Productivity · alternatives
Alternatives to Forest
22 productivity tools sit alongside Forest in this directory. Below is what separates each from Forest on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 22
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- 13
- Forest starts at
- Free, then $39.99/year
Why people look past Forest
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Forest entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Forest starts at $39.99/year. Across the 14 productivity tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $10/month.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Take back control of your time
- No free tier, where Forest has one.
- Starts $27.990000000000002 a month cheaper, at $12/month.
The world's #1 task manager and to-do list app
- Starts $34.99 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
Journalling app for iOS, Android and Mac now sold as a subscription after years as a one-time purchase
Priced and rated the same as Forest on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Security-focused AI email client with end-to-end encryption and a lifetime purchase option
Priced and rated the same as Forest on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Mac launcher and automation tool sold as a one-time Powerpack licence rather than a subscription
- Starts $5.990000000000002 a one-time cheaper, at £34/one-time.
Free shared grocery list app with a simple icon-based interface, no subscription required for core use
Priced and rated the same as Forest on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Every Forest alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest (this page) | Free, then $39.99/year | - | - | |
| RescueTimeAutomatic time tracking and productivity insights tool with FocusTime feature to block distracting websites | $12/month | - | 2 | vs Forest |
| TodoistTask management and to-do list application with cross-platform support for organizing work and personal tasks | Free, then $5/month | - | 3 | vs Forest |
| Day One | Free | Free tier plus subscription | 3 | vs Forest |
| Canary Mail | Free | Per user per year, or one-time purchase | 3 | vs Forest |
| Alfred | Free, then £34/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Forest |
| Bring! | Free | Free, with an optional paid Premium tier for extras | 2 | vs Forest |
| Samsung Food | Free | Free, no subscription | 1 | vs Forest |
| Bluemail | Free | Quote | 1 | vs Forest |
| Spark Mail | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Forest |
| Mealime | Free, then $5.99/month | Freemium subscription | 2 | vs Forest |
| Supernormal | Free, then $20/month | Per month by credits | 3 | vs Forest |
| MeetGeek | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Forest |
| Bluedot | Free, then $14/month | Per recording user per month | 4 | vs Forest |
| LibreOffice | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Forest |
| Gamma | Free, then $12/month | - | 6 | vs Forest |
| Memtime | €10/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Forest |
| Streaks | $5.99/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Forest |
| AnyList | On request | Per user per year | 1 | vs Forest |
| Mimestream | $4.99/month | Per user per month | 1 | vs Forest |
| Paprika Recipe Manager | $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase, priced separately per platform | 2 | vs Forest |
| HEY | $99/year | Per user per month | 3 | vs Forest |
| Fastmail | $3/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Forest |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Forest badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (14)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Day One , Free
- Canary Mail , Free
- Alfred , Free, then £34/one-time
- Bring! , Free
- Samsung Food , Free
- Bluemail , Free
- Spark Mail , Free
Cheaper than Forest (13)
Entry price under Forest's $39.99/year. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- RescueTime , $12/month
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Alfred , Free, then £34/one-time
- Mealime , Free, then $5.99/month
- Supernormal , Free, then $20/month
- MeetGeek , Free, then $9.99/month
- Bluedot , Free, then $14/month
- Gamma , Free, then $12/month
What you would be giving up
Forest is most often brought in for study sessions, work focus time, digital detox, pomodoro technique, phone addiction management. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Forest is broadly right and the question is cost, the Forest pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Productivity category lists everything the directory holds, and best productivity tools ranks them.
Forest runs on ios, android, chrome, firefox. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Forest alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Forest?
- 22 other productivity tools are listed in this directory, led by RescueTime, Todoist, Day One, Canary Mail. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Forest?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Todoist, Day One, Canary Mail, Alfred, Bring!.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Forest?
- Yes. 13 of the alternatives below start under Forest's $39.99/year: RescueTime at $12/month, Todoist at Free, then $5/month, Alfred at Free, then £34/one-time, Mealime at Free, then $5.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Forest?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: it costs more than the category median. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Forest?
- Forest is most often brought in for study sessions, work focus time, digital detox, pomodoro technique, phone addiction management. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Forest?
- None of the productivity tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Forest alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Productivity, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Forest against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Forest covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every productivity tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Productivity category, 22 tools beside Forest. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.