Foco vs Todoist for Freelancers: Why It’s the Only Alternative That Centralizes Multiple Clients and External Tools

Freelancers juggling 3+ clients and tools like GitHub, Jira, or Asana hit the same wall with Todoist: manual task entry, no visual client separation, and no way to pull in external assignments automatically. Foco solves this with three core differences:

• Color-coded works: Each client/project gets a unique color. Tasks appear in that color everywhere—Panorama view (all tasks at once), Focus mode (only one client), or Calendar. Example: A designer sees 12 tasks in Panorama; 5 red (Client A), 3 blue (Client B), 4 gray (personal). No labels, no mental math.
• Focus mode: Click a work to hide everything else. No more scrolling through unrelated tasks. Ideal for 90-minute client sessions—e.g., a developer working on a GitHub issue for Client X sees only their tasks, not Client Y’s deadlines.
• Connections (Plus plan): Link GitHub, Jira, Asana, or Notion via OAuth. Foco imports assigned tasks automatically into the correct work. Enable ‘complete also in source’ to close issues in GitHub/Jira when marking them done in Foco. No more toggling between apps to update statuses.

Step-by-Step: How Freelancers Use Foco to Replace Todoist (With Real Examples)

1. Setting Up Works for Multiple Clients

Problem: In Todoist, creating a project per client forces you to manually tag tasks or rely on filters. If you forget, tasks blend together.

Foco’s solution: Works are containers with a name and color. Setup takes 2 minutes:

• Create a work for each client (e.g., ‘Acme Corp’ in blue, ‘Beta LLC’ in green).
• Assign a default color to personal tasks (e.g., gray).
• For tools like GitHub, set a ‘destination work’ in Connections (e.g., all GitHub issues → ‘Acme Corp’).

Result: A freelance marketer with 4 clients sees 20 tasks in Panorama. At a glance, they know 8 are for Client A (blue), 5 for Client B (red), and 7 personal (gray). No labels, no confusion.

2. Capturing Tasks Without Manual Entry

Problem: Todoist requires typing or copy-pasting tasks from emails, GitHub, or Slack. A developer might spend 30 minutes/day just transcribing issues.

Foco’s solutions: Three methods, all faster than Todoist:

• Voice capture: Dictate ‘Call Client A about invoice #1234, due Friday at 3 PM, important, set reminder 1 hour before.’ Foco transcribes it, extracts the due date, priority, and reminder, and attaches the audio. Works for single tasks or Ráfaga (dictate 5 tasks in a row; Foco splits them automatically). Free plan: 5 uses/month, 2-minute limit. Plus: unlimited.
• Email capture (Plus): Forward an email to your unique u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com address. Foco creates a task with the subject, extracts dates/priorities from the body, and attaches the email as a note. Example: A designer forwards a client email with ‘Logo draft due next Tuesday’—Foco sets the due date and attaches the email for context.
• Connections (Plus): Link GitHub, Jira, or Asana. Foco pulls in assigned tasks automatically. Example: A developer connects GitHub; all assigned issues appear in Foco under the correct work. No manual entry.

3. Prioritizing Across Clients Without Overwhelm

Problem: Todoist’s priority flags (P1–P4) are global. If everything is P1, nothing is. Freelancers need to prioritize within clients.

Foco’s solution: Priorities are per-task, not global. Combine with Focus mode and Calendar view for clarity:

• Use Focus mode to see tasks for one client at a time. Example: A writer working on Client A’s blog sees only their tasks—no distractions from Client B’s deadlines.
• Set realization dates (when you’ll work on the task) and due dates (deadline). Example: A task with a due date of Friday might have a realization date of Wednesday at 2 PM for a 2-hour block. Calendar view shows both.
• Filter tasks by due date or realization date in List view. Example: ‘Show me all tasks due this week for Client A’ or ‘Show me tasks I planned to work on today.’

Pro tip: Use the Critical Power List method (exact steps here) to identify the 3 most critical tasks per client each day. Foco’s color-coding makes this visible at a glance.

Foco vs Todoist: Exact Workflows Where Foco Wins (With Numbers)

These scenarios show why freelancers switch from Todoist to Foco:

• Scenario 1: Developer with GitHub/Jira tasks | Todoist: Manually create tasks for each issue, update statuses in both tools. Time spent: 20–30 minutes/day. | Foco: Connections pull issues automatically. Marking a task done in Foco closes it in GitHub/Jira. Time saved: 15–25 minutes/day.
• Scenario 2: Designer with 5 clients | Todoist: Tasks from all clients appear in one list. No visual separation. Mistakes: 2–3/week (e.g., missing a client’s deadline). | Foco: Color-coded works + Focus mode. Mistakes: 0/week. Time saved: 10–15 minutes/day (no context-switching).
• Scenario 3: Freelancer with email-based requests | Todoist: Copy-paste emails into tasks. No attachments, no dates. Time spent: 15 minutes/day. | Foco: Forward emails to u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com. Tasks created with dates, priorities, and email context. Time saved: 10–12 minutes/day.

Pricing: When Foco’s Cost Pays for Itself (Exact Breakdown)

Todoist’s pricing seems cheaper, but Foco’s plans include features that save freelancers hours per week—justifying the cost for those with multiple clients or external tools.

• Todoist Pro (4 USD/month): Good for personal tasks. Lacks integrations, email capture, or visual client separation. Limitation: Free plan only allows 5 collaborators; Pro allows 300 projects but no automation.
• Foco 4 EUR/month: Adds calendar view, Google Calendar/Outlook sync, unlimited collaboration, and task assignment. Best for: Freelancers who need client separation but don’t use external tools.
• Foco Plus (20 EUR/month): Connections (GitHub, Jira, Asana, etc.), email capture, unlimited Ráfaga, and daily briefing. Best for: Freelancers who spend 3+ hours/week managing external tools or emails. ROI: Saves 10–15 hours/month (e.g., 15 minutes/day x 20 days = 5 hours). At a freelance rate of 50 EUR/hour, that’s 250 EUR/month in saved time—far outweighing the 20 EUR cost.

Comparison with Asana: Asana’s Starter plan costs 10.99 USD/user/month (minimum 2 users = 21.98 USD/month). Foco Plus is 20 EUR/month for one user, with no minimum. For solo freelancers, Foco is cheaper and more flexible (detailed comparison here).

When to Stick With Todoist (And When to Switch)

Stick with Todoist if: You manage only personal tasks or a single project, don’t use external tools, and prioritize a minimalist interface. Todoist’s mobile app is faster for quick task entry, and its free plan covers basic needs.

Switch to Foco if: You answer ‘yes’ to any of these:

• Do you juggle 3+ clients or projects at once? (Foco’s color-coding and Focus mode eliminate context-switching.)
• Do you use GitHub, Jira, Asana, or Notion? (Foco’s Connections pull tasks automatically—no manual entry.)
• Do you receive client requests via email? (Foco’s email capture turns emails into tasks with dates and context.)
• Do you waste time updating tasks in multiple tools? (Foco’s ‘complete also in source’ closes issues in GitHub/Jira when you mark them done in Foco.)
• Do you need a daily briefing to prioritize tasks? (Foco Plus generates a summary with deadlines, news, and priorities.)

For teams: Foco’s unlimited collaboration (even in the free plan) makes it a better fit than Todoist for freelancers who occasionally work with contractors. Example: A designer invites a copywriter to a client’s work; they see only that client’s tasks, not the designer’s other projects.

Alternatives to Todoist: Why Foco Beats Other Options for Freelancers

Freelancers often try these alternatives before switching to Foco. Here’s how they compare:

• Trello: Great for Kanban, but lacks client separation and integrations. Freelancers end up with one board per client, leading to fragmentation. Foco’s Panorama view shows all tasks in one place, color-coded by client (detailed comparison here).
• Asana: Powerful for teams, but overkill (and expensive) for solo freelancers. Asana’s free plan has strict limits (e.g., no timeline view), and its interface is cluttered for simple task management. Foco’s free plan includes unlimited tasks and works, and its interface is designed for solo users with multiple clients (exact workarounds here).
• Bullet Journal: Analog method for separating contexts, but no automation or integrations. Freelancers using a bullet journal for multiple clients often struggle with losing the big picture or forgetting deadlines. Foco digitizes this system with color-coded works and Focus mode, while adding automations and integrations (exact system here).

The best alternative to Todoist for freelancers isn’t the one with the most features—it’s the one that removes the friction of managing multiple clients, external tools, and deadlines in one place. Foco does this by design; Todoist does it by accident.

FAQ: Foco vs Todoist for Freelancers

FAQ

Does Foco sync with Google Calendar or Outlook?

Yes. Foco syncs with Google Calendar and Outlook to show your external events alongside tasks in the Calendar view. Events appear as read-only (you can’t edit them in Foco). This is included in the Foco 4 EUR/month plan and above.

Can I assign tasks to other people in Foco?

Yes. You can invite collaborators to a work via email. They must accept the invite to see the work’s tasks. Assigning tasks to collaborators is available in the Foco 4 EUR/month plan and above. The free plan allows unlimited collaboration but not task assignment.

How does Foco’s email capture work? Is it secure?

Each user gets a unique email address (e.g., u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com). Forward an email to this address, and Foco creates a task with the subject, extracts dates/priorities from the body, and attaches the email as a note. Emails are processed securely and deleted after task creation. This feature is only available in the Plus plan (20 EUR/month).

Can I use Foco offline?

Yes. Foco works offline on mobile and desktop. Changes sync when you reconnect. However, features like Connections, email capture, and calendar sync require an internet connection.

What happens if I cancel Foco Plus?

You’ll revert to the Foco 4 EUR/month plan (or free plan if you were on a trial). Connections and email capture will stop working, but your tasks and works remain intact. You can still use all other features, including color-coded works, Focus mode, and collaboration.