- RaycastRecommended
Best MacOS spotlight search replacement
Best MacOS spotlight search replacement
- Dub LinksBest
Best for modern link attribution, a true industry disrupter
Best for modern link attribution, a true industry disrupter
- CleanShot XBest
Best for fast Mac screenshots
Best for fast Mac screenshots
- DashlaneRecommended
Best modern password manager
Best modern password manager
- Superhuman MailBest
Best overall email client
Best overall email client
- Dia BrowserRecommended
Best for AI power users living in the browser
Best for AI power users living in the browser
- Inbox Zero
Open-source AI assistant for email
Open-source AI assistant for email
- MotionBest
Best AI project management for small-mid-size teams
Best AI project management for small-mid-size teams
- GranolaBest
Best virtual and in-person AI note taker
Best virtual and in-person AI note taker
- SunsamaBest
Best pen and paper alternative
Best pen and paper alternative
Productivity Tool Overview
Productivity Guide
Productivity GuideWelcome to your ultimate productivity stack guide!
If you're reading this guide, you:
- Care about using modern tools with good UI/UX
- Care about making your daily experience at work more enjoyable
- Want tools that were created by really smart people who also care about the things above
What you won't find in this guide are general software recommendations with a bunch of tools that are 'trending' but we haven't actually used ourselves. This isn't another guide about all the productivity tools under the sun.
This guide is prescriptive and offers single tools to help you make essential business software decisions more quickly. The software below has been deeply vetted against competitors and all the below mentioned are used by us (we are paying customers).
Let's get into it! ⤵
Arc Browser for Productivity
Arc Browser for ProductivityLet's start with the portal to the internet: your browser.
For years, we used Chrome and the last thing we ever thought about needing was another browser. We have seen browser companies come and go with none on the market leaving much to be desired.
Then Arc by The Browser Company showed up. Arc is not just another browser. It's a workflow engine, offering an entirely new way to personalize the internet and make it your own.
The idea behind Arc is that no matter where you are in the world, no matter what device, you can log into your "portal to the internet" aka your browser and have it configured exactly like you left it.
The problem with Chrome, we learned, is that the creators had no reason to make the internet personal. This is because the creators want you to start from scratch every time you open the browser, searching Google for where you want to end up online. This is great for their ad revenue business model.
It wasn't until we started using Arc that we realized how often we really were unnecessarily going to Google to just open up the programs we use on a daily basis.
The difference with Arc is that the team has totally rethought the bookmarks and the "tab experience", along with introducing a feature called "Spaces". Spaces allow you to stay focused and easily segment your personal and work life while easily organizing tabs are important to you in folders.
For example, set up a personal space, favorite your YouTube, Spotify, WhatsApp, and Gmail tabs- from there, they function like mini apps. Now, with the swipe of 2 fingers, you're in your work space. All of your favorite apps are swapped out with your work apps, and you're logged into all of your work accounts:
This is like organizing a drawer. You put everything in its place, and hours later when you return, everything is as you left it. No more "searching" every time you want to use the internet. This has tremendously reduced fatigue (we didn't even realize we had) when using the internet.
Superhuman Mail for Productivity
Superhuman Mail for ProductivityNow that you've enhanced your browsing experience, let's move onto your email. Meet Superhuman. Superhuman is a paid email client tool that is designed to make your email experience faster and more enjoyable.
But wait, you might be thinking why pay for your email when you can use any email client for free? 🤔
"Making email suck less" is Superhuman’s business mission. And remember - this guide is for the folks who want the best of the best - and Superhuman Mail is a tool that after using for several years, we can't live without.
Prior to Superhuman we were using Gmail. And Gmail is great as a free email sending tool, but once we tried Superhuman we found it made the entire "checking and answering emails" experience way faster and more enjoyable.
Not kidding, you know those 3-5 seconds you often need to wait for Gmail to load? Yeah, Superhuman Mail is literally instant. Want to write an email? Open Superhuman and press [c] and you'll be in a compose window a solid 2 seconds before Gmail loads.
Superhuman allows you to triage through your inbox using only keyboard shortcuts and the app on the phone is also super sleek and fast. Set reminders to be returned on your emails if someone hasn't responded, mark messages as done with hitting a button and label messages with ease. Since we started using Superhuman, we see inbox 0 way more often.
In summary, if you're on email A LOT and want to optimize for enjoyment/ease/speed, Superhuman Mail is 100% worth it. We’ve been paying for it for years and can't see life without it It's thoughtful, fast, and powerful. The way email should have been.
Motion for Productivity
Motion for ProductivityIf you've hung around our website long enough, you'll know we 🫶 Motion. And that's because it's changed the way we managed our meetings, time and projects - and this cannot be ignored.
We think of Motion as the ultimate platform for time management. Motion is a calendar, a meeting scheduler, and a task/project manager all in one. On top of this, it uses AI to help plan your day (as if you had a personal assistant on hand).
Here's how it works:
- First, you add all of your tasks to Motion. You can add work tasks, personal tasks, and even recurring tasks.
- Then, you set the priority for each task. This tells Motion how important the task is and how soon it needs to be done.
- Finally, Motion automatically schedules your tasks into your calendar. It fits the tasks around your existing meetings and events, so you can always see what you need to focus on next.
For example, let's say you have three hour-long meetings scheduled for Monday. You also have some other tasks that you need to get done that day. If something urgent comes up and you need to add an ASAP task, Motion will automatically rearrange your day and push the other tasks back. This way, you can always be sure that you're working on the most important tasks first.
There are so many other calendar and project management tools on the market and we find that Motion to be the best that we've evaluated. It's also helped us replace numerous tools. For example, we went from using four tools, Google Calendar, Chili Piper (call scheduling), TickTick (personal task management), Asana (project management) to using just Motion to manage all of the above.
How We Evaluate Productivity Tools
We score each productivity tool across multiple criteria, and hands-on expert evaluation
- Ease of UseQuick to set up and intuitive to use without a steep learning curve.
- Feature DepthCore features that work well, not surface-level checkboxes.
- Reliability & PerformanceConsistent, fast, and dependable with minimal bugs.
- Value for MoneyPricing that's fair relative to what you actually get.
- Integrations & EcosystemWorks well with other tools in your stack.
- Expert EvaluationCurated by, our rankings reflect in-depth testing, industry insights, and hands-on experience.AlexandAndra
Raycast
Best MacOS spotlight search replacement
Best MacOS spotlight search replacementIf you're using MacOS, Raycast is hands-down the best spotlight search replacement available. It's one of those apps that you won't "get" until you use it, but once you use it, you won't be able to live without it.
It's usually the first app we install on a new computer, if that tells you anything.

What is Raycast?
What is Raycast?Most people use the native Spotlight search within MacOS, and most are totally happy with it. If that's you, you probably don't care much about this space, but I'm here to tell you that you should.
Search is the main way to navigate the OS, and imagine this search box with superpowers. Do you open up the calculator? Raycast has that built in. Have a separate window resizing/manager tool like Rectangles? Yeah, Raycast does that too.
Just about anything you can think of, Raycast can do, or they have an app/integration for it. I'm not kidding—I literally compressed the image to the Arc + Raycast integration using a Raycast plugin:
Never again do you need to navigate to a sketchy "image conversion" website again—you can now do it all through your favorite ⌘ + Space shortcut via Raycast.
Now for the more technical crowd... I'm here to tell you that it's better than Alfred in every way. It's beautiful, free, has deeper native integrations, and the developer community is next-level.
Skeptical? I hear you—so much in-fact that I've debated (for hours) with just about every single one of my power-user friends about why Raycast is far-and-above better than Alfred. They didn't believe me, fought me tooth-and-nail on it.
And guess what? Every single one of them are now using Raycast (and Arc 😉). They just needed to download it and give it a genuine shot. It does everything better, and looks 10x as good (UI/UX).
It's free, just give it a shot yourself. If you're skeptical, come debate me on Twitter—happy to convince you as well 🦾
Get the latest rankings and insights on top Productivity apps—delivered to your inbox. Stay ahead with our expert picks and updates.
Dub Links
Best for modern link attribution, a true industry disrupter
Best for modern link attribution, a true industry disrupterWhether you're looking for a full-fledged affiliate/partnership tracking platform (Dub Partners), or you're just looking for the most modern link shortener on the market, Dub is the answer for both.
No other tool on the market comes close to Dub's features. Dub offers real-time link tracking, reliable analytics, and even deep conversion data for marketers (first of its kind - if you’re a fellow marketer, this is drool-worthy, so keep reading).

What is Dub Links?
What is Dub Links?Let us save you the time and research: whether you're a creator, marketer, or a company looking for a link infrastructure there is no better solution than Dub, trust us, we've tried them all.
Dub is the most modern link shortening/analytics platform. If you've tried to use Bitly's analytic dashboards (or Short's), but they are horrendously kludgy 🙈 So much so, that they cause dread to even go into the back-end.
Dub on the other hand, provides a minimal UI, providing you with the analytics in crystal clear dashboard. With Dub you can easily spin up short links, QR codes, add tags for organization, and even enable things like password protection, expiring links, or geo-targeting.
All of this, AND they have the most generous free tier of all the tools out there to try it out. If you're looking for a new link shortener, Dub is hands down the best on the market.
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CleanShot X
Best for fast Mac screenshots
Best for fast Mac screenshotsCleanShot X lets you instantly copy screenshots so you can paste them anywhere without dragging files around, keeps your shots organized on the side of your screen, and makes it easy to annotate or blur sensitive info. If you take screenshots often and want to save time, this tool will make you much more productive and is worth switching to.

What is Cleanshot X?
What is Cleanshot X?For years, I used the native Mac screenshot tool (which saves your screenshots to your desktop, and then you need to drag the image into your email or wherever you're trying to get it). I didn't think there was a better option out there.
Then I met Alex and he introduced me to CleanShot X that auto-copies the screenshot you take so you can paste it directly where you want. Whaaat? Let me tell you, this saves me so.much.time on a daily basis.
Want to screenshot a few images? No problem. All the images will auto-appear on the side of your screen and you can pick and choose which ones you want.
It's also super easy to annotate and draw on each image if you want to point something out, or blur out important information.
In summary, if you screenshot often this will make you MUCH more productive. Try it for a week and you won't be able to go back.
Dashlane
Best modern password manager
Best modern password managerDashlane is the most user-friendly and secure password manager on the market and also what we use for work and personal.
They started as a personal password manager before moving into business, so their UI/UX is focused on simplicity and being an enjoyable experience at the core.

What is Dashlane?
What is Dashlane?I'll preface this by saying that I've used LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden, and even—only IT companies would recognize—IT Glue & MyGlue (a premium solution starting at $150/mo).
I first started using LastPass over a decade ago, got most of my family/friends on it, and eventually even customers as well (as a way to securely share passwords between companies).
The thing is, LastPass got acquired by LogMeIn and started becoming stagnant. It also went through what felt like a never-ending series of major data breaches over the years to follow.
This was when I started seriously evaluating alternatives (like Dashlane), as I knew it was going to be a heavy lift to switch—consisting of migrating myself (personal + work), family, friends, and even some customers all over to it from LastPass and MyGlue respectivel
For those more technical (or running an IT company) and considering IT Glue/MyGlue—it's great, but as a password manager, it's overkill. It's more of an IT infrastructure documentation tool, which they acquired a password manager, and rolled it into the mix. So you're paying a huge premium if you're planning on only using it as a password manager (as I was during the later years of pivoting away from the MSP side of the business).
Key Features
Key FeaturesPassword Manager
Password ManagerDashlane started as a password manager for consumers (B2C)—as at the end of the day, people need to manage passwords their many passwords across personal/work—and in the past few years, they've been focusing their efforts in building out the B2B (team management) component of Dashlane.
This is important because having used password managers built for companies, not people (e.g. IT Glue/MyGlue), you see first-hand that a powerful password manager is nothing if the end-user doesn't actually, well, use it... User-adoption is the most critical factor for a password manager to be successful.
That's where Dashlane stands out, because they were first-and-foremost a B2C company that built an exceptional end-user experience for everyday people, and have moved to the B2B market. This gives them a unique advantage in the space.
Take the mobile app (for iOS and Android), it's far and above the most modern and visually appealing of all the other password managers I've listed here.
That said, there is one area that lacking a bit with Dashlane (likely because they haven't been in B2B as long), and that's their API.
Security
SecurityOnce you're using a password manager like Dashlane, you can also set up 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) from right within the existing password that you save for a site. So instead of using the insecure SMS 2FA (which won't work if you're without or in spotty cell connection, which also brings with it sending delays of up to 5 minutes. Not to mention being prone to spoofing, phishing, and social engineering attacks), you can instead set up a time-based code, which will even autofill when logging into a website while still adding a second layer of security (e.g. if your password leaks, someone still cannot login to your account without the additionally changing code). From over a decade in the IT space, I know all too well that never does higher security also mean higher convenience, but with Dashlane, it actually does:
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Superhuman Mail
Best productivity email client
Best productivity email clientSuperhuman Mail is the best email client on the market. It's wildly fast, minimal (not bloated with features), and helps individuals and teams triage through emails most efficiently. We've been using it for 6+ years and can't ever imagine going back to regular email.
Claim the Superhuman free trial for 30 days free, which is more than enough time to see if it fits your workflow.

What is Superhuman Mail?
What is Superhuman Mail?Superhuman Mail is an email client, and a go-to tool for people who want the most modern email app experience. It helps you get through your emails much faster (we've used it for 7 years, and wouldn't use anything else).
It works on top of your existing Gmail or Outlook account, but you never actually open those again. Superhuman Mail becomes your entire email experience. Inside Superhuman Mail, you get a ton of productivity features to help you stay on top of your inbox (e.g. you can use keyboard shortcuts to triage through your email without ever touching your mouse, split inboxes, AI auto-labels, send later features, and even super fast snooze reminders).
If you get more than 10 emails a week, Superhuman Mail is absolutely worth trying.
Key Features
Key FeaturesFast & Minimal Email Interface
Fast & Minimal Email InterfaceThe biggest reason Superhuman Mail works so well is that it replaces the usual inbox experience with something much faster and much calmer. You can check out our Superhuman Mail Review to see screenshots of the interface.
The first time I used it, it genuinely felt like I could exhale while writing my emails.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard ShortcutsOne of the things longtime users love most about Superhuman Mail (including us) is how fast it feels once you learn the basics. You can archive, snooze, move through messages, open your calendar, and trigger commands without constantly reaching for your mouse.
When I first saw Alex using keyboard shortcuts to clear out his inbox, I felt like he was playing a cool video game. Hit CMD+K and basically take any action inside your inbox. It's super cool!
AI Features
AI FeaturesSuperhuman Mail has a lot of AI features that are actually thoughtfully integrated, not bolted on. One of the best is AI auto-labels, which can automatically group similar emails and turn them into inbox splits for you.
That means instead of jumping between unrelated conversations all day, you can triage in focused batches. For example, you can separate team emails from admin and tax emails, or keep partnership and sales conversations in their own lane. You can also auto-archive certain types of emails, which cuts down on noise without adding more manual work. For productivity, this is a big deal. It is about protecting your attention while you work!
More than that, Superhuman Mail notices when an email likely needs a nudge and uses AI to draft a follow-up for you. It writes the follow-up, so when you open your inbox, all you need to do is hit send. For sales, partnerships, recruiting, it keeps the conversation going with little mental effort.
Pricing
Pricing- Monthly: $30/mo
- Annual: $300/year
Dia Browser
Best for AI power users living in the browser
Best for AI power users living in the browserDia Browser is effectively the AI version of Arc Browser, developed by the same team.
In-fact, most of the features that made Arc great (like the exceptional sidebar, tab management, and profiles features of Arc), have made their way to Dia, all with a modern AI chatbot experience baked in at the core.

What is Dia Browser?
What is Dia Browser?Dia Browser is one of the latest AI web browsers from The Browser Company (the same team who built Arc Browser).
After The Browser Company got acquired by Atlassian for $610M, they were given the full resources to double-down on their AI browser, Dia.
Who is Dia Browser For?
Who is Dia Browser For?Dia is for those who are super excited about agentic browsers (think of a baked-in AI chat sidebar, that can co-pilot the browser with you at times).
Pros & Cons
Pros & ConsPros
Pros- Dia has one of the most performant browsers out of all the current AI browsers on the market.
- Backed by the same team as the beloved Arc Browser, much of what made Arc great has been making its way to Dia.
- Since getting acquired for $610M, they now have the full backing of a $20B+ publicly traded company (Atlassian), to experiment and build in one of the most expensive and competitive spaces in the market.
Cons
Cons- Dia hasn't decided to go the path of Agent Mode (controlling your browser for you), type features that both ChatGPT Atlas and Comet have gone deep into. So if you're looking for that, it's not likely coming.
- They can't currently use your actual ChatGPT history, so while their chat experience is beautiful and works well, I do at times wish I had more of the context from my ChatGPT account.
- They don't yet have a mobile app for iOS or Android, which feels important for something as core as your browser.
Key Features
Key FeaturesSkills
SkillsIf you're someone that likes the idea of being able to have pre-built prompts that can be ran that interact with and take into consideration the content on the page you're visiting, then you'll love their "Skills" functionality.
Pricing
PricingDia is currently totally free, with an optional $20/mo tier, that unlocks unlimited AI chat limits.
That said, you'd be hard-pressed to hit limits on the free tier, I only hit it once, and I was doing some pretty deep shopping research, referencing dozens of tabs and YouTube video content.
Final Verdict
Final VerdictDia is one of the leading AI browsers in the space, arguably with the most talented and thoughtful product and design team behind it (and now with Atlassian's backing, nearly infinite resources at their hands).
Dia is definitely worth giving it a try, the only question is really whether or not you're open to switching browsers or not. As that's likely the largest blocker. Although, if you're on this page right now, that's likely exactly what you're looking to do, so yes, Dia is worth giving a shot, especially if you've never tried and AI browser.
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What is Inbox Zero?
What is Inbox Zero?Inbox Zero (not to be confused with what Superhuman Mail refers to getting through all your emails) is a layer atop your Gmail that helps you to easily unsubscribe from newsletters and automate label/forwarding flows all via AI.
The area that we use and love with Inbox Zero is where it helps us tame our email inbox, sort of like Mailman, but it focuses more on actually leveraging AI to automatically take action on your email (or unsubscribe if you're getting many newsletters but not reading any of them.
Key Features
Key FeaturesPricing
Pricing- Basic: $6/month on annual tier + $1.50/month for each additional email account
- Business: $12/month on annual tier + $3/month for each additional email account
Motion
Best for those who want an AI personal assistant
Best for those who want an AI personal assistantMotion is the most innovative AI-powered project management tool for individuals and teams who want to fully embrace AI to get work done.
It uses AI to take all of your team's projects, tasks, priorities, deadlines, and dependencies to build the perfect day for you and your team, time blocking tasks right on your calendar. They also have AI Docs, & an AI Note Taker, helping you get work done faster.
We've been using it for 5 years and is core to how we manage our time and projects!

What is Motion?
What is Motion?There’s a big difference between perceived productivity, i.e., trying new apps, color-coding everything, reorganizing your system for the fifth time, versus actually finishing meaningful work. Motion leans into the second camp.
It's more focused on taking away the busy work that silently eats up all your time and less about making everything look perfectly organized.
It does this through its AI auto-scheduling feature, which works by taking all the tasks on your calendar and using AI to create a schedule that makes sense. Meaning you log on for your workday, and all your tasks are scheduled. You know exactly where to jump in with no guesswork.
It's built for people who actually want to get work done and not just tinker with productivity tools.
Motion's AI assistant basically takes the place of an assistant who would plan your day for you. So, instead of rearranging tasks or deciding what to work on next, you open your calendar, and it’s already mapped out.
Pros and Cons
Pros and ConsPros
Pros- Automatically schedules tasks onto your calendar
- Eliminates constant manual planning and rearranging
- Fully mapped-out daily schedule
Cons
Cons- Not ideal for people who enjoy customizing and constantly reorganizing tools
- Less focused on aesthetics or perfectly polished layouts
Key Features
Key FeaturesAI Calendar
AI CalendarYou come in, look at your calendar, and everything is laid out. You know what needs to get done, and your team has a clear picture.
AI Task Auto-Scheduling
AI Task Auto-SchedulingMotion places your tasks directly onto your calendar so you don’t have to decide what to work on next. You open your day, and it’s already planned.
Workflow Templates
Workflow TemplatesWorkflow Templates in Motion are reusable project templates that define exactly how your work gets done from start to finish. They remove mental overhead by clearly mapping out every step of your process, so you can jump straight into execution without second guessing what comes next or forgetting critical steps.
They include your roles, stages, tasks, and key details so every project follows the same structured process. Once set up, Motion uses the template to automatically schedule everything on your team's calendars and adjust timelines when things change.
Pricing
PricingMotions prices range from $19 to $34 per month (Individual to Team plans).
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Granola
Best virtual and in-person AI note taker
Best virtual and in-person AI note takerI've been using Granola for just over a year now. We have a rule at Efficient App: if Granola wasn't there, the conversation didn't happen. We use it at least 3-5 times a day (heads up, you can try it for free - no credit card required).

What is Granola AI?
What is Granola AI?Granola is a meeting recorder tool that doesn't require those annoying bots to join. In-fact the people you're on the call with don't even have to know you're using it.
Interestingly enough, this isn't any different than just having a note taker on the call, because they don't allow you to playback the audio. What you can do is ask Granola's AI Chatbot questions about the call, or any calls you've had across the company.
You can even ask Granola questions mid-call, which uses full context of the call up to that point, or can even come up with contextual questions to ask to help the conversation flowing. It's really as if you have an active note taking assistant on the call alongside you, helping you keep the conversation flowing, and researching further context details when needed.
We make sure to always have Granola recording our meetings (even in-person team meetings and brainstorming meetings), even if we have one of the best AI note taker bots joining the call as well. It's just a more lightweight solution that can't be kicked from calls and is less invasive.
Pros and Cons
Pros and ConsPros
Pros- Incredibly easy to use
- AI notes save a lot of cleanup after calls
- Records more than just scheduled meetings
- Less invasive than meeting bots that join calls
- Full transcripts are searchable and actually useful
- You can add your own notes and Granola will build around them
- Great for founders and small teams documenting ideas, meetings, and processes
Cons
Cons- iOS only right now (Android coming soon)
- Integrations are limited
- No audio or video recording (if you care about that)
Key Features
Key FeaturesBackground Recording
Background RecordingThis is the first thing that made Granola click for us. When we use meeting bots, there's usually friction involved. They have to join your call and announce itself, and sometimes they accidentally get kicked out. Granola is just always available. You bring it up, you click record, and you can go. It'll just sit quietly in the background and record your transcript. The whole thing just feels way lighter and way less invasive.
We still use meeting bots when we need full recordings, but day to day, Granola's what actually gets used.
Capture Everything
Capture EverythingWhen we first started using Granola, it was for scheduled meetings, but then we started using it for in-person meetings and chats.
Just the other day, Alex and I were out on a walk when we started brainstorming. I literally paused to pull out Granola so we could start recording our conversation. Later, I took those notes and dropped them into AI to quickly turn them into a deck for a team presentation.
And that's exactly why we always say, "If it's not in granola, it didn't happen!"
Transcription + Notes
Transcription + NotesGranola transcribes everything everyone says, live, word for word, and then turns it into organized notes once I hit Generate Notes. And I love that it still gives me the full transcript too. It's really useful for when I need to pull exact quotes or check on what was actually said, or if I need to go back and drop parts of the conversation into a document later.
We also really like that Granola's AI doesn't take too much control away from you. I always pop in notes while a meeting is happening, and Granola builds around them instead of replacing them. So your final notes still feel like your notes, just way more organized.
AI Assistant
AI AssistantThe AI here is actually useful. The AI assistant in Granola has actually saved me a couple of times. Sometimes during a meeting, I might need to pop out for a couple of seconds, and instead of having to interrupt everyone and play catch-up, I can just pop into Granola's chat and ask, "What did I miss?" and it'll give me a quick recap. That's the kind of thing that is genuinely helpful.
MCP + Integrations
MCP + IntegrationsGranola has an MCP that connects with Claude that allows us to build workflows.
Here are some common workflows we use:
- Draft follow-up emails from all my sales calls this week and place them in Superhuman Mail
- Create a slide deck for our team meeting based on this week’s exec team meeting
- Create Linear tickets for all the bugs we talked about on our call today
While we'd love Granola to take action for us on its own, the MCP is a happy middle ground for now. For example, we'd love to finish an engineering call and have Granola recommend tickets or push action items somewhere useful without us having to trigger it in the MCP.
That said, we pair Viktor AI with Granola and get Viktor to take most of the action for us now 😉
Pricing
Pricing- Basic: $0 per month. Best for individuals who want to try Granola and see if it fits into their workflow before committing.
- Business: $14/user/mo. Best for individuals or small teams who want unlimited meetings and collaboration within a shared space.
- Enterprise: $35/user/mo. Best for larger teams that need more admin permissions and privacy control options.
Sunsama
Best pen and paper alternative
Best pen and paper alternativeIf you often feel like you are biting off more than you can chew in your day and then beating yourself up for not being productive enough, Sunsama is for you. It helps you plan your tasks on your calendar to get a more realistic view of what you can get done.
Make sure to grab a Sunsama free trial for a free 30 days, if you want to try it (this is normally only 14 days if you go through their site). No credit card required so giving it a shot is easy compared to other daily planners.

What is Sunsama?
What is Sunsama?Sunsama is a daily planner built around intentional, manual time blocking. The very first thing it asks each morning is "What do you want to get done today?"
It's intuitive and easy to navigate, giving you a full view of your tasks on one side and your calendar on the other. You have the ability to drag tasks onto your schedule and then reflect on obstacles. Then, at the end of the day, you go through a shutdown ritual and review what you completed. It’s not a tool that's trying to automate your life, but trying to help you be more mindful about it.
I always recommend Sunsama to my friends who love pen-and-paper planners but want a digital version. If you enjoy sitting down for 10–15 minutes each morning to thoughtfully plan your day, you'll probably love what Sunsama brings to the table.
If you hate the idea of AI planning your day, then Sunsama is 100% for you (it's basically the opposite of Motion). There's no AI auto-scheduling or project management tool built in.
Pros and Cons
Pros and ConsPros
Pros- Structured daily routines
- Beautiful, calming, minimal design
- Daily planning and time blocking experience
- Strong philosophy around healthy work habits
- Integrates with popular tools (Asana, Monday, Gmail, Slack, etc.)
Cons
Cons- Heavy manual daily planning
- Limited team collaboration features
- Can feel time-consuming for busy professionals
Key Features
Key FeaturesDaily Planning
Daily PlanningSunsama creates an experience that guides you through a routine focused on what you feel, not what is fastest or what an AI automation thinks is most efficient.
There is what Sunsama calls auto-scheduling, which is different from how AI works with tools like Motion. What it means is it uses a mixture of keyboard shortcuts and your preset schedule to place tasks on your calendar, split them, or defer them; it's not actually doing anything with AI or anything that automated.
We could see this really working for someone who prefers control over AI guesswork and already likes sitting down to map out their day. This feels like the cleanest digital version of that experience. It forces you to be realistic about your time and in tune with your day.
Task Aggregation
Task AggregationSunsama doesn’t try to replace your project management software, but it's aware that professionals often need to be in tools like Asana, Monday, Trello, Gmail, Slack, etc.
So it connects to those tools and allows you to pull in tasks, BUT it doesn’t automatically schedule everything. This is different from other tools that, with a click of a button, your entire schedule is ready to go; with Sunsama, you choose what makes it onto your calendar.
It acts more like a daily decision layer on top of your existing stack. Your PM tool manages the big picture, and Sunsama helps you decide what actually gets your time today.
Daily Shutdown & Reflection
Daily Shutdown & ReflectionMuch like the beginning of your day, Sunsama has you do a shutdown routine at the end of the day. You review what you completed and reflect on how the day went.
This might sound redundant if you are just trying to be as efficient as possible, but if the goal is awareness and intention, it's powerful. A lot of busy founders just want to close their laptops and be done with the day, but Sunsama makes you pause and look at your progress.
It does a great job of helping you reinforce work boundaries and help you build a healthier relationship with work, because when you see all your output, it makes you realize sometimes it's okay to stop.
Pricing
Pricing- Free: 30-day free trial with our Sunsama discount (normally only 14 days if you go direct). No credit card required.
- Pro: $20/mo per user (billed yearly) or $25/mo (billed monthly). Best for busy professionals who want a full daily planning system with unlimited usage, integrations, and AI features.
- Enterprise: Unlisted. Includes SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and custom security, compliance, and billing options for larger teams.
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