Akiflow Vs. Sunsama: Which One Improves Daily Planning?
Akiflow vs Sunsama: Which tool offers better daily planning, calendar sync, and task focus
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If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent a good chunk of your productivity journey hopping from one planning app to another—searching for that one tool that not only organizes your day but helps you actually follow through.
For a while, I used Akiflow. Its command bar and keyboard-first interface felt fast and powerful—like a productivity ninja toolkit. But over time, it felt like I was spending more time organizing tasks than doing them.
Then I switched to Sunsama. Daily planning rituals, calendar integration, and mindful constraints—it felt like Notion met Google Calendar and went on a mindfulness retreat. Beautiful, but sometimes a bit slow when you just want to power through.
Eventually, I realized both tools were helping me plan, but neither was adapting to my energy, context, or actual flow state.
That’s when I started building Focuzed.io—a smarter, energy-aware task manager that plans your day with you, not just for you.
But before we dive into that, let’s explore what Akiflow and Sunsama do well, where they fall short, and how they compare for different types of work styles.
Let’s break it down.
Overview: Akiflow vs Sunsama at a Glance
Feature | Akiflow | Sunsama |
Best For | Speed, control, fast triage | Mindful planning, daily structure |
Interface Style | Keyboard-first, command bar | Calendar-first, guided ritual |
Planning Approach | Fast capture + manual time-blocking | Daily intention-setting + effort estimation |
Task Management | Inbox, snooze, recurring tasks | Auto-rollover, reflection, time estimates |
Integrations | Gmail, Notion, Slack, ClickUp, Todoist | Trello, Asana, Gmail, ClickUp, Jira |
Calendar Sync | Google Calendar, two-way, drag & drop | Google Calendar, drag & drop |
Focus Style | Power-user dashboard | Gentle prompts, burnout prevention |
Platform | Desktop app (macOS, Windows) | Web-based (cross-platform) |
Pricing (Monthly) | $34/month | $20/month |
Free Trial | 7 days | 14 days |
Planning Experience: Ritual vs Speed
Akiflow: Built for Control and Speed
Akiflow is snappy. Everything revolves around keyboard shortcuts and a universal command bar, which lets you capture and dispatch tasks in seconds. I especially liked how it pulls tasks from tools like Gmail, Notion, and Slack—everything lands in your inbox, ready to be triaged.
You drag tasks onto your calendar, time-block them, and adjust with ease. It’s a productivity playground if you love manual control and minimal clicks.
But the speed sometimes came at a cost: there’s not much reflection. Akiflow lets you plan, but doesn’t nudge you to ask, “Is this the right way to spend your day?”
Sunsama: Designed for Mindful Planning
Sunsama flips the experience. It starts each day by asking you what’s important, how long things will take, and whether you’ve overcommitted. It becomes a daily ritual—almost therapeutic.
The interface feels lighter. You pull in tasks from Jira, ClickUp, Gmail, etc., then gently slot them into your day. Unlike Akiflow’s firehose, Sunsama wants you to slow down and choose.
That said, sometimes I found the ritual a bit repetitive—especially on rushed mornings. I wanted faster ways to move things around or time-block in bulk.
Task Management & Calendar Sync
Akiflow
- Native calendar integration (Google Calendar)
- Two-way sync with external tools like Todoist, ClickUp, Notion, Gmail
- Time-blocking with drag-and-drop interface
- Recurring tasks, reminders, and snooze options
- Fast capture from any app using a global shortcut
💡 Powerful for users who want their task and calendar stack in one place—fast.
Sunsama
- Drag-and-drop task planning into calendar
- Pulls tasks from integrations like Trello, Asana, ClickUp, and Gmail
- Asks for effort estimates and auto-checks your time budget
- Auto-rollover of unfinished tasks to next day
- Gentle prompts for reflection at day’s end
💡 Great for people who want to plan with intention, not just speed.
Design Philosophy: Builder vs Guide
Akiflow feels like a dashboard for operators. It gives you everything—your job is to command it. If you’re the kind of person who builds your own workflows, it’s empowering.
Sunsama, on the other hand, acts like a co-pilot. It guides you with daily questions, limits your planning load, and helps avoid burnout.
Neither is “better” universally—it comes down to how much structure you want given to you versus built by you.
Collaboration and Team Use
- Akiflow is solo-focused. There’s no team dashboard or shared planning view (yet). It’s made for your day.
- Sunsama offers basic team views—you can see what teammates planned or completed, making it slightly more collaborative.
That said, both tools are more suited for independent contributors, solopreneurs, or small teams rather than large-scale project management.
Pricing and Value
Plan | Akiflow | Sunsama |
Monthly | $34/month | $20/month |
Yearly | $9.5/month billed annually | $16/month billed annually |
Trial | 7-day free trial | 14-day free trial |
For me, Sunsama felt more worth the price in terms of the emotional value—it reduces planning anxiety. Akiflow felt more like a power tool I’d want on days I need to sprint.
Akiflow Vs. Sunsama: Which One’s Right For You?
Here’s the truth:
If you live in your inbox, love speed, and want to process information lightning-fast — Akiflow is your jam. It’s built for the productivity hacker who thrives on quick capture and control.
If you want a more thoughtful relationship with your work, prefer planning rituals, and want to align your day with intention — Sunsama gives you structure without the chaos.
But what if you want a tool that adapts to your energy, respects your focus, and doesn’t require micromanaging every task?
What If You Didn’t Have to Choose Between Speed and Mindfulness?
That’s why we built Focuzed.io — a task manager that combines the best of both worlds:
- Like Akiflow, it’s fast and frictionless.
- Like Sunsama, it respects your energy and daily bandwidth.
But more importantly:
- See only what matters with a focus-first dashboard that highlights just your tasks for Today and This Week—no clutter or overload.
- Prioritize with purpose using the built-in Eisenhower Matrix to quickly sort urgent vs. important tasks and cut out busywork.
- Schedule around your energy thanks to real-time data from wearables like Oura, WHOOP, and Apple Watch, helping you do deep work when you’re most alert.
- Time-block visually with a drag-and-drop calendar view that integrates directly with Google Calendar—all within the app.
- Stay in the zone using a built-in Pomodoro timer to focus in short, effective sprints—no need for third-party tools.
- Enter deep work mode with Focus Mode, which hides everything except what you're working on, so you can get into flow fast.
- Track your real progress using a live focus counter that shows how many focused hours you’ve logged today—like a subtle productivity scoreboard.
- Get smarter over time with productivity analytics that reveal your focus patterns, task trends, and work consistency.
If you’ve ever felt like traditional planning tools still leave you exhausted, it might be time to try something built around your energy, not just your output.
👉 Try Focuzed.io — the productivity partner designed for makers, founders, and anyone who wants to work smart without burning out.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Akiflow better than Sunsama?
It depends on your style. Akiflow is faster and better for inbox triage, while Sunsama is more mindful and ideal for structured daily planning.
2. Can Akiflow do time blocking like Sunsama?
Yes, Akiflow allows drag-and-drop scheduling into your calendar, but Sunsama is more ritual-based and guided.
3. Do either tools help with focus and energy?
Sunsama encourages limits and intentionality, but neither dynamically adapts to your energy levels like Focuzed.io does.
4. Which tool is better for teams?
Both are primarily solo productivity tools. For team use, Sunsama’s collaborative planning view may be slightly better, but neither is built as a team project manager.
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