TickTick vs Sunsama: Which Daily Planner Should You Choose in 2026?
Comparing TickTick and Sunsama for daily planning. Features, pricing, and which tool fits your productivity style.
Open Sunsama Team · · 11 min read
TickTick and Sunsama represent two fundamentally different philosophies about productivity software. TickTick takes the task-first approach—start with your to-do list, then optionally schedule items onto your calendar. Sunsama flips this around—start with your calendar, then consciously decide what deserves your time today.
Both tools have passionate user bases. TickTick appeals to people who want an affordable, feature-packed task manager with habit tracking, gamification, and Pomodoro timers built in. Sunsama appeals to professionals who believe the act of planning is itself a productivity practice worth investing in.
In this comprehensive TickTick vs Sunsama comparison, we'll break down every difference that matters: the underlying philosophy, features, pricing, and who each tool serves best. We'll also introduce Open Sunsama—a free Sunsama alternative that offers calendar-first planning without the $240/year price tag.
Quick Comparison: TickTick vs Sunsama vs Open Sunsama
Before diving into details, here's how these three popular productivity tools compare at a glance:
| Feature |
TickTick |
Sunsama |
Open Sunsama |
| Philosophy |
Task-first |
Calendar-first |
Calendar-first |
| Price (Free) |
✅ Generous free tier |
❌ No free tier |
✅ Free forever |
| Price (Paid) |
$36/year |
$240/year |
Free |
| Time Blocking |
✅ Basic (Premium) |
✅ Core feature |
✅ Full support |
| Habit Tracking |
✅ Built-in |
❌ No |
❌ No |
| Pomodoro Timer |
✅ Built-in |
✅ Focus mode |
✅ Focus mode |
| Daily Planning Ritual |
❌ No |
✅ Guided |
✅ Kanban workflow |
| Calendar Sync |
✅ One-way |
✅ Two-way |
✅ Two-way |
| Mobile Apps |
✅ Excellent |
⚠️ Basic |
✅ Native (Expo) |
| Integrations |
Limited |
Extensive |
Growing |
| Open Source |
❌ No |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
| Self-Hostable |
❌ No |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
Now let's examine each tool in depth.
What is TickTick?
TickTick is a feature-rich task management app that's been steadily growing since its launch in 2013. Often called the "Swiss Army knife" of productivity apps, TickTick combines task management, habit tracking, calendar views, and Pomodoro timers into a single platform—all at a remarkably affordable price point.
How TickTick Works
TickTick centers on the traditional to-do list model. You create tasks, organize them into lists and folders, set due dates and priorities, and check them off as you complete them. The app rewards productivity through gamification elements like achievement scores and streaks.
What sets TickTick apart from basic task managers is its comprehensive feature set:
- Multiple views: List, Kanban, Timeline, and Calendar views
- Habit tracker: Track daily habits alongside your tasks
- Pomodoro timer: Built-in focus timer with statistics
- Natural language input: "Buy groceries tomorrow at 3pm" creates a dated, timed task
- Subtasks and checklists: Nested task structure for complex projects
TickTick's Key Features
Habit Tracking: TickTick includes a full habit tracking system that rivals dedicated habit apps. Track daily, weekly, or custom-frequency habits with visual streak counters and statistics. This feature alone saves many users from needing a separate app.
Calendar Integration: Premium users get access to calendar views and basic time blocking. You can see your tasks alongside calendar events, though the integration is primarily one-way—TickTick reads your calendar but doesn't write task blocks to it.
Pomodoro Timer: The built-in Pomo timer integrates with your tasks. Start a focus session, and TickTick tracks time spent on specific tasks. Premium users get detailed statistics on their focus patterns.
Cross-Platform Excellence: TickTick has genuinely excellent apps for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and web. The mobile experience is particularly strong—one of the best in the task management category.
Smart Lists and Filters: Create custom views using filters like tags, priorities, dates, and lists. Premium users can build complex smart lists to surface exactly what they need.
TickTick Pricing in 2026
TickTick offers one of the most generous free tiers in productivity software:
Free Plan includes:
- Unlimited tasks and lists
- Basic calendar view
- Habit tracking (limited)
- 2 reminders per task
- Basic Pomodoro timer
Premium Plan: $2.99/month or $35.99/year (~$3/month)
- Multiple calendar views
- Unlimited reminders
- Full habit tracking
- Advanced Pomodoro statistics
- Custom smart lists
- Task duration tracking
At roughly $36/year, TickTick Premium costs about one-seventh of Sunsama's annual price.
TickTick's Limitations
Not Designed for Daily Planning: TickTick is fundamentally a task manager, not a daily planner. There's no guided morning ritual, no shutdown routine, no intention-setting process. You manage tasks; you don't plan your day.
Time Blocking is an Afterthought: While Premium includes calendar views, time blocking in TickTick feels bolted on rather than central. True time-blocking practitioners often find it insufficient.
Limited Integrations: TickTick integrates with calendars but lacks deep connections to other work tools. You can't pull tasks from Asana, Trello, or Linear like you can with Sunsama.
Overwhelming Features: The sheer number of features can be paralyzing. New users often spend more time configuring TickTick than actually using it for productivity.
What is Sunsama?
Sunsama is a daily planner built around the philosophy of mindful, intentional productivity. Unlike TickTick's task-management focus, Sunsama centers on the calendar—the question isn't "what tasks do I have?" but "what will I do with my time today?"
How Sunsama Works
Sunsama's core experience is the daily planning ritual. Each morning, the app guides you through a structured process:
- Review your calendar: See what meetings and commitments already claim your time
- Pull in tasks: Import tasks from connected tools (Trello, Asana, Notion, etc.)
- Set daily intentions: Consciously decide what you'll accomplish today
- Time block your day: Drag tasks onto specific calendar times
- Check for overplanning: Sunsama warns if you've scheduled more than is realistic
Throughout the day, you work through your time blocks. At day's end, an optional shutdown ritual helps you reflect on accomplishments and roll incomplete tasks to tomorrow.
Sunsama's Key Features
Guided Daily Planning: The morning ritual isn't just a feature—it's Sunsama's philosophy made tangible. Planning is positioned as a mindfulness practice, not administrative overhead.
Focus Mode: When you start working on a task, Sunsama's focus mode expands it to fill your screen, starts a timer, and minimizes distractions. Includes Pomodoro support for structured work sessions.
Extensive Integrations: Sunsama shines at pulling tasks from wherever they originate. Native integrations include Todoist, Trello, Asana, Notion, ClickUp, Jira, Linear, GitHub, Gmail, Slack, and more. Two-way sync means changes flow in both directions.
Calendar-Centric Design: Everything revolves around the calendar. Tasks without scheduled times are second-class citizens. This forces intentionality—if it doesn't have time on your calendar, does it really deserve your attention today?
Overplanning Prevention: Sunsama tracks estimated task durations and warns when you've scheduled more than can realistically be accomplished. This sustainable productivity approach helps prevent burnout.
Sunsama Pricing in 2026
Sunsama is a premium product with premium pricing:
- Monthly: $25/month
- Annual: $20/month (billed as $240/year)
- 14-day free trial (no credit card required)
There is no free tier. Sunsama's pricing reflects its positioning as a professional tool for knowledge workers who value their time at $200+/hour.
Sunsama's Limitations
No Habit Tracking: Unlike TickTick, Sunsama offers no habit tracking whatsoever. Daily habits require a separate app.
Expensive for Budget-Conscious Users: At $240/year, Sunsama costs nearly 7x more than TickTick Premium. For students, freelancers, or anyone cost-conscious, this is significant.
Mobile Apps Are Secondary: While Sunsama has iOS and Android apps, the experience is clearly optimized for desktop. Mobile users may find the apps limiting.
No Gamification: If you're motivated by streaks, achievements, and productivity scores, Sunsama offers none of that. The app intentionally avoids gamification in favor of calm, intrinsic motivation.
Individual Focus Only: Sunsama is designed for personal productivity, not team collaboration. No shared projects, team dashboards, or collaborative features.
TickTick vs Sunsama: Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Let's compare these tools across the features that matter most for daily planning.
Time Blocking
TickTick: Time blocking exists but isn't central. Premium users can view tasks in calendar format and drag them to specific times. However, blocks don't write back to external calendars, and the experience lacks polish.
Sunsama: Time blocking is the core experience. Every task you work on should have a calendar slot. Drag-and-drop scheduling is smooth, and blocks sync bidirectionally with Google Calendar and Outlook. Learn more about what time blocking is.
Verdict: Sunsama wins decisively for dedicated time-blocking practitioners.
Task Management
TickTick: This is TickTick's home turf. Powerful list management, subtasks, recurring tasks, priorities, tags, smart lists—TickTick offers everything you'd expect from a mature task manager.
Sunsama: Task management is functional but minimal. You create tasks, estimate durations, and schedule them. No complex project hierarchies, limited filtering, and organization that assumes tasks live elsewhere (in Asana, Notion, etc.).
Verdict: TickTick for comprehensive task management; Sunsama if you manage tasks in other tools.
Calendar Integration
TickTick: One-way integration—TickTick reads your calendar events to display alongside tasks. But TickTick tasks don't appear on your external calendar. This limits usefulness for true calendar-blocking workflows.
Sunsama: Full two-way sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud. Time-blocked tasks appear on your calendar, and changes sync both directions. Calendar events influence daily planning.
Verdict: Sunsama's calendar integration is significantly more powerful.
Pomodoro and Focus Features
TickTick: Built-in Pomodoro timer with task association and statistics. Premium users see focus trends over time. Simple, effective, and integrated into the core app.
Sunsama: Focus mode goes beyond timers—it's a distraction-reducing environment. Your current task expands to fill the screen, hiding everything else. Pomodoro timer included.
Verdict: Tie—TickTick has better statistics; Sunsama has a better focus environment.
Mobile Apps
TickTick: Excellent native apps for iOS and Android. Full feature parity with desktop. One of the best mobile experiences in productivity software.
Sunsama: Functional mobile apps that feel secondary. Daily planning ritual works on mobile, but the experience is clearly optimized for larger screens.
Verdict: TickTick's mobile experience is notably superior.
Integrations
TickTick: Calendar sync (Google, Outlook), Siri Shortcuts, widgets, and limited third-party connections. No direct integrations with project management tools.
Sunsama: Extensive native integrations with Todoist, Trello, Asana, Notion, ClickUp, Jira, Linear, GitHub, Gmail, Slack, and more. Pull tasks from wherever they live.
Verdict: Sunsama dominates in integrations—particularly valuable if you use multiple tools.
Habit Tracking
TickTick: Full-featured habit tracker built in. Daily, weekly, and custom frequencies. Streak tracking, statistics, and habit completion history.
Sunsama: No habit tracking. You'll need a separate app.
Verdict: TickTick wins by default—it has the feature, Sunsama doesn't.
Pricing Deep Dive: The $200/Year Difference
Let's put the pricing in perspective:
| Timeframe |
TickTick Premium |
Sunsama |
Difference |
| Monthly |
$2.99/month |
$25/month |
$22.01/month |
| Annual |
$35.99/year |
$240/year |
$204/year |
| 3 Years |
~$108 |
$720 |
$612 |
TickTick Premium costs roughly $3/month. Sunsama costs roughly $20/month. Over three years, you'd pay $612 more for Sunsama.
Is Sunsama worth 7x the price? That depends entirely on how much value you place on:
- Guided daily planning rituals
- Deep integrations with work tools
- True two-way calendar sync
- The philosophy of intentional productivity
For some professionals, $20/month is trivial compared to the value of focused, intentional workdays. For others—students, freelancers, budget-conscious users—TickTick delivers 80% of the functionality at 15% of the price.
And of course, there's a third option: free.
Who Should Choose TickTick?
TickTick is the right choice if you:
- Want comprehensive task management: You need lists, projects, subtasks, recurring tasks, and powerful organization.
- Track daily habits: Combining tasks and habits in one app simplifies your productivity stack.
- Prioritize mobile usage: Your phone is your primary productivity device.
- Are budget-conscious: $3/month for Premium (or free) fits your budget better than $20/month.
- Prefer gamification: Achievement scores, streaks, and statistics motivate you.
- Don't need deep integrations: You manage tasks primarily in TickTick rather than pulling from other tools.
Best for: Students, task-heavy professionals, habit trackers, gamification-motivated users, and anyone who wants powerful features at an affordable price.
Who Should Choose Sunsama?
Sunsama is the right choice if you:
- Value intentional daily planning: The act of consciously deciding what deserves your time matters to you.
- Use multiple work tools: You need to pull tasks from Asana, Trello, Notion, Jira, or similar.
- Live in your calendar: Time blocking is central to how you work, not an afterthought.
- Want to prevent burnout: Overplanning warnings and sustainable productivity practices appeal to you.
- Can justify the cost: $240/year is reasonable for a tool you use every day.
- Prefer calm interfaces: Minimalism and focus over features and gamification.
Best for: Knowledge workers, professionals billing $100+/hour, people using multiple project management tools, and those who value mindfulness in productivity.
Open Sunsama: The Free TickTick Alternative with Calendar-First Planning
What if you want Sunsama's calendar-first philosophy without the $240/year price tag? Or TickTick's affordability with better time blocking?
Open Sunsama is a free, open-source daily planner that combines the best of both worlds:
Calendar-First Planning (Like Sunsama)
Open Sunsama centers on the calendar. Your day isn't a list of tasks—it's a schedule of time blocks. Drag tasks onto specific times, see your commitments visually, and plan intentionally.
Completely Free (Better Than TickTick)
Open Sunsama has no pricing tiers, no premium features locked away, no subscriptions. Everything is free for everyone, forever. Unlike TickTick's free tier limitations or Sunsama's complete lack of a free option, Open Sunsama gives you full functionality at no cost.
Key Features
- Time blocking: Drag-and-drop task scheduling onto your calendar
- Focus mode: Dedicated deep work environment with Pomodoro timer
- Calendar sync: Two-way sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud
- Kanban workflow: Visual task management for daily planning
- Desktop app: Native application for Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Mobile app: Native iOS and Android apps built with Expo
Open Source Transparency
The entire codebase is publicly available. Audit how your data is handled, contribute improvements, or fork it for custom needs. Neither TickTick nor Sunsama offers this level of transparency.
Self-Hosting Option
Run Open Sunsama on your own servers for maximum privacy. Your productivity data never leaves your infrastructure—something neither TickTick nor Sunsama can offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main difference between TickTick and Sunsama?
TickTick is a task-first tool—you manage tasks, then optionally view them on a calendar. Sunsama is calendar-first—you plan your day around time blocks, with tasks serving the schedule. TickTick excels at comprehensive task management and habit tracking. Sunsama excels at intentional daily planning and integrations with other work tools.
Is TickTick time blocking good enough for daily planning?
TickTick's time blocking is functional but basic. Premium users can drag tasks to calendar times, but the experience lacks the polish and intentionality of dedicated time-blocking tools like Sunsama or Open Sunsama. If time blocking is central to your workflow, TickTick may feel like an afterthought.
Can I use TickTick and Sunsama together?
Technically yes, but it's not recommended. Both want to be your central productivity hub, and using both creates duplicate effort and potential conflicts. If you like TickTick's task management but want better time blocking, consider Open Sunsama as a free alternative that bridges the gap.
Which is better for students: TickTick or Sunsama?
TickTick is generally better for students. The generous free tier, excellent mobile apps, habit tracking for study routines, and affordable Premium pricing ($3/month) fit student budgets and workflows. Sunsama's $20/month pricing is harder to justify on a student budget.
Does TickTick integrate with Notion?
TickTick has limited Notion integration—no native sync like Sunsama offers. You'd need to use third-party automation (Zapier, Make) to connect them. If you're heavily invested in Notion for task management, Sunsama's native two-way sync is significantly more powerful.
Is there a free alternative to both TickTick and Sunsama?
Yes—Open Sunsama is a free, open-source daily planner with time blocking, calendar sync, and focus mode. It combines Sunsama's calendar-first philosophy with the price point of TickTick's free tier. Check out our complete guide on the best free Sunsama alternatives.
Which has better habit tracking?
TickTick wins this comparison outright—Sunsama has no habit tracking whatsoever. TickTick's built-in habit tracker includes daily/weekly frequencies, streak tracking, statistics, and integration with your task workflow. If habit tracking matters to you, TickTick is the clear choice.
Can I migrate from TickTick to Sunsama?
There's no direct migration path. You'd manually recreate your task structure in Sunsama or, more likely, connect Sunsama to a different task source (Todoist, Asana, etc.) and phase out TickTick. Sunsama is designed to pull tasks from other tools rather than be your primary task repository.
Which is better for ADHD: TickTick or Sunsama?
Both tools can help with ADHD in different ways. TickTick's gamification (achievements, scores, streaks) provides external motivation that many ADHD brains respond well to. Sunsama's guided planning rituals provide structure and reduce decision fatigue. Try both free trials to see which approach resonates with your brain.
Conclusion: TickTick vs Sunsama—Which Should You Choose?
The TickTick vs Sunsama decision comes down to what you're actually trying to do:
Choose TickTick if you want a powerful task manager with habit tracking, excellent mobile apps, and affordable pricing. TickTick excels at capturing, organizing, and completing tasks. Time blocking is available but secondary. Best for task-heavy users who want comprehensive features without premium pricing.
Choose Sunsama if you want a dedicated daily planner with calendar-first design, deep integrations, and guided planning rituals. Sunsama excels at intentional productivity and pulling tasks from multiple sources into one focused daily view. Best for professionals who value mindfulness and can justify $240/year.
Choose Open Sunsama if you want calendar-first planning without the premium price tag. As the only free, open-source option in this category, Open Sunsama offers time blocking, focus mode, and calendar sync at no cost—with the added benefits of self-hosting and code transparency.
The best productivity tool is one you'll actually use consistently. Both TickTick and Sunsama offer free trials—use them. And if neither feels quite right, or if the pricing gives you pause, Open Sunsama is always free to try.
Ready to try calendar-first daily planning without the $240/year price tag? Get started with Open Sunsama for free and discover a more intentional way to plan your days.