Alternatives

10 Best Sunsama Alternatives

Ruud CarisEditor-in-Chief

Updated: 21 December 2025About Sunsama →

Sunsama is beautiful, but $ 20 per month is a significant barrier for many people just to plan your day. Maybe you're looking for something that works faster through keyboard shortcuts, or a tool that automatically organizes your schedule for you instead of having to drag everything yourself. This list helps you find the planner that fits your wallet and way of working.

136+ toolscompared

✓No sponsored rankings

My recommendations

Best Overall

Akiflow

★ 4.3/5

The perfect balance between speed, integrations, and daily planning

View Akiflow →

Best AI Features

Motion

★ 4.4/5

Automatically reschedules your calendar when plans change

View Motion →

Best Budget

TickTick

★ 4.5/5

Offers calendar and task list for a fraction of the price

View TickTick →

Best for Apple

Structured

★ 4.4/5

Visually attractive daily planner that works perfectly on iOS and Mac

View Structured →

At a glance

ToolScoreBest for

Akiflow

★4.3/5

Power users who live through keyboard shortcutsView →

Motion

★4.4/5

People with a chaotic schedule who don't want to plan themselvesView →

Morgen

★4.3/5

People who want a clean, unified calendarView →

TickTick

★4.5/5

Budget-conscious users who still want many featuresView →

Ellie Planner

★4/5

People who are visually oriented and seek simplicityView →

All Sunsama alternatives at a glance

Akiflow

Power users who live through keyboard shortcuts

★ 4.3/5 · From 19 dollar

Akiflow is probably Sunsama's biggest competitor, but with a different philosophy: speed. Where Sunsama forces you to rest and reflect, Akiflow is built to process tasks from different sources (Slack, Gmail, Notion) as quickly as possible. The 'Command Bar' works lightning fast to drag tasks into your calendar. It feels more business-like and less 'zen' than Sunsama, but for people who have many meetings and loose tasks, this is often the better choice. The learning curve is slightly steeper due to the many keyboard shortcuts, but that pays off in time savings.

Difference: Akiflow focuses on speed and capture, Sunsama on intention and calm

Choose this if: workflow is fragmented across many different apps and you're missing central overview

✓ What we like

✓Centralizes tasks from various apps
✓Visual time-blocking in calendar
✓Quick navigation via Command Bar
✓Sleek and modern interface

✗ What we don't like

✗Expensive monthly subscription ($ 34/month)
✗Mobile app still contains bugs
✗No offline mode available
✗Limited project management features

View Akiflow →More details →

Motion

People with a chaotic schedule who don't want to plan themselves

★ 4.4/5 · From 12 dollar

Motion takes a completely different approach than Sunsama. Instead of manually dragging blocks into your calendar, you throw all your tasks into Motion and let the AI determine when you do what. If a meeting runs over or something urgent comes up, Motion automatically reshuffles your entire schedule. This is ideal if you hate playing 'calendar tetris'. The downside is that you sometimes lose control and the algorithm doesn't always understand your human preferences. It's a busy tool, but one that takes work off your hands.

Difference: Motion plans automatically for you (AI), Sunsama lets you choose manually

Choose this if: constantly have to adjust your schedule due to unexpected matters

✓ What we like

✓AI automatically schedules tasks in calendar
✓Ideal for users with ADHD
✓Replaces Calendly with booking links
✓Combines projects and calendar

✗ What we don't like

✗Pricey for individual use ($ 19/m)
✗Mobile app is slow and buggy
✗Customer service often responds slowly
✗Steep learning curve at start

View Motion →More details →

Morgen

People who want a clean, unified calendar

★ 4.3/5 · From 10 dollar

Morgen really starts as a calendar and adds tasks to it, rather than the other way around. The interface is super sleek and calm. You connect your Google or Outlook calendars and drag tasks directly into your timeline. A big plus is that Morgen also works very well on Linux and Windows, something that's sometimes less optimal with competitors. They have handy 'booking links' built in, so you might not need Calendly anymore. It lacks Sunsama's deep 'daily review' rituals, but as a pure time-blocking tool it's a strong, cheaper candidate.

Difference: Morgen is calendar-first, Sunsama is task list-first

Choose this if: want a beautiful desktop app that also works perfectly on Windows/Linux

✓ What we like

✓Intuitive user interface
✓Seamless task integrations
✓Excellent Linux support
✓Convenient time-blocking

✗ What we don't like

✗Limited mobile app
✗Occasional sync errors
✗Pricey subscription

View Morgen →More details →

TickTick

Budget-conscious users who still want many features

★ 4.5/5 · Free / from 3 dollar

Don't be fooled by the low price; TickTick is a beast. It's basically a to-do app, but the calendar view (in the paid version) lets you time-block tasks just like in Sunsama. It even has a built-in Pomodoro timer and habit tracker. It looks less 'premium' than Sunsama and the integrations are simpler (often via Zapier or simple calendar sync), but functionally you get very close for a fraction of the price. If your budget is limited, this is absolutely the best choice to start with time-blocking.

Difference: TickTick is a traditional to-do app with calendar option, Sunsama is a dedicated planner

Choose this if: want to spend less than 5 euros per month

✓ What we like

✓Versatile functionality
✓Built-in focus timer
✓Handy habit tracker
✓Visual calendar view

✗ What we don't like

✗Dated interface design
✗Slow calendar sync
✗Limited collaboration tools

View TickTick →More details →

Ellie Planner

People who are visually oriented and seek simplicity

★ 4/5 · Free / from 10 dollar

Ellie was made by someone who found Sunsama too complicated and too expensive. It's a visual daily planner that works with a simple concept: a 'Brain Dump' column on the left and your calendar on the right. You drag tasks from your dump to your day. No fuss, no hundred integrations, just planning. The app feels very light and modern. It lacks the heavy features for teams or project management, but for freelancers or students who just want to organize their day without distraction, Ellie is a breath of fresh air. There's also a great iOS app.

Difference: Ellie is much simpler and focuses purely on the 'brain dump' method

Choose this if: Sunsama has too many bells and whistles for you

✓ What we like

✓Intuitive interface
✓Handy brain dump
✓Beautiful minimalist design
✓Effective time-blocking

✗ What we don't like

✗Limited free version
✗Relatively expensive subscription
✗No NLP input

View Ellie Planner →More details →

Amazing Marvin

Tweak-freaks and people with ADHD

★ 4.3/5 · From 8 dollar

If Sunsama is an iPhone, Amazing Marvin is a box of Lego. You can build this tool exactly the way you want. Want daily planning like Sunsama? Turn on the 'strategy'. Want gamification? Turn it on. Pomodoro? Check. It's the most flexible tool on the market, but that's also the danger: you can spend hours setting up your system instead of working. For neurodivergent people (ADHD/Autism) this is often a lifesaver because you can adjust the tool to how your brain works that day.

Difference: Fully modular to build, Sunsama has a fixed workflow

Choose this if: no standard tool does exactly what you want

✓ What we like

✓Huge customizability
✓Modular strategies
✓ADHD-friendly
✓Responsive developers

✗ What we don't like

✗Slow mobile app
✗Steep learning curve
✗High subscription price

View Amazing Marvin →More details →

Amie

Design lovers and creative folks

★ 4/5 · From 6 dollar

Amie calls itself the 'joyful productivity app' and you can see it. The design is colorful, playful and full of small animations. It combines your calendar with tasks and email in a way that feels less like 'work'. For example, you can connect your Spotify to see what you were listening to during a task. Functionally it's still a bit lighter than Sunsama (fewer heavy integrations with project management tools), but the planning experience is very pleasant. It's mainly aimed at the individual who wants to be happy with their calendar, not at enterprise managers.

Difference: Focus on joy and design, Sunsama focuses on focus

Choose this if: current calendar feels boring and depressing

✓ What we like

✓Beautiful, joyful, and aesthetic design
✓Combines tasks, calendar, and email
✓Fast performance and convenient shortcuts
✓AI notes without bot in the meeting

✗ What we don't like

✗No Android version available
✗Pricey Pro subscription ($ 10-15/month)
✗Sync issues with external calendars
✗Focus shifts too much toward AI notes

View Amie →More details →

Lunatask

Privacy-conscious users and journalers

★ 4.2/5 · Free / from 6 dollar

Lunatask is a privacy-first alternative that does much more than just planning. In addition to tasks and calendar integration, it has built-in journals, mood tracking and relationship tracking. Everything is end-to-end encrypted, so no one is watching. In terms of planning, it supports specific methods like Kanban, Must/Should/Want and Eisenhower Matrix right out of the box. It's less 'drag-and-drop' in a timeline than Sunsama, but does offer a lot of structure for people who want to manage their entire life (not just work) in one secure place.

Difference: Combines tasks with journaling and mood tracking

Choose this if: privacy is important and you like to reflect on your mental state

✓ What we like

✓Intuitive interface
✓Strong privacy
✓All-in-one tool
✓Unique prioritization methods

✗ What we don't like

✗Limited mobile widgets
✗No collaboration options
✗Steep learning curve

View Lunatask →More details →

Structured

Apple users who want to plan visually

★ 4.4/5 · Free / from 2 dollar

Structured is extremely popular among Apple users. It's a visual day planner that displays your day as a vertical timeline with icons. It's much simpler than Sunsama: no integrations with Jira or Asana, but purely focused on 'what am I doing today?'. The app looks fantastic on iPhone and iPad. Through the integration with Apple Reminders, you can still get tasks from other apps into Structured. For people who quickly get overwhelmed by full calendars, this visual timeline provides a lot of peace.

Difference: Mobile-first and visual timeline, not a desktop power-tool

Choose this if: primarily plan your day on your iPhone or iPad

✓ What we like

✓Beautiful and intuitive visual design
✓Ideal for ADHD and visual planners
✓Sync with Apple Calendar and Reminders
✓Convenient 'Inbox' for quick notes

✗ What we don't like

✗Sync issues between devices
✗Android version lacks many features
✗No collaboration features
✗Free version has limited sync

View Structured →More details →

Routine

People who take a lot of notes with their tasks

★ 4.1/5 · Free / from 8 dollar

Routine tries to be the place where your day starts. It combines tasks, calendar, and notes. What makes Routine unique is the way it links notes to meetings. You have a meeting, click on it, and can directly type notes that remain linked. The 'Console' (similar to Spotlight on Mac) lets you quickly add tasks from anywhere. The design is minimalist and very clean. It's still under development, but for people who take a lot of notes during their scheduled blocks, this is an interesting option.

Difference: Strong integration of notes/wiki within your calendar

Choose this if: like Sunsama but miss better note features

✓ What we like

✓Beautiful minimalist design
✓Handy 'Console' for quick entry
✓Good natural language processing
✓Seamlessly combines tasks and calendar

✗ What we don't like

✗Mobile app still contains bugs
✗Synchronization sometimes falters
✗Limited collaboration options
✗No public API available

View Routine →More details →

For whom is Sunsama the best choice?

If you want to consciously work on your daily rhythm and take the time for daily planning, Sunsama is still one of the best tools. The daily rituals (planning, review, shutdown) force you to think about what you really want to do. That’s valuable for many people, especially if you notice that your day otherwise slips away into reactive work.

Sunsama works perfectly for people who want to see their calendar and tasks in one place and take the time to schedule everything manually. If the price isn’t a problem for you and you like the ritual approach, then there’s little reason to switch. The tool does exactly what it promises: help you plan more consciously.

Why would you look for a Sunsama alternative?

The biggest reason is the price. $ 20 per month ($ 240 per year) for a tool that essentially combines your tasks and calendar feels too expensive for many people. Especially when you compare it to TickTick ($ 36 per year) or even free options. You’re mainly paying for the rituals and interface, not for unique functionality.

Additionally, Sunsama is intentionally slow. Everything has to be dragged and planned manually. That’s the concept, but if you have a full schedule or just want to work quickly, that can be frustrating. Tools like Motion plan automatically for you, Akiflow works with keyboard shortcuts for quick input. Sunsama also has no offline mode and no mobile app that really works well, which is a dealbreaker for some people.

And if you primarily want AI-driven planning or visual time blocking without rituals, there are better options. Sunsama focuses on mindfulness, not on speed or automation.

In conclusion

If budget plays a role, choose TickTick. For automatic planning choose Motion. For speed and keyboard shortcuts choose Akiflow. For Apple users who want to work visually, Structured is a no-brainer. And if you like Sunsama but want cheaper, try Ellie Planner or Morgen.

Personally, I would choose Motion if I have a full schedule, or Akiflow if I want to work quickly. But that depends on how you work. Test the free trials and see what clicks.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free Sunsama alternative?

TickTick is the best option if you want to time-block for free (or very cheap). Morgen also has a good free version for basic calendar management.

Which Sunsama alternative is best for teams?

Motion is strong here because it can schedule tasks and projects for the entire team. Asana or ClickUp are better choices if you're purely looking for project management without the day-planning focus.

Can I export my data from Sunsama?

Yes, Sunsama offers export options, but because it's mainly a 'layer' over other tools, your tasks often already exist in the original source (like Trello or Gmail).

Is Akiflow better than Sunsama?

Not necessarily better, but faster. If you like peace and reflection, choose Sunsama. If you like speed, shortcuts, and efficiency, choose Akiflow.

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All alternatives →