OmniOutliner Review: Is This The Best Outlining Tool?

This OmniOutliner review covers the pros and cons of OmniOutliner, my favorite features, and if it’s worth it.

OmniOutliner allows you to save time by making it easy to create blog outlines, video scripts, to-do lists, and school essays.

I’ve been using it for a few months to help me write articles, and it has increased my productivity.

In this post, I’ll talk about my experiences with OmniOutliner. I’ll cover what it is, who it’s for, and if it’s worth your time and money.

What Is OmniOutliner?

OmniOutliner is an outlining app developed by The Omni Group and released in March 2021.

The Omni Group created this software to help writers streamline creative processes. This is because building an outline with OmniOutliner is simple. 

All you have to do is research your target keyword, gather a few subtopics that other websites are covering, and build your outline within OmniOutliner. You can scroll through H2s and H3s with the toolbar on the left. It works just as well if you’re writing a book and need to structure chapters and scenes. 

But this software does more than help with outlines. If you’re a YouTuber or video marketer, feel free to use OmniOutliner to take notes and create sections where you cover specific topics. So, when you’re recording, everything is organized and in chronological order.

You’ll find helpful features like:

• Keyword filtering
• Mind mapping
• Research search
• Dark mode
• Hardware keyboard shortcuts

These features all make writing more effortless. For example, you can spot specific words in your outline with keyword filtering, so optimizing content for search engines is straightforward.

The inline notes feature also helps organize outlines, especially if they are longer. Each piece of text in OmniOutliner has a row you can use to add notes. If you have a heading in an article that talks about benefits, use this feature to make notes on what you want to cover.

OmniOutliner Pricing

OmniOutliner offers a basic subscription plan that costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. If you want to avoid monthly payments, you can buy OmniOutliner for a once-off price:

1. OmniOutliner Essentials cost $19.99
2. OmniOutliner Pro costs $99.99

With the subscription plan, you’ll access all the features OmniOutliner offers. If you want to buy the OmniOutliner tool, the Essential option will only give you access to basic features like the outline tool, keyword filtering, and document syncing. But with the professional plan, you can use smart columns, password protection, and keyboard shortcuts.

Now, let’s look at who’ll benefit from using OmniOutliner.

Who Is OmniOutliner For?

After using this writing tool to create outlines, video scripts, reading lists, and to-do lists, I find it’ll empower the lives of:

• Bloggers and freelance writers
• Video creators
• Entrepreneurs 

Bloggers And Freelance Writers

As a freelance writer, structuring your day is essential because it lets you know what you must do and how quickly it needs to be done. You might have already learned that doing this without a to-do list is challenging. 

With OmniOutliner, you can create a to-do list the night before. So, when you wake up in the morning and head to your desk, you’ll have your entire day planned already.

Before you start creating content, you’ll need an outline. Fortunately, OmniOutliner makes this simple. Simply go to your dashboard, choose a new file, and build your article structure. You’ll find heading options on the left, and on the right, you can add notes.

If you’re reading a few books, use OmniOutliner to make a book list and keep track of reading material with the outline and column checkbox feature. Add a column and make notes to keep track of your story.

Video Creators 

Creating a video script is a hassle without the proper tools. Fortunately, building a script in OmniOutliner is easy. You can add a column on the right and jot down any pointers you don’t want to forget when recording.

This saves recording and video editing time because you’ll have your entire script already laid out.

You can also export video scripts with file formats like:

• CSV
• Plaintext
• HTML
• Microsoft Word
• OPML
• PowerPoint

If you employ animators, voice actors, and scriptwriters, share this OmniOutliner file with them and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Entrepreneurs 

OmniOutliner is a valuable writing tool for anyone running a business. It makes content creation and collaboration straightforward.

You’ll find unique features like multitasking. This allows you to complete other tasks while creating content, taking notes, making a to-do list, or reviewing a video script.

OmniOutliner’s team plan also lets you invite your entire team to the platform so you can collaborate. This streamlines writing processes and saves you and your team hours.

The feature that can empower entrepreneurs the most is its syncing abilities. If you have a business idea while running errands, whip out your iPad or iPhone and jot it down. Then, when you get to the office, it’ll be waiting on your desktop. This way, you’ll never forget creative business ideas.

How Does OmniOutliner Work?

OmniOutliner is only available on Mac and iOS. So, if you have a Windows or Android device, consider an alternative like Notion.

To sign up, go to Omnigroup.com/omnioutliner/ and select the “Free Trial” option at the top right. From here, you want to click on the downloaded file on the bottom left. Once the software is on your desktop or mobile device, install it.

You’ll also need to enter your credit card information, OmniOutliner won’t charge you for 14 days because you get a 14-day free trial. If you don’t like the platform for some reason, simply cancel your trial, and OmniOutliner won’t charge you. 

On top of your dashboard, you’ll find a few dropdowns with features like a distraction-free mode and smart columns. I suggest playing around with this interface to get a feel for it and make use of all OmniOutliner features.

Now that we know how OmniOutliner works, let’s look at my favorite features starting with the distraction-free mode.

Distraction-Free Mode

Distractions are the leading cause behind writer’s block and creative ruts. If you’re being distracted every five minutes, it’ll be impossible to get your creative juices flowing. 

But with OmniOutliner’s distraction-free mode, you get rid of the toolbar and pop-up lists on your desktop, leaving you with just the blank screen. This is helpful because getting work done is more effortless, and you won’t get distracted.

To enable distraction-free mode, click the “OmniOutliner” icon in the top left, select “Preferences” in the dropdown, and opt for “Distraction Free Mode.”

Document Syncing With Your Team

With OmniOutliner’s team plan, invite your employees and colleagues to join you. This way, you can share important documents, ideas, and blog post outlines.

For example, let’s say you’re creating content with your team. Invite your content strategist, freelance writers, and content editors to the tool. From here, your strategist can research potential topics and share them with writers. Once the writer has completed the outline or blog post, the editor can make changes and share updates.

The best part is you can see all this happening from your dashboard, so it’s easy to stay on top of things.

Or, if you’re an author, use this writing software to create your book outline and invite your editors and researchers. So, while you’re building a book structure, your team can suggest how to improve flow.

Multitask

With this multitasking feature, you can use OmniOutliner 3 or 5 alongside any other Apple app store software like OmniFocus, OmniPresence, Evernote, and Zoom. This is available in full screen, split view, and slide over.

So, you can get more work done in the same amount of time. For example, if you have a weekly meeting with your team via Zoom, use this multitasking feature to split and share your screen. This results in more engaging and informative meetings.

Even though OmniOutliner is a useful tool for writers, there are a few areas for improvement.

Areas For Improvement

Although OmniOutliner can help bloggers and video creators build outlines, there are a few cons. These are some areas where I think OmniOutliner should focus on developing.

It’s Quite Expensive

OmniOutliner costs $99, and although it offers valuable features, I feel like this price is too high. If you’re looking for a more affordable plan, you might consider OmniOutliner Essentials which is $19.99. Since your features are limited on this plan, you might as well opt for a free tool like Draft.

Read our Draft review.

It’s Only Available On macOS And iOS

I’d like the developers of OmniOutliner to create an app that’s compatible with Android and Windows devices. If users have a macOS desktop and an Android phone, they can’t use the note-taking and document syncing features.

If you’re using a Windows or Android device, then OmniOutliner isn’t an option for you. Instead, consider an alternative like Notion.

Read our Notion review.

OmniOutliner Review Criteria

When testing and reviewing OmniOutliner 5, I used the following criteria to find out if it’s a practical tool:

• Ease of use
• Functionality
• Affordability
• Additional features

OmniOutliner meets all these criteria except affordability. The platform is a bit expensive for the number of features offered. If you’re looking to save money in the short term, you might opt for the $4.99 per month plan. However, this limits your options, and many free tools like Draft can do the same thing.

OmniOutliner meets the other criteria. It’s easy to use since the dashboard is straightforward, it streamlines your creative processes, and other additional features like multitasking empower busy individuals’ lives.

Why You Can Trust Me

After building outlines in Google Docs for years, I learned about OmniOutliner and liked the interface. Building outlines for long blog posts and novels is simple, and I can scroll through all H2’s and H3’s with the sidebar on the left.

I don’t only use it as an outlining software. The distraction-free mode makes it easy to get into flow and create better writing. If I’m on the go, I can also take notes on the mobile app, and it’ll appear on my laptop. With the multitasking feature, I can get more done in less time which is helpful when struggling to meet deadlines.