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ToolGPA

Keep or make

What to keep paying for, and what you could make yourself

An AI app builder can now make a small piece of software in a weekend, which changes what is worth a subscription. We went through all 1,555 tools and asked one question of each: could you make this for yourself?

1,331Keep
It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing. 218 of these are free.
205Your call
You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.
19Make
What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

The ones you could make

Plain at the core, little around it, and a bill every month. Dearest first.

  1. CheckliWeb checklist maker for recurring processes and shared runsTo-Do Lists · $348 a year
  2. FictionaryStory-structure software for outlining, writing and editing novelsWriting · $168 a year
  3. Gingko WriterTree-based writing app that breaks long documents into cardsWriting · $117 a year
  4. Type.aiAI document editor for books, screenplays and long-form storiesWriting · $96 a year
  5. Good TodoDay-by-day to-do list for web and iOS that takes tasks by emailTo-Do Lists · $96 a year
  6. Monica Personal CRMOpen-source personal CRM for friends, family and colleaguesCRM · $90 a year
  7. FlocusBrowser focus dashboard with timer, to-dos, music and ambient soundsFocus · $60 a year
  8. BriliVisual routine planner and timer for adults with ADHDHabit Trackers · $49.99 a year
  9. WeekriseBrowser-based weekly task planner with boards and team sharingDaily Planners · $48 a year
  10. TasksBoardFull-screen kanban board and list sharing for Google TasksTo-Do Lists · $47.88 a year
  11. DailyBeanTap-based mood diary that logs a day with icons instead of writingJournaling · $47.88 a year
  12. TimeTaggerOpen-source time tracker built on tags and a timelineTime Tracking · $40.34 a year
  13. Dabble MePrivate journal you keep by replying to email promptsJournaling · $40 a year
  14. ChecklistChecklist app with templates, guided runs and routinesTo-Do Lists · $39.99 a year
  15. AtomsOfficial Atomic Habits app for building identity-based habitsHabit Trackers · $39.99 a year
  16. Me+Routine planner and habit tracker with mood loggingHabit Trackers · $39.99 a year
  17. TeuxDeuxMinimal day-by-day to-do list modeled on a sheet of paperTo-Do Lists · $36 a year
  18. My DiaryLocked diary with themes, stickers and a mood calendarJournaling · $35.88 a year
  19. BearableSymptom and mood tracker that links health to daily habitsJournaling · $34.99 a year

Category by category

What each kind of software is at its plainest, where the work really is, and how its tools fall.

Keep itYour callYou could make this

What is easy to make, and what is not

Every verdict starts here: each thing a tool can do, rated by how hard it is to make for yourself.

Level 1 of 4

An app builder makes it well

Lists, text, counters and timers.

Bookmarks · Calculator · Daily notes · Goals · Habit tracking · Kanban boards · Markdown · Mood tracking · Notes · Pomodoro timer · Reports · Sales pipeline · Tasks · Templates

Level 2 of 4

Takes work, and still yours to make

More moving parts, nothing you would have to rent or fake.

Calendar · Documents · File compression · Forms · Gantt & timelines · Highlights · Invoicing · Issue tracking · Linked notes · Long-form writing · Mind mapping · Natural-language input · Read later · RSS reader · Surveys · Time blocking · Time tracking · Web clipper · Wiki

Level 3 of 4

Hard

Needs native code, heavy lifting or something you would rent.

Auto-scheduling · Booking links · Citations · Clipboard manager · Databases · Diagrams · Disk cleanup · File management · File sharing · Focus music · Grammar & style · Inbox filtering · Menu bar app · Presentations · Screen recording · Screenshots · Site & app blocker · System monitor · Text expansion · Transcription · Whiteboard

Level 4 of 4

Not something to make

An engine, a network or a vault.

AI agents · AI search · App builder · Chat assistant · Dictation · Display control · Email client · File sync · Keyboard and mouse remapping · Launcher · Marketing automation · Meeting notes · No-code · Noise cancellation · Passkeys · Password manager · Research · Shared inbox · Spreadsheets · Team chat · Video calls · Video editing · Web browser · Window management · Workflow automation

Then we count what surrounds the core, because that is usually what you are paying for: real apps on several kinds of device that stay in step, other people using it with you, connections to other products, encryption, hooks into the device such as a watch app or widgets, people on the other end such as coaches, and how much of its job it covers by our own features grade. A tool with enough of these is one to keep however plain its core.

A tool is one you could make only if it scores low on all of that and costs at least $30 a year. A free tool is always one to keep. The ratings are ours and are the same for every tool, and no vendor can pay to change a verdict. More on the method

Common questions

Which software is worth paying for, and which could I make myself?

Of the 1,555 tools here, 1,331 are ones to keep: 218 because they are free, and the rest because they do something a person could not reasonably make, such as run an AI model, sync files, hold passwords or keep a team in step. 205 are a matter of choice: you could make the basics and you would give something up. 19 you could make outright, and they charge every month.

What kinds of software can you make yourself?

The ones whose job is plain at its core: habit trackers (29 of 44), journaling apps (18 of 36), to-do list apps (48 of 124), writing tools (26 of 68), focus apps (21 of 66). A list, a tick box, a timer and a page of text are what an AI app builder makes well.

What kinds of software should you not try to make?

In 16 of the 31 categories here not one tool is makeable: ai meeting notes, ai assistants, ai agents, ai research tools, ai app builders, voice dictation, docs & wikis, spreadsheets & databases and more. They rest on an engine, a network or a vault: an AI model, email delivery, file sync, a password store, a browser.

How is the verdict decided?

From each tool's listing. Every thing a tool can do is rated by how hard it is to make for yourself, from lists and timers at one end to AI models and password vaults at the other. Then what surrounds it is counted: apps on several kinds of device, other people using it with you, connections to other products, encryption, and how much of its job it covers. A tool that scores high is one to keep. A tool that scores low, and charges at least $30 a year, is one you could make. Free tools are always kept, since making your own would save nothing.

Have you built replacements for these tools?

No. This is a judgement about the kind of software each tool is, reasoned from what its own pages say it does. Something you make is also something you look after: it is yours to host, to fix and to back up.

What does it cost to make your own?

Your time, and a tool to make it with. The middle starting price of the AI app builders listed here is $19 a month, and you only need one while you are building. Hosting a small app for yourself is usually free or a few dollars a month.