A Notion alternative — only if you use it just for tasks.
Let's be precise about what this page is. Notion is an all-in-one workspace — docs, wikis, and databases you shape into your own system — and Zoro does not replace any of that. If you live in Notion for notes and knowledge, keep living there; it's genuinely great at that job, and Zoro is not your answer. This page is for one narrow reader: the person whose Notion setup is really just a task list, and who has noticed that running a task list inside a workspace-construction kit is slower than it should be.
The short answer
If you use Notion for docs, notes, or databases — stay on Notion. Nothing here replaces it. If the only thing you run in Notion is a task list and it feels slow, move just that one job: on Apple devices, Zoro is a task board with the method already built in — nothing to design, free with unlimited tasks and iCloud sync, Pro for $59.99 once. Most people who make this move keep both: notes in Notion, tasks in Zoro.
The math
The price isn't the plan. It's the system.
Notion's personal plan is free, so the usual subscription math doesn't apply. The cost of Notion-as-task-list is paid in a different currency: you design the system before you can use it, and you maintain it forever after.
Why the task list stalls
Great workspace. Slow to-do list.
- You build before you use. A Notion task system is something you architect — databases, properties, views, relations — before it manages a single task. The tool is only as good as the system you design, and you're the unpaid systems designer.
- Capture has friction. Getting a task in means opening the app, waiting for the page, finding the database, adding a row. A thought that takes two seconds to have shouldn't take five taps and a load screen to write down.
- The fiddle temptation. Infinite flexibility is a standing invitation to rebuild. Redesigning the dashboard is more fun than doing the tasks on it, and Notion makes the redesign endlessly available.
- Tasks live next to everything else. Your to-do list shares a sidebar with your reading list, your wiki, and your trip plans. It's one click from a rabbit hole every time you open it.
- No finishing pressure. A database row can sit untouched for a year, and Notion never asks about it. Storing work and finishing work are different jobs, and Notion — reasonably, for a workspace — only signed up for the first.
The alternative
Zero configuration. The method is built in.
Zoro is a single-player kanban for iPhone and Mac, and it inverts Notion's deal: instead of infinite flexibility you design yourself, it ships one opinionated system that works on first open. Three columns — Todo, In Progress, Done. Three priorities, P1 to P3. Three effort sizes, S/M/L. WIP limits cap how much you can pull into In Progress, task aging surfaces the card you keep avoiding, and a weekly review makes you cut what you're never going to do. Capture is instant because there's nothing to navigate — no database to find, no properties to fill. Finishing is a quiet strikethrough, not a confetti cannon. Your data syncs through your own iCloud. There is nothing to set up, which also means there is nothing to endlessly rebuild.
At a glance
Notion vs Zoro, for the task-list job only.
| Notion | Zoro | |
|---|---|---|
| Built as | All-in-one workspace | A task app, only |
| Task system | You design it from databases | Built in — columns, priorities, sizes |
| Capturing a task | Open app, find database, add row | Open, type, done |
| Helps you finish | No — rows can sit forever | WIP limits, task aging, weekly review |
| Docs, wikis, databases | Yes — the whole point | No — keep Notion for these |
| Platforms | Web, desktop, mobile | iPhone + Mac (Apple-only) |
| Pricing for one person | Free (Plus ~$10/user/mo) | Free · Pro $59.99 once (or $2.99/mo · $19.99/yr) |
Feature by feature
Side by side.
| Feature | Zoro | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Task system ready out of the box | Yes | No — you build it from databases |
| Priorities + effort sizing | Native (P1–3, S/M/L) | Custom properties you set up |
| Setup before you start | None | You design it first |
| iPhone + Mac native apps | Yes | iOS + Electron desktop |
| Where your data lives | Your iCloud | Notion's servers |
| Docs, wikis, databases | No — tasks only | Yes — the whole point |
| Web + Android access | No (Apple only) | Yes |
| Pricing (1 user) | $0, $19.99/yr or $59.99 once | $0 or ~$10/mo |
Honest picks
Most readers of this page should stay.
If Notion is doing its real job…
- You use it for docs, notes, or databases → stay on Notion, genuinely. Nothing on this page replaces it.
- You want tasks living next to your notes, in one tool → also stay on Notion. The friction is the price of the integration, and for some people it's worth it.
If only the task list is the problem…
- The common landing spot: notes stay in Notion, tasks move to something faster → Zoro on iPhone and Mac.
- Need fast tasks across Windows or Android → Todoist (compared here) or TickTick (compared here).
- Want the full field → task managers for solo founders.
Switching
Move one job, not your workspace.
- Keep Notion open. This isn't a migration — your docs, notes, and databases stay exactly where they are. The only thing leaving is the task list.
- Audit the database before you copy it. A row that has sat in your tasks table for six months isn't a task, it's a guilt object. Bring over only what you'd genuinely start this month. (Our guide to a weekly review that kills tasks is the same muscle.)
- Let the built-in system do the designing. Three columns, a priority (P1–P3) and a size (S/M/L) on entry, WIP limits on In Progress. The setup work you used to do in Notion is already done — resist recreating your old dashboard.
FAQ
Notion alternatives, answered.
What is a good Notion alternative for tasks?
The honest answer is conditional. If you use Notion for docs, notes, and databases, there is no alternative worth naming — keep Notion. But if the only thing you run in Notion is a task list and it feels slow, a dedicated app is the fix. On Apple devices, Zoro opens straight to a kanban board with three priorities, S/M/L effort sizes, and WIP limits already built in — free with unlimited tasks and iCloud sync, and Pro is $59.99 once. If you need Windows or Android, Todoist and TickTick are the strongest cross-platform picks.
Is Notion good as a to-do list?
It's capable, but it's slower at pure task capture and completion than a dedicated app — and that's by design, because Notion is a workspace, not a to-do app. You assemble the task system out of databases before you can use it, capturing a task takes more taps and a page load than jotting a thought should, and nothing in the product pushes a task toward done. If you enjoy designing your own tool, the trade can be worth it. If you just want to capture tasks and finish them, a focused app does the job with less friction.
Can Zoro replace Notion?
No. Zoro replaces exactly one job: the task list. It does not do docs, wikis, or databases — it's a single-player kanban for iPhone and Mac, nothing more. If you use Notion for notes, documents, or any kind of knowledge base, keep using Notion. The realistic outcome isn't a switch, it's a split: your knowledge stays in Notion and your tasks move to something faster.
Should I keep notes in Notion and tasks somewhere else?
Plenty of people land exactly there, and it holds up. Notion is genuinely good at notes, docs, and databases; it's merely adequate at the daily task loop. Splitting the two lets each tool do the job it was built for — your knowledge lives in Notion, and your tasks live in an app that opens instantly, captures in seconds, and asks you weekly what you're actually going to finish. The cost is one extra app. The payoff is that your to-do list stops living one click from a rabbit hole.
Keep the workspace. Free the task list.
Zoro is a single-player kanban for iPhone and Mac — WIP limits, three priorities, a weekly review, your data in your own iCloud. Free with unlimited tasks and sync; Pro is $2.99/mo, $19.99/yr, or $59.99 once. It is live on the App Store now. Download Zoro for iPhone and Mac — free with unlimited tasks and iCloud sync.
Download on the App Store →