Comparison

TaskForge vs PaperTrail

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

Head to head
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.

About

PaperTrail

This app provides a full TaskPaper editing experience on iOS and iPadOS, allowing you to manage projects, tasks, and notes using simple, flexible plain text files. Sync your work with iCloud and edit across devices, with powerful search and filtering capabilities.

Highlights
  • Full TaskPaper format support
  • OPML import
  • Distraction-free editing
  • Full query language search
  • Tag system with progress tracking
  • iOS Reminders integration
  • Shortcuts and Siri integration
Read full description

PaperTrail brings full TaskPaper editing to iOS and iPadOS. TaskPaper is plain text productivity—simple, fast, flexible. Projects, tasks, notes, and tags. Filter, search, and archive. All in plain text files you can sync via iCloud and edit in TaskPaper on your Mac. FEATURES • Full TaskPaper format support (.taskpaper, .todo, .txt, .md) • Open Bike (.bike) and OPML (.opml) outlines, with clear warnings when an import can't carry everything across • OPML and Bike-style export, so tags and done state round-trip back into Bike • Fold and focus into any subtree for distraction-free editing • Full query language with text, tag, boolean, and semantic search • Tag system with dates, progress tracking, and cost aggregation • Tag autocomplete ranked by how often you use each tag • Smart filters with edge-swipe gestures and an iPad side-by-side sidebar • Colour lines by priority, depth, or due date proximity • Natural date parsing and two-way iOS Reminders integration—import a Reminders list as a project • Quick capture: append tasks, notes, clipboard text, or web links to your most recent document • Planning shortcuts: Open in Today, Random Next Task, and Morning Brief • Shortcuts, Siri, Action Button, and Spotlight integration via App Intents • Find & update documents from Shortcuts: run queries, mark done, set tags, append tasks • Command palette for projects, searches, tags, and every editor command • iPadOS menu bar with Item, Tag, Outline, View, and Palette menus • Export documents as interactive HTML slide presentations or as OPML outlines • Built-in and custom document templates • 50+ keyboard shortcuts for power workflow • Native Swift app—tiny install size, built for speed • Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and dark mode support

Screenshots

TaskForge4 screens
PaperTrail4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: TaskForge at Free against PaperTrail's $19.99. TaskForge also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and review sentiment (88% vs 75%). PaperTrail's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On 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; PaperTrail costs $19.99 up front. TaskForge sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. PaperTrail asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TaskForge holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TaskForge has 108 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of TaskForge's written reviews are positive against 75% of PaperTrail's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TaskForge ships an update every 4 days, PaperTrail every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
TaskForge versus PaperTrail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTaskForgePaperTrail
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating4.7 (108 ratings) — better4.2 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings108 — better15
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size163 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAzhar Dewjigingerbeardman

Customer experience

TaskForge

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

PaperTrail

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

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
None

PaperTrail

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TaskForge free?
TaskForge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PaperTrail free?
PaperTrail costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TaskForge or PaperTrail?
TaskForge is rated higher. TaskForge averages 4.7 out of 5 from 108 ratings, while PaperTrail averages 4.2 from 15 ratings.
Do TaskForge or PaperTrail have ads?
Neither TaskForge nor PaperTrail shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TaskForge or PaperTrail?
TaskForge ships an update every 4 days, and PaperTrail every 10 days. Most recently, TaskForge was updated on October 14, 2026 and PaperTrail on October 6, 2026.

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