The Neat Suite Manifesto
Why I’m building something different
It is a shared frustration. You see a flashy app that turns your head with promises of industry-altering AI or incredible features. You download it, open it once, and your expectations instantly evaporate.
After falling for the sales pitch, you realize the app was carelessly thrown together with a few AI prompts, leaving you with glaring bugs that will never be fixed. Or maybe it’s a beautifully built program that hides its core features behind a monthly subscription. The moment you stop paying, all the data and time you invested is locked away. I do welcome the occasional lifetime subscription. However, I have reservations with the direction modern software is heading.
Since the dawn of AI, companies are in an arms race to load their apps with features. Some of these are nice, but more often than not they bloat the user flow with unnecessary bells and whistles: features only intended to keep you using the app as long as possible, while charging you the maximum amount of money. It is the software equivalent of a store that puts the item you need in the very back, then pesters you at the cash register about a membership you never wanted. Nothing about it, in reality, makes your life any easier.
Suspecting my frustrations were not mine alone, I challenged myself to build alternative tools: tools that do one thing well, live on your device, and never ask for a subscription.
Some Context
First, a little background on my situation. It will help to explain the ethos of what I am building, and why it is personally important to me.
I was born into this world before the internet was everywhere. Back then, when new software or an update came out, it was wonderful, a genuine upgrade.
Years later, I moved to a country where I didn’t speak the language. Mobile apps became an essential companion as I navigated language and cultural barriers. But there have always been, and in increasing severity, hurdles to overcome when using certain technologies.
I live in a place where access to certain tools is restricted. After jumping through hoops to find something that works for me, I am met with even more hurdles: region-specific blocks for AI software, apps that require constant logins and security checks for everything. When an update drops, instead of feeling excited, I just hope they didn’t break the core experience trying to push a feature I never wanted.
My frustration with the lack of usable, accommodating software finally bubbled over. I decided to take on the project of creating simple tools I actually wanted to use: tools that open fast, let me do what I need for a few seconds, and then get out of my way.
Introducing Neat Suite
The first tool I built was Neat Calorie. It works offline, skips the fluff, and follows a minimal “log and get on with your day” philosophy. No account, no subscription, and no internet required. The data is curated from USDA data and has easy-to-measure units. No scrolling through pages of unreliable user-submitted entries, or needing a kitchen scale to log something as simple as a cup of white rice.
This app is just the beginning. Next, I am building a lock-screen flashcard PWA for study and language learning. As someone studying Chinese every day, I wanted a way to quickly review the words I pick up during my daily life. This tool will import existing Anki decks and send review cards straight to your lock screen, which you can then flip with an action button.
If these two apps build a strong base of users, they will be the launching pad for more tools. I have plans for some “micro-apps” that will be single-purpose tools designed to solve specific frustrations.
I don't want to build these tools in silence, so I am launching a social media project called "30 Days of Learning Chinese: Cooking Edition." My wife or I will cook a dish, and I will share the practical vocabulary we pick up along the way (and maybe a recipe or two!). I’ll be using Neat Calorie to track my meals, and showing footage of the flashcard app as I build it. You’ll see the tools in real, messy, daily use instead of just a polished demo.
In this blog I will share the vocabulary lists from those videos alongside updates about the apps I am working on.
Offline, pay-once software still matters. The world already has enough noise. If you’re tired of software that treats you like a walking ATM, drop your email in the form below. You’ll get updates about major app releases, and (for a limited time) a premium feature key as a thank you for being an early supporter.