Orgro vs Orgzly (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Orgzly grades higher than Orgro: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Orgzly grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Orgro
Org Mode file viewer and editor for iPhone, iPad and Android
Free trial · from $4.99 one-time
Which one is for you
Pick Orgro if
- Fits if you keep notes in Emacs Org Mode and want to read them on a phone
- Works for people who tick off TODOs and checkboxes while out
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't already use Org Mode files
- Not for you if you want sync: the app opens and closes files, with none of its own
- Too light for structured editing, since only checkboxes and TODO keywords are toggled
- Watch out: the FAQ says saving may change parts of a file you didn't edit, so keep backups
Pick Orgzly if
- Fits if you already keep your notes and to-dos in Org files
- Works for Android users who sync through a folder or Git
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use an iPhone or Mac, as it is Android only
- Watch out: sync is manual, and deleting a remote notebook is not yet detected
- Watch out: Dropbox sync is only in the Google Play version, not F-Droid
- Skip it if you want a teams or sharing feature, as none is described
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAOrgroFair | 2.8GPAOrgzlyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$4.99 once after a 7-day trial, under a year of the category's middle subscription and below its $12.99 one-time middle. | AFree and open source, with the whole app free, against a to-do middle of $3.99 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day free trial of all features, then the one-time unlock. The pages don't say whether a card is needed, and there is no free plan. | AFree outright, with no paid plans and no caps on record. |
| Features | DOne narrow function: view and lightly edit Org files, toggle TODOs and checkboxes. It has no sync, and it only makes sense next to Emacs or other Org tools. | CNotebooks, search, agenda and links do the job, but sync is manual and conflicts cannot be merged in the app. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You point it at files in cloud storage, and need to know Org Mode. | CNo store rating on record. You need to know Org files and set up a sync folder first. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad and Android only, opening files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox and Google Drive. No computer or web version. | CAndroid only; the FAQ answers 'Not yet' on an iOS version, and no web or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | opening Org Mode files on a phone | Org-mode notes and to-dos on Android |
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: Orgro and Orgzly. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonAndroidOpen sourceNotesTasks
At a glance
| Orgro | Orgzly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $4.99 one-time, after a 7-day free trial | Free |
| Free plan | None | The documentation's FAQ says Orgzly is free. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of all features, then a one-time purchase unlocks the app. | None listed |
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Aaron Madlon-Kay | Orgzly LLC |
| Price read from | orgro.org | orgzly.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Orgro
- Orgro has no sync of its own; files are opened from a storage provider and closed again.
- Structured editing is limited to toggling checkboxes and TODO keywords; everything else is raw-text editing.
- The FAQ advises keeping backups, because saving may alter parts of a file you did not edit.
- Links between Org files need a storage location that grants directory permissions, which many third-party apps do not.
Orgzly
- Android only: the FAQ answers "Not yet" on an iOS version, and no web or desktop app is listed.
- Sync is manual, and the docs say deleting a remote notebook is not yet detected.
- Dropbox sync is available only in the Google Play version, not the F-Droid build.
- Conflicts between local and remote notebooks cannot be merged inside the app.
Key features
Orgro
- TODO and checkbox toggling
- Change TODO keywords on headlines and tick list checkboxes, with progress cookies updating.
- Plain-text editing
- Edit the raw Org markup in the app; saving recreates the file from an in-memory copy, which can change non-semantic whitespace.
- Agenda notifications
- Notifications for Org Agenda items, plus capture of text and links through the share sheet or org-capture:// links.
- Emacs-style viewing
- Narrowing, visibility cycling, reader mode, LaTeX rendering, tables and syntax highlighting for Org files.
- Org Crypt and Org Cite
- The App Store listing lists symmetric Org Crypt section decryption and encryption, and Org Cite bibliography support.
Orgzly
- Org mode notebooks
- Notes and tasks are saved as Org-format text files, so they can also be opened in other Org-aware tools.
- Search expressions
- Query by state, tag, priority, notebook, and scheduled, deadline, event, closed or created dates, with AND, OR and NOT.
- Agenda view
- Add an agenda term to a query to group results by day over a chosen number of days.
- Sync options
- Sync notebooks with Dropbox, a WebDAV server such as Nextcloud, or a directory on the device. Sync is started by hand.
- Links between items
- Links can point to web pages, email, phone numbers, map locations, files, other notes and notebooks.
- Swipe actions
- In search results, swipe to set a start time, cycle TODO and DONE states, or jump to the note's notebook.
Plans
Orgro
Full unlock$4.99
one-time, after a 7-day free trial
One-time, permanent unlock of all features, per the App Store listing. The price is the one shown on the Orgro site.
Orgzly
Free$0
The whole app; the source is on GitHub under the GPL.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Orgro or Orgzly?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Orgro starts at $4.99 one-time, after a 7-day free trial, and Orgzly is free.
Which has a free plan, Orgro or Orgzly?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Orgzly has a free plan. Orgro does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Orgro and Orgzly run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Orgro lists an iOS app. Both list an Android app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.