The Best Free OmniFocus Alternative

What Is OmniFocus? 

OmniFocus is a task management and productivity tool for macOs and iOS developed by the Omni Group. It was first released in 2008. The productivity tool aims to capture thoughts and ideas into to-do lists, following the “Getting Things Done (GTD)” concepts and techniques developed by David Allen.

OmniFocus helps organize your tasks efficiently and across all your devices. Users can focus on the most important and urgent items while also monitoring their progress and switching priorities when needed.

Today, OmniFocus has over 150,000 users on its platform. Some alternative tools to OmniFocus are Todoist, Trello, Quire, WorkFlowy, and Asana.

OmniFocus is popular with individuals and organizations looking for a powerful task management tool. It is known for its advanced features and flexibility, which make it suitable for managing tasks and projects of all sizes.

Features of Omnifocus

OmniFocus is a task management tool that helps you organize your tasks and projects across all your Apple devices. Its main features are:

• Inbox: enter tasks quickly, set due dates and repeating actions, assign projects, add tags
• Projects: organize actions, add folders, edit multiple actions by batch
• Notes: add long texts, graphics or audio files
• Forecast: show actions and calendar events in order, set notifications
• Perspectives: different view options for tasks
• Review: mark your progress on your tasks and projects

OmniFocus can be used for personal task management but we do not recommend it for project and team management. Even with the additional features of the Pro version, OmniFocus is still not optimized for virtual collaboration. 

Its features are limited to tracking tasks for individuals so it is not effective for teamwork or more complex project monitoring. 

What Are Some Limitations of Omnifocus? 

While OmniFocus is good to use for simple task management, it has major limitations when it comes to customizability and overall project management. The tool is exclusive to the Apple ecosystem, even with its web version.

• No templates available
• Only checklists can be customized
• Data is restricted to the few available views
• No collaboration support
• No completion history tracking

OmniFocus can work for simple to-do lists but has a poor overall view of projects and is confusing and difficult to maintain. The user interface (UI) is not intuitive and the tool’s performance can be slow, taking a long time to load thus reducing its efficiency. 

How Much Does Omnifocus Cost?

OmniFocus has two main pricing plans for its customers: the cross-platform subscription which includes OmniFocus Pro for Mac, iOS, and the Web and the standalone options where customers can choose to purchase either the Standard or the Pro package for either their Mac or their iOS only.

• Cross-platform subscription: $9.99/month or $99.99/year
• Mac Only: Standard $49.99 or Pro $99.99
• iOS Only: Standard $49.99 or Pro $74.99

Customers who already have the standalone app can purchase the web access add-on for $4.99/month or $49.99/year.

What Is Taskade?

Taskade is a productivity and collaboration tool that helps remote teams and individuals get work done more efficiently.

Founded in 2017 by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang, Taskade offers an all-in-one unified workspace where you can organize projects and tasks, switch between different project views, automate repetitive workflows, and collaborate with your team using built-in video chat.

Taskade is backed by Y Combinator and aims to help remote teams work more effectively and efficiently.

Taskade is the best free Omnifocus alternative. Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

• Project Views. Visualize your projects in several different ways. Cycle between the List, Mind Map, Org Chart, and Board views to work the way you want. 

  • List View. This is the default view on Taskade. Create new lists here.
  • Board View. This view lets you work horizontally like a Kanban board. Visualize your workflow and tasks in this full-width view.
  • Mind Map View. This view lets you work in a horizontal tree-structured manner and map out what you have in mind.
  • Action View. Work in table view and stay organized with your task due dates, and more.
  • Org Chart View. Break down larger tasks into smaller ones to help you get things done.

• Zoom In, Zoom Out. Get a bird’s-eye view of the workflow by zooming out on all project views, or zoom in to focus on a specific area.
• Fold/Unfold. Fold (collapse) a parent task/bullet element to hide its subtasks. Indent outline elements with ⌨️ Tab and unfold lists with ⌨️ Shift+Tab.
• Real-time Communication. Chat and video conference with your team while collaborating in real-time on the same page. 
• 500+ Templates. Choose from 500+ templates across 26 categories to improve your productivity and workflows. Customize existing templates or create new ones across your workspaces.
• Multi-Select. Select and format multiple blocks or bulk assign them as tasks to other team members. You can also copy, paste, or indent selected blocks.
• Customize Sub-Tasks. Customize the format of your sub-tasks at individual levels. Choose from headings, numbered lists, shapes, and more.
• Recurring Tasks. Add due dates with start and end times to tasks within your project and set them to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly.

• Move Tasks. Move and copy selected tasks to other projects across any workspace. You’ll receive a pop-up notification on completion.
• User Roles & Permissions. Manage collaborators and assign user roles/editing privileges (Owner, Admin, Editor, Checker, Viewer).
• Sort Tasks. Sort sub-tasks/children elements by completed/uncompleted stats or the due date. Task sorting can be accessed from a convenient pop-up menu.
• Search. Search within projects or globally across workspaces and subspaces. Instantly browse and jump between projects anywhere in the Taskade.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. Navigate projects, create content blocks, reorder elements, and complete tasks using a set of handy keyboard shortcuts.

• Team Calendar. Aggregate all tasks and projects in a shared calendar. The Taskade calendar integrates with Google (two-way), Apple, and Outlook. 
• Reorder Tasks. Lists in Taskade aren’t set in stone. Reorder tasks and find them a new home with intuitive drag-and-drop mechanics.
• Project History. See all the changes made by you and other collaborators. Click on the entries to navigate to the edited items within the project.
• Version History. Taskade saves snapshots of your project so that you can restore a previous version of your project with a single click.

• Export and Print. You can export your projects as plain text or markdown files. Attach them to emails, presentations, or for print.

• Cloud File Upload. Share files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and Box in your projects with our integrations.
• Breakdown Larger Tasks. Organize your thoughts with Taskade’s unlimited hierarchy to break down large projects into tasks.
• Quick Search. Use CMD / CTRL + K to jump between any projects within Taskade web and apps.

For an exhaustive list of Taskade’s features, click here.

Taskade Pros

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user/your feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

Taskade Cons

• No custom APIs (yet)

Taskade Pricing

Taskade Free Plan

• Unlimited Tasks & Projects
• Unlimited Members & Guests
• Unlimited Folders & Teams
• Templates, Calendar, Repeat Tasks
• Real-time Collaboration
• Built-in Free Chat and Video Call

Taskade Unlimited Plan - Starts from $5/month

• Everything in Free, plus:
• Version History
• Advanced Permission
• Cloud Upload Integration
• 2-Way Calendar Integration

Click here for more information.

Is Taskade Right for You?

Taskade can be used by individuals and teams working from anywhere. Use Taskade individually or collaborate with your team for weekly agendas, team meetings, note-taking, project management, product roadmaps, and more. 

Make use of customizable board views to visualize your projects into digestible smaller tasks. Multiple board views are available even on Taskade’s free plan, allowing you to get more work done the smarter way. 

Collaborate with your team in real-time with free and unlimited chat and video conferencing available on every project. Automatic syncing ensures that your data is always up to date across devices.

Our customizable templates are available even with our free plan. Find the perfect template to help you get started with your project, and customize it to fit your needs!

Taskade is the simplest way to create task lists, checklists, and workflows. Manage projects and get more work done the simple way with Taskade.

Taskade is the best free Omnifocus alternative. Try Taskade for free today.