Unlock Success: The Best Budget-Friendly Project Management Software for Startups

Unlock Success: The Best Budget-Friendly Project Management Software for Startups

There are lots of project management software that provide free tiers for small teams and startups. I have been exploring many of them and concluded that the best among them are Jira and Asana. Both provide a free tier for up to 10 team members and 2GB of storage. However, I found that the free tier is not the best option for a startup, especially if the projects start to grow in size or the team starts to exceed the free tier's 10-member threshold.

Upon checking the alternatives, I explored the following project management options: OpenProject, Taiga, Redmine, Phabricator, Wekan, and MyCollab. One of the main criteria for me was whether the option is responsive or not and its support for Scrum and other project management frameworks.

I concluded that OpenProject could be the best option for a startup or small company with a limited budget. So let's check how to install your own OpenProject instance.

1. Hardware Requirements

You will need a virtual machine server with at least 4GB RAM and 2 CPU cores. As we are looking for a budget solution, here are some companies that provide low-priced VPS with good quality. Pick the one you feel more comfortable with:

1. Contabo Known for very affordable VPS plans with high storage capacity and generous RAM allocations.Ideal for projects needing lots of storage or RAM at a low cost. Primarily located in Europe and the U.S., but offers solid performance globally.
2. HetznerHigh-performance, cost-effective VPS options, especially popular in Europe.Offers cloud and dedicated servers with flexible hourly and monthly billing.Good for developers needing a reliable, high-performance environment at a low price.
3. Vultr Provides a wide range of low-cost VPS plans with SSD storage and worldwide locations.Known for a beginner-friendly interface, easy deployment, and hourly billing options.Great for scaling up and down as needed and offers unique instances like High-Frequency CPUs.
4. LinodeOffers affordable, high-performance VPS with a developer-friendly ecosystem.Has predictable, simple pricing and an extensive set of guides and tutorials.A strong choice for both small-scale projects and complex setups.
5. DigitalOcean Known for simplicity and affordability, with a focus on developers and startups.Offers droplets (VPS) with predictable pricing and a wide range of integrations.Has a strong community and documentation for ease of use.
6. IONOS by 1&1 Provides budget-friendly VPS with decent customer support and infrastructure. Often features low-priced entry-level VPS, great for beginners and basic hosting needs. Some VPS plans include a free domain and SSL, adding extra value.
7. ScalewayOffers low-cost, ARM-based cloud instances and x86 options, which are budget-friendly.Europe-based with flexible configurations and solid performance for the price.Ideal for lightweight applications and development projects on a budget.
8. KamateraCustomizable VPS plans with granular control over CPU, RAM, and storage. Offers a 30-day free trial and flexible billing, great for testing and scaling as needed.Suitable for users who want a highly tailored VPS environment at a competitive price.
9. HostingerKnown for low-cost VPS packages with root access and multiple OS options.Competitive pricing for basic VPS hosting, ideal for smaller projects or budget-conscious users.Offers a good balance of affordability and functionality.

2. Operating System

Choose the operating system to be Ubuntu. At the time of writing this article, you should choose Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Note that in the near future, you may need to choose Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS, so please check the documentation if you are reading this article within 6 months of publishing.

3. Domain Name Setup

• If you don't own a domain name, you can buy one from Amazon. Just search for Route 53 and choose your domain name.
• Make your domain name point to your VPS IP address.
• If you have a domain name, go to the zone editor, create an A record, and point it to your new VPS address.
• Wait about an hour for your DNS to propagate.

4. Setup OpenProject

Connect to your server using your command-line tool like PuTTY. I prefer MobaXterm Home Edition. Just type:

ssh YourIPAddress -l YourUserName        

and provide your password on the next screen.

Type the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https ca-certificates wget
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/openproject.asc https://dl.packager.io/srv/opf/openproject/key
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/openproject.list \
  https://dl.packager.io/srv/opf/openproject/stable/14/installer/ubuntu/22.04.repo
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openproject        

Then follow the installation steps as shown in the pictures below.

If you are a software company, choose the default OpenProject as the other one is for construction companies.

Choose to install a new PostgreSQL Server.

Choose to install Apache2 server. If you prefer to use Nginx, you can skip this step.

Enter the domain name or subdomain you created in the earlier step; otherwise, enter the server IP address.

Leave the server path prefix blank if you don't need to serve OpenProject from a subfolder.

If you supplied a domain name or subdomain name, choose Yes to use SSL; otherwise, choose No.

Skip installing SVN as it is outdated now.

Choose to install Git.

Skip installing SMTP as you can configure it later from within the OpenProject admin panel.

Enter your email address.

Install Memcached to speed up your OpenProject performance.

Then give it a little bit of time to finish the installation. Visit your domain name or subdomain; you will be asked for a username and password. The default username is admin and the default password is admin.

Some screenshots of OpenProject showing the Scrum template in use:

The best part is that OpenProject is fully responsive, so you can use it from your mobile device.

Thanks for reading!