When comparing Nirvana vs Checkvist, the Slant community recommends Checkvist for most people. In the question“What are the best cross-platform task apps?” Checkvist is ranked 20th while Nirvana is ranked 49th. The most important reason people chose Checkvist is:
Checkvist hits a sweet spot between minimal and complexity. It gives you a host of options and extras to use on your lists, but you can completely ignore them if you don't need them and keep it very simple. This makes Checkvist a one-stop shop, regardless of what type of 'list' you need.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Streamlined for Getting Things Done
Designed specifically for the Getting Things Done methodology as created by David Allen.
Pro One of only few faithful implementation of GTD approach
The Nirvana approach is one of the few that successfully encapsulates the spirit of Getting Things Done.
Pro Flexible structure for simple to complex usages and workflows
Pro Clean layout
It has a very simple, understated design.
Pro Useful history of actions
Nirvana offers a chronological look at completed tasks that is good for reporting and improving future estimations. That said, it could be improved by incorporating a true journal view rather than a simple list broken up by week.
Pro As simple or as complex as you need
Checkvist hits a sweet spot between minimal and complexity. It gives you a host of options and extras to use on your lists, but you can completely ignore them if you don't need them and keep it very simple. This makes Checkvist a one-stop shop, regardless of what type of 'list' you need.
Pro Tasks can be managed with custom tags
Pro vim-like commands
Pro Convenient search by text or tag filtering
Pro Converts incoming emails to todos - this is a way to enter tasks from anywhere.
Pro Great search
Search filters help you search for tasks by tag, due date, assignee, etc.
Pro Very flexible
To-do lists often need to be grouped and regrouped for clarity. The outline-based nature of Checkvist makes it easy to move things across categories, to increase and decrease priority, etc.
Pro Smart parsing of items
Parses markdown, html links, hashtags to become formatted text, clickable links, and tags, respectively.
Pro Generous set of free features
Checkvist offers many free features if you are using this individually.
Pro Supports comments on tasks
Any item can have a free-text comment, which can be shown or hidden as desired.
Cons
Con No native OS X & Windows apps
There are currently no native apps for Windows or OS X, although the company has claimed to be working on them.
Con The Pro service tier still does not have common features
Common features such as notifications and sharing between applications aren't available, even in the Pro-tier. Its only native integration with other applications is adding tasks via a specialized email address generated for your account.
Con Limited capability in the android app
Checkvist is primarily a web interface.
