jean-Baptiste Barth, and Jan Niggemann), with infrastructure hosted in Germany. Redmine itself does not generate commercial revenue: the core software is distributed free of charge and users self-host or obtain managed instances from third-party commercial providers such as Planio and BitNami. Commercial activity in the surrounding ecosystem consists of third-party hosting, professional services, and Packt-published reference books. Distribution channels include direct downloads from redmine.org, the BitNami Redmine Stack, third-party hosting providers, and Linux distribution packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and CentOS.

The user base is horizontally segmented and globally distributed, spanning open-source software projects (Ruby, TYPO3, QGIS, Lighttpd, Foreman, FreeNAS, Alpine Linux, pfSense, illumos), educational and research institutions (Sanger Institute, ETH Zurich, CNRS, University of Leeds), and government agencies (Fermilab/U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey). The go-to-market motion is community-led through forums, an IRC channel on libera.chat, an unofficial Slack workspace, and self-service documentation, with no formal sales team or direct enterprise sales motion.

Name

Redmine

Legal name

Redmine

Website

https://redmine.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Redmine is an open-source project management web application written in Ruby on Rails and released under GPL v2. Founded in 2006 by Jean-Philippe Lang, it is maintained by volunteer contributors and serves development teams, research institutions, and government agencies globally via self-hosted deployment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Project Management Software

NAICS

Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

IT Operations Management (ITOM) Platforms (HDAEALAC)

Keywords

• Project management software
• Issue tracking software
• Open source software
• Bug tracking system
• Collaboration platform

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Open source software distribution: Redmine is distributed free of charge under the GNU General Public License v2. The core product generates no direct revenue. The project is maintained by community volunteers.
2. Commercial offerings and hosting services: Third-party commercial hosting and support services are offered by companies like Planio. Redmine books are sold by publishers like Packt Publishing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Redmine is an open-source flexible project management web application written using the Ruby on Rails framework. It is cross-platform and cross-database, offering features such as issue tracking, Gantt charts, calendars, time tracking, per-project wikis and forums, custom fields, SCM integration (SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar), LDAP authentication, and multilanguage support. The software is distributed free of charge under the GNU General Public License v2 and is built and maintained by community volunteers.

Product overview

Redmine is a single open-source project management application built on Ruby on Rails. It provides a unified platform with multiple integrated features including project management, issue tracking, Gantt charts, calendars, forums, wikis, document management, time tracking, and SCM integration. The software supports multiple databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server) and offers multilingual support. As an open-source solution, it operates as a self-hosted application rather than a SaaS platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Redmine Redmine is an open-source flexible project management web application written using the Ruby on Rails framework. It is cross-platform and cross-database, released under GNU General Public License v2 (GPL). The software provides integrated features including multiple project support, flexible role-based access control, issue tracking, Gantt charts and calendars, per-project wikis and forums, news/documents/files management, time tracking, custom fields, SCM integration, LDAP authentication, and multilanguage support. It is for software development teams, IT operations, research institutions, and government agencies that need a self-hostable project management solution.

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Trac: Trac is an older open-source project management and issue tracking system originally built for software development projects. It shares Redmine's community-driven, GPL-style license and overlaps in feature set (wiki, ticket system, SCM integration), serving similar developer teams.
• Taiga.io: Taiga is an open-source agile project management platform offering Scrum and Kanban boards, issue tracking, and wikis. It is self-hostable and aimed at developer and product teams, positioning it as a direct Redmine peer for organizations evaluating open-source PM tooling.
• OpenProject: OpenProject is the leading direct open-source alternative to Redmine. It offers community-driven, self-hostable project management with Gantt charts, issue tracking, wikis, and agile boards under an open-source license, competing head-to-head with Redmine in the same installation/use category.

Broad incumbents

• Atlassian Jira: Jira is the dominant commercial incumbent in issue tracking and agile project management. It targets the same IT/software development teams Redmine serves, offers a much broader feature set and ecosystem, and is the primary commercial alternative many Redmine users evaluate.
• GitLab: GitLab integrates project planning, issue tracking, and SCM into a single DevOps platform. The built-in issue tracker directly substitutes for Redmine's tracking capabilities for many software teams, and GitLab's self-managed/Community editions compete in the same self-hostable PM space.
• GitHub Issues & Projects: GitHub Issues and Projects provide native issue tracking, project boards, and automation tightly integrated with GitHub repositories. It competes for the same development-team use case as Redmine, leveraging the massive GitHub user base as its distribution moat.

Emerging players

• Leantime: Leantime is an open-source project management system aimed at non-technical teams, with a focus on ADHD-friendly workflows. It targets the same self-hosted PM niche as Redmine but with a different UX and feature emphasis.
• Linear: Linear is a modern, opinionated issue tracking and project management tool for software teams. While commercially hosted (SaaS only), it targets the same software-development tracking workflow as Redmine and is winning mindshare among newer engineering organizations.
• Focalboard: Focalboard is an open-source project and task management alternative offering Kanban, table, and gallery views. It is self-hostable and competes for the same small-team, self-hosted PM workloads that Redmine targets.

Others

• Planio: Planio is a third-party commercial hosting and support provider that offers managed Redmine instances. Rather than a direct competitor, Planio monetizes around the Redmine ecosystem and is the most prominent commercial channel through which Redmine reaches enterprise users.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/redmineupdates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Redmine