Cuewise vs Mue
Both are free, open-source answers to Momentum. Mue recreates its look, with a marketplace of photo and quote packs; Cuewise rebuilds its productivity side — and gives it away. Here's how they compare in 2026.
At a glance
The short version
Cuewise: the productivity side
A full Pomodoro, goals with history, reminders and insights — Momentum's productivity side, much of which needs Plus there, free here.
Mue: the look, and a marketplace
Momentum's photo-greeting-quote layout, with community packs of photos, quotes and presets to make it your own.
Both free & open
No account, no paid tier, code you can read. Mue also runs on Firefox; Cuewise adds optional encrypted sync.
Feature by feature
| Aspect | Mue | Cuewise |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, sponsor-funded | Free — every feature |
| Open source | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Account required | Never | Only if you opt into sync |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, Edge (an older build), Whale | Chrome, Edge, Brave |
| Languages | 30+ translations | English |
| Backgrounds | Photo packs, Unsplash, Pexels, video, your own images, photo map and credits | Curated daily photos, your own image, swap any time |
| Marketplace | Community photo packs, quote packs and presets | None |
| Quotes | From marketplace packs or your own list | 10 built-in categories, favorites, collections, custom quotes, CSV import |
| Tasks & goals | Simple to-do list and notes | Goals with subtasks, history and unfinished-task carry-over, plus notes |
| Focus timer | None | Full Pomodoro with history and heatmaps |
| Analytics | A tab counter and achievements | Streaks, charts, focus heatmaps |
| Reminders | None | Repeating reminders with active hours |
| Learning & recall | None | Spaced-repetition concept cards |
| Sounds | None | Ambient soundscapes + YouTube focus music |
| Calendar | None | Google Calendar agenda (read-only, optional) |
| Sync | Settings file export only | Optional end-to-end encrypted cloud sync |
| Permissions at install | Search only | Storage, notifications, alarms, context menu, active-tab and scripting access, plus Unsplash and cuewise.app |
| Crash reports | Sent to Sentry unless offline mode is on | None sent |
Where Mue is stronger
Backgrounds and the marketplace. Mue draws from its own photo library, Unsplash, Pexels and community photo packs, plays video backgrounds, and shows where each photo was taken on a map. Its marketplace adds quote packs and whole preset looks. Cuewise's backgrounds — a curated daily photo or your own image — are simpler.
Reach. Mue runs on Firefox and Whale as well as Chrome and Edge, with more than 30 translations. Cuewise is Chromium-only and English-only today.
A lighter footprint. On Chrome, Mue asks only for the search permission. Cuewise asks for storage, notifications and alarms (for reminders and the timer), access to Unsplash and cuewise.app (for photos and weather), and a context-menu entry with page access for saving a selection. Mue also has an offline mode that blocks every outside request.
Why pick Cuewise instead
Mue recreates Momentum's look; Cuewise rebuilds its productivity side. Mue has no focus timer, and its stats are a tab counter and achievements. Cuewise has a full Pomodoro with session history, and Insights turns it into focus trends and a heatmap of the hours and weekdays you focus most.
Around that sit the tools that make a new tab a habit: Today's Focus, where unfinished goals carry forward instead of disappearing; reminders that repeat on your schedule; spaced-repetition cards for what you're learning; ambient sounds and focus music; and a read-only Google Calendar agenda. And if you use more than one computer, Cuewise's optional sync is end-to-end encrypted — Mue offers a settings file you export and import by hand.
Also weighing Bonjourr or Tabliss? See thefull roundup of Momentum alternatives.
FAQ
Common questions
Is Mue a good Momentum alternative?
If you want Momentum's look for free, yes — a photo, a greeting, a clock and a quote, plus a marketplace of community photo and quote packs. If you want Momentum's productivity side — a focus timer, goals, stats — Mue has no timer, just a simple to-do list, and only a tab counter and achievements for stats; Cuewise has all three.
Is Mue still maintained?
Yes. It shipped 7.6.0 in January 2026 and 7.6.1 on GitHub in April 2026. Its Edge build is still on 7.1.1 from June 2024.
Does Mue collect any data?
It needs no account and keeps your settings in the browser. It does fetch photos, weather and marketplace items from its own API — weather sends your city or coordinates — and it reports errors to Sentry. An offline mode blocks all of those requests. Cuewise sends no crash or usage reports.
Can I bring my Mue quotes to Cuewise?
Not directly, but Cuewise imports custom quotes from a CSV file, so you can paste the list you kept in Mue into a spreadsheet and bring it over in one go. Quick links take a minute to re-add.
Your most intentional day starts on the next tab
Join the calm side of productivity. Free forever, private by design, and ready in two minutes.
Works on Chrome and Chromium browsers · No tracking · Local-first, with optional end-to-end encrypted sync