We’ve all seen the dazzling recommendations for the ‘perfect’ productivity stack — usually a brilliant new note-taking app paired with a powerful task manager.
While these are all well and good, what happens if I don’t want to give my data to two separate apps and manage both?
Maybe I want my note-taking app to be my calendar and a to-do list app in one; ironically, I found myself using Google Calendar to group the latter two.
But this time, I decided to give another app a go, so I can combine all three needed functions into one app, even if I know the Android app isn’t as good as the desktop equivalent, but as long as it works well on my computer, doesn’t cost too much, and can sync data to my phone, then I am all for trialing it.
The new productivity app I found is Amplenote. It’s an app that combines four modes into one: jotting, note-taking, task managing, and scheduling (through calendar integration).
You can use the web version on a Chromebook or install it as a standalone for Android and iOS.
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Amplenotes plans, pricing, and features
Everything to know about how it works
Amplenotes has two major plans. One is paid and split into three tiers: Pro, Unlimited, or Founder. These are all billed annually.
Plans start around $6 per month, plus tax, and can go up to $20 per month.
Obviously, to shave down on costs and treat it as a trial, I chose the Personal, Free Forever plan, which includes, according to their site:
- Notes, tasks and calendar
- Lightning-fast mobile apps
- Install on Windows or macOS via PWA
- File upload size up to 5mb
- Licensed for non-commercial use
The platform also notes that customer support won’t be included.
While that’s not a bad deal, I am not sure if I am happy about external calendar integration and desktop app access being paywalled.
You can still add your Google Calendar to a free account, but your data will not sync between the two platforms.
You can make Amplenote a limited progressive web app by clicking the Install Amplenote button in your address bar and clicking Install.
But I figured that if I stick with this app, I might consider the Pro plan, as it has most of the features I want, including external calendar syncing, access to the graph view, a sidebar note viewer, and a native desktop app.
Plus, you can sign up for a 14-day free trial to try it out before committing, which I really like.
As for features, it includes basic note-taking, task management, and calendar event features, which you can switch between in the side panel.
The note-taking UI is also minimalist, which I love. I only need basic formatting features, such as lists, bolding, images, and headers.
Expanding the toolbar reveals options to add hyperlinks, images, and code blocks, as well as to create block quotes. Honestly, this has everything I need as a writer, and more.
Below the titles, you can also add tags, which I found helpful for organization.
This makes it easier when you are searching for notes; you can use tags to add labels. Since I work across Google and Samsung content, I like to add the conglomerates to the tags.
Just make sure that after adding a tag in the desktop version, you press Enter; otherwise, the tag won’t be saved even if you click away from it.
If I wanted more options, I would click the three-dot icon on the note, which lets me add collaborators or set a publish status. It will give you some extra options like vault encryption, but sadly, that is a premium feature.
In the shortcut menu, click More options to open the manage tasks feature.
I personally didn’t need to use it, but I can see it being useful if your notes are part of a collaboration.
What I ended up loving, though, is the separate Tasks feature you can click in the left panel.
If you’re familiar with task/project management tools like Asana, Airtable, and ClickUp, adding a new task is very similar.
But this tool won’t replace it; there aren’t any fancy headers or custom workspaces a team can use.
At least on my plan, this was a basic to-do list where I can label tasks, set due dates and priority levels, and sort.
That’s all I really need since I am using this for personal use. You can also use tags to filter your tasks if you do want to tackle certain ones without color-coding or labeling them with priorities.
The left panel will also direct you to your chosen tags and show which are due, but do note that these tags are shared across all your content, so you’ll still want to create specific ones for making tasks.
The last main integration is your calendar. The option rests below Tasks.
The view is split between Work and Personal, which I liked.
While I tend to combine both in Google Calendars, I liked having the option to create a divider if I wanted to keep certain events, like scheduled appointments, delivery pickups, or chores, in the Personal section, while placing the immediate due dates and professional tasks under Work.
Using Amplenote on the Android app
Now here’s the true sore spot of using Amplenote: the Android app is passable, not great, but honestly not bad.
It’s not necessarily the UI that is a poor experience; it’s more the app’s speed. It’s a little slow when you are loading into bigger notes — like the animation almost lags when you initially load it up.
It’s not that big a deal if you are working with one note at a time. But if you are reviewing multiple, it becomes more noticeable.
However, aside from that, I didn’t have any issues with the Android app. The modes appeared at the bottom, and my data stayed synced across the app as long as I logged into the same account.
Tapping the hamburger button on the left opens the panel, revealing modes, shortcuts, and tags, similar to your desktop view.
But to be honest, my chosen productivity platform for Android is a Chromebook, so I don’t need all the bells and whistles of a dedicated Android app (I just use the web version).
I am more concerned with iPad integration, since it is my main “big screen” device for video viewing, reading, and browsing.
Which, thankfully, Amplenote supports.
More productivity apps aren’t necessarily bad
While I personally get overwhelmed splitting my workflow across too many apps, maybe that isn’t the case for you.
There’s nothing wrong with trying out different productivity apps and seeing which ones work well together.
That also helps address the problem of some platforms being optimized for your web browser/desktop but not translating well to mobile apps.
