Orgzly vs Todo.txt (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick Todo.txt if

• Fits if you want your task list in a file you control and can open in any editor
• Works for people in a shell all day who want to add a task without leaving it

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want an official phone app, as the project's Android and iOS apps are archived
• Not for you if you expect sync built in, because the README just suggests a cloud drive
• Too light for people who plan by due date, since due dates depend on each tool's own convention
• Skip it if you've never used a command line, as the official tool is a shell script
• Watch out: on Windows it's only listed as tested under Cygwin, and install steps cover macOS and Linux

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.

Todo.txt

• The official tool is a command-line script. The project's own Android and iOS apps were archived on GitHub in December 2020.
• The core format covers priority, dates, projects and contexts only. Due dates and other fields rely on key:value conventions set by each tool.
• No sync is built in; the README suggests placing the todo.txt directory on a cloud drive.
• On Windows the script is listed as tested under Cygwin, and the README gives install steps only for macOS and Linux.

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.

Todo.txt

One task per line of plain text

A todo.txt file holds a single task on each line, so it can be read, searched, sorted and edited in any text editor on any operating system.

Priorities, projects and contexts

A leading (A) to (Z) sets priority, and +Project and @context markers can sit anywhere in the line. Tools may add key:value pairs such as due:2010-01-02.

todo.sh command-line script

Actions such as add, do, pri, append and replace change the file from a shell, and list shows the tasks matching your terms sorted by priority.

Archiving and reports

The archive action moves completed tasks from todo.txt to done.txt, and report records the number of open and done tasks in report.txt.

Add-ons and custom actions

The script loads custom actions from an actions directory, and the project wiki keeps a directory of add-ons and filters written by community members.

Community apps and editor plugins

The project site lists community-built apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and the web, plus editor plugins, that all read the same file.

Orgzly

• Free$0

  The whole app; the source is on GitHub under the GPL.

Todo.txt

• Free$0

  The full todo.sh command-line script and the open todo.txt format, under the GNU General Public License v3.0.