Super Productivity
FreeTasks, pomodoro and time tracking in one app, with no subscription
A desktop application combining task management, a pomodoro timer and time tracking. Each task takes an estimate, can be timed and broken into subtasks, and at the end of the day you can see where the hours actually went. Data stays local by default, with optional sync over WebDAV, Dropbox or your own service.
Why we picked it
Task apps have almost universally moved to subscriptions: the free tier caps projects, reminders and attachments and withholds statistics, so any serious use hits a wall. And these tools hold one of the most private things about you — what you do all day.
Super Productivity is a rare fully free, local-first option in this space. 21,343 stars, MIT, no feature walls.
It combines three things usually sold separately:
- Task management: projects, tags, subtasks, priorities, recurring tasks and scheduled dates. Structured enough to be useful without becoming bloated.
- Pomodoro: start a timer against the current task and get a break reminder — tied to the task rather than being a standalone timer.
- Time tracking: accumulated time per task, with estimates compared against reality, so a week later you can see that what you assumed was a two-hour job actually took six. Genuinely useful for freelancers quoting by the hour and for anyone writing a weekly report.
Some well-considered details:
- A daily summary walks you through what you finished, where the time went and what needs moving to tomorrow. That ritual proves more useful than simply ticking items off.
- Third-party task sources. Pull issues from Jira, GitHub, GitLab or Open Project into the same interface and track time against them, avoiding a duplicate list alongside the company system.
- The data is yours. Local files by default, with optional sync over WebDAV — your own Nextcloud, for instance — or Dropbox, plus JSON export. No account required.
To be clear about:
- It is feature-dense and takes some acclimatization. This is not a minimalist todo app you grasp instantly; panels and statistics surround you. Use only tasks and the timer for a week before deciding whether to enable projects, tags and boards.
- Mobile is weaker. An Android build exists but lags the desktop, and iOS means the web version. If your tasks live primarily on a phone, this may not fit.
- It suits people who deal in working hours. For a grocery list it is far too heavy; for knowing where your time went and reporting hours per project, it is well aimed.