Alternatives to Org-mode
Emacs' legendary plain-text organizer
Org-mode ranks #21 of 22 in Personal knowledge management, with an Alt Score of 59. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, free and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. 14 of 14 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Emacs users who want a single plain-text system for notes, outlining, task and project management, and document authoring, ranging from casual note-takers to researchers and developers running literate-programming workflows.
A major mode that turns Emacs into an outliner with foldable headings, TODO states, deadlines/scheduling, and cross-file agenda views for tracking tasks. It supports time tracking (clocking, logging) and habit tracking, exports documents to formats like HTML, LaTeX/PDF, and Markdown, and runs executable code blocks in multiple languages via Org Babel for reproducible, literate-programming documents.
You write and organize content as headings in plain-text .org files, marking items with TODO/DONE states and optional dates; the agenda view aggregates tasks and deadlines across files, and export or Babel commands turn the same file into formatted output or executable code.
Where Org-mode stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Org-mode
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Personal knowledge management checklist (18 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Personal knowledge management checklist | Org-mode | Craft | Heptabase | AppFlowy | Trilium Notes | Logseq |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Markdown support | ||||||
| Block-based editing | ||||||
| Backlinks / graph view | ||||||
| Databases & tables | ||||||
| Templates | ||||||
| Real-time collaboration | ||||||
| Web clipper | ||||||
| Sync between devices (native) | ||||||
| Local-first storage | ||||||
| Plugins / extensions | ||||||
| Daily notes | ||||||
| Task management built in | ||||||
| Publish to web | ||||||
| Version history |
Every fact and feature listed for Org-mode is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License GPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-12
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007
https://github.com/bzg/org-mode/blob/main/COPYING -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-12
Org is included in distributions of GNU Emacs, so you probably do not need to install it.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Installation.html -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-12
While the full set of Org features is currently exclusive to Emacs, basic functionality for Org files has been implemented for a variety of editors and mobile apps.
https://orgmode.org/index.html -
Status active verified 2026-07-12
is currently maintained by Ihor Radchenko with contributions from many community members
https://orgmode.org/index.html -
Markdown support Partial verified 2026-07-12
_md_ (Markdown format)
https://orgmode.org/manual/Exporting.html -
Block-based editing No verified 2026-07-12
A GNU Emacs major mode for keeping notes, authoring documents, computational notebooks, literate programming, maintaining to-do lists, planning projects, and more — in a fast and effective plain text
https://orgmode.org/index.html -
Backlinks / graph view No verified 2026-07-12
Org provides support for links inside a file, external links to other files, Usenet articles, emails, and much more.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Hyperlinks.html -
Databases & tables Partial verified 2026-07-12
Org includes a powerful table editor... Org tables aren't just static views of data. They can be used as a full spreadsheet system, with formulas, references and more
https://orgmode.org/features.html -
Templates Yes verified 2026-07-12
You can use templates for different types of capture items, and for different target locations.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Capture-templates.html -
Real-time collaboration No verified 2026-07-12
A GNU Emacs major mode for keeping notes, authoring documents, computational notebooks, literate programming, maintaining to-do lists, planning projects, and more — in a fast and effective plain text
https://orgmode.org/index.html -
Web clipper Partial verified 2026-07-12
It stores a link to the current location. The link is stored for later insertion into an Org buffer
https://orgmode.org/manual/Handling-Links.html -
Sync between devices (native) No verified 2026-07-12
If the directory attached to a heading is a Git repository, Org can be configured to automatically commit changes to that repository when it sees them.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Automatic-version_002dcontrol-with-Git.html -
Local-first storage Yes verified 2026-07-12
a highly flexible structured plain text file format, composed of a few simple, yet versatile, structures
https://orgmode.org/index.html -
Plugins / extensions Yes verified 2026-07-12
This page lists some contributed packages to Org-mode, with links to available documentation.
https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/ -
Daily notes Partial verified 2026-07-12
The purpose of the weekly/daily agenda is to act like a page of a paper agenda, showing all the tasks for the current week or day.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Weekly_002fdaily-agenda.html -
Task management built in Yes verified 2026-07-12
Any section can become a TODO item by adding a keyword such as TODO or HOLD to track the state of the task.
https://orgmode.org/features.html -
Publish to web Yes verified 2026-07-12
Org includes a publishing management system that allows you to configure automatic HTML conversion of _projects_ composed of interlinked Org files.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Publishing.html -
Version history Partial verified 2026-07-12
If the directory attached to a heading is a Git repository, Org can be configured to automatically commit changes to that repository when it sees them.
https://orgmode.org/manual/Automatic-version_002dcontrol-with-Git.html
FAQ
Yes. Craft, Trilium Notes and Logseq have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
AppFlowy, Trilium Notes and Logseq — every license claim links its source.