Donetick vs Tracks
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Donetick | Tracks |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 62 · Good |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,582 | ★ 1,239 |
| First released | 2024 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Todoist, Tody | Todoist, OmniFocus |
What are Donetick and Tracks?
Donetick
Donetick is an open-source app for managing tasks and chores with assignment rotations and reminders. It is ideal for households and small teams sharing responsibilities.
- Chore assignment rotations
- Recurring task scheduling
- Reminders and notifications
- Single lightweight binary
Tracks
Tracks is a web-based application designed to help you implement the Getting Things Done methodology. It organizes tasks into projects and contexts with a focus on personal productivity.
- GTD contexts and projects
- Next-action tracking
- Recurring todos
- Mobile-friendly interface
Donetick vs Tracks: key differences
Donetick is written in Go, while Tracks is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Donetick versus GPL-2.0 for Tracks. Donetick is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Tracks. Tracks is the more established project (first released 2004), while Donetick arrived in 2024. Donetick has the considerably larger community, at 2,582 GitHub stars versus 1,239.
Why pick each one
Choose Donetick if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.6k GitHub stars)
Choose Tracks if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is Donetick or Tracks better?
Donetick is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Tracks if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Donetick and Tracks free and open-source?
Yes. Donetick is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tracks under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Donetick and Tracks with Docker?
Donetick: yes. Tracks: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Donetick or Tracks?
Donetick has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Tracks. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.