Long distance

A shared planner for long-distance couples

Updated · by the Simpleban team

In short

Long-distance couples run on plans: the next visit, the flights, the thing you're saving for, the move. Simpleban is a free shared kanban board for exactly two people with a countdown at the top (“Next visit in 23 days”), cards for every plan and booking assigned to you, your partner, or either of you, due dates for the deadlines, and handoffs that show up on the other person's phone across any time zone — in real time, and by email at their 8am, not yours.

Simpleban, a kanban board for two people: a shared “Our home” board with This week, Doing, Waiting and Done columns, cards marked Mine or assigned to a partner, due dates, repeating chores and a moving-day countdown.

What couples put on it

  • The countdown: next visit, the move, the wedding, the end of the contract.
  • Visit logistics: flights, train, what to book, what to bring, what to do when you're there.
  • The shared future: a column for “When we live together” that slowly empties.
  • Date-night ideas for video calls and the real ones for visits.
  • Savings goals as cards with a due date, so the trip fund is a thing you can both see.

Across time zones

  • Every card has an owner: you, your partner, or either of you — so “who is on this?” is answered before anyone asks.
  • Hand a card to your partner and it moves to the top of their board under “waiting on you”. If they're not on the app, Simpleban emails them a few minutes later, and the next morning's 8am email mentions it once if it's still waiting — never every day. You never press a “remind” button.
  • When your partner is done, they hand it back and it reappears at the top of your board.
  • Repeating cards come back on their own schedule — daily, weekly, chosen weekdays, every N days, monthly — and can alternate between the two of you.
  • Due dates with a calm Today / This week filter, a private calendar feed for Google, Apple or Outlook, and a countdown on the board for the date that matters.
  • Notes, checklists and comments live inside each card, so the context travels with the task.
  • Reminders arrive at 8am in each person's own time zone, so nobody gets a nudge at 3am.
  • Presence shows when the other person is on the board — a small, nice way to know they're looking at the same plan.
  • Your partner joins from your invite link with a name and an email — no password, nothing to pay. Both of you have the full app on your own phone; it installs like an app and works offline for reading.

Templates to start from

Questions, answered

Does it work across time zones?
Yes. The board is real time, and emails go out at 8am local time for each person.
Can we put a countdown on it?
Yes — a countdown to a date with a label (“Next visit”, “The move”) sits at the top of the board for both of you.
Does the other person need to pay or install anything?
No. They open your invite link, type a name and an email, and they're on the board. Installing it as an app on their phone is optional. Simpleban is free forever for two: you and the one person you invite get every feature, unlimited boards and cards, no trial and no credit card. The promise is written into the Terms: nothing that is free today will ever move behind a paywall, and your +1 never pays. If you need more people or want to share boards beyond your +1, we'll soon introduce subscription tiers — a flat rate, never per seat.
Can I use it with more than two people?
Simpleban is built for two people, and for two it stays free forever. If you need more people or want to share boards with someone new, we'll soon introduce subscription tiers — a flat rate, never per seat. Until then, read-only share links let anyone else follow a board without editing.

Count down together

Start a board, set the countdown, send the link.

Your board starts as “Trip planning” — columns and example cards you can change or delete.

Try the live demo board first

Read next