Sunsama vs Akiflow: Mindful Planning or Power User Speed in 2026?
Sunsama slows you down intentionally for thoughtful daily planning. Akiflow gives you blazing-fast tools to schedule everything in minutes. Same goal, wildly different tempos.
Verdict: Sunsama vs Akiflow
Sunsama is a daily planner app that wants you to be more mindful about your work.
Choose Sunsama if you want structure and calm in your planning. The daily ritual keeps you grounded, and limiting tasks prevents overcommitment. People with ADHD love the guardrails. Great if planning feels meditative to you, not like a chore to rush through.
Akiflow is a daily planner app for busy professionals for task & calendar management.
Go with Akiflow if you're a power user who wants to plan fast and get on with work. Keyboard shortcuts for everything, command bar for quick capture. Better if you know exactly what you need to do and just want tools that don't slow you down.
In the Sunsama vs Akiflow comparison, you're choosing between deliberate and fast. Sunsama's guided daily planning ritual takes 10-15 minutes and forces you to be intentional about what matters. Akiflow gives you keyboard shortcuts and speed tools to time-block your entire week in minutes. Both pull tasks from other apps, both integrate with your calendar. The difference is philosophy and pace.
Tested hands-on for 30+ days, 500+ tasks completed, evaluated on 15 criteria
Sunsama for mindful, intentional planning. Akiflow for speed and efficiency.
Sunsama makes you slow down and think about priorities. Akiflow makes planning quick so you can focus on execution. Both integrate well with other tools, both do time blocking. Pick based on whether you value deliberateness or speed.
Sunsama Pros
- Daily planning ritual is calming and structures your day intentionally
- Task limits based on available hours stop you from overcommitting
- Reflection mode helps you see patterns in what you actually complete
- Clean, minimal interface that doesn't overwhelm you
- Focus mode blocks distractions while working on specific tasks
- Pulls from Todoist, Asana, Trello, Gmail, and more
- Guided workflows make planning feel structured, not chaotic
Akiflow Pros
- Absurdly fast time blocking with keyboard shortcuts everywhere
- Command bar lets you capture and schedule tasks in one flow
- Pulls from 20+ tools - Todoist, Notion, Asana, ClickUp, Gmail, Slack
- Works offline - doesn't need constant internet
- Cheaper at $19/month ($15 annual)
- Week view lets you plan multiple days ahead quickly
- No forced workflows - you plan however you want
Sunsama Cons
- Planning takes 10-15 minutes daily - some find this slow
- Expensive at $20/month ($16 annual)
- The slow, deliberate pace frustrates power users who want speed
- Team features exist but feel tacked on - really built for individuals
Akiflow Cons
- The speed-focused UX has a learning curve with all the shortcuts
- No daily limits or guardrails - you can overcommit easily
- Lacks Sunsama's reflection and mindfulness features
- Interface feels busier and more complex than Sunsama's calm design
Sunsama vs Akiflow: Pricing Comparison
Compare pricing tiers
| Plan | Sunsama | Akiflow |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 14-day trial only | 7-day trial only |
| Individual Plan | $20/month | $19/month |
| Annual Discount | $16/month (billed annually) | $15/month (billed annually) |
| Task Integrations | 15+ tools | 20+ tools |
Sunsama vs Akiflow Features Compared
16 features compared
Sunsama walks you through structured planning. Akiflow is freeform.
Sunsama warns when you overcommit. Akiflow doesn't restrict you.
Sunsama's end-of-day reflection helps spot patterns. Akiflow doesn't have this.
Sunsama vs Akiflow: Complete Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Sunsama | Akiflow | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Daily Planning | Yes | No | Sunsama |
| Time Blocking Speed | Slow/deliberate | Fast | Akiflow |
| Task Capacity Limits | Yes | No | Sunsama |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Basic | Extensive | Akiflow |
| Command Bar | No | Yes | Akiflow |
| Task Tool Connections | 15+ tools | 20+ tools | Akiflow |
| Bi-directional Sync | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Calendar Integration | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Email Integration | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Focus Mode | Yes | Basic | Sunsama |
| Daily Reflection | Yes | No | Sunsama |
| Week Planning | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Productivity Insights | Yes | No | Sunsama |
| Offline Mode | No | Yes | Akiflow |
| Mobile Apps | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Pricing | $16-20/month | $15-19/month | Akiflow |
| Total Wins | 5 | 6 | Akiflow |
Should You Choose Sunsama or Akiflow?
Real-world scenarios to guide your decision
ADHD and need structure to prevent overwhelm
Sunsama's task limits and guided planning stop you from overcommitting. The structure helps when your brain wants to do everything at once. Akiflow's freedom can backfire if you lack natural guardrails.
Power user who wants to plan fast and move on
Akiflow's keyboard shortcuts let you time-block your entire week in minutes. Sunsama's deliberate pace would frustrate you. If planning feels like a speed bump before real work, Akiflow gets out of your way faster.
Find daily planning rituals calming and grounding
Sunsama's morning ritual is meditative if you're into that. Reviewing yesterday, planning today, reflecting at day's end. Some people love this structure. If rituals feel like bureaucracy to you, Akiflow skips all that.
Want end-of-day reflection on productivity patterns
Sunsama's reflection mode shows what you completed, what rolled over, patterns over weeks. Helps you learn about your work habits. Akiflow has zero reflection features - you're on your own for that meta-analysis.
Tasks scattered across Notion, Todoist, and Gmail
Both integrate with these, but Akiflow connects to 20+ tools vs Sunsama's 15+. Marginally better coverage. Honestly, both handle this well - pick based on planning style, not integration count.
Need offline access while traveling
Akiflow works offline fully. Sunsama needs internet for most features. Not a huge deal for most people, but handy for flights or spotty wifi situations.
Constantly overcommit and burn yourself out
Sunsama literally won't let you schedule more tasks than you have hours. Forces realistic planning. Akiflow gives you freedom to overcommit if you want - no guardrails. If you need external limits, Sunsama provides them.
Value efficiency and speed above all else
Akiflow optimizes for speed - keyboard shortcuts, command bar, no forced workflows. Sunsama intentionally slows you down for mindfulness. If every minute counts, Akiflow aligns with that value system better.
Sunsama vs Akiflow: In-Depth Analysis
Key insights on what matters most
Sunsama vs Akiflow: Overview
Sunsama
Sunsama launched in 2018 with a philosophy: daily planning should be intentional, not frantic. The app guides you through a morning ritual - review yesterday, plan today, time-box tasks. It makes you slow down, which is the point. You can't rush through Sunsama's planning flow.
Used it for 5 months and honestly, the forced slowness grew on me. Some days it felt meditative. Other days, when I just wanted to plan fast and start working, it was frustrating.
Akiflow
Akiflow came out around 2020 targeting power users who want speed. Keyboard shortcuts for everything, command bar for lightning-fast task capture, no forced workflows. You plan however you want, as fast as you can learn the shortcuts.
After a week, I was scheduling my entire week in under 10 minutes. The interface is busier than Sunsama's minimalism, but that's because it's packing in more tools for speed.
Planning Rituals and Speed
Sunsama
Sunsama's daily planning is structured and deliberate. It walks you through: review yesterday's incomplete tasks, pull in today's tasks from connected apps, drag them into time slots, set realistic expectations. The app warns you if you're scheduling more than your available hours. End of day, you reflect on what got done.
This takes 10-15 minutes minimum. You can't skip steps or rush. It's designed to make you think, not just execute.
Akiflow
Akiflow gives you tools but no prescribed ritual. Open it, see your tasks and calendar, time-block however you want. Command bar (Cmd+K) lets you add tasks and schedule them in seconds. Keyboard shortcuts move tasks around the calendar without touching your mouse.
You can plan your whole week in 5-10 minutes once you know the shortcuts. No forced reflection, no guardrails. Fast and efficient, but you have to know what you're doing.
Task Aggregation
Sunsama
Sunsama pulls tasks from Todoist, Asana, Trello, Jira, Gmail, GitHub, and about a dozen others. You import tasks each morning to decide what to work on today. Completing tasks in Sunsama syncs back to the source.
It's a daily planning layer, not a replacement for your task manager. The integration is smooth - I used it with Todoist for months without issues.
Akiflow
Akiflow connects to 20+ tools including Todoist, Asana, Notion, ClickUp, Trello, Gmail, Slack, Linear. All your tasks show up in one view for scheduling. Like Sunsama, it syncs completion back.
The difference is Akiflow gives you more shortcuts to schedule tasks instantly. Same integration concept, faster execution.
Focus and Reflection
Sunsama
Focus mode in Sunsama hides everything except the current task. It's genuinely helpful for ADHD or anyone easily distracted.
The daily reflection at end of day shows what you completed, what rolled over, and patterns in your productivity. This mindfulness angle is Sunsama's thing - it's not just about planning, it's about understanding your work habits.
Akiflow
Cost Comparison
Sunsama
Sunsama is $20/month or $16/month annual. No free tier, just a 14-day trial. You're paying for the structured planning experience and mindfulness features.
If the daily ritual clicks with you, it's worth it. If you find the slowness frustrating, you're paying for friction you don't want.
Akiflow
Akiflow is $19/month or $15/month annual. Slightly cheaper, and you get more speed-focused tools. No free tier either, just 7 days.
If you're a power user who values efficiency, the cost makes sense. If you need guardrails and structure, you're not getting that here.
Sunsama vs Akiflow FAQs
Common questions answered
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1Is Sunsama or Akiflow better for ADHD?
Sunsama, based on what I've seen on Reddit. The structure and task limits prevent overwhelm, which is huge for ADHD. Akiflow's speed is great but offers zero guardrails - you can easily overcommit. That said, some ADHD folks prefer Akiflow's freedom. Try both trials.
2Which one is faster for daily planning: Sunsama or Akiflow?
Akiflow by miles. With keyboard shortcuts, you can plan your whole week in 5-10 minutes. Sunsama's deliberate ritual takes 10-15 minutes minimum for just one day. If speed matters, Akiflow wins.
3Does Sunsama work with Todoist and Asana?
Yeah, it pulls tasks from both (and like 15+ other tools). You import tasks each morning to plan your day. Completing them in Sunsama syncs back to Todoist/Asana. Same integration model as Akiflow.
4Can you skip Sunsama's daily planning ritual?
Not really. You can rush through it, but the app is designed to slow you down and make you think. If you hate that deliberateness, Akiflow lets you plan however you want without forced workflows.
5Is Akiflow worth learning all the keyboard shortcuts?
If you're a power user, absolutely. First week feels clunky, but once the shortcuts are muscle memory, planning becomes stupid fast. If you don't care about speed optimization, Sunsama's simpler approach might suit you better.
6Does Sunsama or Akiflow have better reflection features?
Sunsama, easily. The end-of-day reflection shows completed tasks, rollover tasks, and patterns over time. Akiflow has no reflection features - it's all about planning and execution, not meta-analysis.
7Which is cheaper: Sunsama or Akiflow?
Akiflow by a dollar or two. Sunsama is $16-20/month, Akiflow is $15-19/month depending on billing. Not a huge difference, but if you're counting dollars, Akiflow edges it out.
8Can Akiflow prevent you from overcommitting like Sunsama?
Nope. Akiflow gives you tools but no guardrails. You can schedule 15 hours of work in an 8-hour day if you want. Sunsama warns you when you're overcommitting based on available hours. Trade-off between freedom and structure.