Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Things VS Kanera

Compare Things VS Kanera and see what are their differences

Things logo Things

Things is an easy to use task manager.

Kanera logo Kanera

Plan work on flexible boards, connect projects through Global Work and Portfolio, and keep reporting, notes, automation, API, and AI access together.
Visit Website
  • Things Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17
  • Kanera Home View
    Home View //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Table View
    Table View //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Card Detail
    Card Detail //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Team Assigned Work
    Team Assigned Work //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Automations
    Automations //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Chat Setup
    Chat Setup //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Global Search
    Global Search //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera List View
    List View //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Notes
    Notes //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Notification Setup
    Notification Setup //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Notifications
    Notifications //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Work Done View
    Work Done View //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Portfolio View
    Portfolio View //
    2026-08-24
  • Kanera Work Done View
    Work Done View //
    2026-08-24

Kanera is a fast, modern work management platform that brings projects, tasks, teams and reporting into one clear workspace. Organise work with flexible boards and structured views, track deadlines and blockers, manage notes, comments and attachments, and see what is assigned, overdue, waiting or completed across your team. Built for teams that want powerful project management without unnecessary complexity, Kanera includes automations, global search, Trello import, notifications, reporting, REST API and webhooks, plus MCP integration for working with your projects directly through AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude. Kanera can be used as a hosted service or self-hosted with Docker, with its source available under the Elastic License 2.0.

Things

$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
Germany

Kanera

Website
kanera.app
$ Details
freemium $5 / Monthly ($49 per user/year. Save 18% with annual billing.)
Platforms
Browser PWA
Release Date
2026 July

Things features and specs

  • User Experience
    Things is known for its clean, intuitive, and beautifully designed user interface, making it easy to use.
  • Integration with Apple Ecosystem
    Seamlessly integrates with macOS and iOS devices, offering features like Handoff and deep Apple Calendar integration.
  • Powerful Task Management
    Supports projects, areas, headings, and tags, providing a robust system for managing complex tasks and workflows.
  • Quick Entry
    Provides a quick entry function allowing users to capture tasks efficiently, which can later be categorized and detailed.
  • Updates and Support
    Regularly updated with new features and enhancements, backed by reliable customer support.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts
    Offers extensive keyboard shortcuts for power users to navigate and manage tasks quickly.
  • Natural Language Processing
    Allows users to input tasks using natural language, which is then intelligently parsed and scheduled.

Possible disadvantages of Things

  • Cost
    Things requires a one-time purchase for each platform (macOS, iOS), making it relatively expensive compared to some subscription-based competitors.
  • Platform Limitation
    Only available on Apple devices (macOS and iOS), making it inaccessible for users on Windows, Android, or other platforms.
  • No Collaboration Features
    Lacks built-in collaboration tools, which can be a drawback for teams looking to share and manage tasks collectively.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic interface is user-friendly, fully utilizing advanced features can require time and a deeper understanding.
  • Limited Automation
    Offers fewer automation options and integrations compared to some competitors like Todoist or Microsoft To Do.

Kanera features and specs

  • Kanban Boards
    Organise and manage work using flexible drag-and-drop boards, lists and cards.
  • Table View
    View and edit work in a structured table for faster reporting and easier management.
  • Calendar
    See scheduled work, due dates and deadlines across projects in a calendar view.
  • My Cards
    See all work assigned to you across multiple boards in one central view.
  • Team Cards
    View work across your team, including assigned, overdue, blocked, waiting and completed work.
  • Portfolio
    Get a consolidated view of work across multiple projects and boards.
  • Work Done
    Review completed work across teams and projects for stand-ups, reporting and progress tracking.
  • Deadlines
    Set due dates, track upcoming deadlines and quickly identify overdue work.
  • Automations
    Create rules and automated actions to reduce repetitive work and keep projects moving.
  • Global Search
    Instantly search across cards, comments, notes and other work throughout Kanera.
  • Notes
    Create and organise collaborative notes alongside your projects and tasks.
  • Comments
    Discuss work directly on cards and keep conversations connected to the relevant task.
  • Attachments
    Upload and manage files directly alongside cards and project work.
  • Custom Fields
    Add structured information to cards using configurable custom fields.
  • Notifications
    Stay informed about relevant updates, changes and activity across your work.
  • Trello Import
    Import existing Trello boards into Kanera to quickly migrate your projects and work.
  • MCP Integrations
    Connect Kanera directly to AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude through the Model Context Protocol.
  • REST API
    Integrate Kanera with external applications and services using its REST API.
  • Webhooks
    Send Kanera events to external applications and services using configurable webhooks.
  • Real-Time Updates
    Changes are synchronised across connected users in real time so everyone stays up to date.
  • Self-Hosting
    Deploy and run Kanera on your own infrastructure using Docker.
  • PWA
    Install Kanera as a Progressive Web App on supported desktop and mobile devices.
  • Client Collaboration
    Manage work with internal teams and external collaborators in shared project spaces.
  • Reporting
    Get clear visibility into work, progress, deadlines and completed activity across projects and teams.

Analysis of Things

Overall verdict

  • Things is widely regarded as an excellent productivity tool, especially for Apple ecosystem users. It combines elegance with functionality, making it a top choice for those who prefer a minimalist but powerful task manager.

Why this product is good

  • Things by Cultured Code is highly acclaimed for its clean, intuitive design and effective task management features. It provides a seamless user experience with its natural language input, powerful integration with macOS and iOS, and features like projects, areas, deadlines, and reminders that help users organize their tasks efficiently. The app is particularly praised for its focus on simplicity and ease of use, which allows users to focus on their tasks without being overwhelmed by features.

Recommended for

    Things is ideal for individuals who are deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem and appreciate a minimalist design approach. It's perfect for users who prefer a straightforward, no-frills task management system that emphasizes ease of use, efficiency, and aesthetic appeal.

Things videos

Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews: THINGS

More videos:

  • Review - Things 3: Full Review (2019)
  • Review - OmniFocus vs. Things 3 review: which is best for you?

Kanera videos

No Kanera videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Things and Kanera)
Task Management
99 99%
1% 1
Work Management
0 0%
100% 100
Project Management
98 98%
2% 2
Productivity
98 98%
2% 2

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Things and Kanera.

What makes your product unique?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera combines the speed and simplicity of a board-first work management tool with the visibility, reporting and integrations normally found in much larger project-management platforms. Teams can manage work through Kanban, Table, Calendar and Work Done views, while Global Work, My Cards, Team Cards and Portfolio provide one view across multiple projects. Kanera also includes notes, automations, custom fields, reporting, API access, webhooks and a native MCP server for AI agents. It can be used as a hosted service or self-hosted with full feature parity.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera is designed for teams that want powerful project management without the complexity and fragmentation that can come with larger work-management suites. It keeps the familiar board-and-card workflow while adding cross-project visibility, structured reporting, automations, notes, client collaboration, API and webhook access, and native MCP support for AI tools. There is also a self-hosted option with no Kanera per-seat licence fee, giving organisations greater control over their infrastructure and data.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera is primarily built for ALL teams that manage multiple projects and need a clearer way to see work across them. It suits development, product, marketing, operations, support, project-delivery, sales and client-service teams, as well as organisations that need self-hosting or greater control over their infrastructure. It is particularly useful for teams that have outgrown basic Kanban boards but do not want the complexity of a heavyweight enterprise project-management platform.

What's the story behind your product?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera was built from a desire for a work-management system that stayed fast and straightforward while still giving teams the visibility and functionality they need as their projects grow. The goal was to keep the simplicity of working with boards and cards, but remove the need to jump between separate projects just to understand what is assigned, overdue, blocked or completed across a team. That grew into a broader project and work-management platform with connected workspaces, cross-project reporting, automations, notes, integrations, API access and AI connectivity through MCP. Kanera is developed and operated by Happen Software Limited in Ireland and is also source-available so organisations can inspect the code and self-host the complete product when required.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Kanera's answer:

Angular, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Socket.IO, Valkey, Docker and Docker Compose. Kaneraโ€™s self-hosted deployment includes the web application, API and real-time services, worker processes, PostgreSQL database, Valkey cache, public API, MCP server and nginx-based web tier.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera is still in its early commercial stage, and we do not currently publish customer names publicly.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Things and Kanera

Things Reviews

11 Ayanza Alternatives
Things 3 is a multi-award-winning personal task manager that assists you in keeping track of your tasks. The environment of the application is attractive with a fresh new look, delightful integrations, and powerful features. It has been completely effective to boost efficiency with easy to use and is attractive to the eye. The themes are a creative and powerful feature that...
Five of the Best To-Do Apps for iOS
Things 3 is one of the few to-do apps that's not subscription based, and it costs $9.99 to purchase. Things 3 is also available for Mac and iPad, though each app must be purchased individually.

Kanera Reviews

We have no reviews of Kanera yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Things seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 58 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Things mentions (58)

  • We don't need startups, we need Digital-Mittelstand
    Correct: https://culturedcode.com/things/ Looks like the different apps (desktop, mobile, iPad) have different prices, but all are one-time payments of $10-$50. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Essential Software for Mac Users: Three Recommended Efficient Tools
    Things 3is an award-winning task management application known for its clean, elegant interface and intuitive usability. It employs a minimalist design style, allowing users to easily add, organize, and view tasks, helping individuals efficiently manage daily affairs. While Things 3 does not support team collaboration features, it provides a smooth user experience on macOS as a personal task management tool. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Show HN: I built a task manager that separates "Do" & "Due" dates
    How badly do Twos want to SEO rank on searches for Things? https://culturedcode.com/things/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
    Alfred - Productivity App for macOS [1] iTerm2 - macOS Terminal Replacement [2] Dropshare App - upload anything anywhere on macOS [3] Mimestream - A native macOS email client for Gmail [4] Things - To-Do List for Mac & iOS [5] [1] https://www.alfredapp.com [2] https://iterm2.com [3] https://dropshare.app [4] https://mimestream.com [5] https://culturedcode.com/things. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Ready to advance from Evernote, looking at Obsidian
    Currently, I use Things (https://culturedcode.com/things/) for tasks and Evernote for notes, and experimented with Freeform (I love the visual aspect and simplicity). At work, I've used Notion, Mural, Miro, LucidChart, Quip, and many other collaboration-based knowledge systems. I never researched the best of personal knowledge systems until now. Source: almost 3 years ago
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Kanera mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Kanera yet. Tracking of Kanera recommendations started around Aug 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Things and Kanera, you can also consider the following products

Todoist - Todoist is a to-do list that helps you get organized, at work and in life.

Trello - Infinitely flexible. Incredibly easy to use. Great mobile apps. It's free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details.

TickTick - TickTickis a cross-platform to-do list app & task manager helps you to get all things done and make life well organized.

Jira - The #1 software development tool used by agile teams. Jira Software is built for every member of your software team to plan, track, and release great software.

Remember The Milk - Remember The Milk is a task and time management application for mobile devices.

ClickUp - ClickUp's #1 rated productivity software is making more productive projects with a beautifully designed and intuitive platform.