I replaced Trello, Toggl, and TickTick with this one free, open-source app

Do you juggle multiple productivity apps just to stay on top of your work? Are you looking for a single application that can meet all your productivity needs? Well, here’s a free, open-source app that has replaced Trello, Toggl, and TickTick in my daily workflow – and it’s aptly called Super Productivity.

Use Super Productivity as a task management system (alternative to TickTick)

Super Productivity uses a project-based task management system. You can create multiple projects and then assign tasks to each. Personally, I have a Practical geek project and a Staff project. Every task I create for Practical geek is part of this project, while all my programmed experiments with different applications or hardware go into the Staff A.

Now, each task can be broken down into subtasks, making it possible to turn large, intimidating tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. However, subtasks cannot have their own subtasks, and I actually appreciate this limitation. In my experience, deeply nested subtasks tend to be counterproductive, because you often end up spending more time organizing than getting the job done.

Each task (and subtask) has a description field and an attachment field. The description field accepts text input and is useful for adding context or notes about why you created the task or how you plan to complete it. In the attachments section, you can add web links, images, or almost any file type. There is also tag support for better organization.

On top of that, you can assign due dates to each task to make prioritization easier. You can also configure Super Productivity to send reminders before a task is due. Now, I highly recommend setting due dates because it allows you to take full advantage of the Today view in the left sidebar. It shows all the tasks due today, so you don’t need to jump between individual projects to see what’s due and worry about missing something.

Beyond Today view, you get Scheduled view and Planner view. The Scheduled view provides a calendar-style overview where you can drag and drop tasks into specific days or time slots. The Planner view, on the other hand, uses a Kanban-style column layout, but it only adjusts task due dates, not the time range.

The app also includes a robust, keyboard-centric task capture system that works globally (system-wide). Press a keyboard shortcut (mine is set to Win+Alt+C) and Super Productivity appears with the task capture field ready. From there, you can quickly enter the task you want to create. It supports specific syntax: task name, followed by +project, #tag, and @due date.

You can also assign a separate shortcut to capture notes. Notes are different from tasks: they are like memos. I think of tasks as things you need TO DOwhile grades are things you need rememberand I like that the app treats them as two separate systems.

Using Super Productivity for time tracking (Toggl alternative)

Super Productivity offers deep integration between task management and time tracking. Each task has built-in time tracking, which means you always track time against a specific task. To start tracking, simply hover over any task and click Start Time Tracking. Once started, the timer runs in the background. You can stop or restart it either from the application header bar or directly from the task itself.

Each task also allows you to set an estimated duration for how long you think it will take to complete it. Having the estimated time and actual tracked time side by side is incredibly useful: it clearly shows the discrepancy between how long you think tasks take and how long they take In fact take. Over time, this data helps you plan your workload more realistically.

Super Productivity also allows you to manually add time to a task. This is especially useful for things like outdoor runs or offline tasks, where you’re not sitting at your desk with the timer running. There’s even a built-in time tracking reminder. If you haven’t tracked any time in a while but still have tasks scheduled for the day, the app will prompt you and ask what you were doing. You can ignore it (so it’s not tracked) or assign it to a specific task you were working on.

Additional tracking features

Beyond tasks and time tracking, the app also includes basic habit tracking. By default, you have three habit trackers: a standing desk timer (to track how long you’ve been standing while working), a coffee counter (a one-click counter for each cup), and a stretch counter (a countdown timer for regular stretching breaks, such as every 30 minutes). You can also create your own counters, timers, or countdowns to track any habits you’re currently working on.

All this data is compiled into end-of-day reports that show your performance. On top of that, features like Quick History, Workload, and Metrics give you deeper, longer-term insights into your productivity patterns.

Use Super Productivity as a Kanban board

Super Productivity lets you view and manage your tasks from two different “Board” views. You can access it from the left sidebar. By default, you have two options: a Kanban board and an Eisenhower matrix. When you activate the Kanban board, it creates a new tag called “in progress”. After that, you get a basic overview of Kanban-style task progress with a three-column structure: To Do, In Progress, and Done.

Each task you’ve created appears in the To-Do column, ordered by when you added them: the most recent tasks appear at the top. You can drag a task to In Progress and it will be marked “in progress”. Move it to Done and it is marked as done. This also works in reverse: if you manually add the “in progress” tag to a task in the normal Project view, it will automatically appear in the In Progress column of the Kanban board.

Honestly, I rarely use the default Kanban board and created a custom one instead. It uses a six-column structure to capture the journey of a task (the articles I write) starting with ideas, then research, outline, writing, editing, and publishing. I also encourage you to create your own custom Kanban based on your specific workflow for granular control.

There is also an Eisenhower matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is ​​the second type of table available in the Tables view. It’s a 2×2 grid that organizes tasks based on urgency and importance, helping you focus on what really matters. For a tool like Super Productivity, which makes it incredibly easy to capture tasks throughout the day, this becomes one of its most powerful and necessary features.

You can quickly add tasks as they come to mind, then, at the end of the day, open the Eisenhower Matrix and rearrange them. This makes it much easier to separate the tasks you actually need to act on from those you’ve added impulsively and can safely postpone or remove altogether.

Like the Kanban board, the Eisenhower Matrix relies on tags to categorize tasks. When you enable this board, Super Productivity automatically creates two tags: Urgent and Important. By default, any task without an Urgent tag is treated as non-urgent, and any task without an Important tag is treated as not important. This results in four clear categories:

• Urgent + Important = Do Now

• Urgent + Not important = Delegated

• Not urgent + Important = Scheduled time

• Not urgent + Not important = Delete

One area where I find super productivity lacking

Super Productivity combines robust task management, powerful time tracking, and customizable Kanban boards in one powerful app. It’s good enough to compete with paid alternatives and has replaced Trello, Toggl, and TickTick for me. That said, it has a notable flaw that can be a hindrance for some people: there is no collaboration support.

Super Productivity runs locally, meaning all your data lives on your device. There is no account system or third-party cloud backend, making real-time collaboration or shared projects impossible. For teams, this is a difficult limitation. However, this same design choice can be a major advantage if you’re looking for a productivity app strictly for personal use, especially if you prioritize data privacy and fast, offline performance.

It’s also worth noting that even if you can’t collaborate meaningfully with others, you can sync your tasks across devices. Super Productivity allows you to synchronize its database between computer and mobile using services like Google Drive or through peer-to-peer tools such as Syncthing.

That’s how I use Super Productivity as a task manager, time tracker and Kanban board to replace paid tools like Trello, Toggl and TickTick. That said, the app offers even more features than I’ve covered here. If you want a more in-depth look, check out my full review to see everything you can do with Super Productivity.