Opportunities › Self-hosted task management for control-conscious users › Proposed app
Hearthlist
Your tasks on your own server. Reminders, sync and sharing, no subscription.
- Score
- 54
- confidence 45
- Evidence
- 6
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 2
- named in sources
- First version
- 35 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop and mobile
- PWA: on computers and phones alike
- Market since
- 2007
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop and mobile: Users capture tasks on phones while mobile, but manage projects, teams, and bulk operations at desks where task managers deliver full value. Sample screens on a computer and a phone, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Today
Synced 2 min ago5 due
About this appAI proposal
Hearthlist is a task manager you run yourself. Create tasks, group them into projects, set due dates and repeats, and get reminders on every device through an installable web app. Your data stays in a database you control.
It is built for knowledge workers and small teams who want the everyday features of a commercial task app without handing their data to a vendor or paying per seat. Deploy it with a guided setup, or let us host it for you.
What is different: export and import are always on, the app works offline and syncs when you reconnect, and a managed option exists for people who want convenience but can still move their data out any day.
- Tagline
- Tasks that live where you live: on your own server.
- Voice
- CalmPlainTrustworthy
- Why this name
- A hearth is the warm, central place in a home. Hearthlist suggests a task list kept at home, under your own roof and control.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Guided self-hosting
A setup guide deploys Hearthlist to your own server or cloud account and checks that HTTPS and backups work.
No member yet
Quick add in plain words
Type 'Send invoice every Friday 9am' and get a task with the right date, repeat and project.
No member yet
Works offline, syncs later
Add and finish tasks without a connection. Changes merge across your devices when you reconnect.
No member yet
Reminders on every device
Web push alerts on phone and desktop, sent from your own server. No third-party account needed.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#FBF6EEWarm paper · surface#2B2420Charcoal brown · text#1F5C4DPine · primary#C2410CEmber · accent#E8B04AStraw · data highlight
Typography
Aa
Hearthlist
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Tasks that live where you live: on your own server.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no competitor prices, so these tiers are a starting point to test. The free tier follows the self-hosted, no-subscription demand; paid tiers follow the monetization ideas in the opportunity.
Self-hosted
Free
- Run it on your own server
- All core task features
- Offline use and sync
- Full import and export
Managed
$4 a month
- We host and back up your instance
- Automatic updates
- Web push reminders included
- Move to your own server any time
Team support
$19 a month
- Managed hosting for a small team
- Shared projects and roles
- Email support
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Users invite others. A team owner invites teammates to a shared project on their instance. Invitees get a link, install the web app and can add their own tasks.
- Do they become customers?
- Invitees see the product directly and may self-host their own or join a managed plan. Test whether invited users start their own instance or only stay guests.
- First customers
- Technical freelancers and teams of 2 to 10 people, such as small dev or design studios, who already self-host other tools and dislike per-seat task app fees.
- Where to reach them
- GitHub and open-source forums: Publish the repository with a clear setup guide and answer questions where self-hosting users gather.
- Self-hosting communities: Share demos and migration guides in self-hosting forums and newsletters.
- First milestone
- Ten small teams on managed hosting at a paid tier, plus 200 active self-hosted installs, within three months of launch.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedGitHub repository gained 313 stars in 27 days
- Public claimCommercial task apps charge subscriptions and lock users into vendor platforms
- Public claimUsers expect task management features from commercial apps but want self-hosted alternatives
- Public claimThere is demand for open-source, self-hosted productivity tools
- Public claim
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Offline syncLocal database in browser with conflict-free mergeTasks must be usable offline and merge cleanly across devices.
- This app · Web pushStandard Web Push with self-hosted keysReminders must come from the user's own server, not a third party.
RisksAI inference
- CommercialOpen-source, free self-hosting may convert few users to paid managed hosting or support. Willingness to pay has to be tested.
- TechnicalOffline sync and conflict handling across devices is hard to get right, and data bugs would destroy trust.
- PlatformWeb push on iOS PWAs is limited and varies by version, which may weaken reminders on iPhones.
- CommercialOther open-source task apps may already serve this group. Todoist's own site claims 50 million+ users, a strong incumbent.
- TechnicalSupport load from varied self-host environments can be high for a small team.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.