Do You Really Need Redmine’s Features? 10 Checks Before You Adopt or Keep It
Redmine is an excellent project management tool with a long track record. It is free and open source, and it covers everything from issue tracking to time tracking and repository integration.
Running Redmine, however, means preparing a server that can run Ruby and maintaining it afterwards. It usually won’t fit on shared hosting, so you end up with a VPS or a specialized cloud service (covered in detail in “Can You Install Redmine on Shared Hosting?”).
Whether that effort is worth it depends on how much of Redmine you actually use. This article picks out 10 features that set Redmine apart and helps you check whether your team needs each one. If you already use Redmine, it also shows how to check what you use today.
Note: this article is written by the developer of GeckoFlag. Redmine’s features were checked against the official guides on October 24, 2026 (latest version 7.0.2).
Features every tool has don’t help you decide
First, let’s set aside the features that are not a reason to choose Redmine.
Creating issues (tickets), statuses, assignees, due dates, comments, a wiki, file sharing, a Gantt chart. Most project management tools today have these. If the features your team uses fall within this range, you can’t say it “has to be Redmine.”
The reasons to choose Redmine are the features in the next section, which other tools often leave out.
10 features that set Redmine apart
For each one, we look at what it does, when you need it, and signs you can do without it. Count how many you think you need as you read.
1Time tracking and reports
What it does: you can log time spent per issue or per project. Each entry can have an activity (design, development, meetings and so on) and a comment. You can also enter estimated time, and see the list and totals on the project’s “Spent time” screen.
When you need it: when you bill based on time worked, compare estimates with actuals to improve your next estimate, or look at each member’s workload in hours.
You can do without itYou log time but have never added it up and used it. You bill a fixed fee per project, unrelated to time.
2Custom fields
What it does: you can add your own input fields to issues, projects and users. You can choose formats such as text, number, date or list, and show different fields for each tracker (issue type).
When you need it: when there is information you must record for every issue, such as “customer name,” “target browser” or “environment where it happened,” and you want to filter or total by that field.
You can do without itMany issues leave the added fields blank. Writing it in the description is enough.
3Workflows
What it does: for each combination of role and tracker, you can decide which status can change to which. For example: “developers can set a bug to Resolved, but only managers can set it to Closed.” You can also make fields required or read-only depending on the status.
When you need it: when you have a fixed approval process and skipping a step causes problems. It also suits teams that need to control who closes issues, for quality management or audits.
You can do without itYou still use the default settings from installation. Anyone can change a status, and that works fine for you.
4Detailed permissions per project
What it does: you can create any roles you like and set permissions for each action, such as viewing, creating and editing issues, logging time and editing the wiki. The same person can be a manager in project A and view-only in project B.
When you need it: when you want to give outside people view-only access, or separate what each department can touch.
You can do without itAll members have roughly the same permissions. You only use the default roles (Manager, Developer, Reporter).
5Issue relations
What it does: you can set relations between issues. Besides “related to,” there are “duplicates,” “blocks” and “precedes/follows,” among others. While a blocking issue is still open, the blocked issue can’t be closed. If the due date of a preceding issue moves, the following issue’s dates shift by the same number of days.
When you need it: when the order of work has strong dependencies, and you want to follow in the schedule how one delay affects other work.
You can do without itWriting “after #123” in the description or a comment is enough. Splitting work into parent and child issues is all you need.
6Versions and the roadmap
What it does: you can create versions (milestones) such as “v2.0” or “April release” and assign issues to them. The roadmap screen shows the progress of each version.
When you need it: when you move work forward in release units, as with software.
You can do without itYou split work into a project per job, and tracking due dates inside it is enough.
7Repository integration
What it does: you can connect repositories such as Git or Subversion to a project and browse the code and change history on screen. If you write an issue number in a commit message, the commit is linked to the issue, and depending on how you write the message, you can also change the status or log time.
When you need it: when a development team wants to track which code change corresponds to which issue.
You can do without itYour code lives on GitHub or GitLab, and you already link issues there. Your team doesn’t write code.
8Creating issues from email
What it does: emails sent to a set address can create new issues or add comments to existing ones.
When you need it: when you receive customer inquiries or bug reports by email and want to manage them directly as issues.
You can do without itYou handle inquiries through another channel (a form or a support tool). Having someone turn emails into issues by hand is enough.
Note that this feature needs settings on the mail server side and a way to fetch email regularly (such as cron) set up on your server.
9REST API and external integrations
What it does: once you enable the REST API, external programs can read and write issues, projects, users, time entries and more.
When you need it: when you want to connect with other internal systems, or automate routine issue creation and reports.
You can do without itNo one on the team writes integration code. Working through the screens is enough.
10Extending with plugins
What it does: you can install plugins to add features the core doesn’t have, such as Kanban boards, checklists, customer management or a help desk. Many plugins are listed on the official site.
When you need it: when the standard features aren’t enough and you want to build features around your own business.
You can do without itYou haven’t installed any plugins. Or you installed some, couldn’t keep them updated, and now they’re holding back Redmine upgrades.
Plugins need to be checked for compatibility every time Redmine itself is upgraded. They are convenient, but weigh the extra maintenance as part of your decision.
Check what you actually use in your current Redmine
If you already use Redmine, the administration screens show whether each feature is actually being used. You may find features that were set up at installation and that no one actually uses. Screen names may differ slightly depending on your Redmine version and language settings.
| Feature | Where to check | What to look at |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Time tracking | “Spent time” in each project | Are there recent entries? Does anyone look at the totals? |
| 2. Custom fields | Administration → Custom fields | How many fields there are. Are those fields filled in on the issue list? |
| 3. Workflows | Administration → Workflow | Has it been changed from the defaults? |
| 4. Permissions | Administration → Roles and permissions | Have you created roles besides the default ones? |
| 5. Relations | “Related issues” on each issue’s page | How many issues have relations set? |
| 6. Versions | “Roadmap” in each project | Have you created versions and assigned issues to them? |
| 7. Repositories | Each project’s Settings → Repositories | Is a repository registered, and do recent commits show up? |
| 8. Incoming email | Administration → Settings → Incoming emails, and scheduled jobs on the server | Are there issues created from email? |
| 9. API | Administration → Settings → API | Is the REST web service enabled? Is any integration using it? |
| 10. Plugins | Administration → Plugins | Which plugins are installed, and is each one used? |
Count the features that came out as “not used” in this table as “not needed” in the check in the next section.
What your count tells you
Think in terms of how many of the 10 features your team needs.
3 or more: Redmine is worth it
Your team can make the most of Redmine’s strengths. It’s worth the effort of preparing and maintaining a server. If it won’t fit on shared hosting, choose a VPS or a cloud service that specializes in Redmine. How to choose is covered in “Can You Install Redmine on Shared Hosting?”
1–2: see whether you can cover those features another way
If you need only one or two features, think about whether you can cover them without Redmine. For example, if time tracking is all you need, you could combine a spreadsheet or a dedicated time tracking tool with another tool. If you can’t cover them, Redmine is the safe choice.
0: a tool with less setup is very likely enough
If you don’t use Redmine’s strengths, there’s little reason to choose it at the cost of running a server. If your work is mainly about issues, due dates and assignees, a tool with less setup may take hold in your team more easily.
Apart from the count, there’s one more thing to consider: who looks after the server. If you run Redmine yourself, whoever installed it also takes on updates and troubleshooting. Factor in whether things would keep running if that person left.
For teams that counted zero
Finally, as one option for teams that counted zero, let us introduce GeckoFlag, which we develop.
To be upfront: most of the 10 features in this article are not in GeckoFlag. It has no time tracking, custom fields, workflow design, issue relations, versions, repository integration, issue creation from email, external API or plugins, and there are three roles: administrator, member and guest. If you need these, Redmine is the right choice.
Instead, GeckoFlag brings together the features every team needs, in a form you can use without wrestling with settings.
- It combines issue tracking (parent and child issues), a Kanban board, a Gantt chart, a wiki and file sharing in one place.
- It runs on a server with PHP 8.2 or later and MySQL or MariaDB. No Composer, no Docker and no command line needed.
- You install it with a browser-based installer and update it by uploading a ZIP in the admin screen. It takes a backup automatically before applying an update.
- You can invite outside people as guests. Projects are visible only to the members who join them.
- It’s a one-time purchase of $30, with no feature differences between plans and no limits on users or projects (one license per domain; server costs are separate).
The differences from Redmine are covered in detail in GeckoFlag vs Redmine, and the differences from other tools that run on shared hosting in Project Management Tools You Can Install on Shared Hosting Without Docker. You can try the actual screens in the demo.
References
- Issue tracking (Redmine official: issue relations, subtasks)
- Time tracking (Redmine official)
- Issue tracking setup (Redmine official: trackers, statuses, workflows)
- Receiving emails (Redmine official: creating issues from email)
- REST API (Redmine official)
Note: all checked on October 24, 2026. Redmine’s screens and features may differ by version.