DayCaptain
DayCaptain is a bootstrapped, web-based personal time and task management tool that combines task lists with a calendar via a keyboard-first interface and time-boxing methodology. It serves individual professionals and software developers through a pay-what-you-want monthly subscription.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What DayCaptain does
DayCaptain is a personal time and task management application that fuses a task list with a calendar inside a single web-based interface, organized around a keyboard-first usability concept and the time-boxing methodology of assigning fixed time slots to tasks. Users plan daily and weekly schedules through mnemonic keyboard shortcuts accessible from the home row, with guided planning workflows, backlog management, and a statistics overview of how time was spent. The product includes a REST API for developers to build custom tools and extensions, and supports one-way event import from Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar.
The company was created by two software developers, Philipp and Basti (also identified as Sebastian Daschner), initially as a personal tool around 2018 and publicly launched in 2021. DayCaptain operates a self-serve, product-led go-to-market motion: users sign up with Google, Microsoft, or email, access a 14-day free trial with full features, and then subscribe via a pay-what-you-want monthly model with a 10 EUR / 12 USD floor and a suggested price equal to one hour of the user's hourly rate. The primary customer segments are individual professionals, knowledge workers, and software developers seeking rapid daily planning, with marketing driven by content (Captain's Log blog), a YouTube learning series, and word-of-mouth from existing users.
DayCaptain is entirely bootstrapped with no external funding or institutional investors, retains 100% founder ownership, and operates as a two- to three-person team headquartered in Munich, Germany (self-described as Europe-based). The company has disclosed only three paying customers in the first six months after public launch and the founder publicly reported zero EUR income in late 2021, indicating a very early commercial stage with limited scale signals.
DayCaptain firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DayCaptain
- Legal name
- DayCaptain
- Website
- https://daycaptain.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- DayCaptain is a bootstrapped, web-based personal time and task management tool that combines task lists with a calendar via a keyboard-first interface and time-boxing methodology. It serves individual professionals and software developers through a pay-what-you-want monthly subscription.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where DayCaptain is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
DayCaptain business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Monthly Subscription (Pay-What-You-Want): Users subscribe on a monthly basis with a pay-what-you-want model. The minimum monthly amount is 10 EUR / 12 USD. The suggested price is equivalent to one hour of the user's hourly rate. This is the primary revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Single tier - Pay What You Want subscription |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
DayCaptain product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DayCaptain is a web-based personal time and task management application that combines a task list and calendar side-by-side so users can assign specific time slots (time-boxing) to tasks. It is built around a keyboard-first usability concept that lets all actions be triggered via mnemonic keys from the home row, enabling rapid daily and weekly planning in a distraction-free interface. The product is offered as a subscription SaaS to individual users via self-serve sign-up.
Product overview
DayCaptain is a single, unified personal productivity application. It combines a task list manager with a calendar into one cohesive interface, enabling users to perform time-boxing by assigning specific time slots to tasks. The product includes keyboard-driven navigation for speed, daily and weekly planning workflows, backlog organization, statistics overview, mobile browser support, and a REST API for developer extensions. The core value proposition is enabling rapid daily planning in minutes while maintaining focus through a distraction-free UI.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DayCaptain Personal time and task management web application that combines a task list with a calendar, using a keyboard-centric usability concept and time-boxing methodology to enable rapid daily and weekly planning for individual knowledge workers and software developers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Save users more than one hour per day through efficient planning
Companies that use DayCaptain
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
DayCaptain technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature9 records
DayCaptain partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
DayCaptain competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Google Tasks: Google Tasks is a free, lightweight task manager integrated with Google Workspace and Gmail. It is a free incumbent alternative that DayCaptain must differentiate against, especially given its Google Calendar integration.
- Trello: Trello is a kanban-style task and project management tool from Atlassian. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with DayCaptain on personal task tracking, though it leans more team/project-oriented.
- Notion: Notion is a broad workspace platform that includes task databases, calendars, and wikis. It is a broad incumbent rather than a focused peer because its task features are one part of a much larger product suite.
- Microsoft To Do: Microsoft To Do is a free, bundled task manager from Microsoft integrated with Outlook and Microsoft 365. As a free, integrated alternative it competes aggressively with DayCaptain for any Microsoft-using knowledge worker.
Direct peers
- Things 3: Things 3 is a premium, design-forward task manager for Apple platforms known for keyboard shortcuts and a clean UI. It competes for the same power-user segment that DayCaptain targets with its keyboard concept.
- OmniFocus: OmniFocus is a long-established GTD-style task manager for Apple platforms popular with technical and productivity-focused users. It is comparable to DayCaptain in target persona and feature breadth.
- TickTick: TickTick is a cross-platform task and calendar app that combines to-dos, calendar, time-blocking, and habit tracking — overlapping strongly with DayCaptain's combined task-list-plus-calendar, time-boxing approach.
- Any.do: Any.do is a cross-platform task manager with calendar and daily planner functionality. It directly competes for the same individual productivity-seeker persona that DayCaptain targets.
- Akiflow: Akiflow is a keyboard-driven time-blocking and task consolidation tool aimed at power users. It overlaps directly with DayCaptain's keyboard-first, time-boxing positioning and target user (technical, productivity-focused professionals).
- Todoist: Todoist is one of the most widely used personal task managers with cross-platform apps, a free tier, and a paid Pro tier. It directly competes with DayCaptain for knowledge-worker task management, and one DayCaptain user testimonial explicitly cites migrating from Todoist.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DayCaptain social profiles
Digital presenceDayCaptain financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DayCaptain leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
DayCaptain funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DayCaptain M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DayCaptain
What does DayCaptain do?
DayCaptain is a web-based personal time and task management application that combines a task list and calendar side-by-side so users can assign specific time slots (time-boxing) to tasks. It is built around a keyboard-first usability concept that lets all actions be triggered via mnemonic keys from the home row, enabling rapid daily and weekly planning in a distraction-free interface. The product is offered as a subscription SaaS to individual users via self-serve sign-up.
Is DayCaptain a public or private company?
DayCaptain is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was DayCaptain founded?
DayCaptain was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is DayCaptain based?
DayCaptain is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does DayCaptain make money?
One revenue line is on record: monthly Subscription (Pay-What-You-Want).
Who are DayCaptain's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Google Tasks, Trello, Notion and Microsoft To Do. Direct peers are Things 3, OmniFocus, TickTick, Any.do, Akiflow and Todoist.
Does DayCaptain have an API?
Yes. DayCaptain REST API allows developers to build custom tools and extensions to manage tasks and time. The API enables programmatic access to the platform's functionality for building integrations and automations. Developer documentation is at daycaptain.com/features.html.