OmniFocus 2 App Reviews

I am a regular user of both Omnifocus and Omnioutliner, and am regularly impressed by Omni’s work. I have also tried most competing to-do applications, including Things, Any.do, The Hit List, and others, but always return to Omnifocus. Omnifocus is the most powerful and versitile suite of project and task management applications across the entire Apple ecosystem. With the price comes Omni’s excellent personal support as well as free or discounted upgrades to new versions of the software. Totally worth it.

It really seems like Omni are stretching themselves thin and no longer have the bandwidth to support OF2 for Mac as well as they should. The app is feeling very sluggish and bloated. It’s great for them that they have so many new apps coming out, and have updated new looks for the various operating systems/devices, but OF2 is slow and laggy as heck. I would love this app if it were to have the snappy feel of OF1 or Things, but it doesn’t, and so it’s a pain to use. If you’re like me, and you get frustrated by sitting in traffic, stay away from this app for now. Using OF2 right now is the software equivalent of sitting in traffic when you’re in a rush to get somewhere. Update—just upgraded on 8/27. Still laggy when switching views and scrolling. I’ve stopped using OF. Sorry, OmniGroup, but you are spread too thin to support this app adequately for its price point.

For me, every day starts and ends in OmniFocus. It has just the right blend of power-user features combined with ease of use. All the small details make the app for me, like having a “+1 Day” button under each task. Super helpful! In my opinion, OmniFocus is a must-have for anyone who wants to be really organized, and has lots of tasks to do as part of their everyday lives/jobs. (Also, pro-tip: make sure to set the Quick Entry hotkey in Preferences! this is one of the best features!)

To balance a previous reviewer, no problems with sluggishness here - OmniFocus 2 might be the only thing that is running without delays on my aging MacBook these days. It remains THE app, in my view, for organizing the big and the small, the daily and the unusual.

I stumbled upon OmniFocus a few years back and a little later on GTD. With very little knowledge of both I started using OmniFocus and pretty much organized all things ‘to-do’ in it. This is something I missed so much as I had to switch to different applications to accomplish everything. With OminiFocus it’s just a matter of you using it and really get things done. The integration with calendar (and birthdays) is great, entering tasks is easy and having everything synchronized on all my devices and computer is just what I needed. No issues and highly recommended.

This has enabled me to keep on top of several project simultaneously. This is a big deal since my office staff is small and many tasks must be divided and tracked fastidiously. I am a person that loves software and I integrate GTD ethics into every aspect of life if at all possible. The alerts and integration with my calendar are superb. My only gripe is that OF2 needs its own calendar and I would like to just incorporate those events into calendars I have already created.

I had read and tried to implement the Getting Things Done method for about a year, and always failed. I tried with folders and lists (both physical and on my computer), I tried with evernote, I tried with wunderlist (which I still use for grocery lists) ultimately it always ended up being too coumbersome for me personally and I’d always end up giving up on keeping my system up to date. When I had huge busts of energy I could keep up with everything, but as soon as things got hectic and my energy was low, my system would fall apart, just when I needed it most. Finally, after a particularly rough patch at work, I gave in and decided to pay for a ready made software system. After looking through a lot of resources I chose Omnifocus. And it clicked pretty much right away for me. And it took off when I upgraded to the pro version. The tools are lightning quick to get things into lists and perspectives that are useful for me. E-mail into the inbox is a godsend, allowing me to voice dictate things that spontaneously come to me while I’m driving. “hey siri, email omnifocus. update auto pay information for cell phone with new credit card info.” Actionable email comes in? Just forward to omni-focus and most of the work I’d need to do is already done entry wise. I simply need to assign it to the right project and give it any contexts, due or defer dates that might be relevant. The trick was two things: 1) it made it easy to enter. Easier to enter in action items and projects and relevant data than any other system I’ve tried, and certainly easier than lists and folders. 2) it made it easy to review everything I had without putting duplicates in several lists. I still use evernote, but only for reference storage (I also use email folders for reference storage). Really, reference storage system and slightly deeper email integration integration are about the only things missing from omnifocus keeping it from being a complete GTD solution for me. I ended up getting the pro version for my mac and use the standard version for my iPhone, which works well for me. On my iPhone, I’m primarily just using it to check off things and put stuff in my inbox. I do very little review and project management from my phone anyway, so I don’t really need the advanced features of the pro iPhone app. But the pro version of the mac app is incredible. Custom perspectives and the “focus on” features are easily worth the extra money for the pro app, IMHO. Yes, this is relatively expensive, but I don’t think I would have gotten a bonus this year without it, so that’s $10,000 for the ~$100 I’ve sunk into the pro mac version and the standard iPhone version. Well worth it, IMHO. You could pay less for other apps, but given that this is the app that finally made GTD stick for me, I’d gladly pay $1000 if it came down to it. My life is truly better because of Getting Things Done + Omnifocus. I’m fare more productive, just got a bonus, raise and promotion, and I wake up feeling refreshed and excited, not with a feeling of anxiety every morning. My life is in a much better place than it was a year ago, and I can credit a few software programs for that: Omnifocus, YouNeedABudget and BusyCal. A lot of people balk at the price tage of those programs in this age of free apps, but the selfish part of me is glad, because it feels like I have a secret weapon nobody else is willing to pay the miniscule price to have. The only features I can even think of that could make this work better for me: 1) the ability to use multiple contexts 2) the ability to create a custom perspective for any of tyour created contexts 3) a reference storage integration system (maybe it creates some files on your mac or dropbox account that it can search and assign contexts to) 4) deeper email and contacts integration. Some of those I don’t know if they’re even possible for security reasons and multi-platform compatability, but that’s it as far as a wishlist.

I purchased this app via the Mac App Store, and was surprised that what I bought was not cross-platform, and to get iPhone and/or iPad functionality I would have to more than double my investment. I wrote to the OEM, and they provided the following explanation. While helpful, I would have like to have known this BEFORE I initiated the purchase. The response I received via email from Omni Group: Thanks for contacting us and for your interest in OmniFocus! Apologies for any confusion here. We offer three editions of OmniFocus 2: 1. OmniFocus 2 for Mac (comes with optional Pro features for an additional purchase) 2. OmniFocus 2 for iOS (universal iOS app for added cross-platform functionality, comes with optional Pro features for an additional purchase) 3. OmniFocus 2 for iPhone (designed for iPhone only, does not come with optional Pro features) Each edition of OmniFocus 2, for Mac, iOS, and iPhone, is developed as an independent application to be able to run as a stand alone app on that particular platform. Each edition is purchased separately, along with any optional Pro upgrade. That said, the universal app for iOS can run on both the iPhone and iPad. For what its worth, weve essentially built each edition from the ground-up in order to take advantage of each platforms uniques features and capabilities. Rather than offering an iOS app that is an accessory to the Mac or vice versa, or a web service or subscriptions, each edition offers a feature set that makes it a fully functioning application on its own, but can be synced when purchased for both platforms. This allows customers to run the iOS app by itself and not have to pay for added functionality if they are only running it on the iPad and/or iPhone. Or, they can purchase a license for both the Mac and iOS editions, and sync their data across the different devices. The Universal bundle at Apples iTunes App Store only includes OmniFocus 2 for iPhone (icon with the white checkmark) and the universal OmniFocus 2 for iOS thats designed and optimized for cross-iOS platform functionality.(black checkmark). We are offering the Universal bundle so those who initially purchased OmniFocus 2 for iPhone, then later decide that theyd like to have the universal capabilities, can get the universal app and be credited for their existing iPhone app purchase with the iTunes App Stores "Complete My Bundle" option. Our Mac applications can only be purchased through our online store or through Apples Mac App Store. iOS applications can only be purchased and distributed through the iTunes App Store. Unfortunately, these are all separate storefronts and there is not a way to bundle iOS and Mac OS X applications together as a package deal.

I’ve been a user of Omnifocus for years. Application is great, has plenty of functionality and flexibility, and synchronizes reliability to the iPhone and iPad. Happy to pay as much as it costs considering the value I have received over hundreds and hundreds of projects. Only missing feature for me at this point is spring-loaded projects, so I can easily move Inbox items to a folder within the Project hierarchy without multiple steps or open windows.

I couldn’t get everything done without this app. I’ve had problems few and far inbetween with this app, but, then again, that could be said for all the Oni Aps I’ve owned. If you ever do have problems, their support team goes above and beyond the call of duty. The app can scale up or down depending on your needs. If you’re on the fence just take the dive and get it, you’ll be happy you did.

If you feel like you have too much to keep track of first read Getting Things Done and then install this app. I have been using it since its first version and it just keeps getting better. Be sure to turn on the Reminders setting and Siri will pass info right to the In-Box to capture everything the minute it passes through your head, using Siri’s “remind me”

OmniFocus allows me to organize my busy life as a law student, entrepreneur, and husband. Every time I adopt another layer, I up my game. And I find that OmniFocus handles it well. From being able to defer to-dos out days, weeks, even months, to being able to focus on just the context / project / other categories you want, OmniFocus handles it well. Pairs very well with David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology.

I’ve praised this app from the moment I bought it. I won’t repeat all that, but I will briefly say, in short, that this is an excellent program. I have no problems with the core program. This 3-star review is aimed solely at the “Pro” upgrade. Now, I told myself I wasn’t going to pay the equivalanet of original price for a measly upgrade, but I came into some money and thought I might as well give it a shot. It’s one of the most important apps to my college career, after all. I bit the bullet and did the deed. The main reason it was appealing to me was the option to create custom perspectives, which are touted as giving users a seemingly endless amount of possiblites for customizing their Omni-workflow. Well I’m here to tell you that it isn’t as game-changing as it is made out to be, mostly because there are so few meaningful filtering/sorting/viewing options that justify the $39.99 price of an upgrade. Basically, I wanted to create a perspective that showed ONLY deferred items, sorted by project, so that I could have a place for the tasks I wanted to do at night (I called it “nightlies”… I was very excited). I quickly found out that the customizability of the “custom" perspectives was very limited. I couldn’t do any of what I wanted. Perhaps Im trying to grasp for something that isnt there, but why not? Why can’t I make it so that the perspective only shows a specifc context, or excludes the tasks that don’t belong as opposed to just showing me everything else the other perspectives do? I’m disappointed, guys. Nightlies will never come to fruition. Honestly, the options for custom perspectives only provides me with the means to create a slighty-rearranged view of everything presented in the other perspectives… it should be DEEPER than that for so steep a price! The upgrade’s inclusion of Applescripting might make it more valuable to others, but I don’t know how to write scripts nor do I use them in my workflow. I wanted perspectives that would allow me to change my Omnifocus experience, even if only slightly. I’m peeved because the feature seems to be little more than a tacked-on afterthought. Hopefully more customizability is allowed in future updates, but for now I’m regretting shelling out the money for so little value in return. Buy the regular version, wait for the pro to become more developed. As it stands now, it isn’t worth the price.

Right now, I work as a software developer, juggling multiple contracts and projects; I am in the middle of a Master’s degree; and I have a growing family. I run a couple podcasts. I’m a committed church member. I have a lot to remember, and if things slip, it’s a problem. OmniFocus is how I keep things from slipping. I’ve tried a number of other to-do and Getting Things Done apps; I was a subscriber to Todoist Premium for a year. But for managing the big tasks in my professional life, none of them even come close to OmniFocus. I use other apps for little to-dos. For big projects, for things that are more than a single item but build on each other, and for long-term planning, OmniFocus is fantastic. It can be as simple or as complicated as I need it to for any project. I only have one problem with this app: it’s so good, sometimes it tempts me to spend time using it instead of just getting done the things I’ve used it for. But that’s on me, not the app.

Love using this app to manage my projects.

OmniFocus facilitates work/life balance for me. I am able to take those ideas that pop into my head just anywhere, and stick them into my to-do list for follow-up tomorrow. Also, given the review features I can always come back and verify the priority and next steps of the things I have set out to do. I wouldn’t be anywhere near as functional without OmniFocus.

For the OUTRAGEOUS price of this app (I purchased both desktop and iOS) I expected a bit more. First I cannot indicate that an item has “not been started,” “In process.” You only have 2 statuses and no way to modify them. It’s either active or complete. I also wished that I could log time; to be able to hit a timer so that later I can determine that I spent 3 hours on a particular to do item and total my time for an entire project. This isn’t pitched as a list of chores or items to pick up from a grocery store—it’s supposed to be serious task management and as such, is poor in features. On the positive: the interface is friendly enough and I can quickly add items but I can also expect that of much lower priced task management apps. There are a couple items I’ve not completely utilized that I think do set OmniFocus apart: Contexts—the ability to see items as they apply to the realm of a particular context (think of, Items to do when I am at home vs at work), also setting deferred or date due and the calendar that shows those items. Unfortunately, neither have been as critial as my complaint points above. I do like the fact that I can print out my task list: I’ve had to do that a few times already to send to a client so that they knew I had all of their items in my list. I have used a number of task managers over the years and all fall short. To Omni’s credit this is the BEST I have used so far; but I expected more. You can do better Omni!

Really don’t see the value compared to less expensive alternatives...

Great app, definitely one of the greatest to-do apps out there. However, I’m not sure if the price can be justified. If you are not a hard-core organizing freak like I am, an ordinary free to-do app or even just the built-in reminders may be able to do the job as fine.

The only thing wrong with this app is it has a learning curve which is entirely worth it. It would take no more than an hour to get really familiar with this app. But the best way to go about it is to go to the website. There are a half-dozen stories of how different people use it differently. I use 7 Habits and use Projects or Project folders as Roles from my Mission Statement. This is but one of many ways. To use it but certainly the only ‘cost’ is the learning curve. And that has more to do with learning the full potential than plug-n-play. I highly recommend this product.