OmniFocus vs TickTick

OmniFocus

• People managing many projects on Apple devices
• Workflows built around defer dates, tags and regular project reviews
• Buyers who want to choose between a one-time license and a subscription

TickTick

• People who want tasks, habits and a focus timer in a single app
• Keeping the same lists on Windows, Mac, Linux, phones and the web
• Students and school staff, who can apply for a discount on Premium

OmniFocus

• Native apps are for Apple devices only. Web access comes with the subscription or costs $4.99 a month on top of a license.
• Custom perspectives, Focus mode and automation are Pro features and are not in the $74.99 Standard license.
• There is no free plan; after the 14-day trial the app falls back to a viewer mode.
• Education discounts do not apply to subscriptions or to purchases made through the App Store.

TickTick

• The free plan is capped at 9 lists, 99 tasks per list, 5 habits and 1 attachment per day.
• Multiple calendar views, task duration and email reminders are listed as Premium features.
• The pricing page shows Premium only as a $49.99 annual plan; a $4.99 monthly option appears on the App Store listing.
• Location-based reminders are listed as iOS only.

OmniFocus

Projects, folders and tags

Actions are grouped into projects and folders and labeled with tags, flags, due dates and defer dates. Repeat schedules handle recurring work.

Forecast

Shows upcoming actions together with calendar events. Calendar integration is available in the native apps but not in the web version.

Review

A review mode steps through projects at a regular interval, such as once a week, so that projects and goals stay current.

Custom perspectives and Focus (Pro)

Pro adds custom perspectives, which are saved views built from filtering and grouping rules in a perspective editor, along with Focus mode.

Automation (Pro)

Pro runs Omni Automation plug-ins and, on Mac, AppleScripts.

Encrypted sync

Syncing through the free Omni Sync Server or a server of your own is described by the vendor as end-to-end encrypted. The web version requires Omni Sync Server.

TickTick

Typed and spoken task capture

Dates and times are recognized as a task is typed. Voice Capture turns speech into one or more tasks and uses AI to pull out dates and priorities.

Calendar views

Yearly, monthly, weekly, multi-day, multi-week and agenda views show tasks alongside subscribed calendars. The free plan has a basic calendar view; Premium lists multiple views.

Kanban, timeline and matrix

A list can be shown as a kanban board, as a timeline for tasks that have a duration, or as an Eisenhower matrix that sorts tasks by urgency and importance.

Pomodoro timer

Work on a task in 25-minute focus intervals. Statistics report focus time next to completed tasks and habit logs.

Habit tracker

Habits are logged and charted in the same app as tasks. The free plan allows 5 habits and Premium allows 299.

Shared lists

Share a list with other people and assign tasks to them. The member count is 2 on the free plan and 29 on Premium.

OmniFocus

• OmniFocus for the Web Subscription$4.99

  per month, or $49.99 per year

  Browser access as an add-on. Requires an existing OmniFocus setup on Mac, iPad, iPhone or Apple Vision Pro.

• v4 Standard License$74.99

  one-time purchase

  Version 4 with all 4.x updates on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, with the standard feature set.

• OmniFocus Subscription$99.99

  per year

  The latest Pro version on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro plus web access, with no charge for major version upgrades.

• v4 Pro License$149.99

  one-time purchase

  Version 4 with all 4.x updates, plus the Pro features: custom perspectives, Focus mode and automation.

TickTick

• Free$0

  9 lists with 99 tasks each, list and kanban views, date recognition as you type, task reminders and cross-platform sync.

• Premium$49.99

  per year

  299 lists with 999 tasks each, multiple calendar views, task duration, email reminders, themes and 299 habits.

OmniFocus

• Lifetime license

  One-time v4 license instead of a subscription

  A v4 Standard ($74.99) or Pro ($149.99) license is bought once and kept, with all 4.x updates included, as an alternative to the $99.99 yearly subscription.

• Education

  Education pricing on licenses

  Staff, faculty and students of accredited educational organizations can buy discounted licenses from Omni's Educational Store. Subscriptions and App Store purchases are excluded.

• Other savings

  Quantity discount on perpetual licenses

  Each license beyond the first in the same transaction takes a further 5% off the whole order, up to 30%. The discount is not available on subscriptions.

• Other savings

  Family sharing through an Omni Account

  A personal license or subscription can unlock the apps for immediate family members living in the same household. OmniFocus for the Web access cannot be shared.

• Other savings

  Upgrade pricing for owners of versions 1 to 3

  The purchase page says upgrade discounts are available. The App Store listing shows upgrades from v1-v3 at $37.49 for v4 Standard and $74.99 for v4 Pro, half the full license prices.

TickTick

• Education

  25% off Premium for students, faculty and staff

  Eligible students, faculty and staff can apply with proof of status for 25% off one year of Premium. TickTick lists the price after the discount as $37.99.

• Annual discount

  Annual billing costs about 17% less than monthly

  The App Store listing shows Premium at $4.99 monthly or $49.99 annually, so a year paid up front costs about 17% less than 12 monthly payments ($59.88).