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ByDesign

Comparison

ByDesign
Strides

ByDesign vs Strides

Strides measures your progress. ByDesign builds the plan that makes it.

Strides tracks anything with four tracker types, a pace line that shows whether you’re on target, reminders, streaks and reports, on Apple devices and Android. ByDesign starts from the goal: AI builds the tasks and schedules them around your hours, your calendar syncs both ways, and habits, notes, a Pomodoro timer and a year-to-day canvas live in the same app, on every platform.

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What you get with ByDesign that Strides doesn’t offer

  • A plan, not just a tracker

    Say a goal and ByDesign writes the tasks, subtasks, courses and deadlines, then schedules them with a preview you approve. Strides tracks habits, numbers and projects with milestones and checklists against a pace line, and since version 20 it has tasks; the plan is yours to write.

  • A calendar that plans your day

    Two-way sync with Google and Apple Calendar, auto-scheduling around your hours, and time blocking. Strides has reminders and a Daily Goals list of what needs logging today, with no calendar sync.

  • Notes, focus and the long view

    Nested pages, a Pomodoro timer, time tracking and a canvas from the year down to the day. Strides keeps a note on each log and shows reports by week, month, year or all-time.

  • Every platform, and your team

    Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, iPad and Android, with shared pages, assignments and chat. Strides runs on Apple devices and Android with no web or Windows app, and its accountability partners and team goals need iCloud, so they work on Apple devices only.

ByDesign vs Strides, feature by feature

Only the differences. What both apps do the same is listed underneath.

  • Included
  • Limited
  • Not available

AI planning

  • AI goal plans

    ByDesign

    Included: Built and scheduledTasks, subtasks, courses and deadlines land on your calendar; AI and AI Plus plans

    Strides

    Not available: Templates and a 3-step SMART setupYou set the target value and date yourself

  • AI scheduling with a preview you approve

    ByDesign

    Included: Preview, then acceptConflicts shown; nothing saves until you say so; AI and AI Plus plans

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Auto-schedule around your hours

    ByDesign

    Included: Rules you setWork hours, breaks, buffers, max hours a day, split long tasks

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Planning assistant chat

    ByDesign

    Included: In the app, full contextSees your calendar, goals, habits and notes; moves and reschedules items; AI and AI Plus plans

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Voice control

    ByDesign

    Included: Mic and hands-freeOptional wake phrase; AI and AI Plus plans

    Strides

    Limited: Siri ShortcutsLog a habit, or a value through a custom shortcut

Calendar and views

  • Two-way calendar sync

    ByDesign

    Included: Google and AppleEdit events in either place; Outlook and ICS subscriptions too

    Strides

    Not available: Reminders insteadTrackers come due on chosen days with reminder times

  • Year-to-day planning canvas

    ByDesign

    Included: Year to dayYear, quarter, month, week and day on one zoomable surface; AI and AI Plus plans

    Strides

    Limited: ReportsProgress by week, month, year or all-time; no planning view

  • Kanban boards

    ByDesign

    Included: Custom columnsMain board plus boards per page

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Sticky notes, images and pinned pages on the calendar

    ByDesign

    Included: Yes

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Customisable dashboard

    ByDesign

    Included: Drag-and-drop widgetsScore board, tasks, habits, inbox, pinned pages, Kanban

    Strides

    Limited: Reports and custom layoutsGroup by tag, area of life or timeframe; Progress Reports and Tags & Filters are Plus

Notes, focus and learning

  • Notes and pages

    ByDesign

    Included: Nested pagesTables, code, embeds, sub-pages, backlinks; publish to the web

    Strides

    Limited: Notes on logsA note per log; Goal Notes come with Plus

  • Courses and roadmaps from the Hub

    ByDesign

    Included: The HubCourses, roadmaps and a habit library; schedule a roadmap straight onto your calendar

    Strides

    Limited: Goal-setting video courseFree, English only; tracker templates by category

  • Pomodoro timer

    ByDesign

    Included: Built in25/5/15 cycles with a floating timer

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Time tracking on tasks

    ByDesign

    Included: Start and pause on any taskTotals per task; “most tracked” filter

    Strides

    Limited: Logged valuesEnter minutes by hand or pull them from Apple Health; no timer

Collaboration and platforms

  • MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants

    ByDesign

    Included: YesClaude Desktop, Claude Code and ChatGPT guides

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Share pages and assign tasks

    ByDesign

    Included: View, comment or editAssign tasks; @mention in comments

    Strides

    Limited: Accountability partnersInvite people to see trackers you choose; Apple devices only, iCloud required

  • Built-in chat

    ByDesign

    Included: Direct and groupThreads, reactions, polls

    Strides

    Not available: No

  • Team plans

    ByDesign

    Included: Per seatAdd or remove members in settings

    Strides

    Limited: CollaborationSet a goal and work on it together as a team; Apple devices only

  • Apps

    ByDesign

    Included: Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, iPad and Android

    Strides

    Limited: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch and AndroidNo web or Windows app

Strides column based on help centre, features, goal-setting course, App Store listing and Google Play listing on October 26, 2026. If something has changed, email info@bydesign.io.

Both apps cover the basics

  • Habit tracker with streaks
  • Goals with progress tracking
  • Tasks with due dates (new in Strides 20)
  • Reminders
  • Tags and filters
  • Templates to start from
  • Home-screen widgets
  • Sync across devices
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Why people switch from Strides to ByDesign

Say the goal. Get a scheduled plan.

Tell ByDesign what you want to achieve. It asks a few questions, then builds the tasks, subtasks, courses and deadlines and schedules them around the life you already have. Replan in one message.

Strides: In Strides you pick a tracker type, set the target value and date, and log progress against the pace line. Nothing is generated for you, and nothing lands on a calendar.

ByDesign AI goal plan with tasks, tags and durations

Your calendar, both ways

Connect Google or Apple Calendar and edit an event in either place, with Outlook and ICS subscriptions too. Auto-scheduling fills the real gaps around the meetings already there.

Strides: Strides doesn’t connect to a calendar. Trackers come due on the days you choose, with reminders at the times you set.

Google, Microsoft and Apple calendars syncing with ByDesign

Your whole year on one surface

The planning canvas zooms from the full year down to a single day. Pin goals, notes and milestones where they belong, drag anything, and the plan keeps up.

Strides: Strides shows each tracker’s charts and a Reports tab you can filter by tag and period. There is no planning view, no pages and no Kanban.

ByDesign planning canvas showing a full year of plans

On every device, with your team

ByDesign runs on the web, Mac, Windows, iOS, iPad and Android. Share pages, assign tasks, @mention in comments and chat in the app.

Strides: Strides runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro and Android. Accountability partners can see trackers you choose, on Apple devices only, and there is no assigning, commenting or chat.

ByDesign team workspace

Don’t take our word for it.

  • From E

    I really like ByDesign - a lot. I was looking for something that works for me but is also simple and intuitive enough to work for my 12 yr old daughter who needs to start planning out her homework and chores around her other calendar events. I think this is it - and I have looked at a lot of your competitors - Notion, Motion, Tick Tick, To-Do, Todoist. None have the simplicity of user interface combined with the rich features (but not overly complex). love it😍

  • From Narovsky

    Hello! Just found byDesign less than 8 hours ago, and I’m blown away. It has the best of Workflowy (10 yr customer now), Notion, Google Calendar and ICQ (haha)! Oh and a neat Facebook too -- minus the obscure relatives and friends that rant-post too often. Anyhoo, just wanted to say you guys are working on a winner here

  • App Store Review

    I have tried pretty much every calendar app and this one is the best I’ve tried.

See All The Love →

Make the switch in three steps

No setup project. Start free, connect the calendar you already use, and give ByDesign your first goal.

  1. Start your free trial. No credit card.
  2. Connect your Google, Apple or Outlook calendar.
  3. Say your first goal and watch the plan land on your calendar.

Ready to plan the goal, not just measure it?

Start free. No credit card. Tell ByDesign a goal and watch the plan land on your calendar.

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