# Octarine vs Agenda

Topic-first notes vs a date-first timeline

Last reviewed: 2026-11-04
Web page: https://octarine.app/compare/agenda

Agenda and Octarine both keep notes for your projects. The difference is how those notes are organized.

Agenda puts notes on a timeline. Each project is a running log, and notes can link straight to calendar events, which suits meeting notes and dated work. It has polished apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and premium features are a paid unlock you keep.

Octarine organizes notes by topic, with folders, tags, links, and a graph, and Views for structured projects. Daily notes are there when a date helps. Your notes stay as markdown files, and it runs on Windows and Linux too.

- Moving from Agenda: https://octarine.app/docs/importing/agenda

## Comparison

"Yes", "No", and "Partly" are the status shown on the web page; any text after the colon is the note shown with it.

### Files

| Feature | Octarine | Agenda |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plain markdown files | Yes | No: Agenda's library, with export |

### Organization

| Feature | Octarine | Agenda |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Structure | Folders, tags, and links | Projects with a dated timeline |
| Notes linked to calendar events | No | Yes |
| Daily notes | Yes | Yes: Timeline by date |
| Links between notes | Yes | Yes |
| Graph view | Yes | No |
| Task management | Yes: Projects, list or board, cycles (Pro) | Partly: Checklists, synced with Apple Reminders |
| Views | Yes: Tables, Kanban, and graphs (Pro) | No |

- Task management: Tasks groups work into projects with statuses, priorities, labels, due dates, subtasks, saved filters, and optional cycles. Each task is a Markdown file in your workspace, and a checkbox in a note can become a task.
- Views: Views show notes and their properties as filtered tables, Kanban boards, or graphs.

### AI

| Feature | Octarine | Agenda |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Built-in AI | Yes: Your own key or a local model (Pro) | No |

- Built-in AI: Ask Octarine searches, reads, and follows links across your notes to answer questions. The Writing Assistant edits inline. Indexing stays on your device.

### Platforms

| Feature | Octarine | Agenda |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Desktop | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS |
| iPhone and iPad | Partly: TestFlight for Pro users | Yes |

### Plans

| Feature | Octarine | Agenda |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | Yes: Core features, no time limit | Yes |
| Paid | Pro $79 one-time | Premium unlock you keep |

## Sources

Compared against Agenda's App Store listings and help pages. Agenda's pricing page could not be loaded during review, so we describe its pricing model rather than exact prices.

- [Agenda on the App Store (iOS)](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1370289240)
- [Agenda on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/agenda/id1287445660?mt=12)
- [Agenda help](https://agenda.com/help/)
- [Agenda reminders](https://agenda.com/manual/en/dates-events-and-reminders/)

Product names belong to their owners; no affiliation or endorsement is implied. Corrections: https://octarine.app/compare/agenda has a "Suggest a correction" link.