tingdo and Mindwtr, compared
Two task managers, both built around the same idea: the question that matters is "what's next?", not "what's due?". They take very different routes to get there. Here's an honest look, so you can pick the one that fits how you work.
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First, credit where it's due
Mindwtr is a free, open-source app (its tagline is "Mind Like Water"). It's local-first, your data stays on your device, and it runs almost everywhere, including Linux. It's also built to be complete: a calendar view, a kanban board, recurring tasks, a focus timer, a command-line interface, and even a self-hosted sync server. If you want control and breadth, Mindwtr gives you a lot, and it gives it away for free.
tingdo goes the other way on purpose. It's a hosted, opinionated app with one calm view of what you can do next. Fewer settings, fewer decisions, less to maintain. The constraints are the product.
The short version: Mindwtr hands you a full toolkit and trusts you to tune it. tingdo makes the calls for you and leaves the rest out. Both are honest approaches. They just suit different people.
The core difference
Mindwtr is comfortable with dates. Its Focus view blends a time-based agenda with your next actions, there's a calendar, and due dates come with reminders. That works well if your days are shaped by deadlines.
tingdo keeps dates at the edges. Your home screen is your next actions, grouped by context (#home, #computer, #errands), not a timeline. A scheduled date is something you choose for the rare task that truly needs one, not the default. Nothing turns red because a date passed. Items you scheduled for an earlier day appear quietly under "Earlier", with no guilt attached.
So the real fork is this: do you want a system that organizes around when things are due, or one that organizes around where you are and what you can act on right now?
Side by side
| Feature | tingdo | Mindwtr |
|---|---|---|
| Organizing principle | Next actions, grouped by context | Next actions plus a time-based agenda and calendar |
| Dates | Optional, kept at the edges. No "late" list, no red badges | First-class: due dates, reminders, agenda view |
| Recurring tasks | No, by design | Yes (fluid recurrence) |
| Kanban board | No, by design | Yes |
| Focus | Focus mode with time tracking | Pomodoro timer plus a focus view |
| Capture | The next bar: one field to search, create, and navigate | Global hotkey, tray, share sheet, voice capture |
| Notes and tasks | Same entity, notes and tasks live together | Markdown notes, Obsidian import |
| Calendar | Calendar feed (ICS) today, two-way sync planned | Calendar view, ICS subscriptions, system calendars |
| AI | Assistant in development, hosted, included in paid plans | Optional copilot, bring your own key or local model |
| Open source | No | Yes (AGPL-3.0) |
| Data | Hosted, GDPR, operated from Germany | Local-first, no account, self-hostable |
| Platforms today | Web and installable PWA on any device, native apps in development | Desktop (incl. Linux), mobile, PWA, Docker |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
A few of those tingdo "no" rows are deliberate. No recurring tasks, no board, no priority levels. tingdo stays light because complexity is where most task managers quietly fall apart.
What tingdo does differently
Dates stay at the edges
There's no timeline driving your day and no count of things you're behind on. You open tingdo and you see what you can do next, filtered by where you are. The feeling tingdo is after isn't "I'm behind", it's "I know where I stand."
Less to set up, less to maintain
Mindwtr rewards configuration: keybinding presets, a choice of sync backends, your own AI keys. That's real power if you want it. tingdo asks for none of it. You sign in and start. One opinionated way of working, no setup, nothing to wire together.
One bar for everything
The next bar is a single input that searches, captures, and navigates. Type to find anything, add + to create a task, # to jump to a context, / to open a project. Capture takes about two seconds: a title is all you need, and you can fill in the rest later, or not at all.
Notes and tasks in one place
Like Mindwtr, tingdo keeps notes and tasks together rather than in two separate apps. A reference note and a next action can sit in the same project, and search reaches both.
Where Mindwtr is the better pick
Honesty is part of the point here, so this section is real.
Choose Mindwtr if you want open-source software you can inspect, fork, and self-host. Choose it if you keep your data strictly local, run Linux on the desktop, or want a command line, a REST API, or an MCP server to automate things. Choose it if recurring tasks, a kanban board, or a built-in agenda are part of how you actually work. And choose it if free and donation-supported matters to you more than a hosted, managed experience.
Mindwtr is built to be complete and to give you control. If that's what you're looking for, it's a strong, well-made tool, and you'd be in good hands.
Where tingdo fits
tingdo is for you if a feature-rich app is the thing that keeps tripping you up. If every tool you've tried slowly filled with settings, dates, and a backlog that made you feel behind, tingdo is the calmer answer.
It decides the hard parts so you don't have to. It keeps dates out of your face. It shows you what's next and gets out of the way. You give up some control and some breadth in exchange for a system you can actually trust to stay quiet.
tingdo. Know what's next.
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Common questions
Is tingdo open source like Mindwtr?
No. tingdo is a hosted product operated from Germany under GDPR. If open source and self-hosting are requirements for you, Mindwtr is the better fit.
Does tingdo have recurring tasks?
No, and that's deliberate. Recurring tasks tend to pile up and turn into noise. tingdo focuses on the next action instead. Mindwtr does support recurrence if you need it.
Can I move my data from Mindwtr to tingdo?
Direct import is on the way. CSV import from common task apps is planned. In the meantime, you can recreate your projects and contexts quickly through the next bar.
Is my data private?
Mindwtr keeps everything local by default, which is hard to beat for data control. tingdo stores your data on hosted infrastructure under GDPR, operated from Frankfurt am Main. Different models, both legitimate. Pick the one that matches how you think about your data.
What does tingdo cost?
There's a free tier. Pro is €49 a year and Unlimited is €69 a year. Mindwtr is free and open source.
The short answer
If you want a complete, open, configurable GTD toolkit and you're happy to tune it, Mindwtr is excellent, and free.
If you want a calm, hosted app that organizes around what's next instead of what's due, decides the details for you, and stays quiet, that's tingdo.
No sign-up, no credit card.