Best Outliner Apps & Software 2022 (Ranked and Reviewed)
No matter what type or project your working on, from writing a book to planning your next blog post, a good outlining app is critical. Modern tools have left traditional methods in the dust as you can now create outlines on your phone and then work on your computer. You can sync to the cloud and work on an outline with a partner in real time.
Traditional note-taking often gets messy and you regularly risk spilling coffee or juice on top of your brand new highlighted notes. It happened to me, so I know. That means going through the entire process again. If you remember exactly what you wrote…
You need an outliner. They are purpose-built tools designed to speed up and improve your planning process for every type of project. I’ve outlined books in notebooks, designed courses using a mind map app in an iPad mini and used every type of outlining tool in between. In this post we’ll cover the 13 best outlining apps on the market, including my first pick Taskade.
What are the Best Outliner Apps?
The best outlining software is the one that meets your needs. There are as many options as there are personality types. Some people prefer a very simple layout that just focused on pure outlining, while others want bells and whistles. Whatever your outlining style, we’ve got you covered.
Taskade
Jonathan’s Take
Taskade is my #1 pick for creating outlines. Combines mind maps, project boards and to-do lists in a single interface. Has every feature of the other apps on this list and it’s absolutely free. Their customer service is top notch and they have been very responsive to me in the past.
Best For | Overall Outlining App |
Price | Free -$20/mo |
Discount | No |
Promotion | Free Tier Unlimited |
Taskade is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It offers a variety of features including task management, project collaboration, meeting notes, and more. It integrates with a variety of other apps and services, making it a good choice for those who want a central location for their outliner app.
Top Features
- Reminders, due dates and recurring tasks
- One price gives you access across all devices
- Mind maps AND linear outlines in the same tool
- Chat, video conferencing and screen sharing for collaboration
Pricing
Taskade offers a free and paid version, with the paid version starting at $5/month. The paid version includes a number of features that are not available in the free version, bulk processing of tasks, tracking a longer history and uploading larger files.
Bottom Line
Are you looking the best outliner software? Taskade is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It offers a variety of features including task management, project collaboration, meeting notes, and more. It integrates with a variety of other apps and services, making it a good choice for those who want a central location for their outlining software.
Scrivener
Jonathan’s Take
Scrivener is my #2 recommendation and I’ve been using it for nearly a decade. It’s great for treating your entire project like an outline. Very easy to move sections around. If you’re writing longer content like a book or series of emails, this tool is perfect.
Best For | Authors |
Price | $49 |
Discount | $41.65 Education |
Promotion | Mac + Windows Bundle $80 |
I use Scrivener every single day for my business. I use it to write sales letters, books, email sequences, and TikTok Scripts. It’s my workhorse basic word processor and I love how it treats and entire project like an outline.
There are a variety of modes, but the outliner one is what you’re probably going to use most. You can see the files of your collection and you can also create multiple collections. You can also add documents to the folders. This makes it easier to stay organized. Move them around, edit the summaries or titles, view word counts, and much more. It’s basically like a flexible table of contents. It’s one of the best freelance writing apps I’ve worked with.
Scrivener is a powerful outlining tool that can help you organize your thoughts and structure your writing. Scrivener provides an easy way to create and manage outlines, as well as to add thoughts and comments. Scrivener also offers a variety of features that make it easy to restructure your outline, add new sections, and move items around. Scrivener is an excellent tool for writers who want to be able to quickly and easily create and manipulate complex outlines.
Top Features
- Write content one small section at a time
- Daily and project word count tracking
- Can export into every format including ready-to-publish book formats
Pricing
Scrivener is full-suite word processer with a built-in outliner for just $45.
Bottom Line
Are you looking for a powerful outliner app that can handle larger projects, deep layesr and has a built in word processor? Scrivener provides an easy way to create and manage outlines, as well as to add footnotes and comments. Scrivener also offers a variety of features that make it easy to restructure your outline, add new sections, and move items around.
Notion
Jonathan’s Take
Notion is an all-in-one productivity suite and project management app. People who use Notion very quickly fall in love with this tool. Each of our top recommendations takes outline in a different direction. If you need more than just outlining or word processing, Notion is the best in it’s class.
Best For | Influencers |
Price | $0/$5/$10 per month |
Discount | $0/$48/$96 Annual |
Promotion | Free for Teachers/Students |
Notion is a powerful outlining app that can be used for a variety of tasks, from brainstorming ideas to creating detailed project plans. Notion’s strength lies in its flexibility – it can be used for simple text-based outlines or complex task lists with assigned due dates, attachments, and more.
Notion also makes it easy to share outlines with others and collaborate on projects in real-time. Notion is an ideal tool for anyone who needs a more robust outlining solution than a traditional word processor.
Top Features
- Every single feature and screen is completely customizable
- Can add images, tags, notes and links to each note within your outline
- Kanban boards, task assigning and project management
Pricing
Notion offers a free account that includes all of their features and up to five guest. You only need to upgrade to the paid tier if you’re going to upload larger files to your projects or collaborate with larger groups. At only $4 a month the paid tier is very reasonable.
Bottom Line
Are you looking for a powerful outliner app to help you organize your thoughts and structure your writing? Notion provides an easy way to create and manage outlines, as well as to add ideas and comments. Notion also offers a variety of features that make it easy to restructure your outline, add new sections, and move items around. It’s the most powerful outlining tool on this entire list.
Xmind
Jonathan’s Take
If you’re a circular thinker rather than linear, outling with mind maps could be perfect for you. I’ve been using the free version of Xmind for a decade without ever needing to upgrade. While it’s not beautiful, it’s powerful and gets the job done.
Best For | Creative Thinkers |
Price | $0/$129 |
Discount | Volume Discounts |
Promotion | $59 for Teachers/Students |
Xmind is a versatile outlining app that can be used for a variety of tasks, from brainstorming to project management. The app’s intuitive interface makes it easy to create and organize ideas, and its wide range of features makes it suitable for both individual and team use.
Xmind offers a variety of ways to view and organize information, including mind maps, fishbone diagrams, and Gantt charts. It also includes features such as task lists, note-taking, and file attachments, making it a complete solution for all your outlining needs.
Top Features
- Organize maps clockwise, reverse, weighted and balanced to match how you think
- Easy to create new branches with one click
- Merge and move branches with the click of a mouse
Pricing
Rather than a monthly fee, you pay for Xmind once. The free version is more than enough for most people reading this article.
Bottom Line
Xmind is the perfect outlining tool for circular thinkers who need to organize information without restrictions. The ability to customize how your branches connect makes Xmind a stand out in this field
OmniOutliner
Jonathan’s Take
OmniOutliner has been a force to be reckoned with in the outlininer space. Now on version 5, you know they must be doing something right. This tool is great for quickly putting together an outline and then exporting.
Best For | Mac Users |
Price | $4.99 / mo |
Discount | 30% for Teams |
Promotion | $99.99 Lifetime |
OmniOutliner is a powerful outlining option for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. With OmniOutliner you can create hierarchical lists, brainstorm new ideas, collect research, plan projects, and more. OmniOutliner’s flexible format means that you can use it for anything from simple to-do lists to complex multi-page documents. And with OmniOutliner’s iCloud sync, you can keep your outlines synchronized across all of your devices.
Top Features
OmniOutliner is an outlining app that allows you to create hierarchical outlines. You can use it to brainstorm ideas, organize thoughts, and create structure for documents. OmniOutliner features a versatile document format that can be used for everything from meeting notes to project proposals. It also includes powerful tools for organizing and manipulating information. You can collapse and expand sections of your outline, add notes and attachments, and create hyperlinks. OmniOutliner makes it easy to share your outlines with others, and you can even export them to other formats such as HTML or PDF. Whether you’re looking for a simple tool for brainstorming or a powerful Outliner for creating complex documents, OmniOutliner is an excellent choice.
- versatile document format that can be used for everything from meeting notes to project proposals
- can collapse and expand sections of your outline
- export to other formats
Pricing
OmniOutliner offers a variety of pricing options, depending on the features you need. The outliner app starts at $4.99 per month for individuals, and business pricing starts at $8.99 per month. OmniOutliner also offers a 14-day trial that includes the basics, such as document creation and syncing between devices
Bottom Line
OmniOutliner can be used for a variety of tasks, from brainstorming to project management. With OmniOutliner’s intuitive interface, you can easily create and organize ideas. The app also includes a versatile document format that can be used for anything from meeting notes to project proposals. Try OmniOutliner today and see how it can help you with your next project!
CloudOutliner
Jonathan’s Take
Cloud Outliner is an app built for apple users who like to jump between devices. If you work on your iPad, iPhone, MacBook and Mac throughout the day this might be the right tool of you.
Best For | iPhone Users |
Price | $9.99 |
Discount | iOs $4.99 |
Promotion | No Ads |
Cloud Outliner is another apple ecosystem outlining app. It can sync with any Apple device, as well as Evernote accounts. You can start the outline on a laptop, add notes from your phone, and then rearrange it all on your iPad. Outlines are collapsible, so you can easily view them on smaller screens. Swiping left or right from a tablet or phone can indent or out-dent the lines.
You have a two-pane view and customizable templates and shortcuts. This story outline software features drag-and-drop rearranging, automatic numbering, and a variety of text styles. It’s also possible to work in landscape or full-screen mode and change to light or dark interfaces.
Top Features
- Cloud-based: access your outlines from any device with an internet connection
- Easy to use: create and rearrange outlines quickly and easily
- Collaborative: work with others on outlines in real time
- Export: share outlines with others or use them in other applications
- Flexible format: create outlines of any length and complexity
Pricing
CloudOutliner is $9.99 for desktop and $4.99 for the iOs version.
Bottom Line
CloudOutliner helps you organize your thoughts and ideas. With CloudOutliner, you can create an outline of your project, paper, or presentation in minutes. CloudOutliner makes it easy to rearrange your outline, add details, and collaborate with others. Try CloudOutliner today and see how it can help you with your next project!
Checkvist
Jonathan’s Take
Checkvist offers a unique approach to outlining that creates maximum efficiency. The idea is that you can create an entire outline without ever touching your mouse. If you’re familiar with markdown then Checkvist is worth your attention.
Best For | Markdown Users |
Price | $0/$3.90 per month |
Discount | $39 per year |
Promotion | 14-Day Trial of Pro |
Checkvist is best for power keyboard users who like to use lots of shortcuts and hotkeys. Unlike most of the competition, everything is built for efficiency and speed. Each feature is considered for how it affects the overall outlining process rather than how cool it looks.
It’s incredibly easy to rearrange your points, order the outline, and manage everything. You can drag and drop nodes by holding the shift key and then moving them where you need them to be.
Top Features
- Keyboard centric – Minimal, text-based interface
- Endless hierarchy – On-the-fly navigation and filtering
- Zen and dark mode – easy on the eyes and maximum focus
- Markdown – Rich formatting for lists with images, tables, or code
Pricing
Checkvist has a free plan with most of the features you need. Upgrade to paid plan to gain access to advanced sharing options, bulk operations, backups and task reminders for $3.90 per month.
Bottom Line
Checkvist is a powerful outlining software that can help you organize your thoughts and collaborate with others on complex projects. With Checkvist, you can create nested lists, assign tasks to specific users, and add deadlines and notes to each item. You can also share your outlines with others and work on them together in real-time. Try Checkvist today and see how it can help you with your next project!
Little Outliner
Our Take
Little Outliner is nothing like anything else out there. It’s a tool that only works when integrated with your Twitter account. There is no other way to access it. Great if you user Twitter, but annoying if you don’t.
Best For | Twitter Users |
Price | Free |
Discount | N/A |
Promotion | N/A |
If you’re new at this thing, you may want something that’s free to use and contains all the features of the other outliners, Little Outliner might be what you’re looking for. It’s a web-based app, it’s lightweight, and it exports the outline to your desktop or another location on the computer.
The learning curve here is almost nil because it works just like many document creators. Just type to add text and hit enter to make a new bullet. With the tab button, you indent the line, but you can also create multiple indentations throughout your work.
The thing about Little Outliner is that you can only store a single outline at once, but on the upside, it’s free.
Top Features
- Create nested lists
- Collapse and expand everything
- Hoist and Dehoist
- Visible Markup
Pricing
Free after you login via Twitter.
Bottom Line
Little Outliner can help you organize your thoughts and plan projects of all sizes. You can create nested lists with ease, track progress on tasks, and add notes and attachments to any item. Try ittoday and see how it can help you with your next project!
Workflowy
Jonathan’s Take
Workflowy is much more than a simpler outliner, it’s also a deep research tool. You can add files, images, and notes directly to your outline. If you’re looking for a complete organizational tool, WorkFlowy is a good option.
Best For | Researchers |
Price | $0/$4.99 per month |
Discount | $49 per year |
Promotion | 7-day free trial |
WorkFlowy helps you organize your thoughts and ideas. It’s simple to use – you can create a list of items, each with its own details, and then collapse or expand each item as needed. WorkFlowy is perfect for taking notes, brainstorming, creating to-do lists, and more. And because it’s all web-based, you can access your WorkFlowy account from any computer or mobile device.
Top Features
- Web based – access it from any computer or mobile device.
- Capture Anything – drag and drop images, links and files into your projects
- Powerful – Use tags, kanban boards and live copy anything
Pricing
WorkFlowy has a free plan with most of the features you need. Upgrade to the Pro level for $4.99 a month for more bullet points, larger file uploads, more sharing options and automatic backups of your work.
Bottom Line
WorkFlowy helps you organize your thoughts and ideas. If you want a research tool to organize all your images and mind maps and vision boards in one place, this might just fit your planning style.
Toodledo
Jonathan’s Take
Toodledo is a task management platform with outlines as a feature. This is a good tool for people who need to set goals and track progress, however, the outline size limitations leave a lot to be desired.
Best For | Task Managers |
Price | $0/$3.99/$5.99 per month |
Discount | $1 per month for annual plan |
Promotion | 14-day refund |
Toodledo is an excellent outlining tool for busy professionals. It allows you to quickly create and manage outlines for your projects, and it also provides a variety of features that make it easy to keep track of your work. For example, Toodledo lets you set deadlines for your tasks, so you can be sure that you’re always on track. In addition, Toodledo includes a variety of templates that you can use to create your outlines, which makes it even easier to get started.
Unfortunately, Toodledo is quite limited in functionality. Still, you can tag the outlines, you have folders, and a due date and alarm to remind you of what you’re supposed to do.
Top Features
- Goals – set realistic goals to turn your outline into a book
- Status Tracking – keep track of each part of your projects
- Subtasks – break big projects into manageable chunks
Pricing
Toodledo has a free plan a limit of 30 items per list or outline. Upgrading gives you larger lists, collaboration tools and file storage options.
Bottom Line
Toodledo is a web-based tool that could work for some workflows. If outlining is secondary to task management functions, then Toodledo might fit what you’re looking for.
CarbonFin
Jonathan’s Take
Carbon fin is mobile only, so it’s perfect for people who don’t use a computer. If you’re looking for a clean, mobile-only option this could be right up your alley.
Best For | iOs Power Users |
Price | $4.99 |
Discount | None |
Promotion | None |
Those who often want to add notes to their outlines are going to like CarbonFin. It works both as a web-based app and on iOS systems. Most apps don’t allow you to add notes for each row, numeral, or bullet point. Some people may not realize how useful this is.
Your outline will get lengthy and too detailed when you list every single bit. Pushing all those bits into notes can make everything streamlined and less cluttered.
You get a small preview of the notes to remind you that there is more information to deal with. You can turn off the feature, however, and you can also hide everything except your headings if you want to get a bird’s-eye view on your outline. Smooth, right?
Additionally, if you work on a single section at a time, you can use the zoom button to highlight specific texts and remove the rest of the outline until you’re done and zoom out.
CarbonFin is a popular outlining app that allows users to create and share outlines with others. The app is simple to use and has a variety of features that make it a useful tool for students, professionals, and anyone else who needs to organize their thoughts.
CarbonFin offers a variety of ways to view and edit outlines, making it easy to keep track of ideas. The app also allows users to share outlines with others, making it a useful collaboration tool. CarbonFin is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.
Top Features
- It’s simple to use
- Offers a variety of ways to view and edit outlines
- Allows users to share outlines with others
- Available for free on the App Store and Google Play
Pricing
CarbonFin is just $4.99
Bottom Line
CarbonFin is a popular outliner software that allows users to create and share outlines with others. The app is simple to use and has a variety of features that make it a useful tool for students, professionals, and anyone else who needs to organize their thoughts. Try CarbonFin today and see how it can help you with your next project!
OneNote
Jonathan’s Take
Love ’em or hate ’em Microsoft is the big dog in the room. If you work in corporate, your company may already be locked into the Microsoft ecosystem so this tool makes sense. OneNote is free and you can unlock more features with a full Microsoft 365 subscription.
Best For | Enterprise |
Price | $0/$6.99 per month |
Discount | $69.99 per year |
Promotion | $149.99 Student Lifetime |
OneNote is a powerful outlining tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. OneNote has a built-in search function, which makes it easy to find specific notes or keywords. OneNote also allows users to insert pictures, videos, and other multimedia content into their notes. This makes it an ideal tool for brainstorming and mind mapping. Overall, OneNote is a versatile tool that can be used for a variety of purposes, from taking notes to creating multimedia presentations.
Plus, it features a built-in icon bank, so you can leave yourself visual clues, such as ‘client request’ or ‘remember this for the blog.’ It’s also possible to customize the size, font, style, and color to make things more visually appealing.
Everything automatically syncs to OneDrive, which is the cloud storage option for Microsoft. Therefore, all you require is an internet connection, and you can reference your outline anywhere.
Top Features
- Collapse and expand sections of text
- Built-in search function
- Insert pictures, videos, and other multimedia content into notes
- Available on a variety of platforms
Pricing
OneNote is free to use. More features unlock with a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Bottom Line
OneNote is a powerful outliner tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. It’s an all-in-one productivity tool that will seem very familiar to Word users.
Evernote
Jonathan’s Take
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus malesuada cursus turpis, eget tempor nulla. Suspendisse quis pellentesque nisi. Donec nisl dolor, varius quis interdum eget, gravida vitae ante. Maecenas efficitur lobortis elit a pellentesque.
Best For | The Well Organized |
Price | $0/$6.99 per month |
Discount | $69.99 per year |
Promotion | $149.99 Student Lifetime |
Evernote is a cross-platform app designed for making and storing notes of all types. It’s particularly useful for students and professionals who need to keep track of ideas, research, or anything else that needs to be organised. Evernote has a simple interface that makes it easy to create and format notes.
It also has powerful search functionality that lets you quickly find the information you need. One of the most useful features of Evernote is its ability to sync across devices. This means you can access your notes from any computer or mobile device. Evernote is an essential tool for anyone who needs to stay organised and productive.
Top Features
- The ability to sync across devices
- The simple interface that makes it easy to create and format notes
- The powerful search functionality that lets you quickly find the information you need
Pricing
Evernote has a free level which is more than enough for outlining purposes.
Bottom Line
Evernote is a cross-platform app designed for making and storing notes of all types. Evernote has a simple interface that makes it easy to create and format notes. It also has powerful search functionality that lets you quickly find the information you need. Try Evernote today and see how it can help you with your next project!
Outlining Apps Buying Guide
Outlines are just bullet points with structure. They are your list of ideas to write about and they map out what you want to say. You don’t need fancy tools, as Notepad or a word processor program could do what you need.
However, using outlining tools i.e. story outline software can make it easier to concentrate on a particular idea and it offers more options to satisfy all your writing needs.
Whether you are buying a story outline software or using a free one, make sure it has most if not all of these functions:
Parent items
The app you choose should let you create some parent items, and each of those points should have unlimited things beneath them. Therefore, when you do something to the parent point, such as moving, indenting, or out-denting it, the same changes should be applied to whatever is below.
Visual Hierarchy
Your outline will quickly lose its value if you can’t tell the differences between your leading idea and all the supporting ones. This is how outliner apps help you out; they visually distinguish between the outline sections.
Easy Rearrangements
You’ve got seemingly endless things to consider and you want to move points and ideas around to make things flow. Outliner apps allow for drag-and-drop methods to shift things to where they need to be, which is more efficient than the good old copy and paste technique.
Automatic Styling
Outlining tools are great for formatting. When your ideas appear with Roman numerals, bullets, indentations, and numbers, you’re not wasting precious time manually inserting the format you desire – you have it already created by the outline tool you use.
These are the basics included in every story outline software free. Paid products usually provide bonus features you may also find useful.
For example, if your outline is going to be very detailed and long, a filter and search function will come in handy. Plus, with some outliner apps, you can search through all the outlines at once, which makes it easier to see what you’ve written and where.
You may want to include more information for a particular bullet point, but you don’t necessarily want to see it each time. Some apps allow you to attach hidden text so that the outline isn’t cluttered. Consider apps where you can add side-bar or pop-up comments about specific points.
What happens if you just want to focus on a particular section? Can you temporarily hide the others? With some story outline software, you have collapse and expand functions, and you can fold other parts down to look at something specific in the window.
Similar to the search functionality, you can tag certain points with a keyword so it’s easier to find them later.
What is an outliner app?
An outliner app is a type of software that allows users to create and manage outlines. Outlines are lists of information that are organized in a hierarchical fashion. These are typically used for brainstorming ideas, organizing projects, and taking notes.
What are the benefits of using an outliner app?
Outlining software can help you to organize your thoughts, keep track of ideas, and manage complex projects. In addition, outliner apps often have features that make them easy to use, such as the ability to link outlines together, create nested lists, and set deadlines for tasks.
Outline Tool vs. Word Processor
Outline tools are specialized word processors. So, with text editing and management, the outliner tools will help you organize your content, tasks, books, etc. While a word processor, on the other hand, will help you with content management and editing.
What Does An Outlining App Do?
An outliner organizes your ideas by topic and creates a tree of hierarchy nodes like a base to the structure of written content, thus outlining the future writing piece in the making. The best outline tools are those that make it easy to arrange your arguments, your log ideas, and pull it all together into the framework of your book.
While you can create an outline using a pen and paper, specialty outlining apps can give you better functionality and flexibility so you can reorganize or change things on the fly.
How do you use an outliner
Generally, outliners are used in content creation because they’re ideal for organizing ideas, facts, and list management. Many use them for goal and task management, project management, and writing books. You can use them to store information with terms, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs attached to a tree. This way you store information by topic.
What are some of the best outline tools and apps you can use in the process? How can you take your skills to the next level and become the writer of your dreams?
I know these questions bounce in your head, so without further ado, check out the magic work of the best outliner tools we’ve put together for you, and put your next creation in order:
Wrap Up
For most people, the act of building an outline is something they do manually because they have to decide the most logical way to structure and organize ideas, but nowadays, you can be automated all that with the right tools and integrations.
There are a variety of outlining apps available to consider. Though Notepad might work as well, these apps go far beyond that and allow you to be more creative.
The list we’ve put together for you includes the best outliners and note-takers because if you want to become a best-selling author, you need to use such tools and you need the right strategy.
If you skipped to the bottom, Taskade is our top recommendation. It combines the best features of all the other tools without trying to be a project manager.
If there’s an outlining tool we missed, please let me know in the comments below.