Things 3 Is Beautiful. But You Need More.
If you are looking for a Things 3 alternative, you already know the tradeoff. Things 3 is the most beautiful task manager for Mac ever made. The animations are perfect. The design is calm. If you are on a Mac and all you need is a personal task list, it is genuinely delightful. But as a Mac task manager, Things 3 has not meaningfully changed since 2017. No AI. No timer. No habits. No Slack integration. No email automation. No analytics. No web app. No Android. No Windows. It is a beautiful tool trapped in amber.
What Things 3 does well
- The most polished UI and animations in any task manager
- Calm, focused design that reduces anxiety
- Excellent keyboard shortcuts and quick entry
- One-time purchase — no subscription
- Deep Apple ecosystem integration (Shortcuts, Widgets, Apple Watch)
Where it falls short
- Apple only — no web app, no Android, no Windows
- No AI features at all — everything is manual
- No built-in Pomodoro timer or focus sessions
- No habit tracking
- No daily planning ritual
- No integrations — no Slack, no email, no calendar sync
- No collaboration features
- No analytics or focus data
- Has not shipped a major update since 2017
Mursa vs Things 3
| Feature | Mursa | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Beautiful, calm design | ||
| AI project planning | ||
| Built-in Pomodoro timer | ||
| Habit tracking | ||
| Daily planning ritual | ||
| Slack task capture | ||
| Email-to-task automation | ||
| Focus analytics | ||
| Web app | ||
| Cross-platform | ||
| Apple Watch app | ||
| One-time purchase | ||
| Free tier |
What makes Mursa different
Things 3 proves that a task manager for Mac can be beautiful and calm. Mursa agrees. But the best Mac task manager should not sacrifice substance for beauty. Mursa gives you AI planning, a focus timer that tracks what you are working on, habit streaks that understand your schedule, and daily rituals that take 3 minutes.
Things 3 is a personal task list. Mursa is a personal productivity system. It captures tasks from Slack and email. It plans your day. It tracks your focus. It cares how you are feeling. As a Things 3 alternative, Mursa does everything Things 3 does not.
If Things 3 ever ships AI, a timer, habits, and a web app, it would be incredible. Until then, Mursa fills the gap as the best Mac task manager with modern features.
Things 3 is the best-designed task list. Mursa is the Things 3 alternative for people who need more than a list.
Our take