Comparison

FSNotes vs TaskForge

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

FSNotes

A fast, modern notes manager for macOS and iOS that uses plain text Markdown files. It's designed for speed and keyboard shortcuts, allowing for seamless iCloud syncing and support for images, code blocks, and math.

Highlights
  • Plain text Markdown notes
  • Fast launch and operation
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • iCloud syncing
  • Markdown preview
  • Image and code block support
Read full description

FSNotes is a fast, modern notes manager for macOS and iOS. Write and organize your notes in pure Markdown with full control over your files. All notes are stored as plain text on disk, so your data stays open, portable, and future-proof. FSNotes is built for speed. It launches instantly, stays lightweight, and works smoothly even with tens of thousands of notes. Designed for keyboard lovers, it lets you capture ideas and find information in seconds using powerful shortcuts. Sync seamlessly via iCloud Drive, preview Markdown, work with images, code blocks, diagrams, and math — all in a clean, distraction-free interface. Fast. Open. Keyboard-driven.

About

TaskForge

Manage your Obsidian tasks directly from your mobile device with real-time sync and notifications. Visualize your workload with calendar and Kanban views, and stay organized with powerful search and filtering. Create and edit tasks using familiar Markdown syntax.

Highlights
  • Real-time push notifications for tasks
  • Home screen widgets for at-a-glance task viewing
  • Deep integration with Obsidian vaults
  • Calendar and Kanban board task visualization
  • Advanced search and filtering capabilities
  • Markdown-powered task creation and editing
  • Cross-platform sync via iCloud
Features
Read full description

Bring your tasks, notes and calendar together without creating a TaskForge account. Your tasks and notes stay in local Markdown files you can open in any editor. Create tasks, write notes and view your calendar for free. Note editing is in beta. Start with a folder of your own or use your existing Obsidian vault, with nothing to import or convert. A real to-do list and task manager on every screen you use: iPhone, iPad and Mac. Widgets, notifications, a month calendar with your own events beside your tasks, kanban, search, and your notes in the same app. "After trying many apps and workflows, this is the first one that actually stuck and made me productive!" (user review) Works with your vault Reads and writes Obsidian Tasks emoji fields, Dataview fields, Task Genius and TaskNotes YAML frontmatter with your own field mapping. Every edit goes back to the original file. Home Screen widgets Today, overdue, a tag, a saved filter or any section of a space, in every size up to XL. Check a task off without opening the app. iPhone, iPad and Mac. Notifications and reminders Push notifications for due and scheduled work, several reminders on one task, and a daily summary. Calendar, built in Your device calendars (iCloud, Google, Exchange) sit beside your tasks in the month view, in spaces and in widgets. Events come from those calendars, not from files. Notes and daily notes Open, read and edit any note in your vault, next to the tasks inside it. Every workspace gets a daily note, one tap from search or the calendar agenda. Lists, kanban and search Spaces that stack task and event sections. Custom filtered lists, a kanban board with drag and drop, tags, contexts, projects, priorities, recurring tasks, and start, scheduled and due dates. Search and multi-condition filters across the whole vault. Archive completed tasks instead of deleting them. Quick capture Type a task the way you would say it and TaskForge fills in the date, priority and tag. Optional tools for your AI agent Use your own AI agent to turn meeting notes into tasks or update your task list. TaskForge generates a guide to your folder's format. The free taskforge desktop CLI and local MCP server, installed separately on your computer, give compatible agents tools to read and edit tasks and notes. These tools run locally without network access. They do not include an AI assistant or subscription. Your chosen AI provider's account requirements and data handling still apply. Privacy No TaskForge account, no analytics. Tasks and notes work offline. TaskForge does not upload your task or note files to its own servers. External sync and AI services handle data under their own terms. TaskForge Premium The task list, kanban, search and filters, notes and daily notes, quick capture, viewing your calendar, and priority names and colors are free. Premium unlocks Home Screen widgets, notifications and per-task reminders, creating and editing calendar events, your own custom spaces and lists, task defaults, accent color and app font, and editing many tasks at once. Buy it once and keep it, or subscribe monthly with a 7-day free trial. A monthly subscription renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage it in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Not affiliated with or endorsed by Obsidian.md or Anthropic.

Screenshots

FSNotes4 screens
TaskForge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: TaskForge at Free against FSNotes's $4.99. TaskForge also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 64%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). FSNotes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

TaskForge is free to download; FSNotes costs $4.99 up front. TaskForge sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. FSNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for FSNotes against 4.7 for TaskForge. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 110 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of FSNotes's written reviews are positive against 88% of TaskForge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FSNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, TaskForge every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
FSNotes versus TaskForge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFSNotesTaskForge
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (87 ratings)4.7 (110 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.4% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings87110 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB163 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOleksandr HlushchenkoAzhar Dewji

Customer experience

FSNotes

All ratings87 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral1.1%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive64.4%
Neutral8.5%
Negative27.1%

TaskForge

All ratings108 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative6.6%

In-app purchases

None

FSNotes

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

TaskForge

Subscriptions2
  • TaskForge Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • TaskForge Premium (Yearly)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • TaskForge Premium (Lifetime)$49.99

Questions

Is FSNotes free?
FSNotes costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is TaskForge free?
TaskForge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FSNotes or TaskForge?
TaskForge is rated higher. FSNotes averages 4.6 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while TaskForge averages 4.7 from 110 ratings.
Do FSNotes or TaskForge have ads?
Neither FSNotes nor TaskForge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FSNotes or TaskForge?
FSNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, and TaskForge every 4 days. Most recently, FSNotes was updated on November 2, 2026 and TaskForge on October 30, 2026.

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