OmniOutliner vs Understory

Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.

OmniOutliner

Outliner for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro

Free trial · from $24.99 one-time

Understory

Mac notes app for outlining and drafting essays, papers and books

Free plan · from $24.99 one-time

Where they differ

OmniOutliner starts at $24.99 one-time license for version 6 (Essentials). Understory starts at $24.99 one-time purchase.
Understory has a free plan. OmniOutliner does not, though it has a free trial.
Only OmniOutliner lists an iOS app.
OmniOutliner also covers templates.
Understory also covers Markdown, linked notes and long-form writing.

In commonmacOSLocal-firstOne-time purchaseNotes

	OmniOutliner	Understory
Pricing	Free trial	Free plan
Starts at	$24.99 one-time license for version 6 (Essentials)	$24.99 one-time purchase
Free plan	None	Every feature, with up to 100 notes in the Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook. At the cap, notes already written can still be read and edited.
Free trial	14-day free trial with full features, started by signing in to an Omni Account	None listed
macOS
iOS
Made by	The Omni Group	Allen Ussher
Price read from	omnigroup.com	understory.ussherpress.com
Checked	Oct 6, 2026	Oct 9, 2026

OmniOutliner

Understory

OmniOutliner

It runs on Apple platforms only: the site lists Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro, with no Windows, Android or web version.
Version 6 requires macOS 15, iOS or iPadOS 26, or visionOS 26; older systems need a previous version from the downloads archive.
Columns, saved filters, style customization, audio recording and automation need Pro, at $99.99 once or $49.99 a year.
A perpetual license covers 6.x updates only; later major versions are a paid upgrade, offered at a discount.

Understory

It is a Mac app only, requiring macOS 14.8 or later; the FAQ says there is no iPhone or iPad version yet.
The free version stops at 100 notes in the Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook.
Sync between Macs covers only the Personal Notebook and needs an iCloud account; Project Notebooks are local folders.
The App Store release notes for version 1.1 (October 2026) describe the Publish feature as experimental.

OmniOutliner

Outlines of unlimited depth: Rows nest to any level, expand and collapse, and reorder by drag and drop. Optional status checkboxes turn an outline into a checklist.
Row notes and attachments: Each row can carry a note of any length, resizable inline images and attached reference files. Pro can also record audio into a document.
Columns and saved filters: Pro documents can hold several columns for pop-up lists, checkboxes, numbers, dates or durations, and filters saved on text, checkbox status or column value.
Templates, themes and styles: Built-in templates and themes adapt to Dark Mode automatically. Pro adds structural and named styles and row numbering for control over appearance.
Import and export: Imports OPML, plain text and RTF, and exports CSV, HTML, OPML, plain text, RTF, Word and PowerPoint, plus Excel with Pro. An OPML mode edits OPML files directly.
Omni Automation and AppleScript: Pro runs cross-platform Omni Automation plug-ins, which can use Apple Intelligence on supported devices, and supports AppleScript on the Mac.

Understory

Notes and subnotes: A note is plain text and needs no title or filename. Any note can hold subnotes, each a full note with its own text, links and attachments, so a note grows into a tree.
One note in several outlines: The same note can appear in more than one tree without being copied. An edit in one place shows up in the others, and shared notes are shown in italics.
Two-way links: Wiki-style links connect notes in the text, and the linked note shows a backlink automatically. Anchors can point to a specific place inside another note.
Publishing: Selected notes or a whole outline can be published in their arranged order as a PDF with bookmarks and page numbers, Rich Text, Markdown or a website, or printed.
Markdown folders or iCloud: A Project Notebook is a folder on the Mac holding one Markdown file per note. A Personal Notebook lives in the user's own iCloud account and syncs between Macs.
Version history: Every version of a note is kept, so an earlier draft can be read again and brought back. Deleted notes go to a trash.

OmniOutliner

v6 Essentials License$24.99
one-time purchase, includes all 6.x updates
Core outlining on Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro: unlimited levels, checkboxes, row notes, attachments, themes, keyword filtering and Omni Links.
Annual Subscription$49.99
per year, renewing automatically
The latest Pro version on all four Apple platforms, with no charge for major version upgrades while subscribed.
v6 Pro License$99.99
one-time purchase, includes all 6.x updates
Adds columns, saved filters, style customization, audio recording, the section list, batch find and Omni Automation plug-ins.

Understory

Free$0
Up to 100 notes in the Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook, with every feature included, from publishing to iCloud sync.
One-Time Payment$24.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
Removes the note caps and opens shared notebooks of any size for editing. The vendor notes that the App Store sets a different price in each region.

OmniOutliner

Education
Education licenses at $14.99 and $59.99
Students, faculty and staff of accredited, degree-granting institutions can buy OmniOutliner 6 Essentials for $14.99 or Pro for $59.99 in Omni's education store. Subscriptions are excluded.
Other savings
Quantity discount of up to 30%
Each perpetual license beyond the first in the same order takes a further 5% off the whole order, up to 30%. Subscriptions do not qualify.
Other savings
Upgrade discounts for existing owners
Owners of versions 1 to 5 can upgrade to version 6 at about half price: the US App Store lists the upgrade at $12.49 for Essentials and $49.99 for Pro.

Understory

No public discounts listed.