Top 10 Trello Alternatives for Personal Use in 2026 (no big players)

Trello is still one of the easiest ways to run a personal Kanban board: boards → lists → cards, move things across stages, done.

But in 2026, a lot of solo users want more than "cards on a board":

• a clearer weekly rhythm
• less manual setup
• better reviewing (what happened last week/month?)
• optional AI to summarize or turn messy notes into tasks

Below are 10 alternatives that work great for personal use, and I'm intentionally avoiding the usual big-name suites.

1) Self-Manager.net (best if you want planning + reviews, not just boards)

If Trello is "visual task tracking," Self-Manager is "personal productivity over time."

Self-Manager is date-centric: your work lives on a timeline (days → weeks → months → quarters), which makes planning feel natural and reviewing effortless because your history is already organized.

Where it really wins vs Trello for personal use:

• AI Period Summary: pick any week or month and generate a summary of what you actually did, then ask follow-up questions (what slipped, what's blocked, what should be next).
• AI chat beside your data: you can talk to AI about your tables / work context instead of generic prompts.
• Built for review loops: weekly/monthly/quarterly reflection is a core workflow, not something you have to build as a template.

Best for: founders, freelancers, solo builders — anyone who wants execution and a reliable review habit.

2) Focalboard (board-first, self-hostable, Trello-like but more flexible views)

Focalboard is explicitly positioned as an open-source alternative to Trello-style tools, with Kanban plus additional views (table, calendar, gallery).

Best for: people who want a Trello-like board but with more ways to view the same work.

3) Wekan (straight Kanban, open-source, self-hostable)

Wekan is a clean "classic Kanban" option: simple, familiar, and open-source.

Best for: people who want the Trello feel without switching to a bigger system.

4) Taiga (if you want personal Kanban + backlog/sprints, without heavy enterprise vibes)

Taiga is open-source agile PM with both Scrum and Kanban workflows.

Best for: solo makers who like structure (backlog → work-in-progress → done), especially on larger personal projects.

5) Vikunja (open-source tasks with Kanban + multiple views)

Vikunja is an open-source, self-hostable task app that includes a Kanban board and multiple views.

Best for: individuals who want "tasks-first" with optional Kanban (not just cards).

6) Anytype (local-first personal workspace with table + Kanban)

Anytype is offline-first / local-first and supports objects with database-style views (including table and Kanban).

Best for: people who used Trello for "projects + notes," and want a more private, local-first approach.

7) Logseq (daily notes that turn into tasks, privacy-first)

Logseq is a privacy-first, open-source knowledge base that includes task management and daily-note workflows.

Best for: people who think in daily journals and want tasks to emerge from notes (instead of managing boards all day).

8) Superlist (modern personal to-dos that stay lightweight)

Superlist is built for "work and home," with tasks + notes in one place and fast capture.

Best for: individuals who want a modern, clean daily driver (less "board management," more "get it done").

9) Lunatask (encrypted to-dos + habits + journaling)

Lunatask is an encrypted all-in-one tool combining to-dos, habit tracking, journaling, and life-tracking.

Best for: personal productivity + wellbeing tracking, especially if privacy matters.

10) Amazing Marvin (highly customizable personal system, built to reduce procrastination)

Amazing Marvin is a personal productivity tool designed to reduce procrastination and overwhelm, with a ton of customization so you can shape your own workflow.

Best for: power users who want to tailor the system to how their brain works.

Quick "pick the right one" guide

• Want planning + weekly/monthly reviews (less manual setup): Self-Manager.net
• Want Trello-style boards, self-hostable: Wekan
• Want boards + more views (table/calendar): Focalboard
• Want agile structure (backlog/sprints + Kanban): Taiga
• Want open-source tasks + Kanban: Vikunja
• Want local-first privacy + Kanban/table: Anytype
• Want notes-first + tasks from daily journals: Logseq
• Want simple modern personal tasks: Superlist
• Want encrypted personal life system: Lunatask
• Want max customization / anti-procrastination: Amazing Marvin