Outline.co / Alternatives

A free alternative to the apps you know

A free notes app and task board in one. Write notes with labels, to-dos and reminders; run the work on kanban boards with a timeline drawn from the dates. Sign in with an email link, on a phone or a desk. Here is how it compares with the apps people move from — and when each of them is the better choice.

• Trello alternative — kanban boards with a timeline, and notes beside them, free with no paid tier.
• Notion alternative — notes, to-dos and boards with nothing to set up first.
• Evernote alternative — notes you act on, with reminders and hidden fields, and no device limit.
• Google Keep alternative — the quick note, plus status, steps, comments and boards, without a Google account.
• Todoist alternative — the note and the task as one thing, with steps and repeating email reminders.
• Apple Notes alternative — the same notes on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, in any browser.

What every comparison has in common

• Price: Free, everything included. No paid tier, no seats, no trial.
• Notes: Notes with #labels, to-do steps, stage, priority and hidden fields.
• Boards: Kanban boards with columns, cards, labels, steps and dates; a timeline (Gantt) view drawn from each card’s dates.
• Reminders: Email reminders, once or every day, week or month.
• Where it runs: Any browser, phone first; nothing to install.
• AI: Open-weights models on Cloudflare, only when asked; nothing sent to a model vendor; and a Model Context Protocol endpoint for Claude, ChatGPT and other clients (how it works).

In one line

It is smaller, and it is free. Notes and boards, a timeline from the dates, sharing by email, an assistant on your own AI account — and that is the lot. There is no plan to upgrade to, no seat count and no workspace to set up first. If you need portfolios, forms or automations, one of those is the better answer.