A Local-First Todoist Alternative That Lives on Your Device

Todoist is an excellent task manager. It syncs across every device, it has natural-language input, and it's the backbone of a lot of people's productivity. If a cloud to-do list shared across phone and laptop is exactly what you want, it's hard to beat.

But many people who go looking for a "Todoist alternative" aren't unhappy with task management itself. They want something slightly different: one place where my tasks live next to my metrics, my habits, and my calendar — on my own device, without an account. If that's you, you're not really looking for another cloud to-do app. You're looking for a local-first dashboard that happens to do tasks very well. That's what Baton Board is.

This is an honest comparison, not a takedown. The goal is to help you pick the tool that fits your job.

Where they differ

The honest summary: Todoist is built to be a cloud to-do list; Baton Board is built to be a private, local dashboard where tasks are one widget among many. Different jobs.

Tasks in Baton Board are not an afterthought

Switching to a dashboard shouldn't mean giving up real task management. The Tasks widget covers the features people actually rely on:

• Subtasks with their own due dates and priorities, plus an automatic progress bar that fills as you check them off.
• Priorities (high / medium / low) and due dates with a time, not just a day.
• Recurring tasks — daily or weekly — that regenerate themselves when you complete them.
• Tags with autocomplete from the tags already on your board, and a tag filter bar.
• Drag to reorder, drag a task from one Tasks widget to another, or move it through a detail panel.
• Bulk add — paste a bullet list or an AI-generated checklist and each line becomes a task (it understands -, 1., and - [x] done markers).
• CSV export of every task and subtask, and a full data.json export of the whole board.
• Completed tasks sink to the bottom automatically and can be hidden or cleared in one action.

You also get a board-wide search (Ctrl+K) that looks across tasks, notes, links, goals, KPIs, and habits at once, plus undo/redo for everything.

What you gain by switching to a local-first dashboard

• Your data is on your device. No account, no cloud database holding your tasks — and nothing for a breach to leak.
• It works offline, instantly. Your board opens with no connection and installs as an app (PWA), on desktop or phone.
• Tasks live with your numbers. A KPI history graph, goals with a pace estimate, a habit tracker with streaks, a calendar, a Pomodoro timer, and countdowns — all on the same board as your to-dos.
• It's built for AI. Paste an AI-generated plan and it becomes tasks; a bring-your-own-key AI assistant can summarize your board and suggest next steps without routing through anyone's servers; and a local MCP server lets AI agents read and write the same board you do.
• You own a portable file. Export everything to data.json anytime — no lock-in.

What you'd give up — said honestly

• Cross-device cloud sync by default. Todoist syncs everywhere automatically. Baton Board is local-first; Pro adds optional end-to-end encrypted sync (the company only ever sees ciphertext), but the default is one device.
• A polished native mobile app. Baton Board installs as a PWA and works on a phone, but it isn't a dedicated iOS/Android app with widgets and reminders the way Todoist is.
• Natural-language quick capture and integrations. Todoist's ecosystem of integrations and its NLP input are mature. Baton Board favors a paste-and-parse flow and an AI assistant instead.

If shared, always-on cloud capture is the point, Todoist is the right tool. If a private cockpit you own is the point, read on.

Who Baton Board is the better fit for

• People who want tasks, metrics, and habits on one screen, not in separate apps.
• Anyone who would rather their to-do list lived on their device with no account.
• AI-heavy users, indie developers, and creators who want a board their agents and scripts can write to.
• People who value offline, ownership, and a file they control over cloud convenience.

Frequently asked questions

Is Baton Board a Todoist alternative?

For a personal, local-first dashboard with real task management, yes — it covers subtasks, priorities, due dates, recurring tasks, tags, and bulk import on a device-local board with no account. For shared cloud task capture across every device with a native mobile app, Todoist remains the better fit.

Where are my tasks stored compared to Todoist?

On your own device — browser storage or a local file — instead of Todoist's cloud. There's no account, and you can export everything to a data.json file you own.

Can I sync tasks across devices?

By default Baton Board runs on one device. Pro adds optional end-to-end encrypted sync, where the company stores only ciphertext it cannot read.

Does it handle recurring tasks and subtasks?

Yes — daily/weekly recurring tasks regenerate on completion, and subtasks have their own due dates and priorities with an automatic progress bar.

Does it cost anything?

The core is free. Pro is ¥980/month (¥9,800/year) for unlimited boards, analytics widgets, AI, sync, and deep customization, with a ¥14,800 lifetime option.

Pricing

Free covers one customizable board with the six core widgets (tasks, notes, links, calendar, countdown, timer), export/import, automatic backups, board-wide search, and eight languages. Pro (¥980/month or ¥9,800/year) unlocks unlimited boards, the analytics widgets (KPI, goal, habit, agenda, activity), the AI assistant, end-to-end sync, and deep customization. A ¥14,800 lifetime license is available. Polar handles payments and worldwide taxes.

Try it

If you've been using Todoist as your one productivity hub and you'd rather your tasks lived on your own device — next to your numbers and habits — open Baton Board, pick your field, and build a local cockpit that's entirely yours.

Related reading: "A Local-First Notion Alternative for a Personal Dashboard" and "A Local-First Alternative to Cloud Productivity Apps."