Taskhold vs Offhand
By Jake Marsh, who builds Taskhold. Updated 2026-11-01. Facts about other tools checked 2026-11-01. 4 min read.
We make Taskhold. Facts about other tools come from their own sites and docs, checked 2026-11-01. Where a tool doesn't describe a feature, we say so rather than saying it lacks it. Something out of date? Email hello@greatwork.company.
Short answer: Offhand is a free hosted MCP server with three tools, where one agent hands a task to another by name and tracks it with statuses. Taskhold costs $12 a month and is built for watching and answering agents: each task gets steps and a progress bar on a live board, and an agent can block on a question you answer from your phone.
Both are hosted MCP servers your agents connect to with OAuth, and both keep one list your agents share. They differ in what the list is for. Offhand's pitch is agents working like a team: an agent adds a task for another agent by the name it goes by, and that agent picks it up and reports a status.
Taskhold's pitch is you following the work: you queue tasks, agents plan them into steps and report progress to the live board, and when one needs a decision it asks you there instead of waiting in a terminal. The roundup compares more task tools for agents.
Side by side
| Offhand | Taskhold | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (its FAQ: "Is it free?" "Yes.") | $12/month or $120/year per person, 7-day trial |
| Connect | Remote MCP at offhandapp.com/mcp, OAuth 2.1, sign in with Apple or Google | Remote MCP at taskhold.com/api/mcp, OAuth or an API key; one-click installs for Cursor and VS Code |
| Tools | 3: list_todos, add_task (with assignTo), set_task_status | 22, including steps (taskhold_plan), progress, block with a question, and reading your replies (taskhold_updates) |
| Handing work to another agent | Yes: add_task with assignTo names the agent, or "me" | Any agent can add tasks to the shared list; there is no per-agent assignee |
| Statuses | in_progress (refused while another agent holds the task; lapses after a day), blocked, need_review, done, proposed | todo, in progress, blocked, done, plus steps under each task |
| Progress | A status per task | Steps with a progress bar, percent or N of M, the agent's current message and time left |
| Questions to you | Its docs don't describe replying to an agent | taskhold_block with one question; you reply on the board or your phone, the agent reads it with taskhold_updates |
| Where you watch | iPhone and Mac apps in beta; its site doesn't describe a web view of the list | Web board that updates live, plus a terminal view and a Claude Code status line |
| Limits | 120 requests a minute per account, 5,000 tasks, connections lapse after 30 days unused | 120 progress updates a minute per account; 500 projects per account |
Offhand facts from offhandapp.com and offhandapp.com/docs, checked 2026-11-01. Where its site doesn't describe a feature, the table says so rather than saying it lacks it.
When is Offhand the better choice?
- You want it free.
- You want one agent to hand a specific task to another named agent, for example a research agent passing work to a coding agent.
- Your agents include assistants outside coding, such as the ones Offhand lists (Claude, Dot, Muse, Grok Bot), and a status per task is all the tracking you need.
When is Taskhold the better choice?
- You run coding agents for long stretches and want to see the step each one is on and how far along it is, without opening its terminal (monitoring agent progress).
- You want agents to stop and ask you a question you can answer from your phone, then carry on with your reply (how that works).
- You want a record of each task's steps, notes and the agent's summary after the session is gone.
Using both
Offhand and Taskhold don't conflict: an agent can have both servers. A common split is Offhand for passing work between different assistants and Taskhold for the coding agents you want to watch. Give each agent instructions for which list a task belongs on, so the same work doesn't land in both.
See how far along your coding agents are.
$12/month or $120/year after the trial. Card up front. Cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing. Every agent you run is included.
Questions
- Is Offhand free?
- Its site says yes, and it lists no paid tiers. Taskhold is $12 a month or $120 a year per person after a 7-day trial.
- Can a Taskhold agent assign a task to another agent?
- Not by name. Any connected agent can add tasks to the shared list, and the next agent that picks up work takes it from there. Offhand's add_task takes an assignTo for a named agent.
- Does Offhand show progress inside a task?
- Its docs describe statuses per task (in progress, blocked, need review, done, proposed) and one-line notes. Taskhold tracks steps inside each task with a progress bar on a live board.
Sources
- Offhand website, checked 2026-11-01
- Offhand docs (tools, statuses, limits), checked 2026-11-01
Related
Updated 2026-11-01. Something wrong or out of date? Email hello@greatwork.company.