Project and task management decision
Things 3
A competent developer can build a useful, local-first task manager clone (tasks, projects, search, reminders) in about a week, but reproducing Things’ cross-device sync (Fastlane/Things Cloud), Apple-level polish, and platform breadth is costly and explains why paying may make sense.
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. All Things 3 alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Create and manage to-dos and projects, tag and schedule items, search and navigate lists, and set time-based reminders.
What it still won’t have
- Things Cloud instant sync (Fastlane) and cross-device sync
- Apple-quality design polish and custom animations
- App Store distribution conveniences and multi-device builds (Watch, iPad, Vision)
- Native Siri / Shortcuts integrations and other OS-level integrations
What remains hard
- Infrastructure at scale
Since reminders are time-critical, we’ve enhanced Things Cloud with a special new feature: Fastlane.
- Brand trust
Honored twice with the prestigious Apple Design Award, Things has won over critics with its unique blend of powerful functionality and ease-of-use.
First-year cost
No published price
Things 3 does not publish a price we could read, so there is nothing to compare against. What building costs is below.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
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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 local-first macOS SwiftUI app (Swift + Core Data) that implements: (1) tasks and projects with headings and checklists; (2) tags and a Quick Find full-text + tag search using SQLite FTS; (3) natural-language date input for scheduling and setting time-based reminders (use a small NLP date parser library); (4) drag-and-drop, multi-select, and insertion UI for placing items; (5) read-only Calendar integration to show events in the Today/Upcoming view. Out of scope: multi-device sync, Things Cloud, Watch/iPad/Vision-specific apps, and App Store release packaging. Include error handling, unit tests for persistence and parsing, and basic UI tests for list operations.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 4 cited sources+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Hard moats found in the evidence-3
- Evidence score61
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 · 4
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productThings - To-Do List App for Mac & iOS
- official pricingApp Store Pricing – Things
- official docsWhat’s New in Things — Features
- open sourceSynapse repository
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
