Checkvist

Checkvist is an online outliner and task manager for people who plan in nested lists and prefer keyboard-driven editing. It suits individuals and collaborators who want task details and mobile offline access alongside an expandable outline. Its free plan covers substantial list-making and sharing; file storage, recurring tasks, and several collaboration tools make PRO the practical step up.

Overview

Checkvist pairs an outline with task-management details, so plans can grow into deeply nested lists without losing due dates, priorities, notes, tags, or progress counters. Focus and hoist, expand-to-level, search, filtering, and controls to hide completed or future tasks help keep large outlines manageable. This structure is a natural fit for people who break work into hierarchies; those who want a board-based or more prescriptive project workflow should look elsewhere.

The editor supports keyboard shortcuts, Markdown, code, tables, bulk operations, sorting, and backlinks. Real-time collaboration and sharing with read-only or write access make lists useful beyond personal planning, while password protection and expiration times add control over shared access. OPML, plain text, Markdown, and rich-text exports provide several ways to reuse outline content.

Key features

Tasks can hold assignees and attachments as well as due dates, notes, priorities, tags, and progress counters. That keeps task context close to the outline, but attachments require paid storage and task assignment is a PRO feature. PRO also adds repeating tasks, useful for recurring work that would otherwise need to be recreated.

Integrations include Zapier, Dropbox, Google Calendar synchronization, Jira, YouTrack, Slack, browser extensions, and an Open API. The Web Clipper captures tasks, bookmarks, and notes from web pages and services including Gmail, Zendesk, Jira, and GitHub. PRO's MCP server lets AI assistants read and search lists and manage items; it is not part of the free plan.

The mobile experience is a progressive web app for iOS and Android that syncs lists and supports offline use. That is a meaningful advantage for reviewing or editing lists without a connection, though it is a web app rather than a separate native app. Checkvist also offers navigation controls that hide future or completed tasks, helping keep active work in view.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, billed forever. It includes unlimited hierarchical lists, unlimited sharing and collaboration, adding tasks by email, Markdown, notes, due dates, tags, the mobile offline web app, browser extensions, and the Open API. For personal list planning or collaboration without file storage, task assignment, or recurring tasks, this is a notably broad starting tier.

PRO costs $3.90 a month, billed $39/year per person. It adds 2 GB of file storage, task assignment, repeating tasks, Google Calendar synchronization, Slack save, MCP access, advanced sharing, and 30-day and Dropbox backups. The annual billing term matters: this plan is best suited to users who need those extras consistently, rather than someone seeking only occasional storage or an AI connection.

PRO team costs $6.90 a month, billed $69/year per person, and is marked “COMING SOON.” Its planned features are centralised data ownership, user management, group access rights, Spaces, and priority support. It is intended for teams that need centralized administration, but it is not a currently available choice.

The 14-day trial includes all PRO features without a credit card, then downgrades the account to Free. Checkvist says inactive non-PRO user data is removed after one year of inactivity, following two email warnings, so long-term users of the free tier should keep the account active. The company says it does not use tracking tools on its website or in accounts and does not sell personal data. User, list, and history database data is stored on dedicated servers in Germany; attachments and backups are stored in AWS Ireland.

Platforms

Checkvist runs on the web, with browser extensions, an Open API, and the mobile progressive web app for iOS and Android. Offline access on mobile makes it more resilient than a web-only planner that requires a live connection. Export to OPML, plain text, Markdown, or rich text offers a practical route for taking content elsewhere.

Who it's for

Choose Checkvist if your work naturally fits nested lists and you want keyboard-focused editing, task metadata, sharing, and offline mobile access in one place. The free tier is well suited to individuals and collaborators who do not need attachments or recurring tasks. PRO makes more sense for people who need file storage, assignment, calendar sync, or MCP access. Look elsewhere if your planning depends on boards or a specialized project workflow.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Unlimited hierarchical lists and sharing on Free leave room for a substantial outline and collaboration without a subscription.
• Pro: Offline mobile access, Markdown, backlinks, and multiple export formats support both ongoing work and content portability.
• Pro: Sharing controls include read-only or write access, passwords, and expiration times, making collaboration more configurable than a simple public link.
• Con: File storage, task assignment, repeating tasks, and MCP are reserved for PRO, so free users cannot use Checkvist's fuller task workflow.
• Con: PRO is billed annually at $39/year per person despite its monthly price presentation, which is less flexible for short-term use.
• Con: PRO team is marked “COMING SOON,” so teams needing centralized administration cannot rely on that tier yet.
• Con: Inactive non-PRO data is removed after a year, following two email warnings; the free plan is not a permanent archive for abandoned accounts.

Alternatives

For more options, browse Outlining Software, Outliner Software, and To-do list apps.

Workflowy is worth comparing if you want an outliner across Linux, macOS, or Windows as well as mobile and web; its free Basic plan has a 100-node monthly allowance and 100 MB file uploads. Dynalist offers unlimited items and documents on Free, with Pro at $9.99 a month; choose it if those terms better fit your preferred outliner plan.

Legend is another freemium option with unlimited documents and items on Free, alongside a 10-Pane limit. Bulletlist is a free alternative with no caps or locked tiers if avoiding paid plans is the priority. Logseq is free for personal use and spans desktop and mobile platforms, making it an option for personal workflows outside Checkvist's list-and-task focus.

outl is a free, MIT-licensed alternative with no paid tier. Zavala is free forever for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users who are committed to Apple platforms. Org mode is another free alternative.

Verdict

Checkvist is a strong choice for people who think in nested lists and want a capable free outline with collaboration and offline mobile access. Its main reason to choose it is the combination of deep structure, keyboard-oriented editing, and useful task details without a free-plan list cap. Look elsewhere if you need a board-led workflow, or if file storage and recurring tasks must be available without paying.