25 subscriptions to replace
Build your own productivity apps
Keep your notes, tasks, calendar, and team projects in software you own. Compare 25 alternatives with build prompts and realistic estimates.
Build your own Calendly
Your availability rules, one pleasant booking page.
From 6 hours · $12–$20/mo per person
Build your own Notion
You need a team wiki, not a new operating system.
From 10 hours · $12–$24/mo per person
Build your own Trello
Cards move left. Cards move right. Work happens.
From 3 hours · $10–$17.5/mo per person
Build your own Linear
A sharp issue tracker for the way your team already works.
From 12 hours · $10–$16/mo per person
Build your own Slack
Your team may need three channels, not 3,000 integrations.
From 4 days · $15–$18/mo per person
Build your own Loom
Record screen, share link, receive “nice!” comment.
From 10 hours · $15–$24/mo per person
Build your own Miro
Sticky notes, voting dots, and one infinite-ish canvas.
From 12 hours · $10–$20/mo per person
Build your own Canny
Collect requests, count votes, close the loop.
From 10 hours · $79–$99/mo
Build your own Toggl Track
One button when work starts. Honest answers about where the week went.
From 8 hours · $9–$18/mo per person
Build your own Granola
Rough notes in. A useful meeting brief out.
From 2 days · $14–$35/mo per person
Build your own Wispr Flow
Talk naturally. Get clean text where the cursor is.
From 2 days · $15–$39/mo
Build your own Adobe Acrobat Pro
Merge, split, rotate, compress, and redact—without an account maze.
From 8 hours · $20–$30/mo
Build your own Grammarly
Catch the awkward bits and explain every suggested change.
From 10 hours · $12–$30/mo per person
Build your own ClickUp
Tasks, owners, dates, and a board the whole team can read.
From 3 days · $7–$12/mo per person
Build your own Todoist
Capture the task, see today, check it off.
From 8 hours · $5–$8/mo per person
Build your own Doodle
Five time options, one link, zero reply-all threads.
From 3 hours · $7–$9/mo per person
Build your own Roam Research
Every thought gets an address. Every note links back.
From 12 hours · $13.75–$15/mo
Build your own TextExpander
Whole sentences from three keystrokes, witnessed by no one.
From 10 hours · $4.16–$8.33/mo
Build your own Scribe
Turn a fiddly process into screenshots people can follow.
From 12 hours · $25–$35/mo
Build your own Text Blaze
Your standard reply, with the right name filled in.
From 10 hours · $2.99–$3.49/mo
Build your own RescueTime
Find out where your afternoon went, privately.
From 3 days · $7–$12/mo
Build your own Rize
Work for a while. Remember to stand up.
From 12 hours · $9.99–$39.99/mo
Build your own Sunsama
Plan a day that fits inside a day.
From 12 hours · $17–$22/mo
Build your own Akiflow
Catch the task now. Give it a time later.
From 12 hours · $19–$34/mo
Build your own Amazing Marvin
Keep the task habits that work for you.
From 10 hours · $8–$8/mo
Productivity tutorials
- How to build a Canny alternative
How to build a Canny alternative with search, one vote per person, and a public status. Follow the prompts, check each step, then skip AI and CRM.
- How to build a Trello alternative
How to build a Trello alternative with lists, cards you drag between columns, and a membership check. Follow the prompts, check each step, skip live sync.
- Vibe code a Calendly clone
Vibe code a Calendly clone with weekly hours, a booking page, and a slot lock. Follow the prompts, check each step, and skip the calendar OAuth.
Read about building productivity apps
- How per-seat SaaS pricing works
How per-seat SaaS pricing works is the homepage team-size multiplier. Notion, Slack, Linear, and Figma bill every person. Check that math before you cancel.
- Don't rebuild Slack
Don't rebuild Slack if the company already lives there. A campfire for a focused group is 4 days. Presence, search, and unread cursors stay paid.
- Vibe code your own Slack
Vibe code your own Slack as channels and messages. Presence, search, unread cursors, and fanout to a million clients are the other product. Here is the split.
- Vibe code your own Linear
Vibe code your own Linear as an issue tracker. Title, status, a backlog. The sync engine is what you pay for. Public architecture, and which half I would ship.