AltoFocus started as an OmniFocus replacement. Not because OmniFocus is bad — it's one of the best GTD tools there is. It started because I ran into three things that can't be fixed inside it. This article tries to be a fair comparison, including where OmniFocus wins.
What we kept
OmniFocus has a well-thought-out model that's worth keeping:
- Sequential and parallel projects. A sequential project shows only its first open step, so your Next actions list doesn't fill up with things you can't do yet.
- Defer dates. A task disappears from view until the date it makes sense to deal with it. It's the most underrated feature of GTD apps.
- Perspectives. Saved filters that show exactly what you need: phone calls, computer tasks, things for one area.
- The weekly review as a feature, not just a good intention.
All of this works similarly in AltoFocus. If you're coming from OmniFocus, you'll feel at home.
What we changed
1. It works everywhere
OmniFocus lives only on Mac, iPhone and iPad (a web version is available only with the subscription). As soon as your work laptop runs Windows or your phone runs Android, you have a problem.
AltoFocus has been a web app from day one: it works in any browser and installs to the home screen on Android. Native iPhone and Mac apps are being added on top, over the same data.
2. You share specific projects
OmniFocus is strictly personal. If you want to share one project with a colleague, you need another tool — and then your tasks live in two places.
In AltoFocus you invite someone to a specific project and work on it together in real time. They don't see the rest of your system — other projects, areas, goals.
3. Tasks know why
This is the main difference. OmniFocus knows what you need to do and when. It doesn't know why. You can simulate the horizons of focus — areas, goals, vision, purpose — with folders, but they aren't connected to the review or to tasks.
AltoFocus has the horizons as a real layer of the app. A project belongs to an area and points at a goal, a task shows a quiet "why" line, and the review shows you projects that lead nowhere as well as goals you're doing nothing for.
4. AI that asks first
OmniFocus has no AI (apart from automations through Omni Automation, which you write yourself). On the Altitude plan, AltoFocus offers an AI partner that knows your tasks, can create and edit them, prepares a morning brief and walks you through the review. Risky steps — deleting, cancelling, bulk moves — always wait for your confirmation.
What's still missing
Honestly:
- Importing from OmniFocus isn't there yet. Switching is manual. (We'd recommend it anyway — retyping only your active projects is a good clean-up.)
- Native iPhone and Mac apps are close to release. Until then you use the web app, on iPhone too.
- Omni Automation — scripting inside the app — we don't have. Instead there's a REST API and MCP, which connect AltoFocus to your scripts and agents.
- Forecast as you know it from OmniFocus (with the calendar) is replaced by our Upcoming view, without calendar integration.
- Decades of polish. OmniFocus is a mature product with countless small details. We're in beta.
Who's better off with OmniFocus
If you live only in the Apple ecosystem, share nothing, have your own Omni Automation scripts and don't care about horizons, stay with OmniFocus. It's a great tool and switching wouldn't give you anything.
Who's better off with AltoFocus
- You also use Windows, Linux or Android.
- You need to share individual projects with colleagues or clients.
- You want your goals to be part of your daily list, not just a document.
- You want AI that helps with the review and planning, but never acts behind your back.
How to try it
AltoFocus is free during the beta, AI included. You don't have to leave OmniFocus right away. Retype two or three active projects and do one week's review in AltoFocus. Then decide.