8 Outliner Apps & Tools To Manage Tasks

Dr. Ankit Sharma, PhD

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Feeling overburdened with multiple duties, impending deadlines, disorganized thoughts, and dispersed notes? You might need Outliner Apps. You can organize your thoughts, notes, and tasks, making your life more productive and stress-free.

But what are Outliner Tools? In short, it’s a tool that organizes and simplifies your note-taking and task planning workflow by helping you break down complex thoughts, long research notes, and large responsibilities into small, manageable pieces.

There are currently Outliner Apps available, so finding the right fit can be tedious and time-consuming. But no worry! We’ve rounded up the best apps for different needs and use cases.

Top Outliner Apps

1. ClickUp

Outliner Apps Tools to Manage Tasks

It is an all-in-one productivity platform with tools that make outlining notes and tasks simple and entertaining! Use ClickUp activities, mind maps, whiteboards, or documents as a canvas for your creation. ClickUp’s Order is a flexible and customizable organizational structure that effectively helps users manage their projects, tasks, and teams.

ClickUp Mind Maps simplify difficult concepts into bite-sized chunks to organize them in an order that makes sense to you. Whether you have ongoing projects in ClickUp or want to develop them from scratch, mind maps provide a visual overview to help you plan and organize better.

Features:

  • Accessible online and across all desktop and mobile devices.
  • Keyboard shortcuts and the Slash Command menu.
  • Widespread project management features with custom fields and statuses.
  • Integrations with 100+ apps.
  • Export options for ClickUp Docs.
  • All-inclusive knowledge base, video tutorials, webinars, and blog posts.

Pricing:

  • Free version available.
  • Unlimited: $7/month per user.
  • Business: $12/month per user.
  • Enterprise: Contact for pricing.
  • ClickUp AI is available on all paid plans for $5 per Workspace member per month.

2. Taskade

One of the collaborative, cloud-based Outliner Apps, Taskade, combines project and task management with strong advanced outlining capabilities appropriate for today’s knowledge worker.

Transform the chaos of daily obligations into a beautiful, well-organized system of cascading duties. Make hierarchical lists out of concepts and issues and concentrate on the work that matters. The greatest thing, though?

The only cloud outliner software that syncs everything instantly is Taskade. In Taskade, objects may be easily outlined. Add a few lines of text to your projects and use the Tab key to indent any sub-tasks or lower-level items.

In Taskade, you may format and personalize any outline you make to give it your distinct style. Select from a variety of node forms, such as headers, bullets, and checklists, and then add finishing touches with lovely highlight colors.

Last but not least, Taskade outlines are meant to be organized hierarchically since they are kept in a tree-structured database. Your outlines may be converted into mind maps, Kanban boards, editable tables, or org charts using Taskade’s adaptable workflow.

Features:

  • AI Workflow.
  • Fold/Unfold options.
  • Keyboard navigation.
  • 500+ Templates.
  • Multi-Select.
  • Customize Sub-Tasks.
  • Recurring and moving Tasks.
  • Communication.
  • Deep-Linking.
  • Drag-And-Drop File Uploads.
  • Project views.

Pricing:

  • Free version available.
  • Starter and Plus subscription: starting at $4 / month.
  • Pro subscription: $19 / month for 20 members billed annually.
  • Business and Ultimate subscription: $49 or $99 / month for 50 or 100 members.

3. OmniOutliner

OmniOutliner is a tool for outlining that uses bullet points to organize information. Make outlines with many layers so it is simpler to perceive the links between the various components. To each piece in your outline, you may add comments and files like PDFs, photos, audio files, and videos.

OmniOutliner is a helpful tool for keeping your ideas and duties well-structured and handy, whether you’re a student, writer, or manager of a team.

Features:

  • Distraction-free mode.
  • Filter outlines.
  • Custom keyboard shortcuts.
  • Track the number of rows, words, and characters with the info bar.
  • Export outlines to multiple formats.
  • More than 10 languages supported.

Pricing:

  • Essentials (Mac): $19.99.
  • Pro (Mac): $99.99.
  • Essentials (iPhone and iPad): $19.99.
  • Pro (iPhone and iPad): $49.99.
  • Pro subscription (Mac, iPhone, and iPad): $4.99 monthly.

4. Workflowy

You may outline any kind of project using this one of the efficient Outliner Tools Workflowy. The Outliner software provides a simple, noise-free working environment. Workflowy is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile platforms in addition to using it in a web browser.

Like Taskade, Workflowy was raised by Y Combinator and developed to tackle common project management issues. Using a hierarchical tree structure, Workflowy highlights the adaptability of regular lists.

Features:

  • (In Workflowy Pro) Endless nesting lists.
  • Filtering capabilities.
  • Tags and highlighting with color (beta).
  • Multi-factor authentication.
  • Back up your outline on Dropbox.
  • Several different themes and fonts.
  • Outline cooperation and sharing.

Pricing:

  • Free version available.
  • Workflowy Pro: $4.08 billed yearly.

5. Scrivener

Scrivener is one of Outliner tools for planning and writing long documents. You can divide your work into manageable sections and move them around as you write. Would you like to check consistency by comparing different work areas?

You can display up to four documents side by side in the native editor. It also makes it easier to group similar documents into collections for quick access. With these features, Scrivener is the best tool for authors, novelists, researchers, journalists, and screenwriters.

Features:

  • Organized overview of your manuscript, review word counts and other metadata.
  • Capability to reorganize them.
  • Options to set writing targets & monitor them.
  • Full-screen mode to block out distractions.
  • Custom templates with custom icons.
  • Export documents to multiple formats.

Pricing:

  • For Windows: $59.99.
  • For Mac: $59.99.
  • For iOS: $23.99.

6. Dynalist

Another Outliner app for both personal and professional usage that allows for uninterrupted outlining. Dynalist, formerly known as Omniflow, has developed into a simple outliner and note-taking tool for “logical thinkers.” It’s a wise option for concentrated work sessions.

The trustworthy outliner software Dynalist has the potential to be a strong tool. Recently, however, the team has shifted its attention to creating Obsidian, which is its main product.

Features:

  • Markdown encoding.
  • Dark and light modes.
  • Extensions for the browser Node-level formatting.
  • Colored tags and labels.
  • List choices for sorting.
  • Synced Google Calendar.
  • Finding files and items.
  • Cross-linking inside.
  • A number of different themes and fonts.

Pricing:

  • Free version available.
  • Pro: $7.99/$9.99 annually/monthly.

7. MindNode

A mind-mapping program called MindNode is used to record and graphically organize your thoughts. It’s perfect for easily note-taking, brainstorming, and planning your project because you can start with a basic concept and expand it to include related ideas.

The approach feels natural and fun with vibrant and dynamic mind maps. Although it’s great for personal use, there may be better choices for situations like work and business.

Features:

  • Compatible with all Apple devices, even the Apple watch.
  • Add images and links to your mind maps.
  • Work on precise branches at a time using focus mode.
  • Convert mind map nodes into tasks.
  • Export them in multiple formats.

Pricing:                      

  • Free version available.
  • Plus: $2.49 per month.

8. xTiles

The tile-based Outliner Tool for organizing tasks and notes is called xTiles. Instead of a typical list or hierarchy, you get a portable grid full of scalable thumbnails. Organizing information is easy because each section contains tasks, notes, and photos.

Plus, Color-coded thumbnails make navigation and organization easier. Students, independent workers, and creative teams looking for a simple, engaging way to manage resources, plan projects, and organize their ideas will love it.

Features:

  • Minimal learning curve.
  • Compatible with Windows, Android, MacOS, and iOS devices.
  • Drag-and-drop interface.
  • Integrates with Unsplash.
  • Slash command menu.
  • Wide range of templates.

Pricing:                      

  • Free version available.
  • Personal Pro: $10 per month.
  • Team: $10 per month per member.

Features To Look For In Outliner Apps

Reviewing all of an app’s features is necessary before choosing the best Outliner Apps for your requirements. Think about the following essential elements:

User-friendly UI: It should be straightforward to browse an outliner software so that organizing your ideas, notes, and plans is quick and easy. If the software looks complicated, seek thorough instructions and helpful customer service to help you.

Work on the move: Choose an app for outlining that you can use anywhere and is prepared to record your ideas at any time. Make sure it works on desktop, mobile, and the web and that it provides a Chrome extension if necessary.

Integration: You should be able to link your Outliner app to other frequently used programs like your email, calendar, cloud storage, and project management software. As a result, your workflow management remains efficient and seamless.

Team-friendly: Choose an app with real-time collaboration tools to keep everyone informed if you work in a team. Additionally, make sure the program can readily adapt to accommodate expansion if your staff is growing.

Customization options: An outliner software should include features like formatting styles and colors, different views, and personalized display options (such as themes, dark mode, etc.) so that you may tailor it to your preferences.

FAQ

Q: Can I use Outliner Apps for free?

A: Many options mentioned here offer a free version with limited functions.

Q: What is the purpose of the outlining tools?

A: An outline is a technique for putting your written thoughts about a subject into a sensible order. It is intended to assist you in creating the framework for a paper you will write.

Q: Why outlining is important?

A: The planning approach for the essay must include an outline. It enables the author to comprehend how all the data will be connected to support the thesis statement and the paper’s arguments. Additionally, it gives the writer a place to work with their thoughts without creating whole paragraphs.

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