The Mindwtr Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Mindwtr in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Mindwtr
The Insider’s Guide
Free, open-source GTD task manager for desktop and mobile
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among to-do list apps, read from Mindwtr’s own pages.
Made by Dongda Li · checked Oct 9, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Mindwtr’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Mindwtr’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.2
GPA, above 113 of the 123 other to-do list apps we grade
Mindwtr is a free, open-source to-do app built around the Getting Things Done (GTD) method. It covers the whole workflow, from an Inbox and guided clarifying through next actions, projects, Waiting For and Someday lists to daily and weekly reviews, on macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android. Data stays on the device with no account, and sync is optional through iCloud, Dropbox, WebDAV, a shared folder or a server you host.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Mindwtr, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for free GTD on your computer and your phone
It's built for one person, with no shared workspaces or assigning.
- 2
It is free
Mindwtr has no paid plan at all. 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.
- 3
It runs on 5 platforms
macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
- 4
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.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
A 3.2 GPA, above 113 of 123
That is against the other to-do list apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
Mindwtr is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
Mindwtr at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Dongda Li, since 2025
- Category
- To-Do List Apps
- Our grade
- 3.2 GPA, very good
The report card
Best for free GTD on your computer and your phone
Mindwtr is a free, open-source GTD app for Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with inbox, next actions, projects, Waiting For and weekly reviews, and no account. It's built for one person, with no shared workspaces or assigning. The maker runs no sync service, so you set up iCloud, Dropbox, WebDAV or your own server, there's no hosted web app, and one developer maintains it on donations.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | A desktop and phone app you download for nothing, open source under the AGPL, with no ads, no account and, its docs say, no paid tier at all. The rest of this category charges $2.42 to $5.00 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | A | Everything is free on every platform: the GTD workflow, the calendar, the board, imports, backups, the local API and the MCP server. There is no upgrade to be sold, only a donations page. |
| Features | B | It covers the category's job and the GTD method on top: guided Inbox processing with the two-minute rule, next actions, projects, areas, contexts, Waiting For, Someday, review wizards, a calendar that takes ICS feeds, a Kanban board, voice capture and importers from Todoist, TickTick and OmniFocus. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and two things to work through before it runs itself: GTD as a method, and sync, which the maker doesn't host, so you wire up iCloud, Dropbox, WebDAV or a server of your own. Review wizards guide the weekly review. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android, with imports from other task apps, a localhost REST API and an MCP server. What's missing is the browser: there's no hosted web app, only a PWA you self-host, which stores data in localStorage. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Mindwtr is for
- Fits if you follow Getting Things Done and want the method built in
- Works for people who want the same app on Linux and on their phone, with no account
Who it is not for
- Too light for teams, as it isn't designed for shared workspaces or assigning tasks
- Skip it if you want a web app you just log in to, because the browser version has to be self-hosted and lacks some features
- Not for you if you want sync that works out of the box, since you bring your own iCloud, Dropbox or server
- Watch out: it's maintained by one developer and funded by donations through Ko-fi and GitHub Sponsors
Good to know
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Free
No paid plan at all
Mindwtr is free to use.
Everything is free on every platform: the GTD workflow, the calendar, the board, imports, backups, the local API and the MCP server.
Free
$0
All features on every platform, including sync through a service you choose, import, backup, the local API and the MCP server.
The 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.
Read from mindwtr.app on Oct 9, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
5
Places it runs: macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Free, open-source GTD task manager for desktop and mobile. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, works offline, local-first, tasks, natural-language input, kanban boards, Pomodoro timer.
Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android, with imports from other task apps, a localhost REST API and an MCP server.
- 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.
Where it runs
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- iCloud
- Dropbox
- WebDAV
- Obsidian
- Apple Shortcuts
- Todoist
- TickTick
- OmniFocus
Who makes Mindwtr
Mindwtr is an open-source to-do app under the AGPL-3.0 licence, published by Dongda Li with no company named on its pages. Every feature is free; the money comes from donations through Ko-fi and GitHub Sponsors and from paid corporate sponsorship slots in the README and on the site.
- Founded
- 2025mindwtr.app
- Ownership
- Community project. An open-source project rather than a company. The terms say the website, the apps and the hosted services are published by Dongda Li, the code is under AGPL-3.0, and the footer carries his copyright from 2025.mindwtr.app
- Funding
- No funding is announced. The donate page asks for one-off or monthly support through Ko-fi and GitHub Sponsors, and says donations pay for developer tools, app store fees, domain renewal and the maintainer's time.mindwtr.app
- Team
- No staff is named; the donate page speaks of one person's time and the support page of a single maintainer on Discordmindwtr.app
- Founders and leaders
- Dongda Li, Publisher of the Mindwtr projectmindwtr.app
- Partner program
- Corporate sponsorship in four tiers: Bronze $250 a month for a name and link in the README, Silver $500 for a logo, Gold $1,000 adding a logo on mindwtr.app, and a Strategic or Product Partner tier priced on request covering integrations and co-marketing. Minimum term three months.github.com
Read on Oct 18, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
113/123
Other to-do list apps it is graded above
Mindwtr's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 113 of the 123 other to-do list apps we grade, and level with 3.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 87 of 123) and worst on ease of use (C, above 10).
Mindwtr has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 124 to-do list apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Mindwtr’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 69 of 123
- AFree plan and trialAbove 87 of 123
- BFeaturesAbove 81 of 123
- CEase of useAbove 10 of 123
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 73 of 123
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 99 to-do list apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Mindwtr is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
Mindwtr is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 113 of the 123 other to-do list apps we grade.
What you could make
- Tasks, natural-language input, kanban boards and Pomodoro timer: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, iCloud, Dropbox and WebDAV among them.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Mindwtr’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Everdo, Nirvana, Super Productivity, OmniFocus and Todoist
The 5 tools Mindwtr is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Everdo
Free plan · from $39.99 one-time
Offline-first GTD task manager sold as a one-time purchase.
- Only Everdo lists a browser extension.
- Mindwtr is open source, according to its own site.
- Everdo is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- 2.4GPA
Nirvana
Free plan · from $3/mo
To-do list app built around the Getting Things Done method.
- Only Mindwtr lists a Linux app.
- Only Nirvana lists a web app.
- Mindwtr is open source, according to its own site.
- 3.4GPA
Super Productivity
Free
Free, open-source to-do app with time tracking and a Pomodoro timer.
- Only Super Productivity lists a web app.
- Mindwtr also covers natural-language input.
- Super Productivity also covers time tracking.
- 2.4GPA
OmniFocus
Free trial · from $74.99 one-time
Project-based task manager for Apple devices, with a web companion.
- Mindwtr has a free plan. OmniFocus does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Mindwtr lists Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Only OmniFocus lists a web app.
- 2.8GPA
Todoist
Free plan · from $5/mo
Cross-platform to-do list with natural-language task entry.
- Only Todoist lists a web app.
- Only Todoist lists a browser extension.
- Mindwtr is open source, according to its own site.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
11
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Mindwtr free?
Yes. Mindwtr is free to use.
How much does Mindwtr cost?
Mindwtr lists one plan. Free: $0.
What platforms does Mindwtr work on?
Mindwtr is available on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.
Is Mindwtr open source?
Yes. Mindwtr is open source, according to its own site.
Does Mindwtr work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
What does Mindwtr integrate with?
Mindwtr's listing names iCloud, Dropbox, WebDAV, Obsidian, Apple Shortcuts, Todoist, TickTick and OmniFocus.
Who makes Mindwtr?
Mindwtr is made by a company of the same name. An open-source project rather than a company.
What are the alternatives to Mindwtr?
The closest alternatives to Mindwtr in our directory are Everdo, Nirvana, Super Productivity, OmniFocus and Todoist.
How does Mindwtr compare with other to-do list apps?
Mindwtr's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 113 of the 123 other to-do list apps we grade, and level with 3.
Is Mindwtr good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Mindwtr A for value for money. Mindwtr has no paid plan.
Could I make my own version of Mindwtr?
Mindwtr is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Mindwtr’s own pages on Oct 9, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Mindwtr's own pages on 9 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-03-13.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Dongda Li. Prices change, so check mindwtr.app before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Mindwtr, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/mindwtr
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Mindwtr: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 9, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/mindwtr
Know someone choosing between to-do list apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/mindwtr/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded to-do list apps after Mindwtr, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- To-Do List Apps Insider's GuideEvery one of the 124 to-do list apps we grade, compared
- Apple Reminders Insider's GuideApple's free to-do app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch3.6 GPA
- Microsoft To Do Insider's GuideFree to-do list from Microsoft that syncs with Outlook tasks3.6 GPA
- Google Tasks Insider's GuideGoogle's to-do list, built into Gmail, Calendar, Chat and Docs3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Mindwtr’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Mindwtr is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Dongda Li. Prices and plans change: check mindwtr.app before you buy.