To-do apps help organize personal and professional tasks. The right app depends on: complexity needs, ecosystem preference, and specific workflow methodologies (GTD, etc.).
Quick Picks
Use Case
Best Pick
Cost
Best Overall
Todoist
$5/month
Best for Apple Users
Things 3
$9.99 (one-time per platform)
Best All-in-One
TickTick
$35.99/year
Best Free
Microsoft To Do or Apple Reminders
$0
Best for GTD
Todoist
$5/month
Best for Habits
Streaks (iOS) or Loop (Android)
$5-10
Best Overall: Todoist ($5/month)
Todoist is the most-recommended general-purpose to-do app. Natural language input, cross-platform (everything), reminders, recurring tasks, projects, labels, filters.
Why "best overall": Polished across all platforms. Doesn't lock you into ecosystem. 15+ years of refinement. Active development.
Subscription tiers:
Free: 5 active projects, 80 tasks per project (sufficient for many users)
Pro ($5/mo): Unlimited projects, reminders, themes, comments
Business ($8/user/mo): Team features
Compromise: Subscription required for advanced features. Many users find free tier sufficient.
Best for Apple Users: Things 3 (one-time purchase)
Things 3 is the premium to-do app for Apple ecosystem. Beautiful design, fast performance, GTD-compatible methodology, no subscription.
Why "best for Apple users": For Mac/iPhone/iPad users wanting polished experience without subscription, Things 3 is the standard. One-time purchase per platform.
Pricing:
iPhone: $9.99
iPad: $19.99
Mac: $49.99
Apple Watch: Free with iPhone purchase
Total for full ecosystem: $79.98 one-time. Cheaper long-term than Todoist subscription.
Compromise: Apple-only. No Windows, Linux, web access. Higher upfront cost.
Best All-in-One: TickTick ($35.99/year)
TickTick combines to-do, calendar, and habit tracking in one app. Cross-platform, robust feature set, affordable subscription.
Why "all-in-one": For users wanting one app for tasks + calendar + habits, TickTick provides this. Pomodoro timer built in.
Features:
Tasks: Full task management
Calendar view: See tasks alongside calendar
Habit tracking: Build positive routines
Pomodoro timer: Built-in time tracking
Compromise: Less specialized than dedicated apps for each function. Some users find feature density overwhelming.
Best Free: Microsoft To Do or Apple Reminders
Microsoft To Do (free): Cross-platform, Microsoft 365 integration, "My Day" focus view.
Apple Reminders (free): Native Apple, Siri integration, location reminders, family sharing.
Both are genuinely capable for most personal task management needs.
Best for GTD: Todoist ($5/month)
GTD (Getting Things Done by David Allen) is a popular task management methodology. Todoist's structure aligns well with GTD principles.
GTD support in Todoist:
Inbox: Capture all incoming tasks
Projects: Organize by area of life/work
Labels: Tag with context (home, office, errands)
Filters: Custom views by context, priority, date
Other GTD-friendly apps: Things 3, OmniFocus (premium GTD app for Mac/iOS).
Best for Habits: Streaks (iOS, $4.99) or Loop (Android, free)
For habit-building specifically (not task management), dedicated habit apps work better.
Streaks (iOS): $4.99 one-time, beautiful design, tracks up to 12 habits.
Loop (Android, free): Open source, comprehensive features, free.
For users specifically focusing on building habits (exercise, meditation, reading): dedicated habit app provides better experience than general to-do app.
To-Do App Feature Comparison
Natural Language Input
Examples:
"Buy groceries tomorrow"
"Call mom every Sunday at 3pm"
"Submit report next Friday by 5pm @work"
Best NLP: Todoist, Things 3.
Cross-Platform Support
App
iOS
Android
Mac
Windows
Web
Todoist
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Things 3
✓
✗
✓
✗
✗
TickTick
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Microsoft To Do
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Apple Reminders
✓
✗
✓
✗
Limited
For cross-platform users: Todoist or TickTick.
For Apple-only users: Things 3 or Apple Reminders.
Recurring Tasks
All major apps support recurring tasks, but flexibility varies:
Simple recurring (daily, weekly, monthly): All apps
Complex recurring (third Tuesday of month, every other week): Todoist excels
Conditional recurring (every weekday, weekends only): Most apps
Reminders
Time-based: Standard in all apps
Location-based: Apple Reminders, Todoist (Pro)
Smart reminders: Suggests reminder time based on task
Collaboration
For shared tasks/projects:
Todoist: Share projects, assign to team members
TickTick: Limited collaboration
Microsoft To Do: Share lists
Apple Reminders: Family sharing
For team task management: dedicated project management tool (Asana, ClickUp) often better than to-do app collaboration.
Todoist for: cross-platform users (works on everything), subscription with regular feature updates, more flexible. Things 3 for: Apple-only users wanting one-time purchase, beautiful design, GTD-aligned. Most cross-platform users: Todoist. Most Apple-only users: Things 3 (cheaper long-term despite higher upfront).
Is Apple Reminders enough for task management?
For casual personal task management: yes — Apple Reminders is genuinely capable. Free, native, Siri integration, location reminders. For: more complex GTD workflow, team collaboration, advanced filtering, cross-platform sync to Windows/Android — dedicated apps (Todoist, Things 3) provide more features. Try Apple Reminders first; upgrade only if limitations appear.
What is the best free to-do app?
Microsoft To Do for cross-platform users (free, no limitations, Microsoft 365 integration). Apple Reminders for Apple ecosystem users (free, Siri integration, native). Todoist free tier (5 projects, 80 tasks each) sufficient for many users. For users wanting paid features: Todoist Pro at $5/mo or Things 3 at $80 total.
A equipa editorial da VersusMatrix avalia produtos usando o nosso motor de pontuação alimentado por IA combinado com pesquisa prática sobre especificações, avaliações de utilizadores e benchmarks de especialistas. O nosso objetivo é fornecer comparações objetivas e baseadas em dados para ajudar os consumidores a tomar decisões de compra mais inteligentes.