ReviewsComparisonsGTD

Chaos vs OmniFocus: GTD Power Users vs AI Simplicity

·6 min read

Category: Reviews · Stage: Consideration

By Max Beech, Head of Content

Updated 8 November 2025

OmniFocus is the Ferrari of task managers: powerful, precise, and built for users who've mastered Getting Things Done methodology. Chaos is the Tesla: AI-driven, minimalist controls, and designed for people who want results without reading the manual. Both handle complex workflows, but their philosophies couldn't be more different.

TL;DR

  • OmniFocus offers deep GTD customisation (contexts, perspectives, defer dates, sequential projects)
  • Chaos uses AI to handle organisation automatically without GTD learning curve
  • OmniFocus is one-time purchase (£39.99-99.99); Chaos is subscription
  • Best for OmniFocus: GTD practitioners who want total control
  • Best for Chaos: People who want GTD-level results without GTD-level effort

Jump to: GTD implementation | Perspectives vs AI | Complexity trade-offs | Verdict

GTD implementation

OmniFocus: Pure GTD

OmniFocus was built explicitly for David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology. Every GTD concept has a direct feature:

  • Capture: Universal inbox with quick entry and email integration
  • Clarify: Review mode walks you through inbox items
  • Organise: Projects, contexts, folders, tags with unlimited nesting
  • Reflect: Custom Perspectives filter tasks by any combination of criteria
  • Engage: Forecast view shows calendar and tasks in unified timeline

For GTD purists, OmniFocus is unmatched. You can model any workflow: sequential projects, parallel projects, deferred tasks, contexts for energy levels, and more.

Chaos: GTD outcomes without GTD process

Chaos doesn't mention GTD, but it achieves similar outcomes through AI:

  • Capture: Voice, email, text—AI extracts tasks without manual filing
  • Clarify: AI categorises by urgency, importance, and context automatically
  • Organise: AI groups tasks by time, location, and relationships
  • Reflect: Weekly reviews surface what you accomplished and what's slipping
  • Engage: Context-aware reminders show tasks when you can act on them

Users report GTD-like clarity without needing to learn Contexts, Perspectives, or Project hierarchies.

Winner: OmniFocus for GTD purists, Chaos for GTD outcomes without methodology commitment.

Perspectives vs AI surfacing

OmniFocus Perspectives: Ultimate control

Perspectives are custom views that filter tasks by any combination of:

  • Project tags
  • Contexts (location, energy, tools available)
  • Due dates or defer dates
  • Flagged status
  • Estimated time

Example Perspective: "Show me high-energy work tasks due this week that I can do at my desk in under 30 minutes."

Power users create 10-20 Perspectives for different life modes (morning routines, deep work, errands, waiting-for, someday/maybe). This is powerful but requires setup time and ongoing maintenance.

Chaos AI: Intelligent defaults

Chaos doesn't have Perspectives. Instead, AI surfaces the right tasks based on:

  • Your current location (GPS)
  • Your calendar (free time availability)
  • Your communication (recent emails, messages)
  • Your patterns (when you usually handle certain tasks)

Example: You arrive at the supermarket. Chaos surfaces "Buy milk" without you creating a "@Errands at supermarket" Perspective.

Winner: OmniFocus for customisation junkies, Chaos for people who don't want to maintain filters.

Complexity trade-offs

OmniFocus learning curve

OmniFocus is famously complex. New users face:

  • Understanding Projects vs. Folders vs. Tags
  • Learning when to use sequential vs. parallel projects
  • Setting up Contexts that match their life
  • Creating useful Perspectives (or using defaults that don't quite fit)

The OmniFocus community has hundreds of blog posts titled "How I use OmniFocus" because everyone's setup is different. This flexibility is powerful, but it takes weeks to configure optimally.

Chaos immediate usability

Chaos works out of the box. No setup required beyond connecting calendar and location permissions. The AI learns your patterns over the first week and improves from there.

Trade-off: Less control. If AI groups tasks "wrong," you can override, but you can't build a custom "Sunday evening planning mode" Perspective the way you can in OmniFocus.

Winner: Chaos for simplicity, OmniFocus for those who enjoy configuration.

Platform and pricing

| Aspect | OmniFocus | Chaos | |--------|-----------|-------| | Platforms | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Web | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android (beta) | | Purchase model | One-time or subscription | Subscription only | | Standard (one-time) | £39.99 (iOS) + £39.99 (Mac) | N/A | | Pro (one-time) | £99.99 (universal) | N/A | | Subscription | £9.99/month or £99.99/year | £8-15/month (tiers) |

OmniFocus offers both one-time and subscription options. Subscription unlocks web access, automation, and future updates. Standard edition covers most users; Pro adds custom Perspectives and automation.

Chaos is subscription-only because AI improvements ship continuously. You're paying for ongoing model updates, not just software maintenance.

Who should choose which?

Choose OmniFocus if you:

  • Practice GTD religiously and want software that matches the methodology precisely
  • Love customising workflows and creating Perspectives
  • Prefer one-time purchases over subscriptions
  • Work exclusively in the Apple ecosystem
  • Want total control over every organisational detail

Choose Chaos if you:

  • Want GTD-level organisation without learning GTD methodology
  • Need location and calendar-aware reminders
  • Prefer AI to handle filing and categorisation automatically
  • Work across platforms (Apple + Android)
  • Value setup simplicity over deep customisation

Can you use both?

Unlikely. Both are "command center" apps that want to be your single source of truth. Running both creates sync headaches and defeats the purpose of centralised task management.

That said, some users keep OmniFocus for long-term projects (Areas, multi-year goals) and use Chaos for daily/weekly operational tasks with tight context requirements.

Key takeaways

  • OmniFocus is unmatched for GTD practitioners who want precise, customisable task management
  • Chaos delivers similar outcomes through AI without requiring methodology expertise
  • OmniFocus offers one-time purchase; Chaos requires ongoing subscription
  • Choose based on philosophy: do you want to configure your system or let AI configure it for you?

Verdict

OmniFocus and Chaos serve overlapping audiences but opposite philosophies. OmniFocus asks: "How can we give users maximum control?" Chaos asks: "How can we deliver results with minimum configuration?" Neither is wrong—it depends whether you find joy in customisation or prefer immediate productivity.

For related comparisons, see Chaos vs Things 3 for simpler Apple-native alternatives or Chaos vs TickTick for cross-platform needs.

About the author

Max Beech reviews productivity tools with hands-on testing. This comparison reflects 60+ days using both OmniFocus and Chaos in real workflows.

Disclosure: Chaos is the author's employer. OmniFocus is recommended where genuinely the better fit for GTD practitioners.

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