ByDesign Reviews

It's a calendar app (like Akiflow and Motion), it's a task app (like Todoist and Tick Tick), it's a full Notion-style PKM. This is what I've been looking for since forever.

There are very few apps that have even attempted -- much less succeeded -- in meshing this combo together in a workable system. Amplenote comes to mind (sophisticated app, but a clunky UI makes it hard to adopt), and maybe NotePlan, but other than component systems (Notion or Obsidian with a basketload of plugins) that's about it.

I discovered ByDesign last year and purchased the LTD right away and have loved it ever since.

Of course it's not perfect -- I've experienced a few hiccups and bugs along the way, pretty much to be expected with new applications. And it's individual components are made to work together, so don't expect the tasks feature to equal Todoist, or the calendar to rival Morgen, or the notes app to be as full-featured as Notion. But as a fully-functional, self-contained PKM ecosystem ByDesign is a marvel, warts and all, and for $79 it's an absolute steal.

Cons (that aren't so much cons as personal grumbles): the Dashboard is a nice feature, but it's not as interactive as I would like. I'm impressed that they even HAVE a dashboard (more of a CRM or Project Management convention) but I wish it spotlighted Quick Capture better. Most task or planner apps simply have an Inbox, and while ByDesign does too it's buried behind the Pages tab instead of on the Dashboard. And that's JUST for tasks -- what if you want to take a quick fleeting note? If you hit the plus (+) on the Dashboard you only get the option to add a task, and it goes directly to the Today section. Same on mobile.

So basically I just default to my own Daily template where I capture most of my on-the-fly notes and tasks and go to my own Daily Journal template to journal. An easy enough workaround, but why? I think ByDesign is missing a huge opportunity here by not including a Quick Capture feature (+ sign followed by Note / Task / or Event) and a Daily Journal option by default. It could not only be a selling point, it will make it a lot easier for people who want to migrate away from Todoist, or Akiflow, or DayOne, but don't want to DIY a productivity system all by themselves. Just my 2cents, your mileage may vary.

There are apps that naturally fit into our daily life. How that happens can feel almost mysterious.

I bought a licence in a previous campaign and later bought another one for a co‑worker.

Within my planning ecosystem, I find great value in something as simple as two‑way sync with Apple Calendar. I could mention other apps that are good for tasks or time management, but they often fall short because you need to jump in and out of different tools. Here, everything lives inside one coherent ecosystem.

The Pomodoro timer and the ability to note and track time when I work for someone else are especially useful. All of this comes with a beautifully designed, clutter‑free experience that truly supports focused and sustainable productivity.

Last, but not least: there is a real person on the other side when we connect through the internal chat — not a bot. That human presence makes a real difference.

ByDesign for me is not just about managing tasks, but about intentionally designing how you work and live.

The app brings together planning, time tracking, focus, and reflection in one place, helping me align daily actions with longer‑term intentions instead of just reacting to endless to‑do lists.

This feels less like “another productivity app” that you will discard in the future but a space well crafted to organise work, time, and attention.

As this elements are essential for deep and sustainable work.

I’ve been growing increasingly frustrated with Notion over time due to its growing feature bloat and sluggishness. I decided to give ByDesign a try, and for some unknown reason, it just clicks.. at least for my personal planning and productivity right now, with the potential to move work workflows over later once the project matures a bit.

The customer support is fantastic. They are super responsive and quickly address my issues in the chat. There are definitely still some quirks and bugs, especially within the Android app, which shows the platform has some improvements to do. However, the core foundation is solid enough to be a keeper.

My main concerns and wishes for the future would be achieving full GDPR compliance, squashing the remaining bugs, adding Google Tasks sync, at least light database/kanban features, and opening up a public API. I know some of these are already coming soon, and I can't wait for future updates!

Updated Review:

In response to my previous review about losing formatting when copy-pasting from other sources, the developer replied: 'Regarding formatting - we've never experienced what your describing and are having trouble reproducing the issue you described.'

Unfortunately, this is simply not true. Anyone can join their Discord server and search for the word 'formatting.' You will find numerous reports of formatting issues, complete with reactions and direct replies from the developers themselves.

Unfortunately, I am very disappointed with the app and the developers. It was promised as a super app for planning, but in reality, it has many unfinished features.

All the videos on their YouTube channel are over a year old. They only showcase features, not how to actually use them to make your life and planning more effective. There’s no connection to any solid productivity methodology, despite users pointing this out multiple times on Discord and YouTube.

The knowledge base and notes functionality is practically useless. For example, you can't copy a page while keeping its formatting—it just turns into an unreadable wall of text that you have to fix manually.

The truly working and useful functionality is extremely limited. The developers claim the needed updates are coming soon, but they promised the exact same thing a year ago. It is what it is.

There is a much stronger alternative here on the site that actually works as described. I highly recommend checking it out: https://appsumo.com/products/buildin-ai

This is a really fresh take on productivity apps. It really doesn't have a peer or 1:1 comparison that I can make. The melding of calendar, todo, and notes is nice, although I think the notes is kind of easy to miss. There is an emphasis on habit building that has impact beyond getting things done. I am thoroughly enjoying this tool. The gamification is nice - I largely ignore it, but I suspect a lot of people will like it. I usually get a productivity tool and stick with it for a year or two, but I really think this one will be my last.