Comparison

Workflowy vs Tempo

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

Head to head
About

Workflowy

Capture ideas, manage tasks, and organize your thoughts with an infinitely nestable system. This app offers AI assistance for summarization and brainstorming, along with collaborative features and robust search capabilities. It syncs across devices and works offline, making it a powerful tool for personal and team productivity.

Highlights
  • Infinitely nested lists
  • AI summarization and brainstorming
  • Kanban boards for task management
  • Real-time collaboration and sharing
  • Global search and filtering
  • Offline access and cross-device sync
  • Tagging and mentions
Features
Read full description

Workflowy is a simple, distraction-free app for capturing notes, managing tasks, and organizing your thinking. Infinitely nestable, surprisingly powerful - it helps you manage all the information in your life. With Workflowy you can: • Capture notes and ideas in an instant • Organize complex thinking with infinite nesting • Ask AI to summarize, rewrite, or brainstorm with your notes • Plan and manage tasks with kanban boards • #Tag and @assign items to stay on top of things • Link items across lists - edit once, update everywhere • Share and collaborate in real-time • Upload photos, files, and embed videos • Search and filter your entire Workflowy in seconds Workflowy syncs across all your devices and auto-saves everything. No more missing notes or lost files. Trusted by teams and thinkers at: Atlassian, Slack, The New York Times, and thousands of entrepreneurs, writers, engineers, scientists, and students worldwide. Feature highlights: • Infinitely nested lists • Workflowy AI (chat with notes, AI nodes, quick actions) • Calendar • Kanban boards • Mirrors (live synced copies) • #Tags and @mentions • Date organization with /date shortcuts • Global text search and filtering • Simple sharing and permissions • Works offline • Syncs with desktop and web • One-swipe task completion • File uploads and image attachments • Highlight text and color tags • Item starring • YouTube and X embeds • MFA (Multi-factor authentication) • Expand and collapse lists • Mobile keyboard shortcuts Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/

About

Tempo

This app transforms countdown timers into clear visual progress indicators, helping you stay focused on tasks like work, study, or cooking. It offers multiple visualization options and a distraction-free interface, working reliably offline without requiring an account.

Highlights
  • Multiple visualization options
  • Clean, distraction-free interface
  • Works offline
  • No account setup
  • Reliable background operation
  • Privacy-focused
Features
Read full description

If you have ever looked up and lost an hour, you do not need another number counting down. You need to see time move. Tempo turns time into something you can watch. A dandelion loses its seeds. An eclipse closes over. A snowman gives in to the sun. Glance at your phone from across the room and you know how much is left — no reading, no math. BUILT FOR TIME BLINDNESS Numbers are abstract. If your brain does not track elapsed time on its own, "20 minutes" means nothing until it is already gone. Tempo makes time spatial instead, so you feel it draining rather than having to calculate it. FROM ONE MINUTE TO ONE YEAR Most timers stop at an hour. Tempo has six scales: • MINUTE — a focus sprint or a short break • HOUR — the meeting, the work block • DAY — how much of today is actually left • MONTH — the deadline that still feels far away • SEASON (Pro) — the three months you keep meaning to use • YEAR — the one nobody shows you The longer scales run live against the real calendar. Open Tempo in October and the year is already most of the way gone. That is not a gimmick — for anyone who loses whole weeks, seeing it is the point. SEVEN VISUALIZATIONS Dandelion, Dots, Eclipse, Ember, Sand, Snowman, and Thunderstorm. Pick the one your brain actually reads, and set it as your default. ON YOUR WRIST AND LOCK SCREEN An Apple Watch app and Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets keep your current scale in view without opening anything — so checking the time stops being the distraction. BUILT TO STAY QUIET • No account, no sign-up, no email • Works entirely offline • No streaks, no badges, no guilt mechanics • No ads, ever Tempo will not fix your relationship with time. It just makes time visible, so the hours stop disappearing without warning. Free: the Dots visualization and five of the six scales — MINUTE, HOUR, DAY, MONTH, and YEAR. A one-time Pro purchase adds Dandelion, Eclipse, Ember, Sand, Snowman, Thunderstorm, and the SEASON scale. No subscription.

Screenshots

Workflowy4 screens
Tempo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Workflowy at 8.2K against Tempo's 2. Workflowy also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Tempo's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Workflowy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Tempo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tempo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Workflowy has 8.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Workflowy ships an update weekly, Tempo fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Workflowy versus Tempo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWorkflowyTempo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (8.2K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings8.2K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size147 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFunRoutine INCFoundry24 LLC

Customer experience

Workflowy

All ratings8,226 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,072 reviews
Positive88.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative7.2%

Tempo

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Workflowy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Cursor sometimes gets stuck
  • Syncing issues between web and mobile versions
  • Inability to delete items consistently

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to attach files and documents
  • Improve mobile app experience
  • Implement better notification and reminder system
  • Add more formatting options (e.g., font styles, colors)

Tempo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Workflowy

Subscriptions2
  • Workflowy Pro - Monthly$8.991 Month
  • Workflowy Pro - Yearly$79.991 Year
1 purchases

Tempo

One-time1
  • Tempo Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Workflowy free?
Workflowy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tempo free?
Tempo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Workflowy or Tempo?
Tempo is rated higher. Workflowy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 8.2K ratings, while Tempo averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Workflowy or Tempo have ads?
Neither Workflowy nor Tempo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Workflowy or Tempo?
Workflowy ships an update weekly, and Tempo fortnightly. Most recently, Workflowy was updated on October 13, 2026 and Tempo on October 9, 2026.

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