ALMOST

A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.

Work management for teams: tasks in projects with owners and dates, shown as lists, boards, timelines or calendars, with rules, forms and portfolio views on top.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is
Build me a task tracker for one team, with the two views people actually use.

STACK
- Astro with a Node adapter, SQLite via better-sqlite3, server-rendered
- Small JavaScript islands for drag and drop only

THE MODEL
- Project, section, task, subtask; a task has assignee, due date, status and a description
- Custom fields per project: text, number, select, date — stored typed, never as strings
- Every change appended to an activity table: who, when, field, before, after

VIEWS
- List grouped by section, and board grouped by any select field
- Filters belong to the view and are shareable as a URL

DATES
- Due dates are calendar dates without times; store them as text, not as timestamps, and say why in the README
- A start date and a due date give a timeline bar; render the timeline as inline SVG

RULES, KEPT SMALL
- One trigger, one action: when status becomes X, set field Y or assign to Z
- Rules run server-side after the write, and their effects are logged as activity by the rule, not the user

NOTIFICATIONS
- A daily digest per person of what changed on tasks they own or follow
- No instant emails; the README should explain that this is deliberate

WHAT IS OUT OF SCOPE
- Portfolios, goals, workload, mobile apps

Include a README on the activity table, the rule engine's limits, and CSV export.

What you lose

  • Portfolios and goals that roll many projects into one view for people who do not read task lists
  • Workload across people, with capacity rather than counts
  • Rules and forms that let operations teams change process without a developer
  • Notifications tuned enough that people actually read them
  • Mobile apps and offline behaviour that field teams rely on

If you would rather not build

  • ClickUp — paid, broader, cheaper per seat

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Plane

$0

Issues, cycles and roadmaps in a similar shape, self-hosted.

makeplane/planefree · open source

Vikunja

$0

Task and project management with list, kanban and gantt views.

go-vikunja/vikunjafree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

46/100

Verdict kinda at 46: tasks, views and a small rule engine are a genuine weekend and cover what most teams touch. The reason companies keep paying is above the task list — portfolios, workload and the fact that everyone already has the app.

History

tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 1/day
views0113 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug
views prompt copies none yet votes none yet

Questions about Asana

answered from the record above

Is Asana free?

No — the plan we track is $13.49 a month. Starter at $13.49 per user per month billed monthly, around $10.99 annually; Advanced roughly doubles it.

Can you replace Asana by building your own?

ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 46 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Asana cost?

$13.49 a month on Starter — $161.88 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Asana?

Portfolios and goals that roll many projects into one view for people who do not read task lists; Workload across people, with capacity rather than counts; Rules and forms that let operations teams change process without a developer; Notifications tuned enough that people actually read them; Mobile apps and offline behaviour that field teams rely on. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Asana?

Yes: Plane, Vikunja. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

Related entries

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All 16 in Tasks & project management

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