Where to track tasks if not in Notion

By Darko Bačić, founder of App Tube · 9 October 2026 · Facts checked 9 October 2026

Keep Notion for docs, and track tasks in a tool made for tasks. For a small dev team on phones and Macs, try devBoard, and for a fast tracker in a browser, pick Linear. For one plain board, pick Trello, and if your code lives on GitHub, start with GitHub Projects. We make devBoard. It is first on the list. We say where the others are better.

Why small teams leave Notion

Most small teams do not leave Notion. They move tasks out of it. A task list in Notion is a database you build yourself. Someone sets up the fields and views, and someone keeps them tidy. There is no built-in timer.

Speed comes up too. In 2026 reviews on Capterra, one person says large databases and heavy pages respond slowly. Another says the phone app lags on big tables. A Hacker News comment from July 2025 calls Notion sluggish next to a local notes app.

That is a few voices, not a survey. For docs and a wiki, Notion is still a strong pick.

The short list

devBoard

Pick it if

devBoard is a tracker for small dev teams and freelancers, and it does not try to be a docs tool. Work has three levels. An epic is a big piece of work split into smaller tasks. A subtask is one small step inside a task. A new project starts with a board and three columns, so there is nothing to build. See boards in devBoard.

• You want a timer on the task, with no extension.
• You ship in releases. A release groups the tasks that go out in one version.
• Your team works on iPhone, Android and Mac.
• You want pull requests to show on the task. A pull request asks to merge a set of code changes into the main code.

Skip it if

• You need a web version. devBoard is an app only.
• Someone on the team uses Windows or Linux. Those apps are not out yet.
• You want to import your Notion database. There is no importer.
• You want docs or chat in the same tool. Keep those in Notion.
• You rely on automations. devBoard has none.

Linear

Pick it if

Linear is a fast issue tracker made for software teams. It runs in a browser and has apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. Projects can hold docs, so some specs could move with the tasks. Cycles are its name for sprints.

Skip it if

Linear has no built-in time tracking. Estimates are points, not hours. The free plan stops at 250 issues and two teams.

Trello

Pick it if

Trello is a kanban board. Kanban is a way to track work as cards that move across columns. If your Notion task list was one board view, Trello feels close. The free plan covers up to 10 people in a workspace, and simple rules run on every plan.

Skip it if

Trello has no real subtasks, only checklists on a card. Time tracking needs an add-on. Calendar, timeline and table views start on Premium. You lose the many views a Notion database gives you.

GitHub Projects

Pick it if

If your code is on GitHub, issues, pull requests and a board can live in one place at no extra cost. Projects come with the Free plan. You can add your own text, number, date and iteration fields. The GitHub Mobile app opens projects and edits fields.

Skip it if

We found no built-in time tracking. Harvest, Toggl and Clockify add it through browser extensions. There is no desktop app for Projects. In a 2025 community thread, a user found that project filters cannot match "mine or unassigned".

Who should stay on Notion

Notion alone is enough for some teams. Stay if:

• Your tasks are a short list next to your docs.
• You built a task database that works, and people keep it up.
• You do not bill by the hour, so you need no timer.
• You want forms that add tasks, or many views of one list.
• Some people need a browser or a Windows app.

One freelancer wrote about moving from ClickUp to Notion, because keeping ClickUp tidy took more time than the work. For one person, a simple Notion list can be the right size.

For a closer look at one pair, read devBoard vs Notion.

How we chose

We make devBoard, so it is first, and you should weigh that. We picked tools that sit well next to Notion. Each one tracks tasks and leaves most docs to Notion. We left out ClickUp and Basecamp, which come with their own docs and chat. If you want to replace Notion too, look at those. We read each pricing page on 9 October 2026. Our other alternatives pages use the same rules.

Moving off Notion

We found no Notion importer in any tool on this list. Linear imports from Jira, GitHub Issues, Asana and Shortcut. We found none in Trello, and devBoard has none either. So you move tasks by hand, and your docs stay where they are. Filter your task database to what is not done. Make an epic for each big piece, then add its tasks. The guide to epics, tasks and subtasks shows how in about five minutes.