Productivity · alternatives
Alternatives to Ulysses
24 productivity tools sit alongside Ulysses in this directory. Below is what separates each from Ulysses on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 15
- Cheaper to start
- 4
- Ulysses starts at
- $5.99/month
Why people look past Ulysses
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Ulysses entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Ulysses carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 15 of the 24 alternatives below can be used without paying.
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.
The world's #1 task manager and to-do list app
- Can be used without paying; Ulysses cannot.
- Starts $0.9900000000000002 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
- 3 tiers to Ulysses's 2.
Professional task management for complex workflows
- Starts $69 a month dearer, at $74.99/month.
- Sold on a one-time model rather than subscription.
- 4 tiers to Ulysses's 2.
The award-winning personal task manager
- Starts $4 a one-time dearer, at $9.99/one-time.
- 3 tiers to Ulysses's 2.
Scientifically-designed music to enhance focus and productivity
- Can be used without paying; Ulysses cannot.
Journalling app for iOS, Android and Mac now sold as a subscription after years as a one-time purchase
- Can be used without paying; Ulysses cannot.
- Sold on a Free tier plus subscription model rather than subscription.
- 3 tiers to Ulysses's 2.
Security-focused AI email client with end-to-end encryption and a lifetime purchase option
- Can be used without paying; Ulysses cannot.
- Sold on a Per user per year, or one-time purchase model rather than subscription.
- 3 tiers to Ulysses's 2.
Every Ulysses 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses (this page) | $5.99/month | Subscription | 2 | |
| TodoistThe world's #1 task manager and to-do list app | Free, then $5/month | - | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| OmniFocus 3Professional task management for complex workflows | $74.99/month | One-time | 4 | vs Ulysses |
| Things 3The award-winning personal task manager | $9.99/one-time | - | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| Brain.fmScientifically-designed music to enhance focus and productivity | Free | Subscription | 2 | vs Ulysses |
| Day One | Free | Free tier plus subscription | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| Canary Mail | Free | Per user per year, or one-time purchase | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| Alfred | Free, then £34/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| Bring! | Free | Free, with an optional paid Premium tier for extras | 2 | vs Ulysses |
| Samsung Food | Free | Free, no subscription | 1 | vs Ulysses |
| Bluemail | Free | Quote | 1 | vs Ulysses |
| Spark Mail | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| Mealime | Free, then $5.99/month | Freemium subscription | 2 | vs Ulysses |
| Supernormal | Free, then $20/month | Per month by credits | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| MeetGeek | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Ulysses |
| Bluedot | Free, then $14/month | Per recording user per month | 4 | vs Ulysses |
| LibreOffice | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Ulysses |
| Gamma | Free, then $12/month | - | 6 | vs Ulysses |
| Memtime | €10/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Ulysses |
| Streaks | $5.99/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Ulysses |
| AnyList | On request | Per user per year | 1 | vs Ulysses |
| Mimestream | $4.99/month | Per user per month | 1 | vs Ulysses |
| Paprika Recipe Manager | $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase, priced separately per platform | 2 | vs Ulysses |
| HEY | $99/year | Per user per month | 3 | vs Ulysses |
| Fastmail | $3/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Ulysses |
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 Ulysses badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (15)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Brain.fm , Free
- Day One , Free
- Canary Mail , Free
- Alfred , Free, then £34/one-time
- Bring! , Free
- Samsung Food , Free
- Bluemail , Free
Cheaper than Ulysses (4)
Entry price under Ulysses's $5.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Mimestream , $4.99/month
- Paprika Recipe Manager , $4.99/one-time
- Fastmail , $3/month
What you would be giving up
Ulysses is most often brought in for writing and editing on apple devices, cross-device document synchronization, markdown-based writing. 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 Ulysses is broadly right and the question is cost, the Ulysses 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.
Ulysses runs on macos, ios, ipados. 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 Ulysses alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Ulysses?
- 24 other productivity tools are listed in this directory, led by Todoist, OmniFocus 3, Things 3, Brain.fm. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Ulysses?
- 15 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Todoist, Brain.fm, Day One, Canary Mail, Alfred.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Ulysses?
- Yes. 4 of the alternatives below start under Ulysses's $5.99/month: Todoist at Free, then $5/month, Mimestream at $4.99/month, Paprika Recipe Manager at $4.99/one-time, Fastmail at $3/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Ulysses?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Ulysses?
- Ulysses is most often brought in for writing and editing on apple devices, cross-device document synchronization, markdown-based writing. 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 Ulysses?
- 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 Ulysses 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 Ulysses against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Ulysses 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, 24 tools beside Ulysses. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.