Todoist is a polished cross-platform task manager with natural-language input and 90+ integrations. Start Page HQ is the new-tab dashboard that puts a todo list right next to your weather, RSS, and calendar — 63+ widgets in one plan.
Before we get into where Start Page HQ goes further, credit where it's due.
Specific differences, not vague claims.
Todoist is a dedicated app for tasks. Start Page HQ puts a todo list alongside RSS, weather, calendar, habits, links, and 63+ other widgets — your tasks live in context with the rest of your day.
Todoist Pro covers tasks, reminders, and labels. Start Page HQ ships Todo plus Kanban tasks, habits, Pomodoro, calendar, notes, AI tools, and dev utilities — all included.
Todoist is a destination you open. Start Page HQ lives on every new tab in your browser — your todo list is visible the moment a tab opens, no shortcut or quick-add window required.
Habit streaks and focus timers ship as separate widgets you can place anywhere on a page. Todoist has limited habit support and no native Pomodoro.
Todoist Pro and Business price per user. Start Page HQ starts free (1 page, 8 widgets, sync included), then a flat $3.99/month, $25/year, or $49 lifetime — every widget, every page, no per-seat math.
Use startpagehq.com on any browser, or install extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. No native install required to get going.
An honest line-by-line look at how the two stack up.
| Feature | Todoist | Start Page HQ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free or $4-$8/user/mo | Free plan; $3.99/mo, $25/yr, $49 LTD |
| Free tier | Yes (5 projects) | 1 page, 8 widgets |
| Lives on every new tab | No | Yes |
| Chrome | Yes | Yes |
| Firefox | Yes | Yes |
| Safari | Yes | Yes |
| Edge | Yes | Yes |
| Hosted web app | Yes | Yes |
| iOS / Android apps | Yes | Web app (PWA) |
| Native desktop apps | Yes | No |
| Cross-device sync | Included | Included |
| Natural-language task input | Yes | No |
| Todo / task list widget | Yes | Yes |
| Kanban / board view | Pro tier | Tasks widget |
| Habit tracker | Limited | Built-in |
| Pomodoro timer | No | Built-in |
| Calendar widget | Integration | Built-in |
| RSS / news / podcasts | No | Yes |
| AI tools (image gen, translation, summary) | Assist add-on | Included |
| Developer tools (JSON, regex, diff) | No | Yes |
| Integrations / app marketplace | 90+ | Built-in widgets |
Drop these onto your dashboard and you've covered Todoist's core features — plus a lot more.
For personal task management — daily todos, recurring tasks, projects — the Todo widget covers the core workflow. If you rely on Todoist's natural-language date parsing or its 90+ integrations with email and voice assistants, those are still Todoist's strengths. Many users use Todoist for advanced task workflows and Start Page HQ for the new-tab dashboard.
Yes — there is a free plan, and signup takes no credit card. It covers 1 page with up to 8 widgets, 55 of the 63 widget types including Todo and Habit Tracker, cross-device sync, every browser extension, and 50 AI credits granted once. Extra pages, the 8 premium widgets (Kanban Tasks among them), and uploads need a paid plan: $3.99/month, $25/year, or $49 one-time. The demo at startpagehq.com/demo needs no signup and unlocks every widget.
Todoist is free for up to 5 projects; Pro is around $4/month annual ($5 monthly), and Business is around $8/user/month. Start Page HQ has a free plan capped at 1 page and 8 widgets, then a flat $3.99/month, $25/year, or $49 lifetime — every widget included, no per-seat math.
Yes. Cross-device sync is included on every plan, the free one included. Sign in once and your todos, habits, and dashboards sync across every browser and device automatically.
There is no automated Todoist importer. Most users export their Todoist projects to CSV and recreate the lists in the Todo widget in a few minutes. The Links widget is also a handy place to keep your most-used Todoist URLs alongside the new dashboard.
Start Page HQ's Todo widget uses standard date pickers rather than parsing free-form text. If natural-language input is core to your workflow, Todoist still has the edge on that one feature.
Start free — 1 page, 8 widgets, sync across devices, no credit card. Or open the live demo first, no signup needed.