Motion alternatives: where to go, and how to leave cleanly
Eight planners and task apps, one reason to leave per tool, and a seven-step exit plan.
The short answer: Reclaim is the closest cheaper match if you want to keep auto-scheduling (it even has a free plan), Morgen if you want the AI to suggest instead of decide, Sunsama if you'd rather plan your day yourself each morning, and FlowSavvy if your budget is tight. Motion costs at least $29 a month for one person billed yearly, $49 billed monthly. One thing to know before you pick: Motion's help center documents no way to export your tasks. We compared eight destinations, with their 2026 prices and the real way to bring your work over.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why people leave Motion, even when they liked the idea
Motion (usemotion.com, not Apple's animation app) makes a strong promise: hand it your tasks and deadlines, and its AI fits them into your calendar and reshuffles them when your day changes. Fans say it cuts the time they spend planning. People who leave do it for six reasons that keep coming up in public reviews, App Store comments and Motion's own help center.
The price
For one person, Pro AI costs $29 a month billed yearly and $49 billed monthly. Business AI goes to $39 and $69. Through the US App Store, the in-app purchase is $44.99 a month or $294.99 a year. For scale, Reclaim's Starter plan is $10 a month billed yearly. "Overpriced" is the word that shows up most in negative reviews.
No simple plan left after the AI pivot
In 2025 Motion repositioned itself around "AI Employees". Only two plans remain, Pro AI and Business AI, each with an AI credit allowance (7,500 per seat per month on Pro AI, 15,000 on Business AI). The credits power AI Chat and the AI Meeting Notetaker. If you came for the smart calendar alone, you now pay for a suite you don't use.
Renewals that catch people off guard
The angriest recent reviews are about billing: a yearly auto-renewal nobody remembered, a charge after a canceled trial, support requests left unanswered. Motion's help center says it plainly: canceling does not trigger an automatic refund. The trial also asks for your card and places a $1 hold to verify the account.
An AI that decides for you
Motion reschedules on its own, and that's exactly what wears some people out: a plan that keeps moving during the day, tasks pushed to tomorrow, no "suggest, then I approve" step. Some users also say the meeting AI produces too many action items. If you want to stay in charge, pick a tool that proposes before it moves anything.
Seats sold in bundles
For teams, Motion sells seats in bundles: 1, 3, 5, then in steps of 5. The help center's own example: 6 people means buying the 10-seat plan. On team Pro AI ($19 per seat per month billed yearly), that's four seats paid for nothing.
Deleting is final
Motion's help center says deleted tasks, projects and workspaces can't be restored. Combined with no documented task export, it means leaving takes a bit of planning. The good news is that your events never lived in Motion: they stay in Google, Outlook or iCloud.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Motion alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Usually one card fits. Each one links to the full profile below.
Free plan, then Starter at $10 a month billed yearly. Works with Outlook too.
You want the AI to suggest and you to approveMorgen14-day trial with no card, and 15% off if you come from a competitor.
You'd rather plan your day by handSunsamaA guided morning ritual, $17 a month billed yearly.
Your tasks come from everywhereAkiflowOne inbox for everything, then drag tasks into your calendar.
Your budget is tightFlowSavvyFree auto-scheduling up to two weeks out, Pro at $10.
It's your team that runs projectsClickUpProjects, tasks and docs together, Core at $9 billed yearly.
Motion alternatives, tool by tool
For each tool: why switch to it, who it's for, its limit, how to bring your work over, and what it costs. Prices are in US dollars as shown on each vendor's pricing page in 2026, before tax. Scores come from our reviews and our Reclaim alternatives ranking.
Reclaim: auto-scheduling with a real free plan
Closest cheaper matchWhy switch to Reclaim. It's the tool closest to Motion's core idea: it places your tasks in your calendar for you. The difference is the bill. Lite is free, Starter is $10 per user per month billed yearly ($12 monthly), Business $15 ($18 monthly), Enterprise $22 billed yearly only. Our full Reclaim review scores it 3.8 out of 5.
Who it's for. Freelancers and managers who live in Google Calendar or Outlook and want auto-scheduling without paying $29 a month.
Who it's not for. Anyone looking for a full project tool: Reclaim stays a layer on top of your calendar.
Its limit. The free plan only schedules one week ahead and syncs one calendar. For a longer horizon, you need Starter.
How to move from Motion. Don't count on a direct import: re-enter your active tasks, then let Reclaim schedule them. Start on Lite during your last month of Motion so you can compare both calendars side by side at no extra cost.
- Free
- Lite, 1-week scheduling
- Paid
- Starter $10/mo yearly, $12 monthly
- Best for
- Google Calendar or Outlook
- Score
- 3.8 out of 5
Morgen: the AI proposes, you decide
Stay in controlWhy switch to Morgen. Morgen answers the most specific complaint about Motion, an AI that decides alone: the vendor pitches an assistant that proposes a plan and lets you approve it. Individual is $15 a month billed yearly, $30 monthly. Morgen offers 15% off to people switching from a competitor, and a 30-day refund. We score it 3.9 out of 5.
Who it's for. People who liked Motion's idea but not watching their day move without them, and anyone juggling several calendars.
Who it's not for. Small teams counting every dollar: Team is $10 per seat billed yearly ($25 monthly), with a 2-seat minimum.
Its limit. No free plan. Morgen also writes a lot about Motion, so read its comparisons as a competitor's take.
How to move from Motion. Start the 14-day trial (no card) before your Motion renewal date, ask for the switcher discount, then re-enter your active tasks. Your events already live in Google, Outlook or iCloud: just connect those calendars.
- Trial
- 14 days, no card
- Paid
- $15/mo yearly, $30 monthly
- Tip
- 15% off when switching
- Limit
- no free plan
Sunsama: a morning ritual instead of an autopilot
Plan it yourselfWhy switch to Sunsama. Motion decides; Sunsama makes you decide. Each morning it asks what you'll really do today, and you place those tasks on your calendar. If Motion's AI made you feel like a passenger, this is the exact opposite. Pro is $17 a month billed yearly ($204), $22 monthly. We score it 4.0 out of 5.
Who it's for. Freelancers and managers who want a realistic day and a fixed moment to prepare it.
Who it's not for. Anyone who wants everything rescheduled without thinking: with Sunsama, you do the sorting, a few minutes a day.
Its limit. No free plan, and it's built for individuals rather than teams.
How to move from Motion. Sunsama doesn't ask for your card until the 14-day trial ends: use that time to re-enter your active tasks and check the ritual suits you before you cancel Motion.
- Trial
- 14 days, no card
- Paid
- Pro $17/mo yearly, $22 monthly
- Best for
- hand-planned days
- Score
- 4.0 out of 5
Akiflow: one inbox for all your tasks
Centralize everythingWhy switch to Akiflow. Akiflow pulls tasks from everywhere (email, messages, project tools) into one inbox, then lets you drag them onto your calendar. You get back the control Motion takes away, with the same planned-day idea. Pro is $19 a month billed yearly ($228), $34 monthly. We score it 3.8 out of 5.
Who it's for. People whose tasks arrive from ten places and who want to triage in one spot before planning.
Who it's not for. Anyone trying to pay less than Motion month to month: at $34, the gap is small.
Its limit. The trial lasts 7 days and requires a card, just like Motion's. Write down the end date the day you sign up.
How to move from Motion. Plan on no direct import from Motion: re-enter your active tasks in Akiflow's inbox and keep the rest in your archive screenshots.
- Trial
- 7 days, card required
- Paid
- Pro $19/mo yearly, $34 monthly
- Best for
- tasks from everywhere
- Score
- 3.8 out of 5
SkedPal: auto-scheduling for people who like to tune everything
Fine-grained schedulingWhy switch to SkedPal. SkedPal does Motion's main job (placing tasks in free slots) but lets you define time windows by type of work: mornings for writing, afternoons for calls. Core is $9.95 a month and Pro $14.95, billed yearly.
Who it's for. Methodical people who want an auto-scheduler and don't mind spending an hour setting it up.
Who it's not for. Anyone who wants a ready-to-go app: all those settings take time to learn.
Its limit. No free plan, and a longer learning curve than the other tools on this page.
How to move from Motion. The 14-day trial needs no card. Re-enter your recurring tasks first, set your time windows, then add the rest.
- Trial
- 14 days, no card
- Paid
- Core $9.95/mo yearly
- Best for
- time windows by work type
- Limit
- learning curve
FlowSavvy: auto-scheduling without paying
Tight budgetWhy switch to FlowSavvy. It's the only alternative here that auto-schedules your tasks for free. The Basic plan places tasks up to two weeks out. Pro is $10 a month billed yearly, $14 monthly, with a 7-day trial.
Who it's for. Students, new freelancers, and anyone who wants to try auto-scheduling before paying a cent.
Who it's not for. Teams, and people with lots of routines: the free plan stops at 3 recurring tasks and 5 lists.
Its limit. Basic's caps fill up fast if you plan a full work week.
How to move from Motion. Re-enter your active tasks in Basic, add routines last, and upgrade to Pro only if 3 recurring tasks aren't enough.
- Free
- Basic, 2 weeks out
- Paid
- Pro $10/mo yearly, $14 monthly
- Best for
- small budget
- Limit
- 3 recurring tasks free
Todoist: back to a reliable list
Plain to-do listWhy switch to Todoist. Plenty of people who landed on Motion mostly needed a reliable to-do list. Todoist is one, and its free plan covers up to 5 projects. Pro is $5 a month billed yearly, Business $8 per member. Our Todoist review scores it 3.9 out of 5.
Who it's for. Anyone who realized they didn't need AI planning, just a clean list and a reminder at the right time.
Who it's not for. Anyone who wants tasks placed on the calendar automatically: Todoist doesn't schedule for you.
Its limit. No auto-scheduling. To get it back, add a planner on top, such as Sunsama.
How to move from Motion. Re-enter your active tasks project by project. If you want a planner on top later, Sunsama can pull tasks from Todoist. For more options, see our Todoist alternatives.
- Free
- up to 5 projects
- Paid
- Pro $5/mo yearly
- Best for
- simple, reliable list
- Score
- 3.9 out of 5
ClickUp: when the whole team needs to get organized
For teamsWhy switch to ClickUp. If your team used Motion for projects, ClickUp covers more ground: tasks, projects and docs in one place, with a free plan that has no time limit. Core is $9 per member per month billed yearly ($12 monthly), Business $17 ($25 monthly). Our ClickUp review scores it 4.2 out of 5, the highest on this page.
Who it's for. Teams that want one tool to track projects, without seats sold in bundles.
Who it's not for. A solo user who just wanted a smart calendar: ClickUp does far more than you need.
Its limit. All that depth takes setup: plan a few days to build your spaces and views. No Motion-style auto-scheduling.
How to move from Motion. Rebuild the structure first (spaces, lists, statuses), then re-enter tasks in progress. To weigh it against Notion, read our Notion review (4.0 out of 5).
- Free
- Free Forever plan
- Paid
- Core $9/member/mo yearly
- Best for
- team projects
- Score
- 4.2 out of 5
8 Motion alternatives side by side
Our default pick: Reclaim if you want to keep auto-scheduling, Sunsama if you want to take back control. For reference, Motion Pro AI costs $348 a year for one person ($29 a month); Reclaim Starter is $120, Morgen $180, Sunsama $204. Each row shows what you get without paying on the left, and the entry price plus how your work moves over on the right.
| Without paying | Entry price and moving from Motion | |
|---|---|---|
| MotionWhere you start | trial only, card required | Pro AI $29/mo yearly, $49 monthly; no documented task export |
| ReclaimClosest match | Lite: 1-week scheduling, 1 calendar | Starter $10/mo yearly; re-enter tasks |
| MorgenStay in control | 14-day trial, no card | $15/mo yearly, 15% off for switchers; re-enter |
| SunsamaPlan it yourself | 14-day trial, no card | Pro $17/mo yearly; re-enter |
| AkiflowCentralize | 7-day trial with card | Pro $19/mo yearly; re-enter |
| SkedPalFine-grained | 14-day trial, no card | Core $9.95/mo yearly; re-enter |
| FlowSavvySmall budget | Basic: 2 weeks out, 3 recurring tasks | Pro $10/mo yearly; re-enter |
| TodoistSimple list | free plan, 5 projects | Pro $5/mo yearly; re-enter by project |
| ClickUpTeams | Free Forever plan | Core $9/member/mo yearly; structure first, then re-enter |
Entry prices before tax, as shown by each vendor in 2026 and subject to change. Always check the vendor's page before paying.
Leaving Motion in seven steps
Good news first: your meetings don't live in Motion. They stay in Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud, which Motion only reads. What you need to save is your tasks and projects. Follow the order: each step prevents a loss or an extra charge.
Find your renewal date
FirstOpen your subscription settings and write down the next charge date, and whether you pay yearly or monthly. That date drives everything else: unwanted yearly renewals are the top complaint in Motion reviews, and the help center says canceling doesn't bring an automatic refund.
If you subscribed on an iPhone, Apple manages the subscription, not Motion: note that too.
- Time
- five minutes
- Risk if skipped
- a year charged
Inventory your projects and tasks
What lives in MotionList your projects, open tasks with their deadline and estimated duration, recurring tasks with their rule, and your working hours. For a team, note who owns what.
Why? Because Motion's help center documents no task export. Whatever you don't write down or screenshot, you'll rebuild from memory.
- Time
- 30 to 60 minutes
- Keep
- screenshots per project
Start the new tool's trial before the renewal
Before you cutStart your new tool at least two weeks before the date from step 1. Morgen, Sunsama and SkedPal give you 14 days with no card; Reclaim and FlowSavvy have free plans with no time limit. Run both tools in parallel and compare on real days.
Tip: with Morgen, mention you're switching from a competitor, the vendor advertises 15% off.
- Time
- two weeks in parallel
- Gain
- no month paid twice
Re-enter active tasks, not your whole history
The heavy liftingDon't count on a direct Motion import. Re-enter only what's still alive: tasks in progress, tasks with a deadline, recurring ones. Finished tasks stay in your screenshots. Start with recurring tasks, since they shape your weeks in the new app.
For a team, rebuild the project structure first, then split the work: each person re-enters their own tasks.
- Time
- one to three hours solo
- Rule
- only what's alive
Connect your calendars to the new tool
ReconnectConnect Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud to the new tool. Your events show up right away, since they never left your calendar. Then recreate your working hours and protected time blocks by hand.
On Reclaim, the free plan syncs one calendar only: if you link several, plan on Starter.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Check
- hours and protected blocks
Cancel Motion, but don't delete the account
In the right orderCancel in Motion under Settings, then Manage Plan, then Cancel Plan. If you paid on an iPhone, cancel in the iPhone's Settings under Subscriptions: Motion can't do it for you. You keep access until the end of the paid period.
Don't delete your account right away: the help center says deleted tasks, projects and workspaces can't be restored. A canceled account, on the other hand, comes back if you reactivate with the same email.
- Path
- Settings, Manage Plan, Cancel Plan
- Refund
- not automatic
Clear Motion's blocks from your calendar
After you leaveAfter you leave, scan the next two weeks of your calendar. If task blocks created by Motion are still there, delete them: otherwise your new tool will treat them as real meetings and plan around them.
Also remove Motion's access in your Google or Microsoft account permissions.
- Time
- ten minutes
- Risk if skipped
- fake busy slots
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Motion exit go wrong
None of these mistakes is technical. They're oversights, and each costs more than the five minutes it would have taken to avoid it.
Missing the renewal date
A renewed yearly plan is at least $348 on Pro AI, with no automatic refund. Set a reminder three weeks before the date, not the day before.
Deleting before you've written everything down
What you delete can't be restored. Cancel first, finish re-entering during the paid period, and delete only at the end, if you want to.
Canceling in the wrong place
A subscription bought through the App Store is canceled in the iPhone's settings. Turning it off inside Motion isn't enough.
Hunting for a Motion clone
No alternative does exactly the same thing in one place. Choose by your reason for leaving: price (Reclaim, FlowSavvy), control (Morgen, Sunsama) or team (ClickUp).
Forgetting trials that need a card
Akiflow asks for a card for its 7-day trial, like Motion. Write down the end date the day you sign up so you don't repeat the problem that made you leave.
Copying your whole history
Re-entering finished tasks is wasted time. Keep them as screenshots and only bring what's alive. For more rankings, see our pick of the best AI calendars, our Reclaim alternatives and our guide to switching from TickTick.
- Renewal date noted, reminder set three weeks ahead
- Projects and tasks captured, project by project
- New tool's trial running in parallel
- Active and recurring tasks re-entered
- Calendars reconnected, working hours recreated
- Subscription canceled in the right place (Motion or iPhone)
- Leftover blocks removed from the calendar
Motion alternatives: frequently asked questions
What's the best free alternative to Motion?
Reclaim, whose Lite plan is free with no time limit but only schedules one week ahead, and FlowSavvy, whose Basic plan auto-schedules tasks up to two weeks out. Motion has no free plan, only a trial that asks for your card.
How much does Motion cost in 2026?
For one person, Pro AI is $29 a month billed yearly or $49 monthly; Business AI is $39 or $69. For teams, Pro AI is $19 per seat billed yearly ($29 monthly) and Business AI $29 ($49 monthly). Through the US App Store: $44.99 a month or $294.99 a year.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Motion that still auto-schedules?
Yes. Reclaim Starter is $10 a month billed yearly, SkedPal Core $9.95 and FlowSavvy Pro $10, all well under Motion's $29. FlowSavvy and Reclaim also have free plans with tighter limits.
How do I export my tasks from Motion?
Motion's help center doesn't document a task export; it only describes importing events from an .ics file. The safest route is to screenshot each project and re-enter active tasks in your new tool. Your meetings stay in Google, Outlook or iCloud.
How do I cancel Motion and get a refund?
Cancel under Settings, then Manage Plan, then Cancel Plan, or in your iPhone's settings if you paid through the App Store. The help center says canceling doesn't trigger an automatic refund, so do it before the renewal date.
Reclaim or Motion: which should I pick?
Reclaim if you want auto-scheduling in Google Calendar or Outlook for $10 a month billed yearly, or free on Lite. Motion if you also want projects, a meeting notetaker and AI credits, and $29 a month minimum doesn't bother you. Our Reclaim review goes deeper.
What happens to my data if I delete my Motion account?
Don't count on getting it back: the help center says deleted tasks, projects and workspaces can't be restored. A canceled account, by contrast, comes back with its content if you reactivate with the same email.
What's the best Motion alternative for a team?
ClickUp if your team runs projects, Reclaim if it mainly wants to protect focus time, Morgen if it wants a shared planner ($10 per seat billed yearly, 2-seat minimum). None of them sells seats in bundles of 5 like Motion.
Get the next migration guide in your inbox
One tool to leave, one destination, one exit plan. Nothing else.