People leave Todoist when their tasks are really follow-ups with specific people. Orbit gives you the same GTD lists, Inbox, Today, Next, Waiting, Someday, free with no task limit, but each task can link to a contact or deal. You also get a whole CRM, email, and invoices in one place. Here is what changes when you switch.
Todoist is a clean, fast to-do app, and for a plain task list it is very good. The reason people outgrow it is not the app itself, it is the shape of their work. When most of your tasks are "follow up with Dana" or "send the proposal to Acme," a standalone list keeps the task and the person in two different tools.
Orbit closes that gap. The task system is free on every plan, with no limit on tasks, projects, or the GTD lists, and every task can attach to a contact or a deal so it shows up on that person's timeline. It sits inside a full CRM, so the same workspace that holds your free task management also holds your contacts, notes, email, and invoices.
Where each tool fits. For current Todoist pricing and limits, check their site.
| Orbit | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| GTD lists (Inbox, Today, Next, Waiting, Someday) | Via labels and filters | |
| Unlimited tasks and projects, free | Free | Free tier has caps |
| Quick capture shortcut | Press c anywhere | |
| Tasks linked to contacts and deals | ||
| Built-in CRM (contacts, pipeline, notes) | Free to 250 contacts | |
| Built-in email inbox | 100/mo free | |
| Invoices and proposals | 10 free each | |
| Two-way Google Calendar sync | Any paid plan | Check their site |
| Deep standalone project management | Lighter | Strong |
| Price to start | $0 forever, no card | Check their site |
The whole task system moves over at no cost.
Lite is $8/mo and Pro is $14/mo; you only need one if you want these extras. The task system stays free either way.
Most people finish in an afternoon.
Be honest about the trade. Todoist is a focused task app with deep filtering, natural-language due dates, and years of polish on that one job. Orbit's tasks are strong, but the point of Orbit is the CRM around them, not standalone project management for a whole team.
If you only want a personal to-do list and never touch contacts, deals, or invoices, Todoist is lighter and does that one thing well. Stay there. Orbit is the better move when your tasks are tangled up with clients and money. If you want the head-to-head detail, read Orbit vs Todoist.
A to-do app forgets who the task was for. Orbit keeps the task and the person together.
You import contacts into Orbit from a CSV, then rebuild tasks by hand. Todoist labels and filters become GTD lists (Inbox, Today, Next, Waiting, Someday) and Todoist projects become Orbit projects. Most people finish the move in an afternoon and attach recurring follow-ups to a contact or deal.
Yes. Tasks, projects, and the GTD lists are free on every Orbit plan, with no limit on how many you create and no credit card. The free plan also includes up to 250 contacts, one pipeline, a calendar, notes, and a built-in email inbox with 100 messages a month.
Todoist is a focused to-do app with deep filtering and natural-language dates. Orbit's tasks are strong but lighter on standalone project management, because the point is the CRM around them. If you only want a personal task list and never touch contacts or invoices, Todoist stays lighter.
Lite is $8 a month and adds two-way Google Calendar sync, the Chrome extension, unlimited contacts and pipelines, email at 2,000 a month, and open and click tracking. Pro is $14 a month and adds the MCP server, the meeting recorder, and more AI credits. The task system itself stays free on every plan.
Yes. Orbit has one assistant named Hiro, opened with Cmd or Ctrl J. Hiro can sort tasks, draft follow-ups, and update contacts and deals. AI is included with free monthly credits and no API key to paste, and nothing sends until you approve it.
People running a business mostly alone: founders, consultants, freelancers, recruiters, and small teams whose to-do list is really a list of follow-ups with clients and deals. It is not a sales-team CRM like Salesforce, and it is not a full team project-management suite.
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