Agenda looks great, and I’m hoping that I can port my Bear notes to the app–time is a big missing factor for me in Bear for notes and it doesn’t appear that they’re implementing anything like the Reminder/calendaring capabilities in Agenda any time soon.
Unfortunately there’s no way to trial those features without a purchase. What is the return policy or is there an option to try the premium features for 7 days?
Thanks!
Personally, I use BOTH Bear AND Agenda. I use Bear for the Share Sheet capability and for longer information. Also for the tagging features. Then I simply copy a Bear link and paste in Agenda.
I get that you can certainly use both apps in a complementary fashion–but what I’m finding in my line of work is that keeping notes on a time basis and being able to orient those to projects/to-dos in a more native way (vs simple checkboxes in Bear) are more appropriate. Thanks for the suggestion, but I believe I need to choose one and since Bear can’t effectively integrate time/to-dos today I’m hoping I can trial those features in Agenda.
The trial app is very similar to the premium app. The premium app opens some extra features, but the basic editor and sync etc are all the same, we think it should be enough to judge whether it can replace your current Bear workflow (or even complement it as @SM7 suggested).
Regarding the return policy, this is dictated by the App Store from whom you would officially buy the app. You can read more on the procedure here but it seems they are enforcing quite strict return policies lately.
I get all that–and the organization of Agenda seems to make more sense than Bear for my workflow, especially since most of my deliverables relate to meetings or projects w/ external dependencies and are time sensitive.
I have ADHD and one of the big issues I have is remembering about a note I took in the past. Having notes come back to me at a certain time or having a specific to-do (Reminder) with a due date and time would be super helpful. As of now, my Bear notes sit around and may not re-surface unless I happen to remember to do something with them. Unfortunately it’s become a repository where information goes to collect dust. I’d really like to see how this works for me before spending money on what could be a poor fit.
I intend to subscripe via Paddle rather than the App Store, which I assume gives you move flexibility in terms of pricing and refunds, and hopefully gives you a better cut.
Agenda’s free version is remarkably functional. The core functionality is all there. The paid version is about workflow improvements. In fact there’s not really anything in the paid version that’s not already in the free version in a basic form.
Here’s my experience…
“Neat, it shows all my events from all my calendars on the side bar (free). But, I’d really prefer not to clutter it up with everything on my calendar. Maybe I’ll upgrade so I can choose which calendars get displayed."
“Oooh, I love how I can include pictures in my notes (free). I just wish I could see them better on my roomy iPad screen. Upgrade is looking like more of a possibility…"
(moves a note to the top) “Man, it’s really convenient how I can have dated notes in chronological order, with undated notes inserted wherever I want (free). I really want that note to stay on top though, even when I add a new note or reverse the sort order. $25 for a year of upgrades looks like a pretty good deal.”
“Searching based on dates, tags, and text is really slick (free). Too bad I have to keep re-entering them… each search provides me with a really useful view of my notes. Okay, Agenda. Take my money.”
Bottom line: if you start using Agenda free and find it useful, but keep bumping into its limitations, you will love the paid features. If Agenda free doesn’t really connect with you, paid isn’t going to change that. imo.
Nice write up! Yes, this is basically how we try to design premium features. We give you a lot free, but if you pay, it is just a little more convenient.
I have Bear and Agenda (Premium)–I paid when the app was pretty new because it looked like it had a lot of potential. I’ve found the Reminders integration not very good and in fact I’ll probably not carry on with the Premium version any longer, sadly. Anyway, be careful before you jump is what I am saying.
A pity it didn’t live up to your hopes, but I don’t really see how that’s related to buying or not the premium features. The reminders feature is the same in free vs premium so testing the free version should give you an exact trial of what the quick reminders premium feature would add, allowing you to make a very informed decision on whether it’s worth the value in your opinion.
OK, my apologies, I didn’t realise the Reminders feature was free. On the other hand, maybe it is an illustration of the truism that ‘you get what you pay for!’ For me the Reminders feature was long-awaited and I hoped it would solve some of the difficulty in making Agenda work as part of my system. That turned out not to be the case.
I rather like to think the other way around, that you shouldn’t have to pay for something that doesn’t work for you, it’s a simple truth that we can impossibly be a great fit for everybody. It will work well for some but won’t for others. As @Pat_Maddox nicely described above the free version of Agenda should more than allow you to discover whether Agenda works for you, and if it does, buying the premium features will almost certainly guarantee you will get even more value out of Agenda. If on the other hand the free version of Agenda doesn’t click with the way you work, buying the premium features almost certainly won’t make it either.
I am sure you are right. When I first paid the premium price I did so because I thought Agenda was really worth supporting rather than that any of the features at that time were particularly valuable to me. I am not sorry that I paid, and I think you have a great model. I couldn’t make Agenda work for me in the end, but that undoubtedly arises from my own peculiar way of working. I am sure there are many people who can benefit from Agenda and I wish you well for the future.
Thank you Graham, and definitely much appreciated you decided to support our journey!