Comparison

TaskForge vs BackDate

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

BackDate

Features
Read full description

BackDate helps you reach important goals by planning backward from your target date. Whether you are preparing for an exam, launching a project, or hitting a personal milestone, BackDate breaks your goal into clear, actionable steps and shows exactly what to do next. Key features: - Backward planning from a goal deadline - Visual timeline of milestones and dependencies - Progress tracking with weekly momentum insights - Goal templates to get started faster - Calendar sync for milestone dates - Smart reminders and digest notifications - Shareable progress summary cards Free plan: - Up to 2 active goals - Core timeline and tracking features Lifetime unlock (one-time purchase): - Unlimited goals - Premium templates - Smart re-planning - On-track intelligence - Calendar + reminder automation - Step notes No subscription required.

Screenshots

TaskForge4 screens
BackDate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: TaskForge at 15.6 against BackDate's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. TaskForge sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and BackDate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
TaskForge versus BackDate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTaskForgeBackDate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (108 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings108 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAzhar DewjiChris Harris

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
1 purchases

BackDate

One-time1
  • Premium access to BackDate Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is TaskForge free?
TaskForge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BackDate free?
BackDate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TaskForge or BackDate have ads?
Neither TaskForge nor BackDate shows ads.

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