Todoist vs Foco for multiple jobs: how Foco centralizes tasks from several clients without switching apps

If you manage multiple clients or projects at once, chances are you’ve tried Todoist. It’s a solid task management tool, but when you juggle several jobs—each with its own deadlines, priorities, and tools—its structure falls short. This is where Todoist vs Foco for multiple jobs becomes a key comparison: while Todoist is designed for individual projects, Foco is built to centralize tasks from multiple clients in one place, eliminating fragmentation. In this article, we’ll analyze when Todoist remains useful, why Foco solves specific problems for freelancers and small teams, and how to choose based on your real needs.

1. The Key Limitation of Todoist for Freelancers: Global Projects vs. Independent Workspaces

Todoist organizes tasks into projects, but its free plan only allows 5 active projects in total. This means that if you work with 3 clients, a personal project, and another for invoices, you’ve already hit the limit. While the Pro plan (5 USD/month) increases this to 300 projects, it’s still a global approach: there’s no clear separation between independent jobs, forcing you to create artificial hierarchies (like labels or subprojects) to simulate what Foco does natively.

1.1. Why Todoist’s Projects Aren’t Enough for Multiple Clients

Imagine you’re a freelance designer with 4 active clients. In Todoist, you’d need to create a project for each client (e.g., "Client A - Website," "Client B - Logo") and use labels for priorities. The problem arises when you need to see all your pending tasks (from all clients) in one place: Todoist displays projects in parallel, but there’s no view that groups tasks by work context (i.e., by client). This forces you to jump between projects or use manual filters, adding friction.

Foco, on the other hand, uses jobs as independent containers, each with its own name and color. For example, you can have a job called "Client A" (blue) and another "Client B" (green). When you open Panorama mode, you see all tasks from all jobs in a single list, each with its client’s color. If you need to focus on one, you enter Focus mode, and the dashboard automatically filters to show only that job’s tasks. This eliminates the need for complex hierarchies or remembering which task belongs to which client.

2. Task Fragmentation: How Foco Unifies What Todoist Scatters

One of the biggest pain points of managing multiple clients is task fragmentation. In Todoist, if a client sends you a request via email, another via Slack, and another in a meeting, you end up with tasks scattered across different tools. While Todoist allows adding tasks via email (with a personalized address) or integrating with apps like Slack, these features are limited to the Pro plan and don’t solve the core issue: tasks still arrive in different formats and require manual copy-pasting.

2.1. Task Capture in Todoist vs. Foco: From Manual to Automatic

In Todoist, to capture a task from an email, you must forward it to a personalized address (e.g., project123@todoist.net) or use the browser extension. The problem is that each project has its own email address, complicating the workflow if you work with multiple clients. Additionally, the email content is attached as a comment, not as an editable note, and there’s no way to automatically extract dates, priorities, or reminders.

Foco addresses this in two ways:

• Email capture (Plus plan only): Each user has a unique address (e.g., u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com) that doesn’t depend on the job. When you forward an email, Foco automatically extracts the task title, attaches the email as a note, and detects dates, priorities, and reminders. If the email includes a deadline (e.g., "by Friday"), the task is created with that due date already filled in.
• Tool integrations (Plus plan only): Foco connects with Notion, Linear, GitHub, Jira, and Asana via OAuth. For example, if a client assigns you an issue in GitHub, Foco brings it in as a task to a destination job of your choice (or lets the AI decide automatically). If you enable the "complete in origin" option, marking the task as done in Foco will close the issue in GitHub. This avoids checking each tool separately.

2.2. Voice Dictation: From Basic Transcription to Smart Task Creation

Todoist allows adding tasks via voice in its mobile app, but it only transcribes the text without processing it. For example, if you say, "Review Client A’s design by Thursday at 3pm, important," Todoist will create a task with that literal text, without extracting the date, time, or priority. You’ll have to edit it manually afterward.

Foco goes further with two features:

• Voice capture: You dictate the task, and Foco transcribes the audio, attaches it as a note, and automatically detects dates, times, recurrences, priorities, and reminders. For example, if you say, "Call Client B tomorrow at 10am, urgent, every Tuesday," Foco creates a task with the title "Call Client B," a due date for the next day at 10am, urgent priority, and weekly recurrence on Tuesdays. The audio is attached in case you need to review it.
• Rapid Capture (Plus plan only): You dictate multiple tasks in a row, and Foco separates them in real time. For example, if you say, "Send invoice to Client A, review contract with Client B by Friday, call supplier tomorrow," Foco creates three distinct tasks with the detected data. When you stop, it shows you the list to review, edit, or discard before saving them all at once. In the free plan, there are 5 uses per month, and dictation lasts up to 2 minutes; with Plus, it’s unlimited.

Fragmentation isn’t a tool problem—it’s a design problem: apps built for single projects can’t scale to multiple jobs without adding artificial complexity.

3. Views and Organization: Why Todoist Forces You to Adapt and Foco Adapts to You

Todoist offers three main views: list, board (kanban), and calendar. However, these views are global: they show all tasks from all projects without filtering by context. For example, if you want to see only Client A’s tasks in the calendar, you must create a manual filter (e.g., "project: Client A"). This works but requires extra setup and isn’t intuitive for quickly switching contexts.

3.1. Panorama Mode vs. Focus Mode: The Difference Between Seeing Everything and Concentrating on One

Foco solves this with two display modes:

• Panorama mode: Shows all tasks from all jobs in a single list, each with its job’s color. This is useful for getting a global view of your day or week without losing sight of what belongs to each client.
• Focus mode: When you select a job, the dashboard automatically filters to show only that client’s or project’s tasks. This is key to avoiding distractions: if you’re working on Client A, you won’t see Client B’s tasks. You can switch modes with one click, without configuring manual filters.

3.2. Flexible Views: List, Kanban, and Calendar with Context

Foco offers three views that adapt to both modes:

• List: Groups pending tasks by date (Today, This Week, Later, No Date) and includes a collapsible section for completed tasks. You can filter by due date or completion date, which is helpful for prioritizing based on deadlines.
• Kanban: Customizable columns (e.g., To Do, Doing, Done) that work on desktop (drag and drop) and mobile (tabs). Unlike Todoist, where the kanban is global, in Foco, columns apply only to the job selected in Focus mode.
• Calendar: Shows tasks with due dates in a weekly or monthly view (desktop) or daily view (mobile). Unlike Todoist, where the calendar only shows dated tasks, in Foco, you can also see events from your synced Google Calendar or Outlook, centralizing your commitments and tasks in one place.

4. Collaboration and Sync: Where Todoist Wins and Where Foco Excels

Todoist has advantages for large teams. Its Business plan (8 USD/user/month) includes shared workspaces, admin controls, and granular permissions. This is useful if you work with a fixed team or need advanced access management. However, for freelancers who collaborate occasionally with other professionals (e.g., a designer working with a developer on a one-off project), Todoist’s model can be overkill.

4.1. Collaboration in Foco: Simple and Without Per-User Plans

Foco approaches collaboration more agilely:

• Invite to a job: You can invite others to a specific job via email. The invitee receives a link to join and, once accepted, can view and edit only that job’s tasks. There are no per-user plans: the job owner pays their subscription (Foco 4 EUR/month or Plus 20 EUR/month), and invitees access it for free.
• Assign tasks: You can only assign tasks to accepted members of a job. This prevents external access to sensitive information.
• Share a task: Generate a public link for a specific task. Whoever opens it sees only that task (with its title, description, and notes), without access to the rest of Foco. This is useful for sharing updates with clients without giving them access to your board.

4.2. Calendar Sync: Todoist vs. Foco

Todoist allows syncing its calendar with Google Calendar or Outlook, but only one-way: Todoist tasks appear in your external calendar, but not vice versa. This means that if you have meetings or events in Google Calendar, you won’t see them in Todoist unless you manually copy them.

Foco syncs your Google Calendar or Outlook in both directions (read-only): external events appear in Foco’s calendar alongside your tasks. This lets you see in one place what you need to do and what meetings you have, without switching apps. For example, if a client schedules a call in Google Calendar, it will appear in Foco as an event, and you can plan your tasks around it.

5. Pricing: When Is Todoist or Foco Worth Paying For?

Todoist and Foco’s pricing reflects their different approaches. Todoist is more affordable for basic individual use but gets expensive if you need collaboration or integrations. Foco offers a generous free plan for personal use and paid plans that scale based on centralization needs.

5.1. Pricing Comparison (as of July 2026)

• Todoist Free: Free. Max 5 active projects, no reminders, no file attachments.
• Todoist Pro: 5 USD/month (annual payment) or 7 USD/month (monthly payment). Up to 300 projects, reminders, attachments, and advanced filters.
• Todoist Business: 8 USD/user/month (annual payment) or 10 USD/user/month (monthly payment). Shared workspaces and admin controls.
• Foco Free: Free forever. Unlimited jobs and tasks, list and kanban views, text and voice capture, labels.
• Foco 4 EUR/month: Adds calendar view, calendar sync, collaboration, and task assignment.
• Foco Plus 20 EUR/month: Everything above plus AI: unlimited Rapid Capture, Copilot with integrations (Notion, Linear, GitHub, Jira, Asana), email capture, and daily briefing.

5.2. When to Choose Todoist

• If you manage a single project or few clients and don’t need collaboration or complex integrations.
• If you’re looking for an affordable tool for personal lists and don’t mind the 5-project limit in the free plan.
• If you work in a large team with advanced admin needs (workspaces, permissions, etc.).

5.3. When to Choose Foco

• If you handle multiple clients or jobs at once and need to separate them without fragmentation.
• If you receive tasks via multiple channels (email, work tools, meetings) and want to centralize them automatically.
• If you need flexible views that adapt to different contexts (see everything vs. focus on one client).
• If you collaborate occasionally with other professionals and don’t want to pay per user.
• If you use Google Calendar or Outlook and want to see your events alongside your tasks in one place.

6. Conclusion: Todoist vs Foco for Multiple Jobs—Which Is the Best Option?

The choice between Todoist vs Foco for multiple jobs depends on your workflow. Todoist is an excellent option if you manage individual projects or work in a team with advanced admin needs. However, if you juggle multiple clients, receive tasks from various channels, and need to centralize everything in one place without fragmentation, Foco is designed specifically for that.

Foco isn’t just an alternative to Todoist—it’s a tool built to eliminate the artificial complexity that arises when you try to adapt a single-project app to multiple jobs. With features like Panorama and Focus modes, automatic task capture from emails and tools, and flexible views, Foco lets you work across multiple contexts without losing focus.

If you want to see how Foco can simplify managing multiple clients, start with the free plan and explore its features. If you need more automation, the Plus plan (20 EUR/month) includes the Copilot with integrations, email capture, and the daily briefing—ideal for freelancers looking to save time on organization.

To dive deeper into organizing your time when managing multiple jobs, check out Time boxing for managing multiple clients: how to assign fixed time blocks and avoid overload. If you’re interested in turning emails into tasks efficiently, read our step-by-step guide with real examples.

FAQ

Can I use Todoist and Foco at the same time?

Yes, but it’s not recommended if you want to centralize tasks. You could use Todoist for personal lists and Foco for managing multiple clients, but you’d duplicate the effort of adding tasks in two apps. Foco is designed to replace the need for multiple tools.

Does Foco have reminders like Todoist?

Yes, Foco allows adding reminders to tasks, which trigger minutes before the due date. Unlike Todoist, where reminders are a paid feature (Pro plan), in Foco, they’re available from the free plan.

How does Foco handle recurring tasks?

In Foco, when you complete a recurring task (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly), the next occurrence is automatically created. You can set the recurrence when creating the task or edit it later. Unlike Todoist, where recurring tasks are managed with text syntax (e.g., "every Monday"), in Foco, it’s a visual field.

Can I import my Todoist tasks into Foco?

Foco doesn’t have a direct import feature from Todoist, but you can export your Todoist tasks as a CSV file and manually import them into Foco. The process is manual but lets you migrate your data without losing information.

Is Foco better than Todoist for teams?

It depends on the team size. Todoist is better for large teams with advanced admin needs (workspaces, permissions, etc.), as its Business plan includes these features. Foco is more suitable for freelancers or small teams that collaborate occasionally and want to centralize tasks without paying per user.