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Org mode VS Doom Emacs

Compare Org mode VS Doom Emacs and see what are their differences

Org mode logo Org mode

Org: an Emacs Mode for Notes, Planning, and Authoring

Doom Emacs logo Doom Emacs

Emacs configuration similar to Spacemacs but faster and lighter.
  • Org mode Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-15
  • Doom Emacs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21

Org mode features and specs

  • Seamless Integration with Emacs
    Org mode is tightly integrated with Emacs, allowing users to take full advantage of Emacs' powerful text-editing capabilities and extensive customization options.
  • Outline-Based Workflow
    Org mode supports hierarchical organization of information, which makes it easy to structure content in a clear, logical manner and manage complex documents or projects.
  • Task Management
    Built-in TODO lists, scheduling, and deadline management features make it a powerful tool for personal productivity and project management.
  • Export Capabilities
    Org mode can export documents to a variety of formats including HTML, LaTeX, PDF, and Markdown, making it versatile for different publishing needs.
  • Customizability
    Highly customizable through Emacs Lisp, allowing users to tailor Org mode to their specific workflow requirements.
  • Community and Extensions
    A robust community and numerous extensions are available, providing additional functionality and support.

Possible disadvantages of Org mode

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Requires significant time and effort to learn, especially for users who are not already familiar with Emacs.
  • Emacs Dependency
    Org mode is dependent on Emacs, which might not appeal to users who prefer different text editors or Integrated Development Environments (IDEs).
  • Complexity
    While it's powerful, the extensive features and customization options can become overwhelming and lead to a complex setup.
  • Lack of Standalone Version
    There is no standalone version of Org mode; it requires Emacs, which can be a barrier for those who do not want to use Emacs.
  • User Interface
    The text-based interface might not be as intuitive or visually appealing as modern, graphical task management or note-taking applications.

Doom Emacs features and specs

  • Optimized Performance
    Doom Emacs is engineered to be fast and responsive, minimizing the lag that can be present in a heavily customized Emacs setup.
  • Modular Configuration
    It uses a modular configuration system that allows users to enable or disable individual modules easily, helping tailor Emacs to specific workflows without much hassle.
  • Community Support
    Doom Emacs has an active and helpful community, providing ample support, tutorials, and extensions.
  • Modern Defaults
    It comes with sensible defaults and polished aesthetics out of the box, reducing the need for extensive user configuration.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Doom Emacs provides thorough documentation that helps new and old users understand the configuration options and customization procedures.
  • Evil Mode
    For Vim users, Doom Emacs comes with Evil Mode pre-configured, enabling Vim-like keybindings and making the transition smoother.

Possible disadvantages of Doom Emacs

  • Learning Curve
    Although easier than vanilla Emacs, Doom Emacs still has a learning curve that may be steep for users unfamiliar with Emacs or Vim.
  • Opinionated Setup
    Its opinionated defaults may not suit everyone's preferences, requiring users to spend time customizing it to fit their specific needs.
  • Emacs Dependency
    It relies on the original Emacs distribution, which means you still need to understand and maintain Emacs, adding complexity.
  • Heavy on Resources
    Even though optimized, Doom Emacs is still more resource-intensive compared to lighter editors, potentially impacting performance on older systems.
  • Complexity in Customization
    While modular, the customization can become complex and intimidating, especially for users who need to diverge significantly from the provided defaults.
  • Frequent Updates
    While updates are generally positive, the high frequency of updates can sometimes lead to breaking changes, requiring users to adapt frequently.

Org mode videos

org mode is awesome

More videos:

  • Review - 2018-11-14: Building a Second Brain in Org Mode - Tasshin Michael Fogleman

Doom Emacs videos

Doom Emacs - Getting Started

More videos:

  • Review - Doom Emacs For Noobs

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Org mode and Doom Emacs)
Task Management
100 100%
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Org mode and Doom Emacs. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Org mode and Doom Emacs

Org mode Reviews

Ask HN: Favorite note-taking software?
Before going full Org Mode, I used MS OneNote, and liked it very much. My notes from that period has tons of images and annotated screenshots dumped into them. I miss that in my Emacs workflow nowadays. My dream software would be pieces of Org Mode on a OneNote-like canvas, with support for easily pasting images and drawing on them (especially using a graphics tablet, or at...

Doom Emacs Reviews

We have no reviews of Doom Emacs yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Org mode might be a bit more popular than Doom Emacs. We know about 179 links to it since March 2021 and only 156 links to Doom Emacs. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Org mode mentions (179)

  • Reinventing notebooks as reusable Python programs
    "until recently, Jupyter notebooks were the only programming environment that let you see your data while you worked on it." This is false. Org-mode has had this functionality for over two decades. https://orgmode.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Emacs 2024 Changes
    Work - I use org-mode heavily for my personal project management and note keeping. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • My 2024 review
    While embracing analog tools, I've also refined my digital organization using ORG mode in Emacs. The system has evolved to become more structured and efficient. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • (Game)Dev with Emacs - Because it's not Already Hard Enough Without it
    Org mode. Org mode is just great for taking notes and organizing tasks. I might write a post on it one day. If you're interested, check out Org Mode in the mean time. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Information flow - how I capture the notes
    Orgmode seems to be a big change after using Notion. However, I fell in love with Emacs, so I Wanted to use all the best things. It was easy to set up org-agenda, org-roam, etc. Unfortunately, after a while, I noticed that using a non-standard system(not Markdown) could impact my note-sharing capabilities, as well my ~work~ docs were mostly built with Markdown. So, a note system that uses Markdown. Also, I... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
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Doom Emacs mentions (156)

  • I just got an ad in VS Code
    Leave? I started with vanilla Emacs a couple of years ago, ran C-h t, did that for an hour or two, and began editing joyfully and it hasn't stopped. Picked up new stuff when the need arose. However, if you want everything looking sexy and modern from the start and you're a cool kid, give this 30 minutes and see what you think: - Source: Hacker News / 14 days ago
  • Helix-gpui: helix gpui front end
    Having used evil-mode as my main driver for years, I can confirm that it truly works as expected. Requires some setup though. I used https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacs to do the heavy lifting though. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • M-X Reloaded: The Second Golden Age of Emacs – (Think)
    Yes, you need to install Emacs. It is probably available from whatever package manager your system uses. I prefer Doom (https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacs) to Spacemacs. However I haven't looked at Spacemacs for many years; perhaps it's now on par with Doom. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • From Doom to Vanilla Emacs
    Ever since I've started my Emacs journey it seemed like the wholy grail to have your own (vanilla!) configuration without any hard dependencies on frameworks like Doom or Spacemacs. There are plenty of dotemacs configurations ouf there which can serve as a great source of inspiration. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Emacs 29.1 Released
    I am a long-time Emacs user and used to maintain my own config, but I switched to Doom Emacs [1] a year ago. Doom Emacs is like a pre-packaged/pre-configured emacs distro. You still need to configure the features that you want to use, but it's a lot easier (and faster) than having to do everything from scratch, and definitely if you already have some emacs background anyway. For me, it makes the newer, more... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Org mode and Doom Emacs, you can also consider the following products

Todoist - Todoist is a to-do list that helps you get organized, at work and in life.

Evil - The extensible vi layer for Emacs.

Workflowy - A better way to organize your mind.

Neovim - Vim's rebirth for the 21st century

Trello - Infinitely flexible. Incredibly easy to use. Great mobile apps. It's free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details.

Spacemacs with Python layer - A community-driven Emacs distribution - The best editor is neither Emacs nor Vim, it's Emacs *and* Vim! - syl20bnr/spacemacs