Checkvist vs Zavala

Checkvist is a keyboard-first outliner and online task manager for people who organize work and ideas in lists. Its lists support deep hierarchy, keyboard shortcuts, Markdown, code, tables, bulk operations, sorting and backlinks. Tasks can carry tags, due dates, notes, assignees, file attachments, priorities and progress counters. Lists can be shared privately or publicly with read-only or write access, password protection, expiration times and task assignment. Integrations include Zapier, Dropbox, Google Calendar sync, Jira, YouTrack, Slack, browser extensions and an Open API. Its mobile experience is a progressive web app for iOS and Android that syncs and works offline; the Web Clipper can collect tasks, bookmarks and notes from web pages and services including Gmail, Zendesk, Jira and GitHub. The free plan includes unlimited hierarchical lists and sharing, Markdown, due dates, tags, mobile offline use, browser extensions and Open API. PRO costs $3.90 per person per month, billed at $39 per year, and adds features such as task assignment, repeating tasks, Google Calendar synchronization, 2 GB of file storage and MCP access. A 14-day PRO trial is available without a credit card.

Zavala is a free, open-source outliner for arranging information in related hierarchical rows. Its outlines support note taking, task lists, brainstorming, project planning, project management, and documentation. The app works offline and can sync through iCloud, which requires iCloud Drive setup; outlines can also be shared through iCloud for real-time collaboration with other Zavala users. It imports and exports OPML, Markdown, and HTML, can print outlines, and lists PDF among its export formats. A share extension downloads a web page and attempts to convert it into an editable outline, with results depending on that page’s structure. Apple Shortcuts actions support creating, finding, editing, exporting, and manipulating outlines and rows. Locked outlines encrypt rows and images on disk and during iCloud sync with AES-GCM and a 256-bit key, but titles, tags, and some metadata are not encrypted. Zavala runs on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS; current listings require version 26 or later.