Orgro vs Orgzly Revived (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Orgzly Revived grades higher than Orgro: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Orgro grades higher on platforms. Orgzly Revived grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
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
Orgzly Revived
Org mode outliner for notes and to-do lists on Android
Free
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 Revived if
- Fits if you keep notes and tasks in Emacs Org mode and want the same files on an Android phone
- Works for people who already sync through Dropbox, Nextcloud or another WebDAV server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you have an iPhone, as the FAQ says there's no iOS version, and there's no desktop or web app either
- Not for you if you expect sync to happen in the background, because you press Sync yourself
- Watch out: a notebook changed on both sides can only be fixed by forcing a load or a save
- Tight if you install from F-Droid, since Dropbox sync is only in the Google Play build, and Git sync is labeled experimental
- Not for you if you just want a simple notes app, since it's built around Org mode's syntax and search expressions
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAOrgroFair | 2.6GPAOrgzly RevivedGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 outright, with the source on GitHub under the GNU General Public License version 3 or newer, and nothing held back for a paid tier. Paid plans in this category sit at $6 a month in the middle, so you're getting a full outliner for none of that. |
| 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. | AThe whole app is free from Google Play, F-Droid or GitHub, with no cap on anything. The one difference between builds is that Dropbox sync is only in the Google Play version. |
| 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. | COutlines with TODO and DONE states, tags, priorities, deadlines, repeating tasks, an agenda view and a query language to filter it all. The listing names the gap, and it's in the plumbing: sync is started by hand, and a notebook changed on both sides can only be fixed by forcing a load or a save. |
| 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, and there's learning in front of you: Org mode's own syntax, search expressions like ad.DAYS, and a sync repository to set up before your files go anywhere. The FAQ assumes you already know Org mode. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad and Android only, opening files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox and Google Drive. No computer or web version. | DOne operating system, Android. The FAQ says there's no iOS version, and no desktop or web app is offered. The files themselves travel, through Dropbox, a WebDAV service such as Nextcloud or a local folder, and open in Emacs or any text editor. |
| Best for | opening Org Mode files on a phone | Org mode notes and to-dos on an Android phone |
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 Revived. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonAndroidOpen sourceNotesTasks
At a glance
| Orgro | Orgzly Revived | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $4.99 one-time, after a 7-day free trial | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free. Its source code is on GitHub under the GNU General Public License version 3 or newer. |
| 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 Community |
| Price read from | orgro.org | orgzlyrevived.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 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 Revived
- Android only: the FAQ says there is no iOS version, and no desktop or web app is offered.
- Synchronization is manual, and a notebook changed on both sides can only be resolved by forcing a load or a save.
- Dropbox sync is missing from the F-Droid build; it is only in the Google Play version.
- Git sync is labelled experimental.
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 Revived
- Outliner for notes and to-dos
- Notes sit in an outline inside notebooks and can carry states such as TODO and DONE, tags, priorities, and scheduled, deadline and event times.
- Plain-text Org mode files
- Notebooks are written as plain-text files in Org mode's file format, so the same files can be read and edited in Emacs or another text editor.
- Sync repositories
- Notebooks sync with a directory on the device, Dropbox, any WebDAV service such as Nextcloud or, experimentally, Git. Sync is started by hand with the Sync button.
- Search expressions
- A query language finds notes by state, notebook, tag, priority and scheduled, deadline, event, closed or created period, joined with AND, OR and NOT and sorted by chosen properties.
- Agenda view
- Adding ad.DAYS to any query groups the results by day for that many days, in the manner of org-agenda, sorted chronologically within each day.
- Repeated tasks and links
- Org-mode repeater syntax moves a task's date forward when it is marked done. Notes can link to web pages, files, other notes and whole notebooks.
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 Revived
Orgzly Revived$0
The full app from Google Play, F-Droid or the GitHub releases page. Dropbox sync is only in the Google Play version.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Orgro or Orgzly Revived?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Orgro starts at $4.99 one-time, after a 7-day free trial, and Orgzly Revived is free.
Which has a free plan, Orgro or Orgzly Revived?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Orgzly Revived has a free plan. Orgro does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Orgro and Orgzly Revived 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.