Project and task management decision
Any.do
A small team or single capable developer can build a useful subset (tasks, lists, reminders, calendar) and self-host it; Any.do's durable advantage is primarily brand scale and a large integrations/clients base which a DIY replacement won't match.
Visit website↗Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need — the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship.
What a replacement has to do
- Allow a user to create lists and tasks, set due dates and reminders, mark tasks complete, and view tasks in a calendar or list.
What it still won’t have
- Native apps across many desktop and mobile platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, watches)
- Large integrations ecosystem (+ thousands of apps)
- AI assistant and AI-powered features
- Templates, imports and polished team/workspace features
- Scale, reliability and 24/7 support from the vendor
What remains hard
- Brand trust
Trusted by +40M people
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 4 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a minimal self-hosted task & team workspace using Node.js (Express), Postgres, Redis for jobs, and React for frontend. Core features in scope: signup/login (email + Google OAuth), create/edit/delete lists and tasks, subtasks, due dates, task assignment, list and calendar views, scheduled reminders via worker (email), basic import from JSON/CSV, and one admin user. Out of scope: native desktop/mobile apps, AI features, 3rd-party import automations, templates gallery, and large integration catalogue. Include error handling, paginated APIs, input validation, automated tests for API endpoints, and deployment scripts (Docker + docker-compose) with instructions for using a managed SMTP provider.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Build verdict base78
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score93
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time — so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 5
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productAny.do — official product page
- official pricingAny.do Pricing
- official productAny.do Project Management use case
- open sourcemakeplane/plane
- open sourcemattermost-community/focalboard
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
