Productivity · alternatives
Alternatives to Anvil
24 productivity tools sit alongside Anvil in this directory. Below is what separates each from Anvil 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
- 14
- Anvil starts at
- Free, then $99/month
Why people look past Anvil
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Anvil entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Anvil starts at $99/month. Across the 15 productivity tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $9.99/month.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
Anvil publishes 4 tiers, from Free up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the Anvil pricing page breaks each one down.
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
- Starts $94 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
- 3 tiers to Anvil's 4.
Professional task management for complex workflows
- No free tier, where Anvil has one.
- Starts $24.010000000000005 a month cheaper, at $74.99/month.
- Sold on a one-time model rather than freemium.
The award-winning personal task manager
- No free tier, where Anvil has one.
- Starts $89.01 a one-time cheaper, at $9.99/one-time.
- 3 tiers to Anvil's 4.
Scientifically-designed music to enhance focus and productivity
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
- 2 tiers to Anvil's 4.
Journalling app for iOS, Android and Mac now sold as a subscription after years as a one-time purchase
- Sold on a Free tier plus subscription model rather than freemium.
- 3 tiers to Anvil's 4.
Security-focused AI email client with end-to-end encryption and a lifetime purchase option
- Sold on a Per user per year, or one-time purchase model rather than freemium.
- 3 tiers to Anvil's 4.
Every Anvil 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anvil (this page) | Free, then $99/month | Freemium | 4 | |
| TodoistThe world's #1 task manager and to-do list app | Free, then $5/month | - | 3 | vs Anvil |
| OmniFocus 3Professional task management for complex workflows | $74.99/month | One-time | 4 | vs Anvil |
| Things 3The award-winning personal task manager | $9.99/one-time | - | 3 | vs Anvil |
| Brain.fmScientifically-designed music to enhance focus and productivity | Free | Subscription | 2 | vs Anvil |
| Day One | Free | Free tier plus subscription | 3 | vs Anvil |
| Canary Mail | Free | Per user per year, or one-time purchase | 3 | vs Anvil |
| Alfred | Free, then £34/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Anvil |
| Bring! | Free | Free, with an optional paid Premium tier for extras | 2 | vs Anvil |
| Samsung Food | Free | Free, no subscription | 1 | vs Anvil |
| Bluemail | Free | Quote | 1 | vs Anvil |
| Spark Mail | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Anvil |
| Mealime | Free, then $5.99/month | Freemium subscription | 2 | vs Anvil |
| Supernormal | Free, then $20/month | Per month by credits | 3 | vs Anvil |
| MeetGeek | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Anvil |
| Bluedot | Free, then $14/month | Per recording user per month | 4 | vs Anvil |
| LibreOffice | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Anvil |
| Gamma | Free, then $12/month | - | 6 | vs Anvil |
| Memtime | €10/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Anvil |
| Streaks | $5.99/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Anvil |
| AnyList | On request | Per user per year | 1 | vs Anvil |
| Mimestream | $4.99/month | Per user per month | 1 | vs Anvil |
| Paprika Recipe Manager | $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase, priced separately per platform | 2 | vs Anvil |
| HEY | $99/year | Per user per month | 3 | vs Anvil |
| Fastmail | $3/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Anvil |
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 Anvil 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 Anvil (14)
Entry price under Anvil's $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
- OmniFocus 3 , $74.99/month
- Things 3 , $9.99/one-time
- 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
What you would be giving up
Anvil is most often brought in for pdf automation for document workflows, e-signature solutions for legal documents, data collection through mobile webforms, insurance and healthcare document processing, real estate and financial document automation. 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 Anvil is broadly right and the question is cost, the Anvil 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.
Anvil runs on not recorded. 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 Anvil alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Anvil?
- 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 Anvil?
- 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 Anvil?
- Yes. 14 of the alternatives below start under Anvil's $99/month: Todoist at Free, then $5/month, OmniFocus 3 at $74.99/month, Things 3 at $9.99/one-time, Alfred at Free, then £34/one-time.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Anvil?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Anvil?
- Anvil is most often brought in for pdf automation for document workflows, e-signature solutions for legal documents, data collection through mobile webforms, insurance and healthcare document processing, real estate and financial document automation. 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 Anvil?
- 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 Anvil 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 Anvil against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Anvil 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 Anvil. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.