TL;DR
Aftertone: £20/mo or £100 lifetime. macOS productivity system — tasks, time blocking, Focus Screen, behavioural AI, weekly reports.
Sorted³: Free (basic) or ~$15/yr pro. Hyper-scheduling app combining tasks and calendar in a timeline. Auto Schedule fills gaps. iOS and macOS.
Key difference: Sorted³ auto-schedules tasks into timeline gaps. Aftertone gives you a focus environment and weekly improvement loop.
Sorted³ combines tasks and calendar events in a single timeline view. Its signature feature — Auto Schedule — takes your unscheduled tasks and fits them into available gaps in your day. Drag to rearrange, pinch to adjust duration, and everything flows.
For people who think in timelines and want every minute accounted for, Sorted³ is elegant. But there's no dedicated focus mode, no behavioural AI, and no weekly reports.
Aftertone trades auto-scheduling flexibility for execution depth: Focus Screen, AI pattern analysis, weekly improvement reports.
Side-by-Side
Feature | Aftertone | Sorted³ |
|---|---|---|
Pricing | £20/mo or £100 lifetime | Free (limited). Pro: ~$15/yr. |
Platform | macOS (iOS/Android coming) | iOS, macOS |
Task management | Native — keyboard shortcut capture, project tags, filtering | Unified timeline with tasks and calendar events, nested tasks, tags |
Time blocking | Visual time blocks with daily structure | Auto Schedule fills gaps automatically. Gesture-based duration adjustment. |
AI | Silent behavioural AI — tracks patterns, weekly insight reports | Auto Schedule algorithm (rule-based, not learning AI) |
Focus mode | Focus Screen — context-aware, current task, overdue flags, 1-2-3 shortcuts | None |
Weekly reports | Automated, AI-generated, personalised | None |
Calendar sync | Google Calendar, two-way | Apple Calendar, Google Calendar |
Where Aftertone pulls ahead
The Focus Screen
Sorted³ shows your timeline. Aftertone's Focus Screen shows only your current task — nothing else — with adaptive shortcuts.
Behavioural AI and weekly reports
Sorted³ doesn't track patterns or generate insights. Aftertone watches your week and tells you what to change.
Execution depth
Sorted³ plans your day. Aftertone helps you work through it and improve each week.
Where Sorted³ is the better fit
Sorted³'s Auto Schedule feature is the headline: it looks at your available calendar gaps and fits your unscheduled tasks into them automatically, based on estimated duration and priority. For people who struggle with the manual step of placing tasks into time slots, this removes friction from the planning process.
The gesture-based interface is fast and intuitive, particularly on iPhone. Pinch to resize time blocks, drag to reorder, swipe to reschedule. Sorted³ is genuinely mobile-first in a way that Aftertone isn't — it works better on iOS than any competitor in the time-blocking space.
At around $15 per year, Sorted³ is one of the cheapest structured planning tools available. It runs on iOS and macOS. If you're on a tight budget and want timeline-based planning, the value per pound is hard to beat.
For people who think in terms of complete day plans — every hour accounted for, tasks and events in a single view — Sorted³'s unified timeline is cleaner than switching between a task list and a calendar.
3-year cost comparison
Aftertone costs £100 once. Sorted³ costs approximately $15 per year — that's $45 over three years. By the end of year one, Sorted³ already costs more than Aftertone's lifetime price. Over three years, you'd spend 0.5× more on Sorted³. Both are independently built tools. Only one lets you stop paying.
Who should choose Sorted³
If you need cross-platform support beyond macOS, Sorted³ may be the better fit today. If you rely heavily on integrations with other tools in your stack, check whether Sorted³ connects to what you use daily. And if Sorted³'s specific approach — its unique features and design philosophy — matches how you prefer to work, it's worth trying.
But if you want a productivity system that goes beyond planning into execution, evaluation, and optimisation — with behavioral AI that learns your patterns and a Focus Screen that protects your attention — Aftertone goes deeper. And it costs less to own forever than most competitors charge per year.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sorted³ better than Aftertone?
It depends on what you need. Sorted³ has its own strengths — particularly if you need broader platform support or specific integrations. Aftertone is stronger on execution: its Focus Screen, behavioral AI, and weekly reports create a four-phase productivity system (plan, execute, evaluate, optimise) that most competitors don't attempt.
Does Aftertone work on Windows or Linux?
Not yet. Aftertone is currently macOS-only, built as a native Mac app for performance and deep OS integration. iOS and Android apps are in development. If you need Windows or Linux support today, Sorted³ may be a better short-term choice.
Can I use Aftertone with Google Calendar?
Yes. Aftertone syncs with Google Calendar via two-way sync. Your time blocks, events, and schedule changes appear in both apps. Aftertone adds the productivity layer — tasks, Focus Screen, AI insights — on top of your existing calendar.
Is Aftertone's lifetime plan really one payment?
Yes. £100 once, then it's yours. No annual renewals, no price increases, no feature gates behind higher tiers. Every feature — behavioral AI, Focus Screen, weekly reports, unlimited projects — is included.
What if I'm switching from Sorted³ to Aftertone?
Aftertone syncs with Google Calendar, so any events you have there will appear automatically. For tasks, you'll need to recreate them in Aftertone — but the keyboard shortcut capture makes this fast. Most users are fully set up within a day.
Related reading
For more context on how Aftertone compares in the broader productivity landscape, see Best Mac Calendar Apps for Time Blocking (2026) and Productivity Methods Compared.
Bottom line
Sorted³ is an elegant hyper-scheduling app for people who want every minute of their day planned. Aftertone is a productivity system for people who want to work through that plan with real focus and improve week over week. Both start with structure — what happens after that is where they diverge. Try Aftertone free at aftertone.io.
