Chris Raroque
General Task pricing at a glance
As of July 23, 2026, General Task is available as a free, open-source, self-hosted project. The former hosted beta is not presented as a current paid cloud subscription, so there is no monthly or annual SaaS price to compare.
Plan | Current price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
Software license | $0 | Developers comfortable running open-source software |
Hosting | Your infrastructure cost | A server or local environment you manage |
Maintenance | Your time | Updates, backups, integrations, and troubleshooting |
Hosted plan | Not currently offered | People who want a managed service should choose another tool |
Free software is not the same as a free hosted service. General Task removes the subscription fee but shifts operational responsibility to you.
What does ‘free’ mean for General Task?
You can use and modify the open-source project without a subscription. You still need the technical ability and infrastructure to run it, connect accounts, keep it updated, and recover it if something breaks.
Is General Task worth the price?
General Task is compelling when control and inspectable code matter more than convenience. It is a poor fit when you want to create an account and immediately trust someone else to run the service.
General Task is probably worth it if…
You are comfortable self-hosting and maintaining developer tools
You want GitHub, Linear or Jira, Slack, and Google Calendar in one planning view
Open source and local control matter more than polished consumer onboarding
General Task may not be worth it if…
You want a managed app with support, backups, and automatic updates
You rely on an integration General Task does not provide
Mobile and tablet polish are central to your workflow
The planning model earned fans. Losing the hosted app changed the audience.
Early Product Hunt reviewers liked the four-column planning flow and calendar time blocks. The main criticism is practical: missing integrations and a shift to self-hosting make the product inaccessible to many nontechnical users.
Ben K
Product Hunt
What works
The four-column view works really well for me.
Lee Stetson
Product Hunt
What works
It makes planning the day easy and shapes tasks into time blocks.
Nicholas Cernera
Product Hunt
Integration gap
I stopped using it when my team moved to Asana and that integration was missing.
Lee Stetson
Product Hunt
Access concern
It is now only a self-hosted open-source project. I am a little bummed.
Review snapshot checked July 23, 2026: General Task’s Product Hunt page showed 4.2/5 from five reviews. Quotes link to the public launch page. Illustrated avatars are generated from reviewer names and are not claimed likenesses.
Alternatives if General Task is not the right fit
The closest alternative depends on whether you valued open source, integrations, or the planning layout.
Your real need | Try | Why it may fit better |
|---|---|---|
A managed visual daily planner | No server maintenance, with a permanent free plan | |
A low-cost all-in-one planner | Calendar, tasks, notes, and AI without self-hosting | |
A mature task manager | Broad platform support and reliable hosted sync |
Ellie is our product. It is the practical choice when you liked General Task’s visual day but do not want to operate the software. General Task is the more flexible choice for developers who specifically want open source and self-hosting.
What General Task includes
Four-column daily planning workflow
Calendar time blocking and focus mode
GitHub pull request visibility
Linear, Jira, Slack, and Google Calendar integrations
Open-source code that can be inspected and modified
The hidden cost is operations
Hosting
A local install may be nearly free, while an always-on server has its own monthly cost. Add the infrastructure cost to your comparison.
Maintenance
Self-hosting means you own upgrades, secrets, backups, uptime, and integration breakage. That time is part of the real price.
No student plan needed
There is no paid subscription to discount. Students can use the open-source project if they can meet the setup requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Is General Task free?
Yes. General Task is currently free and open source.
Does General Task have a hosted plan?
The current public site presents the project as self-hosted rather than an active managed subscription.
What does self-hosted mean?
You run the software yourself and handle setup, updates, backups, integrations, security, and uptime.
Is General Task still a good consumer to-do app?
Only for technically comfortable users. People who want an app-store download and managed sync should consider a hosted alternative.
What is the closest General Task alternative?
For a visual managed day planner, Ellie or Routine are closer. For a mature task system, Todoist is the safer hosted option.
Sources and methodology
Product status and pricing were checked July 23, 2026 against General Task’s official site and public Product Hunt launch. The guide treats self-hosting labor as a real cost without assigning it an invented dollar amount.
Want the planning, without the overhead?
Ellie keeps tasks beside your calendar in one quiet daily view. Start free and see if it clicks.