What is the best Goblin Tools alternative?

It depends on what you want after the breakdown. If you want the steps handed to you one at a time until a goal is done, that is what Nearer is built for. Routines and flashcards live in the same app too.

Does Nearer break tasks down with AI like Magic ToDo?

Yes. Describe a goal and Nearer writes it as small steps. If any step still feels too big, press Break apart and it splits that step into smaller ones.

Is Nearer free like Goblin Tools?

No. Every account gets a 7-day trial of the full app with no card, then $79.99 per year, or $9.99 per month. If your trial ends, your lists are kept and come back when you subscribe.

A Goblin Tools alternative that walks you through the steps, one card at a time

Goblin Tools’ Magic ToDo is one of the best ways to break a task into steps. A lot of people find Nearer after using it. They like the breakdown. They have a good list of steps and still struggle to work through it, day after day.

The short version

Goblin Tools is a set of small, separate helpers, and Magic ToDo writes a breakdown as a checklist. Nearer is one app built around a single card. It breaks a goal into steps, shows you only the next one, and moves on when you finish. If you want a quick breakdown and the other goblins too, Goblin Tools is the better fit. Try Nearer when the breakdown is done and the doing is where you get stuck.

Breaking it down is only the first half

A good breakdown turns one scary task into twelve small ones. That helps a lot. But twelve small steps on one screen is still twelve things to look at. Every time you come back, you have to find your place and choose again.

Nearer is built for the second half. You see one step. When it is done, the next one is already there. If a step still feels too big, you break it apart and work through the smaller steps, and finishing them completes the bigger one.

We walk through the method, with a worked example, in big goal, no idea where to start.

Goblin Tools vs Nearer, dimension by dimension

Goblin Tools vs Nearer
Dimension	Goblin Tools	Nearer
What you see	Magic ToDo shows the whole breakdown as a checklist. Taskmaster, a separate tool, lets you scroll a tab and pick an item to work on.	One card. The next step arrives on its own when you finish, with nothing to scroll or choose.
	Many people stall at the moment they have to pick the next step. Nearer makes that pick for you.
Steps inside steps	Any item can be broken down again, and the smaller steps sit nested under it in the list.	Break apart a step and you work through its smaller steps one at a time. Finishing them ticks off the bigger step and takes you back up.
	You only ever look at one layer, so going deeper never makes the screen busier.
Shape of the product	Nine separate tools, from Magic ToDo to Formalizer, Judge and Chef, each doing one job.	One app for working through things: tasks, routines and flashcards, all one card at a time.
	Goblin Tools covers more kinds of help. Nearer goes deeper on the one job of getting through your list.
Repeating work	No routine tool.	Routines are their own list type and reset daily, weekly, monthly, on completion or by hand.
	Daily habits can live in the same place as the goal you are working on, without cluttering it.
Studying	No flashcard tool.	Flashcards are a third kind of list. Nearer shows each card again just before you would forget it.
	If you are revising for something, it can sit beside your tasks rather than in another app.
Where it runs	A website plus Android and iPhone apps, with an optional account that syncs your lists.	Any web browser, on your phone or computer, and it keeps your place on both. There is no App Store or Google Play app.
	Goblin Tools has the edge here if you want an app from the store.

What you see

Goblin Tools: Magic ToDo shows the whole breakdown as a checklist. Taskmaster, a separate tool, lets you scroll a tab and pick an item to work on.
Nearer: One card. The next step arrives on its own when you finish, with nothing to scroll or choose.

Many people stall at the moment they have to pick the next step. Nearer makes that pick for you.

Steps inside steps

Goblin Tools: Any item can be broken down again, and the smaller steps sit nested under it in the list.
Nearer: Break apart a step and you work through its smaller steps one at a time. Finishing them ticks off the bigger step and takes you back up.

You only ever look at one layer, so going deeper never makes the screen busier.

Shape of the product

Goblin Tools: Nine separate tools, from Magic ToDo to Formalizer, Judge and Chef, each doing one job.
Nearer: One app for working through things: tasks, routines and flashcards, all one card at a time.

Goblin Tools covers more kinds of help. Nearer goes deeper on the one job of getting through your list.

Repeating work

Goblin Tools: No routine tool.
Nearer: Routines are their own list type and reset daily, weekly, monthly, on completion or by hand.

Daily habits can live in the same place as the goal you are working on, without cluttering it.

Studying

Goblin Tools: No flashcard tool.
Nearer: Flashcards are a third kind of list. Nearer shows each card again just before you would forget it.

If you are revising for something, it can sit beside your tasks rather than in another app.

Where it runs

Goblin Tools: A website plus Android and iPhone apps, with an optional account that syncs your lists.
Nearer: Any web browser, on your phone or computer, and it keeps your place on both. There is no App Store or Google Play app.

Goblin Tools has the edge here if you want an app from the store.

We describe Goblin Tools in general terms because its tools change often. Check goblin.tools for current details.

Who should try Nearer

· You have a good breakdown and still don’t work through it.
· Choosing which step to do next is where you get stuck.
· Your goal will take weeks, and you want to come back and see the right next step straight away.
· You want routines or flashcards in the same place as your tasks.

Who should stay with Goblin Tools

· You only need a quick breakdown now and then, and a checklist is all you want.
· You use the other goblins, like Formalizer or Judge, as much as Magic ToDo.
· You want an app from the App Store or Google Play.

Starting out

Pick the goal you most recently broke down in Magic ToDo and describe it to Nearer. Let it write the steps, then do just the first card and see how the next one feels. The trial runs 7 days without a card, so nothing is at stake while you try it.

Try Nearer free for 7 days

No credit card required. See pricing.

Common questions

What is the best Goblin Tools alternative?: It depends on what you want after the breakdown. If you want the steps handed to you one at a time until a goal is done, that is what Nearer is built for. Routines and flashcards live in the same app too.
Does Nearer break tasks down with AI like Magic ToDo?: Yes. Describe a goal and Nearer writes it as small steps. If any step still feels too big, press Break apart and it splits that step into smaller ones.
Is Nearer free like Goblin Tools?: No. Every account gets a 7-day trial of the full app with no card, then $79.99 per year, or $9.99 per month. If your trial ends, your lists are kept and come back when you subscribe.