Project and task management decision
Lunatask
A minimal encrypted tasks-and-notes web service is achievable by a capable developer given open-source building blocks, but matching Lunatask’s native apps, polish, integrations, and cross-platform distribution requires substantially more effort and ongoing operations.
Visit website↗$8/mo
$96/yr
Read off the official pricing page.
$100one-off80 h to build
$50/mo10 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 8 seats.
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. All Lunatask alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Client-side encrypted tasks/notes with user accounts, persistent sync to a simple backend, basic calendar integration, and a habit tracker UI.
What it still won’t have
- Polished native mobile apps (iOS/Android) and App Store distribution
- Advanced UX polish and extensive built-in prioritization workflows (Eisenhower, Must/Should/Want, Kanban polish)
- Built-in integrations and App Store/Play Store presence (push notifications reliability)
- Slack community, existing user base and app-store ratings
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 8 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 encrypted task-and-notes web app using Next.js (React) for the client, Node.js + Express for the API, and Postgres for storage. Scope: email/password accounts, client-side end-to-end encryption (Web Crypto + argon2 for key derivation), CRUD for tasks/notes/habits stored as encrypted blobs, per-user sync endpoints with optimistic versioning, OAuth calendar integration for read-only calendar events (Google/Outlook), basic web UI for list/kanban/habit view, and server-side scheduled reminders via a cron worker. Out of scope: native mobile apps, App Store packaging, advanced prioritization algorithms, analytics, and a public marketplace. Include error handling, input validation, and automated tests for API endpoints and encryption round-trips.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score67
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 productLunatask homepage
- official pricingLunatask pricing
- official docsLunatask installation docs
- open sourceAppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy
- open sourcechrisvel/tududi
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
