Oknola vs ClickUp.
Pick ClickUp if your business runs on tasks: client work, time tracking and Gantt, from $7 to $9 a month billed yearly.
Pick Oknola if your business runs on notes and you want Oknola to type and file them, as plain markdown.
Where ClickUp is better
Project management depth for client work.
Gantt with dependencies, sprints, time tracking, workload and more than 15 views are built in [13].
Where Oknola differs
The structure keeps itself true.
Oknola lays down one structure and keeps it. The pass, the built-in AI tidy-up, types, links and files each capture, and asks you about any it cannot place. A wrong file is refused or fixed, whether you wrote it or an agent did.
Oknola's agents see only the tags you give them.
With the optional agent layer, the assistant you message hands each job to a sub-agent. That sub-agent sees only the files carrying its tags, and a locked note is invisible to every Oknola agent. Agents you run yourself read whatever their machine lets them.
Notes first, tasks inside them.
You write tasks inline in any note, Actions gathers them into views, and on the Execution Canvas you drag one onto an hour beside your Google Calendar.
Your note text on every device, offline.
Every device keeps all your note text, so reading, editing and search work without a connection.
Export any time, or keep the laptop folder.
Your notes are plain markdown in the Open Knowledge Format, the open standard, and the optional laptop folder lets Claude Code, Codex or Cursor open them.
The trade-offs, plainly: Oknola is for one operator, with no guests, seats or shared workspaces. It has no plugin ecosystem, one fixed structure, a cloud copy as the source of truth, and a solo founder behind it.
Side by side
| Point | ClickUp | Oknola |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Teams of all sizes running work as tasks, with Docs beside the projects [1, 13] | A solo operator running a business. One operator only: no guests, seats or shared workspaces. |
| Where your notes live | Cloud database on AWS, AES-256 at rest. Offline, you can view opened items and create tasks only [9, 10] | Oknola's cloud copy, encrypted at rest, never trained on. All note text on every device. Optional laptop folder. |
| Structure | Workspace, Spaces, Folders, Lists, tasks, with freeform views, statuses and fields inside [13] | One fixed structure, the Indexed Brain, from first open. Oknola types and tags each note: enforced, not suggested. |
| Who does the filing | You, with the automation rules you build [13] | Oknola does. The pass types, links and files each capture. What it cannot place comes to you. |
| AI inside | Brain² routes across Claude, GPT and Gemini. Included in one price list (1,000 credits per user a month), or a $9 to $28 add-on in the other [2, 14, 15] | The pass, the built-in AI tidy-up, in the plan. The agent layer is an optional add-on. |
| Outside AI (Claude Code, ChatGPT) | Official MCP server. Without the Everything AI add-on ($28 in one price list): 100 (Free) or 300 (Unlimited) calls per 24 hours [4, 5] | The laptop folder is plain markdown: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or any agent that reads files opens it. On your own server, a headless mirror keeps the same files for your agent. |
| What an agent can reach | Its official MCP server, over OAuth. Without the add-on, every client shares one call budget per Workspace [4, 5] | An Oknola agent: only the files carrying the tags you gave it, never a locked note. Your own agents read what their machine lets them. |
| Price for one person | Free Forever, or $7 to $9 per user a month billed yearly, by price list: Unlimited $7 ($10 monthly) or ClickUp's Core plan $9 [2] | $30 a month or $270 a year, one plan. One operator, never per seat. |
| Trial or free tier | Free Forever in both price lists, with 60 MB of storage. 30-day refund on a first paid plan [2, 3] | No free tier. 15 days free, no card, extends to 30 days, then 45. Read-only after, never deleted. |
| Leaving | Docs export one at a time as Markdown. Tasks export as CSV, by owners and admins only [6, 7, 8] | Export any time, or keep the laptop folder. Plain markdown opens anywhere. |
ClickUp facts checked 29 September 2026, re-checked 14 October 2026, on its own pages and public reviews. Tell us if one is out of date
Use both
If you share work with clients or contractors, keep ClickUp for it: the members, the time tracking and the Gantt chart a client wants to see. Keep Oknola as your company brain, for the notes, decisions, meetings and ideas that are yours alone. The two stay separate. When a client project changes a plan, write the decision into a note.
Moving from ClickUp
Export your Docs as Markdown. ClickUp exports one Doc at a time, all its pages together or one page, as Markdown, HTML or PDF, with embeds left out. There is no bulk export of every Doc [6, 8]. A third-party guide notes that comments are not captured [16].
Export your tasks as CSV. Owners and admins can export tasks with fields, attachment links, time estimates and comments [6, 7]. The link expires after an hour, and on Free and Unlimited only five List, Table or Form views export [7].
Bring the markdown into Oknola. Your notes come in on day one. Markdown stays markdown, and nothing is converted. The pass gives each note a type and files it into the structure at a steady pace, keeping every original word for word. More on the format in What is the Open Knowledge Format.
Keep the rest as files. Tasks, boards and the task CSV do not travel as notes, so you keep that export as a file. ClickUp's export page lists no export for task dependencies or dashboard layouts, and Whiteboards leave only as images or PDF [6].
What ships, and in what order: the Roadmap
Questions
Waitlist
Oknola types and files your notes.
Hear first when the founding pre-sale opens. 15 days free, no card, your notes in on day one.
Sources
Oknola is not affiliated with ClickUp. ClickUp's name and product image belong to its owner.
ClickUp facts checked 29 September 2026, re-checked 14 October 2026. We re-check them every quarter. Tell us if one is out of date
- [1] clickup.com: tagline, audience, platforms.
- [2] clickup.com/pricing: plans, free limits, monthly and yearly prices, AI plans; two price lists in testing on 14 October 2026.
- [3] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6303244318999-Pricing-per-user-role-and-plan: seat model, one-member Workspace, refund, Business Plus.
- [4] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/33335772678423-What-is-ClickUp-MCP: MCP scope and rate limits.
- [5] developer.clickup.com/docs/connect-an-ai-assistant-to-clickups-mcp-server-1: Claude and Claude Code setup, OAuth.
- [6] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6310786693015-How-do-I-export-my-Workspace-s-data: export formats.
- [7] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/30782347809815-Import-and-export-feature-availability-and-limits: export permissions and limits.
- [8] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6325383226391-Export-a-Doc: Doc formats, embeds excluded.
- [9] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6308895791127-Offline-Mode: offline behavior.
- [10] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6327713963031-Privacy-and-security: AWS, AES-256, TLS.
- [11] capterra.com/p/158833/ClickUp/reviews: 4.6, 4,639 reviews, review text.
- [12] clickup.com/download: platforms.
- [13] help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/40981137088791-ClickUp-vs-Notion-Docs-Wikis-and-Project-Management: ClickUp's own comparison with Notion: hierarchy, views, project tools, automations and integrations.
- [14] clickup.com/learn/topic/project-management/tools/clickup/news: 2026 changelog.
- [15] clickup.com/blog/brain-2-launch: Brain² details.
- [16] minibase.md/blog/clickup-docs-to-markdown-guide: third party, Doc export gaps, API blocks (April 2026).