← Back to home
Comparison · PM

Plane vs Leantime

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Plane and Leantime — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:project-management

Plane vs Leantime: at a glance

FeaturePlaneLeantime
SectorPMPM
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesproject-management, ai-skills, documentation, collaborationproject-management, self-hosted, permissions, plugins
Last editorial update2mo ago2d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Plane?

Plane's AI layer is becoming programmable — saved skills and embedded AI docs change the category.

Plane ships every two weeks with a consistent mix of collaboration features, AI improvements, and documentation enhancements. Shared views, tabs in Pages, and collapsible blocks have brought the document layer closer to Notion-level expressiveness. The AI capabilities have moved from model access to structured, reusable workflow components (Skills). Audit logs and shared dashboards signal the beginning of an enterprise motion.

Read the full Plane trajectory →

What is Leantime?

Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.

Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.

Read the full Leantime trajectory →

Plane vs Leantime: editorial side-by-side

Plane logo5.0

Plane's AI layer is becoming programmable — saved skills and embedded AI docs change the category.

◆ Current state

Plane ships every two weeks with a consistent mix of collaboration features, AI improvements, and documentation enhancements. Shared views, tabs in Pages, and collapsible blocks have brought the document layer closer to Notion-level expressiveness. The AI capabilities have moved from model access to structured, reusable workflow components (Skills). Audit logs and shared dashboards signal the beginning of an enterprise motion.

◆ Where it's heading

Plane is building a programmable project intelligence layer on top of its issue tracker. PQL (Plane Query Language) across dashboards and filters, AI Skills that save and replay workflow patterns, and embedded AI Blocks in Pages all point toward a product where AI-driven automation is constructed within Plane — not through external integrations. This is the direction Linear has avoided and where Plane is differentiating.

◆ Prediction

AI-generated project summaries or smart prioritization based on PQL patterns are the next logical release — the infrastructure (PQL, AI skills, AI block) is in place; applying it automatically to surface risks or bottlenecks is the natural next step.

L5.0

Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.

◆ Current state

Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.

◆ Where it's heading

The release cadence is roughly one feature version every two weeks, split between finer access control and a plugin marketplace that carries more functionality. Core changes increasingly exist to give plugins stable hooks, as the calendar rework shows.

◆ Prediction

Expect more marketplace plugins built on the new calendar and permission hooks, and further permission work extending to the remaining modules.

Alternatives to Plane and Leantime

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Plane or Leantime.

See all Plane alternatives → · See all Leantime alternatives →

Recent activity from Plane and Leantime

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 3d agoLeantimev3.14.0: per-permission access checks and a CalDAV sync plugin
  2. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.2: digest changes, OIDC PKCE, marketplace install reporting
  3. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.1: clearer plugin install errors
  4. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.0: mobile push, per-project modules, Laravel 12
  5. 29d agoLeantimev3.12.0: self-updating plugins and a shared interface library
  6. 1mo agoLeantimev3.11.0: global search across the workspace
  7. 2mo agoPlaneShared views and tabs in Pages
  8. 3mo agoPlaneCollapsible blocks and Intake form widgets
  9. 3mo agoPlaneAI Skills and audit logs ⚡
  10. 4mo agoPlaneShared dashboards, Bitbucket integration, and AI model options
  11. 4mo agoPlaneMermaid diagrams in Pages and PQL filters
  12. 5mo agoPlaneAI Block in Pages | Jun 15, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Plane and Leantime?

Both compete on the same themes — project-management — within PM. Plane and Leantime are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Plane better than Leantime?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Plane and Leantime are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Plane?

Top Plane alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Plane alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/plane for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Leantime?

Top Leantime alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Leantime alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/leantime for the full list with editorial commentary on each.