The Best Free Workflowy Alternative

Stay Organized With Taskade

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AI-Powered Productivity.AI-Powered Productivity.

Taskade vs Workflowy

Taskade is the best free alternative to Workflowy to organize and outline your ideas.

Taskade Alternative Logo
Taskade Official Logo
Paid
Free
Design Freedom
The Visual Playground

Develop list orientated templates

Develop customizable templates

Own Your Workspace

Customizability is nested list

Fully customizable workspace and progress tracking

Consistency Is Simplicity

List data is incompatible with board view offered

Adaptable data visualization

Collaboration
Let's Talk

No collaboration support

Comment syncing, chat support, live video call support

Going Live

Periodic syncing

Real-time syncing

The Right Tool For The Right Job

A note-taking software with a focus on nesting

Remote first design tailored for virtual collaboration

Progress Tracking
Get Back On Track

Completion history tracking through tags

Completion history tracking

The Big Picture

Overall view of projects, allows tracking of individual tasks

Bird's eye view of workspaces, able to monitor progress on a project level

Mindful Simplicity
Keeping It Clean

Tasks can be folded

Tasks can be folded and colour-coded

Passing On Your Legacy

Easy but disorganized

Simple and intuitive

Launch Speed
Getting Up To Speed

Organizing through nested lists is hard to get accustomed to

Intuitive UI, quick onboarding process

Quick On Your Feet

Long load times on start up

Lightweight, Short load times

What Is Workflowy?

Workflowy is an outliner software that was founded by Jesse Patel and Mike Turitzin in 2010. Patel created the productivity tool after being frustrated at not having the right tools to manage projects efficiently at his previous job.

The task management software has obtained a mass following of loyal fans since its inception. When Workflowy first launched, it gained more than 20,000 users within the first week. Today, they have more than 2 million users.

As an outliner, WorkFlowy is designed to be a lightweight and easy-to-use tool that helps users stay organized and on top of their tasks. Users take notes on a blank document which uses a parent-child relationship to organize nodes. Main ideas are represented using a parent node, which is followed by sub-nodes that expand on it.

Workflowy does not offer as many features as other task management tools, but this simplicity is one of its key strengths. It is particularly well-suited for users who prefer a minimalist approach to task management and do not need a lot of advanced features.

This follows a hierarchical system of note-taking, which is common within most outliner apps. The main idea behind Workflowy is for users to organize information effectively for quick recall, much like having a second brain.

What Are Some Features of Workflowy?

Being an outliner, Workflowy has plenty of features to help you take and organize notes. You can create unlimited bullet points on Workflowy’s paid plan which lets you write long-form content without restrictions. As you develop your ideas further, you can expand and collapse nodes to keep things neat.

This also means that you can use Workflowy as a task management app and create checklists with it.

Additionally, you can work even quicker by utilizing Workflowy’s keyboard shortcuts to help you spend less time clicking, and more time typing. 

You can drag and drop files and images onto your list to help you add more substance to your notes. Organizing your notes on Workflowy is also made simple with its built-in search function and by using tags to segment and look for your notes.

Besides taking regular notes, you can also create Kanban boards on Workflowy. However, the kanban experience on Workflowy is not intuitive, and you would probably be better off using a Workflowy alternative such as Trello, which has a better Kanban interface.

Even though Workflowy is good as an outliner, it lacks proper collaboration and communication features required in the modern-day work environment. Workflowy does not have a chat or call function which means that you will need to toggle between applications to communicate and get work done with your team.

Workflowy has similar features to its competitors and is frequently compared to Dynalist, Obsidian, and Roam research.

What Is Workflowy Good For?

Being an outliner software, Workflowy is good for you if you’re looking for a productivity tool to help with taking and organizing your notes. Ideally, this is all that you should use Workflowy for. 

This is because although it can double up as a task management tool, you would be better off using outliners that offer advanced features such as Taskade. Taskade offers note-taking, project management, communication features, and so much more.

Here are some use cases for Workflowy:

  • Note-taking
  • Researching
  • Learning
  • PKM tool
  • Business wiki

What Are Some Limitations of Workflowy?

WorkFlowy is a simple and flexible task management tool, but it does have some limitations that users should be aware of. Here are a few examples:

Feature set: WorkFlowy is a minimalistic tool that does not offer as many features as some other task management tools. It is designed for users who need a simple tool for organizing tasks and ideas, but it may not have all the features that more advanced users need.

Collaboration features: WorkFlowy does not offer real-time collaboration features, such as the ability to share tasks and work on tasks together in real-time with others. It is primarily designed for individual use, and may not be the best choice for teams or organizations that need more advanced collaboration features.

Customization options: While WorkFlowy does offer some customization options, such as the ability to create nested lists and use formatting options, it does not have as many customization options as some other task management tools.

Integration with other tools: WorkFlowy integrates with a limited number of external services, such as email and calendar apps. If you use other apps or services that you want to integrate with your task management tool, WorkFlowy may not be the best choice.

One of the main limitations of Workflowy is that the tool lacks solid collaboration features. In contrast, Taskade offers unlimited chat and video conferences for free to enable you to communicate and collaborate on one single app, making Taskade a better free alternative to Workflowy.

How Much Does Workflowy Cost?

Workflowy offers its software at two simple price points.

Basic (Free)

  • Access to all features
  • Monthly bullet limit
  • 100MB file limit

Pro ($4.99/month)

  • Access to all features
  • Unlimited bullets
  • No file limit
  • Full sharing options

What Is Taskade?

Taskade is an online productivity and collaboration tool that was founded by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang in 2017. The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to help remote teams and individuals get work done faster and smarter.

Taskade is where remote teams get work done. With Taskade, you can organize projects and tasks, change between multiple project views, automate repetitive workflows, collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. 

Get a headstart on your projects and find a suitable structure for your notes via Taskade’s versatile collection of templates. Simply choose from a wide variety of templates and add them to your projects to get started instantly!

Taskade is a supercharged productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time.

Taskade is the best free Workflowy 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.

Taskade workspace view

  • 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.

Assign tasks Taskade

  • 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. Set reminders to ensure that every task is completed on time.
  • 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).

User roles & permissions in Taskade

  • 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.

Taskade 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.

Taskade version history

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

How to export Taskade projects

  • 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.

With Taskade, you're getting an organizational tool with advanced features to help you get work done. Taskade is available on mobile and desktop so that you can get work done on your favourite device.

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 on Taskade's interface 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 Workflowy alternative. Try Taskade for free today.

Join the 82,967 teams who collaborate on Taskade.

Unleash the power of AI with Taskade. Chat, organize, get things done, all in one place. No more scattered to-do lists, cluttered inboxes, or disorganized work. Get organized, productive, and connected.

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