Comparison

Principal Task vs Dobby AI Notes

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

Head to head
About

Principal Task

This app helps you manage tasks by tracking your completion rate against new tasks created. It offers a unique 'Task Velocity' score to show if you're keeping up with your workload. Organize with folders, contexts, and priorities, with advanced features available through a premium subscription.

Highlights
  • Task Velocity score
  • GTD-native structure
  • Due dates and repeating tasks
  • Markdown support
  • Kanban boards
  • Private templates
Features
Read full description

Track your Task Velocity — the ratio of tasks you complete against the ones you create, updated every day. See at a glance whether you're ahead or falling behind, not just what's on your list. Principal Task is a GTD-native task manager built for people who've outgrown to-do apps. Folders, contexts, priorities, statuses, and unlimited nested subtasks — organized the way real work actually happens. TASK VELOCITY Your 30-day completed-vs-created ratio, shown as a simple multiplier. Free members see their current score. Premium unlocks the full history, filterable by folder, context, priority, and status. SYSTEM HEALTH A live verdict — Healthy, Strained, or Overloaded — so you know where things stand today, separate from where they're heading. BUILT FOR GTD Folders and sub-folders, contexts, priorities, statuses, and stars. Subtasks nest as deep as you need, with independent completion — no forced parent-child status. KANBAN, HEATMAP, TEMPLATES See your work as a board. Watch your activity over time. Turn repeatable processes into templates you can apply in one tap. BUILT FOR AI ASSISTANTS Principal Task connects to AI assistants over MCP — read and write your tasks, subtasks, and folders directly from the assistant you already use. SHARE WITHOUT FRICTION Share a task list with a four-word link. No account required to view. You control how long it stays open. Free, no credit card. Premium is about $3/month or $24/year, and it doesn't limit how much you can do — it unlocks Task Velocity history, Kanban, the Activity Heatmap, and private templates. Principal Task. Software that gets out of the way. Terms of Use: https://principaltask.com/terms

About

Dobby AI Notes

Features
Read full description

Your mind moves fast. Dobby AI Notes keeps up. The AI-powered second brain that captures, organizes, and retrieves everything you know — all in one place. Tired of hunting through piles of notes to find that one insight? With Dobby AI Notes, simply type, speak, paste a URL, or upload a file, and state-of-the-art Gemini AI instantly turns raw input into clear, structured summaries and actionable to-do lists. Your notes work for you — not the other way around. The crown jewel is the conversational RAG chatbot: your own AI assistant that knows everything inside your personal knowledge base. Ask "What did I read about that marketing strategy last week?" and it will semantically search every saved note in real time, surfacing the exact answer with source references — just like having a personal research assistant available 24/7. [Perfect For] • Scattered thinkers and fast-moving minds who lose ideas before they can write them down • Professionals who want automatic meeting notes and action items without lifting a pen • Students who record lectures and need clean, searchable summaries instantly • Researchers and content creators building a curated, queryable knowledge archive • Productivity enthusiasts building a personal knowledge management (PKM) system or second brain [Core Features] • Smart Web Clipping: Paste any URL to strip away ads and clutter, saving a clean Markdown summary directly to your notes • Voice Notes & AI Refinement: Record live audio with real-time transcription, then let Gemini AI extract key points, summaries, and action items automatically • Conversational RAG Chatbot: Semantically search your entire note database with vector search — ask natural language questions and get accurate, cited answers • Home Screen Widgets (1x1): Record voice notes, check/add to-do lists, and quick-create notes in a single tap without opening the app • Guest Login & Easy Account Linking: Try the app immediately without registering and easily link to your Google, Apple, or email account later • Free Premium Ad Credits: Earn premium AI usage credits by watching rewarded ads without an active subscription • Interactive Onboarding: Learn to navigate the app with our brand new step-by-step interactive coachmarks on mobile and web • Organized Knowledge Base: Sort notes into folders and tags, write in Markdown, and manage tasks with built-in to-do checklists • Multi-Format Input: Text, voice, web clips, and file attachments — every format of knowledge, unified in one app • Usage Dashboard: Monitor daily AI token costs and cloud storage in a clear, transparent dashboard Capture your thoughts. Build your knowledge base. Meet your AI assistant. Start with Dobby AI Notes today! Privacy Policy: https://www.dobby-canvas.com/docs/privacy-policy.html Terms of Service: https://www.dobby-canvas.com/docs/terms-of-service.html

Screenshots

Principal Task4 screens
Dobby AI Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Principal Task at none against Dobby AI Notes's shown. Dobby AI Notes's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. Principal Task sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Dobby AI Notes sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Principal Task ships an update every 3 months, Dobby AI Notes weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Principal Task versus Dobby AI Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrincipal TaskDobby AI Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZechariah SchwenkDobby Canvas, Inc.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Principal Task

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$29.991 Year
5 purchases

Dobby AI Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Plan (Monthly)14 Days trial$4.991 Month
One-time4
  • AI Credits - Boost S$10.00
  • AI Credits - Boost M$50.00
  • AI Credits - Boost L$100.00
Show 1 more
  • AI Credits - Boost XL$200.00

Questions

Is Principal Task free?
Principal Task is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dobby AI Notes free?
Dobby AI Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Principal Task or Dobby AI Notes have ads?
Dobby AI Notes shows ads; Principal Task does not.
Which is updated more often, Principal Task or Dobby AI Notes?
Principal Task ships an update every 3 months, and Dobby AI Notes weekly. Most recently, Principal Task was updated on November 3, 2026 and Dobby AI Notes on November 5, 2026.

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