Mindwtr vs Tracks
We give Mindwtr a 3.8 GPA and Tracks a 3.0, out of 4.0. Mindwtr grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAMindwtrExcellent | 3.0GPATracksVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AEvery feature is free under an open-source licence, with no ads, no account and no subscription. Its docs say there's no paid tier. One developer keeps it going on donations. | AFree and open source under the GNU GPL, and the project sells no plans at all. What it costs is a machine to run it on. If you'd rather not, the principal maintainer's company runs a hosted instance, TaskItIn, at €3 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AAll of it is free on every platform, and that includes sync through a service you pick, imports, backups and the local API. There's nothing to upgrade to. | AThe complete application is free, for as many users as the admin adds. There's no paid edition, so nothing is locked. Download the source or use Docker and it's all yours. |
| Features | AThe full GTD loop: a guided Inbox that applies the two-minute rule, next actions, projects, contexts, Waiting For and Someday, plus wizards for daily and weekly reviews. Add a calendar that takes ICS feeds, a Kanban board and voice capture. | BSolid GTD basics: contexts, projects, free-form tags, stars, due dates on a traffic-light background and a tickler. A statistics page shows your most productive days. But the latest stable release, 2.7.1, dates from July 2024 and was primarily a security release. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. There's no account to make, and wizards walk you through clarifying and reviews. Sync is the part you set up yourself, since the maker runs no sync service. | DYou host it yourself. That means a server with Ruby and a MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite database, or a Docker setup, and only the admin can add accounts. The way round it is TaskItIn, a hosted instance run by the principal maintainer's company. |
| Platforms and integrations | AMac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android. It syncs through iCloud, Dropbox or WebDAV, imports from Todoist, TickTick and OmniFocus, and has a local API and an MCP server. There's no hosted web app, though. | BA web app with an API that lets scripts read and write tasks, plus text, iCal and RSS feeds and exports to YAML, CSV or XML. There are no native phone apps. Phones get a lightweight mobile web interface, and the only client listed is for SailfishOS. |
| Best for | free GTD on your computer and your phone | Getting Things Done on your own server |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Mindwtr and Tracks. How we grade
Where they differ
- Mindwtr is free. Tracks is free.
- Only Mindwtr lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Tracks lists a web app.
- Tracks is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Mindwtr also covers natural-language input, kanban boards and Pomodoro timer.
In commonFree planOpen sourceTasks
At a glance
| Mindwtr | Tracks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Every feature is free under the AGPL-3.0 license with no account, ads or subscription, and the docs state there is no paid tier. Development is funded by optional donations and sponsorships. | The software is free and open source under the GNU GPL. You download the source or use Docker and run it on your own computer or server; the project itself sells no plans. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Dongda Li | TracksApp |
| Price read from | mindwtr.app | getontracks.org |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Mindwtr
- People who follow Getting Things Done and want the method built in
- Keeping tasks on your own devices with no account
- Linux users who want the same app on desktop and phone
- Syncing through Dropbox, WebDAV, iCloud or a server you run
Tracks
- GTD practitioners who want contexts, projects and a tickler
- People comfortable running a Rails app or a Docker container
- Households or small groups wanting private accounts on one server
- Getting task data out through feeds, exports and an API
Worth knowing
Mindwtr
- It is built for one person: the site says it is not designed for shared workspaces, task assignments or team discussion.
- There is no hosted web app. The browser version (PWA) has to be self-hosted, stores data in localStorage and lacks some desktop features.
- The maker runs no sync service of its own, so syncing depends on iCloud, Dropbox, WebDAV, a shared folder or a server you host.
- It is maintained by one developer and funded by donations through Ko-fi and GitHub Sponsors.
Tracks
- Running Tracks yourself takes a server with Ruby and a MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite database, or a Docker setup.
- The latest stable release, 2.7.1, is dated July 25, 2024 and was primarily a security release.
- There are no native phone apps. Phones use a lightweight mobile web interface, and the only client listed is for SailfishOS.
- A hosted instance, TaskItIn, is run by the principal maintainer's company at €3 a month after a 30-day free trial.
Key features
Mindwtr
- Guided GTD workflow
- Inbox, Next, Waiting For and Someday lists with projects, areas and contexts. Inbox processing is guided and applies the two-minute rule, and wizards walk through daily and weekly reviews.
- Focus, calendar and board views
- Focus shows a time-based agenda next to the next actions. A calendar plans dated tasks and subscribes to external calendars and ICS feeds, and a Kanban board moves tasks between status lists.
- Quick capture
- Tasks are added by a global hotkey, the tray, the share sheet, a widget or voice, and the quick-add line reads contexts and due dates as you type. Spoken tasks are transcribed into the Inbox.
- Local data with sync you choose
- Tasks are stored as SQLite and JSON on the device. Sync is optional and runs through iCloud, Dropbox, a folder, WebDAV or a self-hosted server, and a JSON export serves as a backup.
- Import from other task apps
- Importers bring in tasks from Todoist, TickTick, DGT GTD and OmniFocus, and the desktop app can import an Obsidian vault with links back to the source notes.
- Optional AI, local API and MCP
- An AI assistant is off by default and uses your own provider key or a local model. The desktop app has a token-authenticated localhost REST API, and an MCP server lets AI tools manage tasks.
Tracks
- Contexts and projects
- The home page lists next actions sorted by context, and separate pages show one context or one project. Projects and contexts can be reordered by dragging and hidden from the home page.
- Tags and stars
- Actions take free-form tags, each with its own page of matching actions, and a star icon marks actions to pull onto a starred page.
- Due dates and a tickler
- Optional due dates are shown on a traffic-light colored background by how close they are. The tickler schedules an action to appear on the home page only after a future date.
- Multiple private users
- Each user has their own contexts, projects, actions and preferences behind a login. Only the admin can add or delete accounts, so visitors cannot sign themselves up.
- Statistics
- A statistics page shows the average time taken to complete actions, how many were completed in the past month or year, and which days of the week are the most productive.
- Feeds, exports and API
- Next actions are available as text, iCal and RSS feeds, data exports to YAML, CSV or XML, and an API lets scripts read and write tasks. A lightweight mobile web interface is included.
Plans
Mindwtr
Free$0
All features on every platform, including sync through a service you choose, import, backup, the local API and the MCP server.
Tracks
Free$0
The complete application, installed from source or with Docker on a machine you run, for as many users as the admin adds.
