Amazing Marvin vs Timestripe

Amazing Marvin

• People who want to shape a task manager around their own workflow
• People who struggle with procrastination or feel overwhelmed by long lists
• Planning a day with time estimates and time blocks
• Linux users who want a desktop app

Timestripe

• People who want daily tasks tied to quarterly, yearly and life goals
• Small teams planning shared goals with assignees and comments
• Anyone who likes guided step-by-step programs for a new goal

Amazing Marvin

• There is no free plan; when the 14-day trial ends, tasks cannot be added or completed until you subscribe.
• Monthly billing is $12; the $8 price applies only when paying $96 for a year.
• There are no dedicated iPad apps; the vendor says tablets can use the web app.
• Time tracking needs an internet connection, and the Zapier integration can only create tasks in Marvin.

Timestripe

• The free Basic plan stops at 5 goals per horizon, 10 per board list, 3 custom boards and 1 Climb at a time.
• Monthly billing costs $19 a month, more than double the $9 a month charged on the yearly plan.
• No native desktop app is listed. Timestripe runs on the web, iOS and Android, plus a Chrome extension.
• The US App Store lists Pro at $19.99 monthly and $99.99 annually, so in-app prices differ slightly from the website.

Amazing Marvin

Switchable features and workflows

More than 100 features can be turned on or off, and the vendor describes workflows for day planning, list-based work, spontaneous work and GTD.

Day planning and time blocking

Plan a day or week with time estimates, a calendar view and time blocks. A capacity estimator gives feedback on whether the plan is realistic.

Focus tools

Super Focus Mode shows a single task at a time, Spotlight runs focus sessions of 1 to 3 hours, and a built-in timer supports Pomodoro intervals.

Calendar sync

External calendars such as Google Calendar sync one-way into Marvin or two-way, and events can be imported as events, tasks or time blocks.

Habits and gamification

Track habits and streaks, and earn points, levels and rewards for completed work.

Offline use and API

Tasks are saved on the device first and synced when online, so the desktop and mobile apps keep working without a connection. An API is documented on GitHub.

Timestripe

Horizons

Connected planning views for days, weeks, months, quarters, years and beyond. Big goals sit on longer horizons and are broken into milestones that reach the daily view.

Goals with notes and subgoals

A task, event, project or note is the same kind of object. Each can take a date, an owner, subgoals, tags, files and rich-text notes with embedded content.

Boards

Kanban-style boards hold anything without a date yet, such as backlogs and ideas. Board items can be linked to the planner or scheduled onto Horizons.

Calendar and time blocking

The day's to-do list can be laid out in calendar form to estimate the time each goal needs. The pricing page lists Apple and Google calendar integration.

Climbs

Ready-made step-by-step sequences of goals, with more than 100 guides on topics such as health, fitness and productivity. Basic allows one Climb at a time.

Team spaces, API and CLI

Spaces, a team view, assignees, mentions and comments are on both plans. A public API and a command-line client let scripts and AI agents read and write the plan.

Amazing Marvin

• Marvin Pro$8

  per month, billed annually ($96); $12 billed monthly

  Every feature, unlimited tasks and projects, custom workflows and views, analytics, all apps and personal email support.

Timestripe

• Basic$0

  The whole product with limits: 5 goals per horizon, 10 per board list, 3 custom boards, 1 Climb at a time and 100 MB of files.

• Pro (Strategists' plan)$7

  per month, sold as a 5-year deal

  Pro bought for five years at once. The pricing page shows it as a saving of $150 a year against monthly billing.

• Pro (Yearly)$9

  per month, billed yearly

  Unlimited goals, boards, lists and Climbs, with files up to 100 MB each and no account storage limit.

• Pro (Monthly)$19

  per month, billed monthly

  The same Pro features on month-to-month billing.

Amazing Marvin

• Annual discount

  Save 33% with annual billing

  The pricing page lists a 33% saving on the annual plan: $96 a year, equal to $8 a month, against $12 when billed monthly.

• Education

  50% off for students

  Students get 50% off the monthly or the yearly plan. The discount is claimed by emailing the vendor.

• Other savings

  Reduced price on request for financial hardship

  The vendor says it does not want finances to prevent anyone from using Marvin and invites people who cannot afford the regular price to email for a price that works.

Timestripe

• Annual discount

  Save $120 a year with yearly billing

  Pro costs $9 a month on the yearly plan against $19 on the monthly plan. The pricing page states the saving as $120 a year.

• Other savings

  5-year Strategists' plan

  Paying for five years at once brings Pro down to $7 a month, which the pricing page shows as a saving of $150 a year.

• Lifetime license

  One-time payment for unlimited access

  The pricing FAQ says unlimited access is available for a one-time payment, activated by emailing the receipt to Timestripe. It does not list the price.

• Other savings

  Referral link: 30% off for friends

  Friends who subscribe through your personal link get 30% off, and you receive 30 extra days of Pro for each one.