Best Digital Planners for ADHD (iPad & Android) in 2026

I’ve bought eleven digital planners in the last three years. Most of them lasted about a week before joining the digital doom pile on my iPad’s home screen. That graveyard of abandoned apps? Peak ADHD.

But a few actually stuck. And the difference between a planner that works for my ADHD brain and one that doesn’t comes down to very specific things. Low friction to open. Visual enough to hold my attention. Forgiving enough that skipping a day doesn’t make the whole system collapse.

I tested six of the most popular ADHD digital planners for iPad and Android. Here’s what actually works, what’s hype, and what you should skip.

Quick Comparison Table

GoodNotes + ADHD Templates

If you love handwriting and want something that feels like a physical planner without the bulk, [GoodNotes]# with a dedicated ADHD template is hard to beat.

The app itself is just a digital notebook. The magic is in the templates. Sellers on Etsy and their own marketplace offer ADHD-specific planners with hyperlinked tabs, brain dump pages, habit trackers, and daily layouts designed for brains that can’t do linear scheduling.

ADHD Pros:

• Handwriting activates a different part of your brain. For some of us, it’s the only thing that makes planning feel real.
• Hyperlinked tabs mean you can jump between sections without scrolling through 47 pages.
• You can mix and match templates. Bad week? Switch to a simplified daily page.

ADHD Cons:

• Setup takes effort. You need to find a template, import it, customize it. That’s a lot of activation energy.
• If you lose your stylus (I’ve lost three), the whole system stops working.
• No reminders. It’s passive. You have to remember to open it.

Pricing: GoodNotes is $9.99/year or $29.99 one-time. Templates run $5-30 on Etsy.

Skip if… you need external reminders or you know “I’ll set it up this weekend” is a lie you tell yourself.

Passion Planner Digital

[Passion Planner]# has been around forever in paper form. The digital version is a hyperlinked PDF you use inside GoodNotes, Notability, or any PDF annotation app.

Their whole thing is connecting daily tasks to bigger goals. There’s a “Passion Roadmap” section where you map out what you actually want from life, then break it into monthly and weekly chunks.

ADHD Pros:

• The goal-mapping framework gives your tasks context. Emptying the dishwasher still sucks, but knowing it connects to “maintain a house that doesn’t stress me out” helps.
• Weekly layouts are spacious. Not cramped. Not overwhelming.
• They offer a free version every year. Low commitment.

ADHD Cons:

• It’s still a PDF. No smart features, no reminders, no automation.
• The Passion Roadmap requires you to know what you want. Decision fatigue says hi.
• Monthly and weekly views feel redundant. I never used both.

Pricing: $15-25/year depending on the version. Free “classic” version available.

Skip if… big-picture goal setting makes you spiral instead of motivate.

Panda Planner Digital

[Panda Planner]# was actually designed with positive psychology research in mind. Each day starts with gratitude, then priorities (just three), then a schedule. Each day ends with reflection.

This structure is sneaky good for ADHD.

ADHD Pros:

• Only three priorities per day. That constraint is a gift. My brain wants to list 47 things. Being forced to pick three actually gets things done.
• The gratitude and reflection sections slow you down. In a good way. They’re like speed bumps for an ADHD brain that’s always rushing to the next thing.
• Clean, minimal design. No visual clutter.

ADHD Cons:

• It’s another PDF planner. Same limitations as Passion Planner.
• The reflection section can feel like homework on bad days.
• No task rollover. If you didn’t do it today, you manually rewrite it tomorrow. Sometimes that’s motivating. Sometimes it’s just annoying.

Pricing: $12-20 one-time purchase.

Skip if… daily reflection feels like journaling, and journaling feels like a chore you’ll avoid.

Structured (App)

OK, this one changed everything for me. [Structured]# is a visual daily planner app that turns your to-do list into a timeline. You see your day as colored blocks of time. It looks like a calendar but acts like a to-do list.

For time blindness? This thing is medicine.

ADHD Pros:

• Visual time blocking destroys time blindness. You can literally see that yes, you do only have 45 minutes before school pickup. Your brain can’t lie to you about how much time is left.
• Adding tasks takes seconds. Title, time, duration, done. Minimal friction.
• Recurring tasks and calendar sync mean your morning routine just shows up every day.
• The free version is genuinely useful. Not a crippled trial.

ADHD Cons:

• It’s day-focused. No weekly overview, no project planning, no goal setting. Just today.
• If you over-schedule (and we always over-schedule), the timeline gets anxiety-inducing fast.
• Subtasks exist but aren’t great. Complex projects need something else.

Pricing: Free with solid features. Pro is $29.99/year for themes, unlimited calendars, and more.

Verdict: This is my daily driver. I’ve used it for over a year. That’s an ADHD lifetime.

Skip if… you need project management or weekly planning. This is a “today” tool.

Tiimo

[Tiimo]# was literally built for neurodivergent brains. Founded by people with ADHD and autism. It shows.

It’s a visual daily planner with cute illustrations, gentle reminders, and a focus on routines. Think of it as the warm, friendly version of Structured.

ADHD Pros:

• Designed by and for neurodivergent people. The reminders are gentle, not naggy. The visuals are calming, not clinical.
• Routine building is the star feature. Morning routine, evening wind-down, work blocks. You build them once and they repeat.
• The visual timeline uses icons and colors that make your day feel approachable instead of terrifying.
• Built-in focus timer for hyperfocus sessions.

ADHD Cons:

• The cute aesthetic isn’t for everyone. If you want something minimal and businesslike, this will annoy you.
• It’s primarily a routine/schedule tool. Not great for one-off tasks or project management.
• The free tier is limited. You’ll want Pro pretty quickly.

Pricing: Free tier available. Pro is about $35/year.

Verdict: Best for building daily routines. If your mornings are chaos and you can never remember your evening meds, start here.

Skip if… you already have solid routines and need help with task management instead.

Notion ADHD Templates

[Notion]# is a blank canvas. That’s both its superpower and its biggest risk for ADHD brains.

The good news is you don’t have to build anything from scratch. There are hundreds of [ADHD-specific Notion templates]# that give you dashboards for tasks, habits, brain dumps, project tracking, and life management. Some are incredible. Some are overengineered nightmares.

ADHD Pros:

• When you find the right template, Notion can be your entire second brain. Tasks, notes, projects, bookmarks, everything in one place.
• The customization feeds hyperfocus in a productive way. Building your system IS the dopamine hit, and then you actually have a system.
• Cross-platform. Works on literally everything with a browser.

ADHD Cons:

• The blank canvas problem is real. Too many options. Too many templates. You’ll spend three hours customizing your dashboard instead of doing the thing you opened Notion to plan.
• It’s slow to load on mobile. Opening Notion to check a quick task takes long enough to lose your train of thought.
• No push notifications for tasks unless you add workarounds. Passive system.
• Maintenance. Notion systems need regular upkeep or they become another doom pile.

Pricing: Free for personal use. Plus is $10/month. Templates range from free to $30.

Skip if… you know in your heart that you’ll spend more time building the system than using it. Be honest with yourself. I spent two weeks building a Notion dashboard once. Used it for three days. Classic.

So Which ADHD Digital Planner Should You Get?

Here’s my honest take after using all of these:

If you’re new to digital planning: Start with [Structured]#. It’s free, it takes five minutes to set up, and it directly tackles time blindness. No learning curve. No setup paralysis.

If you need routine help: [Tiimo]#. Built for your brain. Gentle. Effective.

If you love handwriting: [GoodNotes]# with an ADHD template from Etsy. Nothing else replicates that pen-on-paper feeling.

If you want an all-in-one system (and you’re honest about maintaining it): [Notion]# with a solid ADHD template.

If you want structured reflection: [Panda Planner]#. Three priorities. Gratitude. Done.

The best ADHD digital planner is the one you’ll actually open. Seriously. A $5 template you use every day beats a $30 system collecting digital dust. Start simple. You can always add complexity later.

FAQ

Do digital planners actually help with ADHD?

Yes, but only if they match how your brain works. A planner that relies on you remembering to open it won’t help with time blindness. One with too many features will trigger decision fatigue. The key is matching the tool to your specific ADHD struggles. Visual timelines help time blindness. Constraints (like three daily priorities) help task paralysis. Reminders help forgetfulness.

Are digital planners better than paper planners for ADHD?

Depends on you. Digital planners win on reminders, searchability, and not losing them. Paper planners win on tactile engagement and fewer distractions (no notifications pulling you away). Some people use both. I keep Structured on my phone and a sticky note on my desk. Whatever works.

Can I use these ADHD digital planners on Android?

Structured and Tiimo both have full Android apps. Notion works everywhere. Panda Planner and Passion Planner are PDFs, so they work in any PDF annotation app on Android (like Xodo or Samsung Notes). GoodNotes recently launched on Android but the experience is still better on iPad.

What’s the best free ADHD digital planner?

[Structured]# has the best free tier. You get the visual timeline, recurring tasks, and calendar import without paying anything. [Tiimo]# also has a free version, though it’s more limited. And Passion Planner releases a free classic PDF every year.

How do I stop abandoning digital planners after a week?

Pick one that takes under two minutes to use each morning. Seriously. If your planning session requires more than opening the app and typing a few things, the friction will kill it. Also, forgive yourself for skipping days. A planner that makes you feel guilty about gaps is a planner you’ll abandon. Look for tools that don’t punish you for missing a day.

Is Notion too complicated for ADHD?

It can be. Notion’s flexibility is dangerous for brains that love building systems more than using them. If you go the Notion route, buy a pre-built ADHD template instead of building from scratch. Set a timer for customization (30 minutes max). And be brutally honest about whether you’ll maintain it. There’s no shame in choosing something simpler.