Compare
Same tasks.
Different relationship.
We respect every tool on this page. They're good at what they do. Steady is built for something different: keeping you going when motivation, energy, and conditions aren't ideal.
Steady
SunsamaThe closest in spirit. Still a different species.
Sunsama is a thoughtful daily planner with guided rituals, time-blocking, and overcommit warnings. It genuinely cares about your wellbeing. But it assumes you can show up for a structured planning ritual every morning — and some mornings, you can't even open your laptop.
What Sunsama does well
- Guided daily planning ritual that builds intentionality
- Overcommit protection — warns when your day is unrealistic
- Beautiful calendar-task fusion with time estimation
- Integrates with Asana, Notion, Trello, Jira, Gmail, and more
Where it falls short for you
- No awareness of regulation state — assumes consistent energy
- Requires a structured ritual every morning to work properly
- No AI companion, no voice planning, no tool-calling intelligence
- No re-entry support — if you miss days, you restart cold
- No concept of task friction, load accumulation, or capacity learning
- Mobile app is read-only — can't plan from your phone
| Feature | Steady | Sunsama |
|---|---|---|
| Adapts to energy level | ||
| Works without daily ritual | ||
| AI companion with tools | ||
| Voice planning calls | ||
| Re-entry after absence | ||
| Friction & load awareness | ||
| Overcommit protection | ||
| Daily planning ritual | ||
| Time-blocking | ||
| Calendar integration | ||
| Third-party integrations | ||
| Free tier |
Why people switch
- The morning ritual becomes another thing you can't do on bad days
- Needed a system that adapts to you, not one you have to show up for consistently
- Wanted AI that understands your patterns, not just a prettier calendar
- At $20-25/month with no free tier, the value needs to be undeniable — and it wasn't for variable-energy days
Steady
TodoistGreat at tasks. Not built for bad days.
Todoist is a clean, fast task manager used by millions. It excels at quick capture and cross-platform reliability. But it assumes every day starts at 100%.
What Todoist does well
- Fast, reliable task capture with natural language dates
- Excellent cross-platform apps
- Clean, focused interface
Where it falls short for you
- No awareness of your energy or mental state
- Overdue tasks pile up with red badges — guilt by design
- No voice planning or AI that creates tasks from conversation
- No re-entry support when you've been away
| Feature | Steady | Todoist |
|---|---|---|
| Adapts to energy level | ||
| Voice planning calls | ||
| Anti-shame design | ||
| Re-entry support | ||
| AI task creation | ||
| Task management | ||
| Natural language input | ||
| Cross-platform | ||
| Calendar view | ||
| Notes | ||
| Projects | ||
| Free tier |
Why people switch
- The overdue list became a source of shame instead of motivation
- Needed a system that adapts to variable-energy days
- Wanted AI that understands context, not just dates
Steady
NotionInfinitely flexible. Infinitely demanding.
Notion is a powerful workspace for notes, databases, and wikis. You can build almost anything — but you have to build it yourself. That's the opposite of what a struggling brain needs.
What Notion does well
- Extremely flexible — databases, pages, templates
- Great for documentation and knowledge management
- Strong community templates ecosystem
Where it falls short for you
- Requires significant setup before being useful
- No built-in understanding of energy or capacity
- Easy to over-engineer and create productivity theater
- No voice input, no AI coach, no regulation awareness
| Feature | Steady | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Adapts to energy level | ||
| Works without setup | ||
| Voice planning calls | ||
| AI coach with tools | ||
| Anti-shame design | ||
| Notes & documents | ||
| Databases | ||
| Task management | ||
| Projects | ||
| Calendar | ||
| Wiki / knowledge base | ||
| Free tier |
Why people switch
- Spent more time organizing the system than actually doing work
- Needed something that works out of the box on bad days
- Wanted AI guidance, not just AI text generation
Steady
AsanaBuilt for teams. Not for what you're going through.
Asana is a robust project management tool built for cross-team coordination. For individual productivity with mental health awareness, it was never designed for that.
What Asana does well
- Excellent team collaboration and assignment features
- Powerful workflow automation
- Enterprise-grade project tracking
Where it falls short for you
- Built for teams, not individuals navigating difficult days
- No concept of personal energy or regulation
- Overdue tasks and status reports create pressure
- No voice capture, no AI companion, no gentle re-entry
| Feature | Steady | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Adapts to energy level | ||
| Personal AI companion | ||
| Voice planning calls | ||
| Anti-shame design | ||
| Life vision / directions | ||
| Task management | ||
| Projects | ||
| Calendar | ||
| Team features | ||
| Workflow automation | ||
| Notes | ||
| Free tier |
Why people switch
- Felt like the tool was designed for managers, not the person doing the work
- Needed personal support, not team accountability
- Wanted something that simplifies on hard days instead of adding complexity
Steady
ClickUpEverything, everywhere, all at once. That's the problem.
ClickUp tries to replace every work tool with one platform. It's feature-rich to the point of overwhelming — the opposite of what a variable-energy brain needs.
What ClickUp does well
- Incredibly feature-rich — tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards
- Highly customizable views and workflows
- Generous free tier
Where it falls short for you
- Feature overload creates decision fatigue
- No awareness of mental state or energy
- Complexity grows with use — exactly what scattered minds don't need
- No voice companion, no regulation system, no gentle design
| Feature | Steady | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Adapts to energy level | ||
| Reduces complexity on bad days | ||
| Voice planning calls | ||
| Anti-shame design | ||
| AI companion with tool-calling | ||
| Task management | ||
| Projects | ||
| Calendar | ||
| Notes / docs | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Whiteboards | ||
| Free tier |
Why people switch
- The number of features became the problem, not the solution
- Needed a tool that does less when you need less
- Wanted something designed for fluctuating capacity, not enterprise teams