Pachinko vs Todoist.
Pachinko is a task manager that does some of the work itself. It reads your feeds, runs the jobs you set up, and files the results in your projects, using your own Claude or ChatGPT account.
Todoist reminds you to write the brief. Pachinko drafts it.
Pachinko
|  Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| tasks + notes | ||
| Tasks, projects, and areas | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rich notes with images | ✓ | ✕ |
| Repeating tasks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Calendar events beside your tasks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apple Reminders beside your tasks | ✓ | ✕ |
| Quick Note: a global shortcut to type a note from anywhere | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quick Capture: a global shortcut that saves the selected text or current page | ✓ | ✕ |
| Browser extension | ✓ | ✓ |
| Share sheet on Mac and iPhone | ✓ | iOS only |
| views + organization | ||
| Card view with image previews | ✓ | ✕ |
| Status view | nine statuses, one-key filters | ✕ |
| Tags | ✕ | ✓ |
| Start dates | ✓ | ✕ |
| Deadlines | ✓ | Pro plan only |
| Upcoming view | ✓ | ✓ |
| Themes | 20 color schemes | ✓ |
| ai | ||
| AI chat over your notes and tasks | ✓ | ✕ |
| Functions: write an instruction once, run it forever | ✓ | ✕ |
| Feeds: scheduled imports saved as notes | ✓ | ✕ |
| Ready-made Powerups | 35 ready-made | ✕ |
| Semantic search | ✓ | ✕ |
| AI account | your Claude or ChatGPT account | theirs only |
| MCP server for outside AI tools | built into the app | ✓ |
| platforms + privacy | ||
| Platforms | macOS, iOS, iPadOS | web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Watch, Wear OS |
| Sync | iCloud | Todoist cloud |
| End-to-end encryption option | with Advanced Data Protection | ✕ |
| AppleScript | ✓ | ✕ |
| price | ||
| Price | free app · Pro AI $9/mo or $229 lifetime | free · Pro $5/mo billed yearly |
| Free tier | full task manager and notetaking, free | 5 projects |
choosing pachinko over todoist
In Todoist a task is a line of text, and the work it points to lives somewhere else. In Pachinko the note sits on the task: the draft, the images, the reading, all in the same project.
Todoist's Assist helps you type tasks in. Pachinko works while you're away: Feeds bring in any RSS feed, YouTube transcripts, news topics, SEC filings, PubMed, GitHub trends, PDFs, and even custom feeds you build, on the schedule you set. Explain a job once and Pachinko does it to whatever shows up; it's all in your projects when you come back.
You can also ask Pachinko questions about your own notes and tasks, and search works even when you can't remember the exact words.
The Todoist column comes from their published pricing and documentation, compiled August 2026.