Motion vs Routine
We give Motion a 2.6 GPA and Routine a 3.6, out of 4.0. Routine grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Motion
AI work planner that auto-schedules tasks on your calendar
Routine
Planner combining tasks, calendar and notes, with an AI assistant
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMotionGood | 3.6GPARoutineExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CA team seat is $19 a month billed annually, and one person alone pays $29, or $49 month to month. A typical planner is about $7.99. You do get projects, docs and a notetaker for that, but AI use is metered at 7,500 credits a seat each month, and Gantt charts and time tracking need Business AI. | APersonal is $5 a month billed yearly, and that's the plan that adds time blocking and 10 integrations. Typical planners start near $8. Professional, with AI meeting notes and time tracking, is $10, which is still only a touch above the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. There's a 7-day trial, per Motion's App Store listing, but a card is required and it's charged when the trial ends unless you cancel. Motion's terms also say purchases are non-refundable, so set a reminder. | BFree forever, with tasks, calendars, notes, the AI assistant and offline mode. That's a proper app. But it's capped at 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits, and time blocking starts on Personal. |
| Features | AA scheduling engine that places tasks by duration, priority and deadline and rebuilds the plan as the day changes, projects and workspaces, sync with Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars, booking links, a notetaker that drafts action items, and AI chat and docs. That's the whole job and then some. | AA planner view for the day, a universal inbox, notes and custom databases, a hotkey dashboard for quick capture, and an AI assistant on every plan. Pay for Professional and it records meetings without a bot and writes the summary. That's the job and then some. |
| Ease of use | C4.1 from about 1,900 App Store ratings, which is a C on our ladder, with about one rating in six a single star. The scheduling is automatic, but there's a lot of product around it now: projects, docs, credits and two tiers of plan. | BNo App Store rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. A desktop hotkey lets you add a task without switching apps. One thing to know: Routine's own download page says the web app is 30% slower than the desktop apps and lacks some functionality. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It connects to Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud Calendar, Gmail, Zoom, Google Meet, Slack and Zapier. The iCloud connection has a more limited feature set. There's an API, with engineering support for it on Enterprise. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. It connects to Google Calendar, Outlook, Gmail, Slack, Notion, Linear and Asana, and MCP hooks it up to assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude. |
| Best for | letting AI fit your tasks into your calendar | tasks, calendar and notes in one app |
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: Motion and Routine. How we grade
Where they differ
- Motion starts at $19 per seat / month on team plans, billed annually (individuals from $29). Routine starts at $5 per month, billed yearly.
- Routine has a free plan. Motion does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Routine lists a Linux app.
- Motion also covers auto-scheduling and booking links.
- Routine also covers notes and time blocking.
At a glance
| Motion | Routine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per seat / month on team plans, billed annually (individuals from $29) | $5 per month, billed yearly |
| Free plan | None | Tasks, calendars and notes, AI assistant and voice commands, offline mode, 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial, per Motion's App Store listing. A card is required and is charged when the trial ends unless cancelled. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Nexusbird, Inc. | Routine International Inc. |
| Price read from | usemotion.com | routine.co |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Motion
- People who want tasks placed on the calendar automatically
- Teams that want tasks, projects, docs and meeting notes in one app
- Deadline-driven work that needs frequent re-planning
Routine
- People who want tasks, calendar and notes in a single app
- Capturing tasks quickly from the keyboard on desktop
- Trying a planner on a free plan before paying
Worth knowing
Motion
- There is no free plan. A card is required for the trial, and Motion's terms say purchases are non-refundable.
- One person pays more than a team seat: Pro AI is $29 a month billed annually for an individual, against $19 per seat for teams.
- AI use is metered: 7,500 credits per seat a month on Pro AI and 15,000 on Business AI, with extra credits charged per 100.
- Gantt charts, time tracking, capacity planning and permissions are limited to Business AI.
Routine
- The Free plan is capped at 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.
- Time blocking and time boxing are not part of the Free plan; they start with Personal.
- AI meeting notes, AI agents, automations and time tracking require Professional or higher.
- Routine's download page says the web app is 30% slower than the desktop apps and lacks some functionality.
Key features
Motion
- Automatic scheduling
- A scheduling engine places tasks into openings on your calendar based on duration, priority and deadlines, and rebuilds the plan as the day changes.
- Tasks and projects
- Tasks sit inside projects and workspaces, and AI can draft a project and its tasks from a description. Timelines and Gantt charts need Business AI.
- Calendar sync
- Connects Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook (Office 365 and Exchange Online) and iCloud Calendar. The iCloud connection has a more limited feature set.
- Booking links
- A shareable link lets other people book meetings based on your real-time availability. You set rules for availability, duration, buffers and limits.
- AI Notetaker
- Captures transcripts from video calls and drafts summaries and action items, which you approve before they become tasks.
- AI Chat and Docs
- A chat interface creates items and searches workspace data, and collaborative docs include AI drafting. AI use draws on the plan's monthly credits.
Routine
- Planner and calendar
- Plan the day in a view that combines tasks with events from connected calendars such as Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Time blocking starts on the Personal plan.
- Dashboard hotkey
- A desktop hotkey opens a dashboard for creating tasks quickly and adding context to them without switching apps.
- Universal inbox
- Imports tasks, messages and notifications from connected apps and services into one inbox.
- Notes and custom databases
- Notes, a journal and pages sit alongside tasks. Custom databases model your own object types: 3 on Free, 10 on Personal and unlimited from Professional.
- AI meeting notes
- Records meetings without a meeting bot and generates a summary with the transcript and original audio. Requires the Professional plan.
- AI assistant, agents and MCP
- An AI assistant and voice commands are in every plan. AI agents and automations need Professional, and MCP connects Routine to assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude.
Plans
Motion
Pro AI (teams)$19
per seat / month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
AI chat, projects and tasks, calendar and meetings, docs and notes, mobile and desktop apps, and 7,500 AI credits per seat each month.
Business AI (teams)$29
per seat / month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
Everything in Pro AI plus capacity planning, dashboards and reports, Gantt charts, time tracking, permissions and 15,000 AI credits per seat.
Pro AI (individuals)$29
per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
The same Pro AI plan bought by one person rather than per seat for a team.
Business AI (individuals)$39
per month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
The same Business AI plan bought by one person rather than per seat for a team.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Business AI plus custom integrations, API with engineering support, white-glove onboarding and a dedicated solutions engineer.
Routine
Free$0
Tasks, calendars and notes, AI assistant, voice commands, offline mode, 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.
Personal$5
per month, billed yearly
Adds time blocking, time boxing, event coloring, exporting, unlimited file uploads, 10 integrations, 10 custom databases and 500 AI credits.
Professional$10
per month, billed yearly
Adds AI meeting notes, AI agents and automations, time tracking, a menu bar widget, unlimited integrations and databases, and 7,000 AI credits.
Business$15
per seat / month, billed yearly
Adds an organization with workspaces, access control, versioning, consolidated billing, priority support and 10,000 AI credits per seat.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds unlimited history, compliance, audit logs, analytics, user provisioning and a success manager.
Ways to pay less
Motion
- Annual discount
Save 33% by paying annually
Motion's pricing page labels annual payment as saving 33%: a Pro AI team seat is $19 a month billed annually against $29 billed monthly.
Routine
- Annual discount
Up to 38% off on yearly plans
Routine's pricing page marks its yearly prices as 38% off for Personal and 17% off for Professional and Business.
- Startups
Startup program: Business plan free for a year
Startups with under $2 million in funding and fewer than 20 employees can apply for the Business plan free for one year, worth up to $2,500.
