BetterKeeper vs OmniFocus: power you'll actually use
BetterKeeper
Tasks, projects, notes, and time tracking in one native Apple app. Useful on day one, no methodology required, synced through your own iCloud.
OmniFocus
The most powerful GTD system on Apple platforms. Perspectives, defer dates, review cycles — extraordinary depth, and a setup curve to match.
Feature comparison
| BetterKeeper | OmniFocus | |
|---|---|---|
| Task management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes, extremely deep |
| Built-in notes | ✓ Rich notes, standalone & attached | ✗ Notes field per task |
| Time tracking | ✓ Built-in timers | ✗ Not available |
| Custom perspectives | ✗ Fixed views (Today, projects, tags) | ✓ Yes (Pro) |
| Automation & scripting | ✗ Not available | ✓ Omni Automation, AppleScript |
| Sharing & collaboration | ✓ Shared projects with chat | ✗ Single-user by design |
| Data storage | Your iCloud only | Omni Sync Server or your own WebDAV |
| CarPlay | ✓ View & complete tasks | Widgets only (4.8+) |
| Setup before it's useful | Works out of the box | Perspectives, tags & review cycles to configure |
| Pricing | $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr, all platforms | From $9.99/mo, or $74.99 one-time (v4 Standard) |
Where they really differ
Open it, add a task, and the Today view is already the right view. Projects group work, priorities sort it, and due dates surface it. There's no perspective builder to configure because you don't need one to see what's next.
OmniFocus rewards a system. Defer dates, flagged items, custom perspectives, and weekly reviews are genuinely powerful once configured — but the app expects you to bring a methodology. Many people buy it, set it up for a weekend, and drift back to something simpler.
Tasks, projects, notes with attachments, and per-task time tracking live in the same app. A client project holds its own brief, its checklist, and the hours you logged against it — nothing to reconcile across tools.
OmniFocus is a task manager and stays one. Notes are a plain field per item, and there's no time tracking at all — billing hours means Toggl or Harvest alongside it, plus a separate notes app for anything longer than a paragraph.
Share a project with a partner, a spouse, or a client. Everyone sees updates in real time and can comment in the project's built-in chat — without the project leaving your iCloud.
OmniFocus is deliberately single-user. There is no shared project, no assignment, no comment thread. That focus is a feature for solo GTD practitioners, and a wall the moment a second person is involved.
$4.99/month or $29.99/year covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac with every feature included — there is no Standard-versus-Pro split. Free for 30 days, no card required.
Subscription starts at $9.99/month and includes OmniFocus for the Web. The perpetual route is $74.99 for the v4 Standard license, covering Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro — with a paid upgrade when the next major version lands, and Pro features priced separately.
Which one is right for you?
You want a system that works the day you install it, and you need notes and tracked hours in the same place as your tasks. The right call for freelancers, consultants, and anyone who tried OmniFocus and never finished setting it up.
You practice GTD seriously and want the deepest task engine on Apple platforms — custom perspectives, defer dates, formal reviews, and scripting. Nothing else comes close on raw capability, and you're happy to invest the setup time.