Daily: Day Planner vs Routine (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Daily: Day Planner if

• Fits if you want workouts and meals planned around your meetings
• Works for people who want the day's progress on a watch face

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if your phone is older, as the Apple versions need iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 on Apple silicon
• Skip it if you want an App Store install, because Apple builds come through TestFlight and Android through a downloaded APK
• Not for you if you use Windows or a browser, as neither is listed
• Watch out: the roadmap says plans change, so free for everyone is the vendor's current position
• Watch out: weather works from a US ZIP code only

Pick Routine if

• Fits if you want tasks, calendar and notes in one app instead of three
• Works for keyboard users who capture tasks with a desktop hotkey

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're staying free, with 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits
• Skip it if you want time blocking for free, as it starts on the $5 Personal plan
• Not for you if you'd work mostly in the browser, as Routine says the web app is 30% slower and lacks some functions
• Pricey if you want AI meeting notes, agents or time tracking, because those need the $10 Professional plan
• Watch out: the Business plan is $15 per seat a month, billed yearly

Daily: Day Planner

• iPhone, iPad and Mac versions are installed through TestFlight, and Android through a downloaded APK, according to the download section.
• The iPhone, iPad and Mac versions need iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 on Apple silicon; Android needs version 10 or later.
• No web or Windows version is listed.
• The weather feature uses a US ZIP code and the National Weather Service.

Routine

• The Free plan is capped at 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.
• Time blocking and time boxing are not part of the Free plan; they start with Personal.
• AI meeting notes, AI agents, automations and time tracking require Professional or higher.
• Routine's download page says the web app is 30% slower than the desktop apps and lacks some functionality.

Daily: Day Planner

Day arc

Routines, workouts and meals all count toward one arc that fills as you tick them off, shown on the Home Screen and watch face.

Calendar-aware planning

Reads the calendars already on the device without changing them, and moves workouts away from meetings and work hours.

To-dos and routines

Type a to-do with a date and time in plain language, or give it a rough length and Daily finds a free gap.

Spaces and notes

Home, Work and other spaces each hold their own lists, to-dos, routines and notes with checklists and tags.

Training and food ideas

Build a workout week and get a food idea on each meal time. The vendor says there is no calorie logging.

Private journal

One page a day, locked with Face ID, Touch ID or a fingerprint.

Routine

Planner and calendar

Plan the day in a view that combines tasks with events from connected calendars such as Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Time blocking starts on the Personal plan.

Dashboard hotkey

A desktop hotkey opens a dashboard for creating tasks quickly and adding context to them without switching apps.

Universal inbox

Imports tasks, messages and notifications from connected apps and services into one inbox.

Notes and custom databases

Notes, a journal and pages sit alongside tasks. Custom databases model your own object types: 3 on Free, 10 on Personal and unlimited from Professional.

AI meeting notes

Records meetings without a meeting bot and generates a summary with the transcript and original audio. Requires the Professional plan.

AI assistant, agents and MCP

An AI assistant and voice commands are in every plan. AI agents and automations need Professional, and MCP connects Routine to assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude.

Daily: Day Planner

• Daily$0

  Every feature, with no account, ads or tracking, according to the vendor.

Routine

• Free$0

  Tasks, calendars and notes, AI assistant, voice commands, offline mode, 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.

• Personal$5

  per month, billed yearly

  Adds time blocking, time boxing, event coloring, exporting, unlimited file uploads, 10 integrations, 10 custom databases and 500 AI credits.

• Professional$10

  per month, billed yearly

  Adds AI meeting notes, AI agents and automations, time tracking, a menu bar widget, unlimited integrations and databases, and 7,000 AI credits.

• Business$15

  per seat / month, billed yearly

  Adds an organization with workspaces, access control, versioning, consolidated billing, priority support and 10,000 AI credits per seat.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds unlimited history, compliance, audit logs, analytics, user provisioning and a success manager.

Daily: Day Planner

No public discounts listed.

Routine

• Annual discount

  Up to 38% off on yearly plans

  Routine's pricing page marks its yearly prices as 38% off for Personal and 17% off for Professional and Business.

• Startups

  Startup program: Business plan free for a year

  Startups with under $2 million in funding and fewer than 20 employees can apply for the Business plan free for one year, worth up to $2,500.