kempt vs todoist
Todoist is the list. Kempt is where the list gets done.
Todoist may be the best pure task manager ever, and its natural-language dates set the standard. Kempt keeps each task as a Markdown file on your disk, next to the thinking behind it.
Free forever. No account needed. Your files stay on your disk.
Choose Todoist if
- You share lists: assignees, comments, shared projects. Kempt is single-player.
- Quick Add parses "every 3rd Tuesday starting Aug 29" in one line.
- A decade of polish behind the list.
Choose Kempt if
- Your tasks carry context: notes, drafts, backlinks, one Markdown file each.
- Your data is plain text on your disk. No account.
- One Today list across every life you run.
- AI you can audit: its memory is Markdown in your vault.
One question decides it: remembering, or doing. If the doing lives in five apps, keep reading.
Side by side
The five differences that matter. The verdict above covers the rest.
| Kempt | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| Notes and context | Every task is a full note | Comments, no document editor |
| Views | Today, Calendar, Board, Timeline, Project Map | List and board, calendar on Pro |
| Your data | Markdown files on your disk | Cloud only, per-project CSV export |
| AI | Optional. Memory is editable Markdown | Assist runs on cloud LLMs |
| Price | Everything local is free, no caps | Free plan capped at 5 projects |
Compared against public Todoist documentation, as of July 2026. Spot something outdated? Tell us.
PLAN
Every life on one list.
Client work, the side project, the thesis: areas keep them apart, Today lines them up. Type "tomorrow submit the report p1" and it lands, dated and prioritized.
Each row is its own .md file. Check one here and status: done is written into that file, so Board, Calendar, and Timeline show it too.
ONE FILE PER TASK
The plan, the draft, and the deadline in one file.
Each task is a Markdown file holding its notes and backlinks. Check it off in Board, Calendar, or Today. Same file everywhere.
Views are lenses on the file. Check it off in Today and status: done is written back.
TURN ON THE AI
An assistant you can read like a file.
It signs in with your own Claude account and writes what it learns to your vault. Read it, correct it, delete it.
Locked your Tuesday around the Hana Studio invoice. Updated the client note so the net-30 timing holds.
Moving from Todoist
- 1
Export while projects are active
Todoist exports one project at a time as CSV.
- 2
Point Kempt's AI at the CSVs
Drop them in a folder, open it in Kempt, and ask.
- 3
It files tasks where they belong
Dates, priorities, and areas, written as plain Markdown tasks.
One ask, not an evening of pasting.
Using both is a real setup
Keep Todoist for the lists you share. Keep your own work in Kempt, where a task carries its notes and lives in a file you own. A weekly review moves whatever grew context.
Questions people actually search
Is Kempt a Todoist alternative?
On desktop, yes: natural-language dated tasks, Today, Calendar, Board, Timeline, subtasks, and goals, with notes on every task. Todoist's date parser is still broader on complex recurrence.
How do I move my Todoist data?
Todoist exports one CSV per project, and paid ZIP backups skip completed tasks and archived projects, so export while projects are active. Then point Kempt's AI at the CSVs and it writes the tasks with dates, priorities, and areas.
Does Kempt work on my phone?
Native iOS and Android apps are landing now: the same encrypted vault in your pocket, so you check tasks, scan the calendar, and read notes on the move. Dispatch follows, sending work to your desktop AI from your phone.
Is Kempt free?
Everything local is free forever, no account, including automatic local version history. Todoist's free plan caps you at 5 projects and a one-week activity log. The one paid piece is Kempt Sync (beta), end-to-end encrypted, from $5 a month.
Organizing was never the point. Finishing is.
If a great list is all you need, Todoist keeps it well. If your tasks need context attached, in files you own, Kempt is free for Windows and macOS.