Cfait vs jtx Board
We give Cfait a 3.4 GPA and jtx Board a 3.0, out of 4.0. Cfait grades higher on features and platforms. jtx Board grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
jtx Board
Android app for journals, notes and tasks with CalDAV sync
Free plan · from $0.99
How we grade them
| 3.4GPACfaitVery good | 3.0GPAjtx BoardVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt's free, open-source software under the GPL-3.0 licence, with no paid plans at all. Every feature is in. The developer takes donations on Liberapay and Ko-fi if you want to say thanks. | AThe Pro upgrade is an in-app purchase that Google Play lists at $0.99 to $3.49, and the app's code treats it as a one-off. That's pocket change next to a subscription. The exact price isn't shown on the store page. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free: the terminal app, the desktop app and the Android app, with nothing held back. The only thing you supply is a CalDAV server, and only if you want to sync. | AThe Google Play version is free for journals, notes and tasks kept on your phone. The F-Droid edition is free too, with a donations page where the in-app purchase would be. On Google Play, editing synced entries needs Pro. |
| Features | AOne typed line sets dates, priority, duration, tags and repeats. Tasks nest, and one can block another. There's time tracking, habit goals like "five times a year", a daily journal and wiki pages beside your tasks. | BTasks take due dates, sub-tasks, a progress value, alarms and a map location, and can repeat daily to yearly. You can hang them off a journal entry or a note. Solid basics. But geofence alerts are in the Google Play version only, and there, editing synced entries is a paid extra. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating is on record, and this one asks more of you. Sync needs a CalDAV server you host or sign up for. There's no manual either: help is in-app guides, a commented config file and a specs document. | BWe have no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. By itself it's install and go, and it works offline. Sync is the fiddly part: you need the separate DAVx5 app and a server that accepts journals. |
| Platforms and integrations | BLinux, FreeBSD, Windows, Mac and Android, syncing with Nextcloud, Radicale, Baikal and other CalDAV servers. No iPhone app and no web version. The Mac builds are hosted by a contributor on a separate site. | DAndroid only. No iPhone, desktop or web version is listed. Through DAVx5 it syncs with Nextcloud, ownCloud, Fastmail, Radicale, Baikal and GMX, but its compatibility list says iCloud, Posteo, Ionos and Infomaniak don't take journals. |
| Best for | terminal people who sync over CalDAV | tasks and journals synced to your own CalDAV server |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cfait and jtx Board. How we grade
Where they differ
- Cfait is free. jtx Board starts at $0.99 to $3.49 per item, in-app purchase on Google Play (basis not shown).
- Only Cfait lists Linux, Windows and macOS apps.
- Cfait also covers time tracking.
- jtx Board also covers notes.
In commonFree planAndroidOpen sourceWorks offlineLocal-firstDaily notesTasks
At a glance
| Cfait | jtx Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $0.99 to $3.49 per item, in-app purchase on Google Play (basis not shown) |
| Free plan | Cfait is free, open-source software under the GPL-3.0 license with no paid plans. The developer accepts donations through Liberapay and Ko-fi. | The standard version on Google Play is free for journals, notes and tasks kept on the device. The open-source edition on F-Droid is also free and shows a donations page in place of the in-app purchase. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Benoit Brummer (Trougnouf) | Techbee e.U. |
| Price read from | github.com | play.google.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Cfait
- Keyboard-driven users who work in a terminal
- People who sync tasks through their own CalDAV server
- Linux and Android users who want an open-source task manager
jtx Board
- Android users who sync tasks with their own CalDAV server
- Nextcloud, Fastmail or Radicale users who want journals too
- Keeping meeting minutes and their follow-up tasks together
Worth knowing
Cfait
- There is no iOS app or web version: the README lists Linux, FreeBSD, Windows, macOS and Android.
- The macOS binaries are built and hosted by a contributor on a separate site, not on the project's releases page.
- Syncing between devices needs a CalDAV server that the user hosts or signs up for; Cfait runs no sync service of its own.
- Help is built into the apps; the README points to in-app guides, a commented config file and SPECS.md in place of a manual.
jtx Board
- Android only: the vendor's terms say the app is currently available on Android, and no iOS, desktop or web version is listed.
- Sync needs the separate DAVx5 app and a server that accepts VJOURNAL; the compatibility list marks iCloud, Posteo, Ionos and Infomaniak as not supporting it.
- In the Google Play version, editing entries in remote collections is part of the paid Pro upgrade.
- Google Play lists in-app purchases at $0.99 to $3.49 per item without naming them, so the exact Pro price is not shown; the app's code treats Pro as a one-time purchase.
Key features
Cfait
- One-line task syntax
- Typing a line such as "Buy green tea @tomorrow !1" sets the due date and priority. Other markers set start dates, estimated durations, recurrence and locations.
- Terminal, desktop and Android apps
- A terminal interface, a graphical desktop app and a native Android app with home-screen widgets share one Rust core and the same task data.
- Offline-first with CalDAV sync
- The default Local collection needs no server. To sync devices, Cfait connects to standard CalDAV servers; the README names Nextcloud, Radicale and Baikal.
- Sub-tasks, dependencies and tags
- Tasks form parent and child trees, one task can block another, and hierarchical tags such as #work:backend can be combined into reusable aliases.
- Time tracking and goals
- A task can be started and paused to record time spent, given an estimated duration, or tied to a recurring habit goal such as five times a year.
- Daily notes and wiki pages
- A date-anchored journal and wiki pages linked with double square brackets sit beside the tasks and sync as CalDAV VJOURNAL entries.
jtx Board
- Journals, notes and tasks in one app
- Journals hold dated entries such as meeting minutes or a diary, notes hold memos without a date, and tasks carry due dates, subtasks and a progress value.
- Linked entries
- Tasks can be attached to a journal or a note, and any entry can take a comment or an audio comment, so follow-ups stay with the minutes they came from.
- iCalendar standard format
- Journals and notes are stored as VJOURNAL components and tasks as VTODO components under RFC 5545, so other apps and servers that follow the standard can read them.
- CalDAV sync through DAVx5
- The separate DAVx5 app syncs entries with a CalDAV server the user picks, including a self-run one. Infomaniak's kSync, a fork of DAVx5, also works.
- Local storage and offline use
- Entries are stored on the device and the app works without an internet connection; syncing is optional.
- Recurrence, alarms and locations
- Entries can recur daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, raise alarm notifications and carry a map location. Geofence notifications are in the Google Play version only.
Plans
Cfait
Free$0
The terminal, desktop and Android apps with every feature. Syncing uses a CalDAV server the user supplies.
jtx Board
Standard$0
The free Google Play version for journals, notes and tasks stored on the device. Editing entries in remote collections needs Pro.
Open source edition$0
The F-Droid build, made only from open-source libraries, with a donations page in place of the in-app purchase and no ads or subscriptions.
jtx Board Pro$0.99 - $3.49
in-app purchase; Google Play lists a range, basis not shown
Unlocks editing in remote collections, quick entries, quick editing by long click and dynamic colors on Android 12 and later.
