Should you build your own Motion?
AI calendar and task scheduler that auto-plans your workday
You can build an auto-scheduler for your own tasks, but robust calendar conflict handling, integrations, and productized rescheduling take real engineering.
ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.
Build me a personal task auto-scheduler to replace Motion. Requirements:
- Node + better-sqlite3 + googleapis. Tasks in SQLite: title, duration estimate,
deadline, priority, done. A small Express page on localhost:4920 to add and edit
tasks, plus a `plan` CLI command.
- Read my Google Calendar free/busy for the next 14 days (OAuth token cached
locally); respect working hours 09:00-18:00 and a lunch block, both set in
config.json.
- The planner is greedy, not clever: earliest deadline first, weighted by priority,
packing tasks into free slots in 30-minute increments and splitting anything over
90 minutes into chunks.
- Write the plan back as calendar events with a [plan] prefix. Replanning deletes
only [plan] events and relays them, never touching real meetings.
- Overdue or unschedulable tasks show in red on the web page instead of being
silently dropped.
- A 07:30 node-cron run replans the day and emails me the schedule (SMTP in .env).
- Single user, local only, no accounts, no telemetry beyond the Google API calls.
- Out of scope: team scheduling, mobile apps, and meeting-invite handling. It plans
my solo work around a calendar it treats as read-only truth.
- README: the Google Cloud console OAuth setup. Budget an hour for that alone.The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
What would building your own look like?
Create tasks with duration/deadline/priority, read calendar availability, solve a schedule, and write time blocks back.
What you will need
- Google/Microsoft calendar OAuth
- scheduling algorithm
- hosted backend
- notifications
- task database
They pay because the calendar stays organized without manual drag-and-drop.
xmulti-calendar sync
xrecurring work rules
xmobile apps
xteam scheduling
xpolished rescheduling
xsupport
Prefer something ready-made?
FlowSavvy FreeIt auto-plans unlimited tasks for the next two weeks; priorities and dependencies are how the paid plan gets you.Free↗
Reclaim LiteThe free solo plan moves focus, habits, breaks and meetings around; the planning horizon is one week.Free↗
Trevor AI FreeOne calendar gets task-to-time-block planning and some AI suggestions; multiple calendars and deeper automation cost extra.Free↗View all 3 alternatives to Motion →· Licença, instalação e limitações em cada alternativa.
How much does Motion cost?
- Monthly billing
- $19/mo$19/mo · per person
- Per year
- $228/yr$228/yr
- On a Brazilian card, with 3.5% IOF
- R$99.29/moR$1,191/yr
Saved to My list. You will see a notice on this site when the price changes.
You complete the purchase on Motion’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| pro ai | - | $19/user≈ $19 | 7,500 AI credits/seat/month; unlimited storage; AI chat, projects, tasks, calendar, meetings, docs, wiki, and notes. |
| business ai | - | $29/user≈ $29 | 15,000 AI credits/seat/month; capacity planning, dashboards, Gantt, time tracking, permissions, and priority support. |
Free tierno free tier
Billing termsmonthly + annual (-33% advertised); exact monthly dollar amounts were not exposed; free trial
Additional costsAI overages cost $0.25 per 100 credits on Pro AI and $0.19 per 100 credits on Business AI.
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Is it cheaper to build or buy Motion?
Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.
Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.
Starting hours estimated from the analysis (multi-day). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).
Can I rebuild Motion?
Kinda. The core of Motion is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: multi-calendar sync, recurring work rules. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Motion cost?
Motion costs about $19/mo (Pro AI, checked 10/20/2026), which is $228 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Motion?
Honestly: multi-calendar sync; recurring work rules; mobile apps; team scheduling; polished rescheduling; support. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Motion?
Yes: FlowSavvy Free (It auto-plans unlimited tasks for the next two weeks; priorities and dependencies are how the paid plan gets you.) Reclaim Lite (The free solo plan moves focus, habits, breaks and meetings around; the planning horizon is one week.) Trevor AI Free (One calendar gets task-to-time-block planning and some AI suggestions; multiple calendars and deeper automation cost extra.) All 3 curated free alternatives are at https://viberadar.si/motion/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.