A Todoist alternative for consultants
Your inventory is hours. A tool that tracks tasks and ignores hours is tracking the wrong thing.
Why consultants use Todoist
Cheap, fast, and a list per client is a perfectly reasonable way to start.
Where it stops
A list has no hours in it, which for somebody who sells hours is the one thing missing.
The week consultants actually have
Four engagements at different intensities, a proposal that has to go out Friday, and a calendar that fills with other people’s meetings because it is easier to say yes than to explain what Thursday already contains. The admin happens in the evening because the day got sold.
The unbillable hours are invisible until you invoice
Proposals, admin, the call that was going to be fifteen minutes. None of it is on a task list and all of it is on the week.
In UnaTask: Everything goes on the same calendar, billable or not, so the honest picture of the week exists before the month ends.
Scheduling a call costs four emails
Every new client relationship starts with a thread about availability, which is time spent selling time.
In UnaTask: A booking link that respects your focus blocks, so the slots on offer are ones you actually want to give away.
The engagement notes and the engagement work live apart
What was agreed on the call is in your notes. What has to happen is in your head.
In UnaTask: A notetaker turns the call into assigned tasks on that client’s project.
Every engagement starts the same way, rebuilt from scratch
Kickoff, discovery, the same three deliverables. You have done it eleven times and set it up eleven times.
In UnaTask: A template per engagement type, applied in one click.
On the things consultants asked about
| What it does | Todoist | UnaTask |
|---|---|---|
| Time blocking on a calendar | No | Core |
| See who has room | Partly | Core |
| Booking links | No | Yes |
| Meetings become tasks | No | Yes |
| Useful before you configure it | Core | Core |
| A free plan | Yes | Yes |
What it costs
For a team of 5, billed yearly, Todoist is about $480 a year and UnaTask is €480 plus VAT. The two are quoted in different currencies, so we have not subtracted one from the other.
Todoist: Generous free tier. Pro around $5, Business around $8 per user per month.
Common questions
Why do consultants use Todoist?
Cheap, fast, and a list per client is a perfectly reasonable way to start.
Where does Todoist stop working for consultants?
A list has no hours in it, which for somebody who sells hours is the one thing missing.
Should we leave Todoist?
Not necessarily, and we would rather say so. Keep Todoist if you want the quickest personal list in existence and you mostly work alone. Move if the missing piece is the week itself: hours on a calendar, for everyone, before the work is promised.
Is it free if I work alone?
Yes, with every feature and no card. You pay when somebody joins you.
Can clients book time with me?
Yes. Booking links offer only the slots you are willing to give, and they respect the focus blocks already on your calendar.
Todoist details checked June 2026.