TL;DR
OmniFocus vs Things: Both OmniFocus and Things are excellent task management. OmniFocus is better for users who prefer polished experiences, while Things excels for those who value established ecosystems.
Which is better: OmniFocus or Things?
Both OmniFocus and Things are excellent task management. OmniFocus is better for users who prefer polished experiences, while Things excels for those who value established ecosystems.
OmniFocus vs Things
Which is the better task management for Mac in 2026?
We compared OmniFocus and Things across 5 key factors including price, open-source status, and community adoption. Both OmniFocus and Things are excellent task management. Read our full breakdown below.
OmniFocus
Scheduling application focusing on organisation
Things
Award-winning personal task manager for Mac with a clean design and powerful organization features.
Our Verdict
Both OmniFocus and Things are excellent task management. OmniFocus is better for users who prefer polished experiences, while Things excels for those who value established ecosystems.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | OmniFocus | Things |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid | Paid |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Monthly Installs | N/A | N/A |
| GitHub Stars | N/A | N/A |
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
Quick Install
brew install --cask omnifocusbrew install --cask thingsLearn More
In-Depth Overview
What is OmniFocus?
OmniFocus is the most powerful and feature-rich GTD (Getting Things Done) task management application available on Apple platforms, built by The Omni Group — a company with over three decades of experience creating professional-grade productivity software for macOS and iOS. OmniFocus is designed for serious productivity practitioners who need granular control over complex projects, perspectives, and contexts, going far beyond what simpler task managers offer. The application implements David Allen's GTD methodology with rigorous depth: an Inbox for capturing everything, Projects organized within Folders for hierarchical structure, Tags for contextual organization (replacing the older 'Contexts' nomenclature), and a Review system that prompts you to regularly examine projects and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. What truly sets OmniFocus apart is its Custom Perspectives feature — users can create saved, filtered views using complex Boolean rules that combine criteria like project status, tag assignments, due dates, flagged status, availability, and estimated duration. This allows power users to build precisely tailored views like 'All tasks tagged @Office that are available and due within 7 days, excluding deferred items,' creating a level of task visibility that no other consumer task manager can match. OmniFocus supports sequential, parallel, and single-action project types for controlling task availability, defer dates and due dates for separating 'when can I start' from 'when must it be done,' forecast view for calendar integration, and extensive automation via OmniFocus Automation (JavaScript-based scripting) and Apple Shortcuts. Available on macOS ($99.99 one-time or $9.99/month subscription), iOS ($49.99 or included in subscription), and iPadOS, with web access available for subscribers. OmniFocus uses The Omni Group's own sync server with encryption. In 2026, OmniFocus 4 has modernized the interface with a cleaner design while maintaining its power-user capabilities, and the Omni Group continues to refine performance and platform integration. The application also supports attachments, audio notes, and location-based contexts for triggering task visibility when you arrive at specific locations. OmniFocus integrates with the Omni Automation system, enabling cross-app scripting with other Omni Group products like OmniPlan and OmniOutliner.
What is Things?
Things is a premium task management application by Cultured Code that has won multiple Apple Design Awards and occupies a unique position in the productivity landscape — it provides genuine GTD structure while wrapping it in the most refined, beautiful interface of any task management application ever created. Available exclusively on Apple platforms (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and visionOS), Things implements the Getting Things Done methodology with an elegant spatial hierarchy: Areas of Responsibility represent ongoing roles and commitments (Work, Personal, Health, Side Projects), which contain Projects with clear start and end points, which contain individual To-Dos with optional checklists, Markdown-formatted notes, tags, deadlines, and reminder times. Headings within projects create visual sections for organizing tasks into phases or categories. Things features a carefully designed set of temporal views that create a natural daily workflow: Inbox for frictionless capture, Today for focused daily work, Upcoming for a calendar-like view of scheduled future tasks, Anytime for tasks available whenever you have time, Someday for aspirations and ideas to revisit later, and Logbook for a satisfying, searchable archive of everything you've accomplished. Quick Entry — activated by a customizable global keyboard shortcut — provides a floating capture window accessible from any application. Things supports natural language date parsing, flexible repeating task schedules, evening tasks that appear separately from daytime work, tags for contextual filtering, and deep integration with Apple Shortcuts and URL schemes for automation. The app uses a one-time purchase model ($49.99 Mac, $9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad) with no subscription fees. Things syncs reliably via Cultured Code's own cloud service. In 2026, Things continues to exemplify the 'less is more' philosophy — Cultured Code adds features very deliberately, prioritizing refinement and stability over feature churn, resulting in an application that feels timeless rather than trendy. Despite its apparent simplicity, Things supports URL schemes and x-callback-url integration that enable advanced workflows when combined with apps like Shortcuts, Drafts, and Scriptable, making it more powerful than its clean surface suggests.
Detailed Feature Comparison
Custom Views and Perspectives
CriticalOmniFocus Perspectives are saved custom views with complex Boolean filter logic. Filter by project, tag, due/defer status, flagged, availability, and more. Create views like 'All flagged tasks due this week in @work context that are available.' This granularity is unmatched.
Things has fixed views (Today, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday, Logbook) with tag-based filtering within each view. No custom perspectives or complex filter logic. The views are opinionated and well-designed but inflexible.
Verdict: OmniFocus Perspectives provide vastly more flexible and powerful custom views.
User Interface and Design
CriticalOmniFocus 4's SwiftUI redesign is a significant improvement, with a cleaner, more modern look. However, the depth of features means the interface is inherently more complex. Settings, perspectives, and inspector panels can feel overwhelming for new users.
Things' interface is a masterpiece. Clean spatial layout, subtle animations, drag-and-drop, and the 'Magic Plus' button create a delightful experience. Multiple Apple Design Awards validate its design excellence. Zero learning curve for basic use.
Verdict: Things is objectively more beautiful and approachable. It achieves power through simplicity.
Project Hierarchy Depth
HighOmniFocus supports Folders > Projects > Action Groups > Tasks > Subtasks — deep nesting for complex work. Projects can be sequential (tasks unlock in order) or parallel (all tasks available). This mirrors real-world project complexity.
Things supports Areas > Projects > Tasks with Checklists. Headings within projects provide visual grouping. The hierarchy is shallower but sufficient for most users. No sequential/parallel project distinction.
Verdict: OmniFocus handles complex project hierarchies better with deeper nesting and sequential/parallel options.
Defer Dates vs Due Dates
HighOmniFocus distinguishes between 'defer dates' (when a task becomes available/visible) and 'due dates' (when it must be completed). This is a core GTD concept that prevents future tasks from cluttering your current view. Tasks with future defer dates are hidden until they become relevant.
Things has 'When' dates (effectively defer dates) that schedule tasks for a specific day, and 'Deadline' dates for hard due dates. The implementation is simpler but covers the essential use case.
Verdict: OmniFocus's defer/due date system is more granular, though Things' When/Deadline approach covers most needs.
Scripting and Automation
MediumOmniFocus supports AppleScript, Omni Automation (JavaScript), and Shortcuts. Power users can build complex automation — auto-creating project templates, bulk editing tasks, generating reports, and integrating with other apps programmatically.
Things supports Shortcuts and a URL scheme for automation. The 'Things URL Scheme' allows creating tasks and projects from other apps. AppleScript support is more limited than OmniFocus's comprehensive scripting.
Verdict: OmniFocus's scripting capabilities are the most advanced of any task manager.
Review System
HighOmniFocus has a built-in Review perspective that cycles through projects on customizable schedules (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly). This implements GTD's crucial 'Weekly Review' step, ensuring no project is forgotten.
Things does not have a dedicated review feature. Users must manually review their projects and areas. While the 'Someday' list serves as a holding pen, there's no prompted review cycle.
Verdict: OmniFocus's built-in review system is essential for maintaining a trusted GTD system.
Pricing
HighOmniFocus 4 costs $9.99/month or $99.99/year via subscription, or ~$99.99 for Standard and ~$149.99 for Pro one-time purchase. This is the most expensive personal task manager available.
Things costs $49.99 (Mac), $9.99 (iPhone), $19.99 (iPad) — approximately $80 total for all platforms, owned forever. No subscription.
Verdict: Things is dramatically more affordable, especially over multiple years.
Cross-Platform and Web Access
MediumOmniFocus offers a web version for subscribers, providing access from non-Apple devices. Desktop and mobile apps are Apple-only. The web app covers core functionality but lacks the full power of the native applications.
Things has no web version and no non-Apple platform support whatsoever. It is exclusively available on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and visionOS. If you need access from a Windows PC or Android device, Things is simply not an option.
Verdict: OmniFocus's web access gives it an edge for users who occasionally need cross-platform access.
OmniFocus vs Things Feature Matrix
| Feature | OmniFocus | Things | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Views and Perspectives | Excellent | Fair | OmniFocus |
| User Interface and Design | Good | Excellent | Things |
| Project Hierarchy Depth | Excellent | Good | OmniFocus |
| Defer Dates vs Due Dates | Excellent | Good | OmniFocus |
| Scripting and Automation | Excellent | Good | OmniFocus |
| Review System | Excellent | Limited | OmniFocus |
| Pricing | Fair | Excellent | Things |
| Cross-Platform and Web Access | Good | Limited | OmniFocus |
Who Should Choose Which?
1The Busy Executive
Executives managing hundreds of tasks across multiple areas of responsibility — board meetings, direct reports, strategic initiatives, and personal commitments — need OmniFocus's custom perspectives to cut through the noise. A perspective like 'Flagged + Due This Week + @Office' instantly surfaces what matters right now. The built-in review system ensures quarterly goals do not slip through the cracks, and the defer date feature keeps future tasks invisible until they become actionable.
2The Creative Professional
Designers, writers, and artists appreciate Things' beautiful interface because it respects the creative mindset — it stays out of the way. The clean spatial hierarchy of Areas, Projects, and Today provides just enough structure without the cognitive overhead of configuring perspectives and review schedules. Quick Entry via the global hotkey captures fleeting ideas without disrupting flow, and the Logbook provides a satisfying record of completed work.
3The GTD Purist
For practitioners who follow David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology to the letter, OmniFocus is the only consumer app that implements all five stages: Capture (Inbox), Clarify (processing into projects), Organize (folders, tags, and contexts), Reflect (the Review perspective), and Engage (custom perspectives for context-based action). No other task manager offers this level of GTD fidelity, particularly the automated review scheduling that is central to maintaining a trusted system.
4The Practical Productivity User
Most people do not need full GTD implementation — they need a reliable place to track tasks that feels good to use daily. Things captures the spirit of GTD without the overhead: the Inbox collects everything, Today focuses your day, Upcoming shows what is coming, and Someday parks ideas for later. This 80/20 approach to productivity delivers excellent results for freelancers, students, and professionals who want structure without complexity.
5The Budget-Conscious User
At approximately $80 total for Mac, iPhone, and iPad with no recurring fees, Things is one of the best values in premium software. OmniFocus's subscription model at $9.99 per month ($120 per year) means it costs more than Things' total price within the first year alone. Over three years, the difference is $80 versus $360. For users who do not need OmniFocus's advanced features, Things delivers extraordinary value.
6The Automation Enthusiast
OmniFocus's Omni Automation (JavaScript-based scripting) and comprehensive AppleScript dictionary enable workflows that no other task manager can match. Power users build scripts that auto-generate project templates from Notion databases, bulk-edit hundreds of tasks based on tag criteria, create weekly review reports, and integrate with CI/CD pipelines. If your productivity system involves scripting, OmniFocus is the only serious option.
7The Apple Ecosystem Minimalist
For users deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem who want their task manager to feel like a first-party Apple app, Things is unmatched. It supports Apple Watch, visionOS, Shortcuts, Handoff, and widgets that integrate smoothly across devices. The design language mirrors Apple's own aesthetic so closely that new users often mistake it for a built-in app. This native feel extends to performance — Things launches instantly and never stutters.
Migration Guide
Omnifocus → Things
Export OmniFocus tasks via TaskPaper format or CSV. Import into Things using AppleScript or Shortcuts. OmniFocus Folders map to Things Areas, Projects to Projects, and Contexts/Tags to Tags. Perspectives and review schedules have no Things equivalent. Sequential project structures must be managed manually.
Things → Omnifocus
Things can export via Shortcuts or URL scheme. Import into OmniFocus, mapping Areas to Folders, Projects to Projects, and Tags to Tags. You'll gain perspectives, review, and defer dates but lose Things' visual simplicity.
Pro Tips
Consider your actual complexity needs. Many OmniFocus users discover they're using 20% of its features and would be equally productive in Things at lower cost and complexity.
Final Verdict
Things
Winner
Runner-up
Things wins for the majority of users because it delivers exceptional capability through elegant simplicity at a fraction of OmniFocus's cost. OmniFocus is the more powerful tool, but that power comes with complexity and expense that most users don't need. Things proves that constraint breeds clarity.
Bottom Line: Choose Things for beautiful, intuitive GTD at an affordable one-time price. Choose OmniFocus for maximum power, custom perspectives, and deep automation when complexity demands it.
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Sources & References
Fact-CheckedLast verified: Feb 15, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- OmniFocus subscription costs $9.99/month.[cite-omnifocus-pricing]
- Things has won multiple Apple Design Awards.[cite-things-official]
- 1OmniFocus - Task Management for Mac, iPhone, iPad
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 2OmniFocus Pricing
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 3Things - Your to-do list for Mac & iOS
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 4Things Pricing
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
- 5Omni Automation
Accessed Feb 15, 2026
Research queries: OmniFocus vs Things 2026 comparison; OmniFocus 4 pricing; Things 3 features GTD