A Sunsama alternative for design studios
Design does not happen in the gaps between meetings, and a task list will cheerfully pretend that it does.
Why design studios use Sunsama
For an individual designer the daily ritual is close to ideal, and it takes protecting attention seriously.
Where it stops
It is one person at a time. A studio is several people whose unbroken hours have to be visible to each other.
The week design studios actually have
Three projects at different stages, a review that could have been asynchronous, and a designer whose best four hours went to a call at eleven that cut the morning in half. Nobody scheduled the interruption. It just arrived, because there was nothing on the calendar saying otherwise.
The best hours get taken because they look empty
An unmarked calendar is an invitation. The deep work has no defence because it was never written down as time.
In UnaTask: Blocks you place yourself, that stay where you put them, and that a booking link will not offer to anybody.
A day cut into four pieces is not four hours of design
Two calls and a review leave a shape nothing fits into, and every planning tool records that day as mostly free.
In UnaTask: You see the shape of the day, not just its total, which is the difference between a plan and an arithmetic error.
Feedback rounds are work and never on the plan
Two rounds of revisions are certain and never estimated, so every project runs over by the amount everybody privately expected.
In UnaTask: Put the rounds on the calendar as tasks with time, so the estimate contains the thing that always happens.
Client calls generate work that lands nowhere
The review call produced eleven changes and a memory of eight of them.
In UnaTask: A notetaker turns the review into assigned tasks on the project.
On the things design studios asked about
| What it does | Sunsama | UnaTask |
|---|---|---|
| Time blocking on a calendar | Core | Core |
| See who has room | No. Built for individuals. There is no shared team picture. | Core |
| Meetings become tasks | No | Yes |
| A free plan | No | Yes |
What it costs
For a team of 5, billed yearly, Sunsama is about $1200 a year and UnaTask is €480 plus VAT. The two are quoted in different currencies, so we have not subtracted one from the other.
Sunsama: Around $20 per month billed annually, up to $25 monthly. No free plan.
Common questions
Why do design studios use Sunsama?
For an individual designer the daily ritual is close to ideal, and it takes protecting attention seriously.
Where does Sunsama stop working for design studios?
It is one person at a time. A studio is several people whose unbroken hours have to be visible to each other.
Should we leave Sunsama?
Not necessarily, and we would rather say so. Keep Sunsama if the morning ritual is the thing that keeps you honest, and you plan on your own. Move if the missing piece is the week itself: hours on a calendar, for everyone, before the work is promised.
Can I stop people booking over my focus time?
Yes. Booking links only offer slots that are genuinely free, and a focus block is not free.
Does it work for a studio of three?
Yes. Three seats at €10 each per month, and there is nothing to configure first.
Sunsama details checked June 2026.