Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Things VS Kanmail

Compare Things VS Kanmail and see what are their differences

Things logo Things

Things is an easy to use task manager.

Kanmail logo Kanmail

Turn your inbox into a kanban board
  • Things Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17
  • Kanmail Inbox. Meet board.
    Inbox. Meet board. //
    2026-08-20
  • Kanmail One inbox. Every workflow.
    One inbox. Every workflow. //
    2026-08-20
  • Kanmail Never touch the mouse.
    Never touch the mouse. //
    2026-08-20
  • Kanmail Find anything. Anywhere.
    Find anything. Anywhere. //
    2026-08-20
  • Kanmail Every account. One app.
    Every account. One app. //
    2026-08-20
  • Kanmail Private by design.
    Private by design. //
    2026-08-20
  • Kanmail $49. Once.
    $49. Once. //
    2026-08-20

Kanmail turns your inbox into a kanban board. Drag emails between columns like To Do and Waiting, then clear them a column at a time. Works with any GMail/Outlook/IMAP account. Your mail never touches our servers. Open source. One-time purchase, no subscription.

Things

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

Kanmail

Website
kanmail.io
$ Details
paid Free Trial $49 / One-off (Lifetime v2 license)
Platforms
Mac OSX Windows Linux Docker Browser
Release Date
2020 January

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.

Kanmail features and specs

  • Unified Inbox
    Kanmail integrates multiple email accounts into a single inbox, allowing users to manage their emails more efficiently from one place.
  • Kanban Style Organisation
    Emails can be organized visually in a Kanban style, making it easier to manage tasks and see the status of different conversations.
  • Cross-platform Availability
    Kanmail is available on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility and accessibility for users on different platforms.
  • Privacy Focus
    The client offers privacy-focused features, ensuring that emails and data are kept secure and private.

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?

Kanmail videos

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

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Things and Kanmail)
Task Management
100 100%
0% 0
Email Clients
0 0%
100% 100
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
95 95%
5% 5

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Things and Kanmail.

What makes your product unique?

Kanmail's answer:

Kanmail transforms your email inbox into a kanban board, letting you drag and drop emails between columns to organize workflows visually. It combines all your email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) into one unified view while keeping your data private on your device. You pay once and own it forever with no subscriptions.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Kanmail's answer:

Kanmail offers a visual kanban approach that helps you actually manage email as tasks rather than just reading messages in a list. Unlike competitors, it combines multiple accounts in custom workflow views while keeping all your data local and private. It's a one-time purchase with no subscription fees or cloud dependencies.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Kanmail's answer:

Kanmail's primary audience includes professionals who manage multiple email accounts and need to organize emails as actionable tasks, such as salespeople tracking leads, customer support teams managing tickets, and power users who want efficient, keyboard-driven workflows. It appeals to privacy-conscious users who prefer local data storage and those frustrated with subscription-based email clients.

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 Kanmail

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.

Kanmail Reviews

We have no reviews of Kanmail yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Things seems to be a lot more popular than Kanmail. While we know about 58 links to Things, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Kanmail. 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
View more

Kanmail mentions (4)

  • Pegasus Mail Newsflashes
    Iโ€™ve gone through this process for my email client Kanmail [1]. The third party audit is not required for email clients that run on end users computers and store credentials locally. By the looks of it Pegasus falls into this category and should not have any issues getting approved (still need the YT video and such but the Google team are surprisingly responsive and helpful in my experience). [1]... - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
  • Ask HN: Anyone making a living building desktop applications?
    Iโ€™m building a desktop email client [0] that has $45 lifetime licenses. Made to scratch my own itch Iโ€™ve been using it as my only client for 4 years now, barely makes any money though! [0] https://kanmail.io. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
  • Compile Python applications into stand-alone executables
    I use pyinstaller for my Kanmail email client [1] and itโ€™s fantastic, but at creating Mac app bundles or Windows exes. Tried making actual standalone binaries for another project and, as others have mentioned, theyโ€™re incredibly slow to startup. Still, I am a huge fan of the project and it makes it possible to make webview desktop โ€œappsโ€ (like or hate them) with Python. [1] https://kanmail.io. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
  • How do you create a cross-platform GUI without using Electron?
    There's pywebview (https://github.com/r0x0r/pywebview/) which is a Python lib that uses whatever native webview implementation exists. Obviously means some compatibility work between each OS, but gives out very small apps what work very well on the whole. I'm using it on my cross platform email client (https://kanmail.io). - Source: Hacker News / almost 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

KanbanMail - A Kanban board for your emails.

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

Postbox - The Power Email App for busy professionals, like you.

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

Sortd - Rated the #1 App for Gmail