To-do lists can be the compass of the day ahead for many people. A rough idea of what lies ahead and sometimes rapidly changed due to an urgent meeting. Flexible and designed for change, these tools can help us co-ordinate the day ahead and the most important things to do.
From checklists, reminders to priorities, a to-do list maps the way forward.
Whether you use a notebook right now, or post-it notes, if you're not considering a to-do list app, or need to change up. We've got you covered! Whether you need an AI-powered powerhouse for your tasks to do errands for you, all the way to using it as a mindful practice to elegantly plot the day ahead.
The criteria that makes a good to-do app that we've used for these recommendations:
Checklists Nearby - Being able to manage checklists for everything from planning a holiday to the best advice from work meetings is a game-changer, and many people can get this within their to-do list application. It is one of the underrated features of many to-do list apps.
Priority Management - Some apps allow you to better organize tasks based on priority, due date, and deadlines. Some even use AI to help organize what's important for you. This is one of the huge bonuses of to-do list management and something many people struggle with daily.
Reduces Overload - To-do lists help you capture and take on new workloads rather than relying on your memory. While you don't want to take on everyone's burden, if a new opportunity or project comes up, you might have more mental capacity if you capture tasks on a to-do list app to take on a new workload.
Here's why managing your tasks using the apps helps:
From a personal perspective, my to-do list app is my compass for the day ahead.
Previously, I used a A4 sheet of paper to set the tasks to do. Each day, I'd have to reset and transfer over what I needed to-do. With a to-do list app, you can move things, flag things without due dates, set deadlines, write short notes to yourself & much more.
It's shaped how I plan my day and it is probably my most used to-do app.
Todoist is a fantastic, all-round to-do app that just rocks for most use cases.
Todoist is an easy-to-use to-do app that is good for teams and individuals.
It is something we'd recommend to Tony the gardener to Sally the accountant. Everyone who is looking for that solid choice out there. Todoist can connect up with Apple & Google Calendar for better management of your calendar & tasks together, a lot of people like that calendar view for time-blocking.
You can add tasks, organize them into checklists, add sections, add priority levels, set reminders and schedule them into a calendar & Kanban mode for those who want something more visual. It doesn't have loads of AI features, neither does it have ways to auto-schedule, or even gesture-based features. But it just works well, reliably & as a good all-round use case. We think it serves anyone very well and that's why we'd say it is a notable tool in this list.
Easy to use & simple in nature
Connects with Outlook & Google Calendar.
Fantastic value task management at $4 per month.
Great looking calendar and Kanban views with custom filters.
Solid mobile apps for capturing tasks using widgets & more.
You can customize each view for better focus.
Sharing and assigning tasks to others.
For those who love calendar views, you won't get that with free pricing.
Might be too basic for some people who want fast developed AI features (try Motion or Akiflow).
They aren't the fastest to release new updates (this could be argued as intentional in their updates).
It works fully offline.
The performance is always snappy with it.
It has team collaboration functions with admin panel for larger teams.
A way to turn tasks into habits for tracking and logging.
You can sync between devices and it is cross-platform if you change devices.
Those who want an all-round, reliable to-do app
Open to evolving the app for their professional needs (which can be done).
Those on a budget of sub-$5 per month pricing.
It is free to use.
There are limits on the free plan to features.
$5 per user, per month, or $4 per month (annual)
There are team pricing plans for team sharing & administration.
You'll gel with Todoist well if you aren't looking for something too complex, want something that will grow with you and need something good value for money. This is the best all round tool for us, with the best set of features to price point.
If you want something simple, if you want something as you expand or you want something for in-between, it meets those needs. Trust us, this is our best recommendation from the 100's of to-do list apps we see every year.
Combining your habits, tasks & timer in one app, could be a dream right?
TickTick is a to-do app with timers, habits, calendar & list management.
Features like the Kanban board (desktop), smart lists, calendar modes (premium), and habit tracking allow you to coordinate better what you're working on. Many say that compared to Todoist, TickTick brings more value as an all-around task app. TickTick is easy to use, with themes to customize projects and a simple nature to planning tasks. The habit tracking abilities are another bonus that many people like to have with task management. They come alongside your tasks but do not distract them. You can even track your timed sessions, making it a good pomodoro timer too.
TickTick is also very well priced, making it much more approachable than some other more powerful tools, including calendar abilities. You could upgrade just for the calendar access, which now syncs with Google Calendar. If TickTick looks good, and you want to consider more free alternatives to TickTick, we recommend this read.
Fun themes & good-looking app design.
Habit tracking built-in is very nice & works well for tracking habits.
Good for those calendar lovers (premium feature).
Comes with time tracking (something that Todoist lacks).
Handles recurring tasks well.
Connects more calendar options including CalDAV, iCloud & more.
Not as reliable in speed & performance.
They lack any AI features or releases (yet!).
Developers aren't US/English speaking, and the support is sometimes very slow.
Good for those who want something like Todoist, but with more custom themes & fun.
Good for if you want to track habits next to your tasks.
Those on a budget of <$5 per month.
It is free to use.
There are limits on how many lists you can create & features to access.
The premium pricing is $3 per month ($35.99) per year.
Those seeking a cheaper Todoist alternative would like this.
TickTick shouldn't go un-noticed. It offers tasks, habits, calendar, Kanban, pomodoro timer & cool themes and that is no small feat.
If you're using your tasks to manage your life, more for casual task management, then we'd recommend TickTick to you. Habit tracking is good for striking the balance, tasks can help you plan what needs to be done, timers help you get in the zone and the calendar will visualize what's ahead. We wouldn't say this is a work application, but people do use it for that, we'd say this rocks as a personal to-do app. One of the best for that use case.
Bringing your task all in one place is a new concept & much loved by people that do it.
Akiflow is a to-do list with time-blocking, task consolidation and guided planning.
One of the best to-do lists on the market, it also falls under the category of daily planner apps. Daily planners like Akiflow want to focus more on the calendar and promote concepts like time-blocking that help to plan the day and Akiflow brings this ability to the forefront. Akiflow brings tasks, calendar & task consolidation, which allows you to bring all your tasks from other apps into Akiflow for easier management in one dashboard.
This is perfect for those who want something that will better help them manage what's important and reduce context-switching. Akiflow also has guided planning, meeting scheduling, and sharing that comes in apps like Calendly. Akiflow is a notable Sunsama alternative, very similar in nature.
Allows you to bring tasks in from Notion, ClickUp and more.
Handles your meeting scheduling with a one-time link (something not many to-do apps will do for you).
Easy to use and has unique features like time slots - great for time blocking & focus.
Adding AI features and has a chatbot called "Aki" to help you.
Expensive per month cost that some people cannot warrant.
AI chatbot is still growing and currently in beta.
It might not be worth it if you're looking at basic task management.
Busy professionals who get tasks coming from different apps.
Those open to a budget of $15+ per month ($19 per month lowest).
Open to AI features and looking at the future of AI agents for tasks.
There are more tools like Akiflow like Motion & Sunsama.
Akiflow has no free plan.
It charges $19 per month (annual) or $34 per month, per month billing.
This is more expensive but aims to add more premium set of features.
If you're getting bogged down with switching apps from your work tasks, to personal and even email, then it is worth considering Akiflow. It connects with all your other tasks and brings them into one place. It then combines that with good time blocking, guided planning and more advanced features.
We'd say it best suits those more serious individuals, self-employed individuals, those who run a business, those in busy teams (with a software budget).
Task management isn't always about quantity of tasks on your list.
Sunsama is one of the more mindful to-do list apps on this list.
It wants to help you to organize your week ahead with a focus on zoomed-out planning. Guided planning is one of the special elements of Sunsama that allows you to add your tasks and schedule them ahead. Sunsama brings a beautiful design that allows you to manage your tasks, calendar, and tasks from other apps in one base. We've noted Sunsama down as one of the best ADHD friendly calendar apps, as it makes things approachable and guided for planning.
The sidebar that allows you to plot your schedule, manage your backlog of tasks, and use automation to better task flow makes life a lot easier too. It works in the same way as Akiflow does allowing you to drag in tasks from other apps like Todoist, ClickUp & more. Well worth considering if you looked at Akiflow and didn't like the design or guided planning, Sunsama had that.
Good for work life balance with features for task limits & working hours.
Planning becomes more controlled with guided planning - good for reflection too.
Comes with Pomodoro timer and focus modes.
Allows (like Akiflow) for task consolidation with apps like ClickUp, Trello & Notion too.
Weekly objectives for zooming out on your task management.
Expensive option (like Akiflow and Motion) - $20 per month.
Some people find the iOS app a struggle.
Those busy professionals who need a more holistic approach to tasks.
Those open to a budget of $15 per month (plus).
Sunsama is not free.
It prices itself at $20 per month, or $16 per month (annual)
Cheaper than Akiflow, but still not a low-cost to-do list app.
On the rise and on the pulse of AI powered task management.
Motion is an AI-powered task management application with project abilities.
Features like AI re-scheduling make Motion unique for those who hate scheduling their priorities and time. Upload a task and give it some details, and Motioon's system will start to organize what a day will look like, as recommended by their AI system. This has helped many people take the weight out of task administration, which decreases productivity daily. Motion is one of the only AI-focused apps doing this.
As one of the better task management apps, it also offers light project management, which helps you plan tasks in collaborative views that you can keep to yourself or share with others. Expect more project management abilities as they grow with small to medium sized teams.
Comes with so many AI powered features from tasks to documents.
Helps you to prioritize tasks on your list with the help of AI.
Extracts tasks and organize them into a project based on a document or meeting.
Allows you to import from Slack & comes with an AI note-taking app.
Does take some time to learn and adopt.
Not in many people's price ranges unless self-employed or running a business.
Busy professionals or small teams who need AI to help with administration.
Those open to a budget of $20 per month (or more).
Motion is not free to use.
You can get a plan starting from $29 per month for individual users.
The AI employees pricing is $49 per month, quite expensive for solo users.
For 5 seats, it actually works out more attractive.
Motion is one to consider if you're looking for AI-powered solutions.
We recommend it for those who have problems prioritizing tasks. The tasks can be plotted out by the AI and then going deeper with how you plan projects is another element that Motion does well. It is very much on the pulse of AI task management, so we'd say this is a recommended tool if you're a business, self-employed individual or warrant needing help with prioritization.
Superlist is a great to-do app for teams and individuals.
Superlist offers a collaborative way to add tasks and share them within notes in small and medium-sized teams. It is a good way to capture tasks, plan them, and send and assign tasks to other team members. Superlist has a feature called projects that allows you to create a list that serves as a list and a note. This will enable you to add tasks and organize them as a team, as well as coordinate notes alongside regular text formatting.
It also has some task integrations with apps like Microsoft To-Do. It works very well for small teams thanks to the up to 5 people that can use it for free.
Easy to use and works well for individuals or teams.
Take notes or meeting agendas alongside your tasks to-do.
Has some good AI abilities for creating sub-tasks or importing emails.
Works well with Microsoft To-Do.
Has no calendar mode.
Some people find that it limits you to views (eg. kanban boards etc).
Those who are individuals that like to take notes with tasks.
Good for small teams (up to 5 people) as it is free to use.
Superlist is free to use.
It is free to use with teams of up to 5 members too.
You can upgrade to Pro pricing for $15 per month, billed monthly.
This is quite an expensive upgrade, but not many people need to unless they go more advanced.
Superlist is Wunderlist reborn and for many people strikes that balances between tasks & notes.
We'd say this is great if you want something clean and good for making more open-plan lists (with sub-headings, fun sections) and even ways to assign to others in those lists. It's fun, collaborative & easy to use app that people will love if they liked Wunderlist back in the day. Small teams of up to 5 people will love it too, as they can plan tasks and switch to their personal tasks in an instant.
Things 3 is one of the most attractive to-do apps.
Things is focused on yourself for planning tasks and light projects. It has features like capture, project management for individuals, scheduling tasks, Apple Calendar connection, section headers, and smaller features like "This Evening" that allow you to separate tasks and allocate them for the evening ahead. The simple nature of Things combined with the powerful features that allow you to better plan allows it to be a good solution. This is one that gets a nod in our best macOS to-do list apps round-up.
A lot of people like Things 3 thanks to the pricing that offers one-off licenses that if bought on all devices total $79.99 (macOS, iPad & iPhone) and allow you to keep that license. If budget is an issue, but you like the look of Things 3, we'd recommend exploring our list of the best free Things 3 alternatives.
Stunning look and minimal feel.
Works well with gestures for macOS and iOS.
Comes with one-off cost, versus subscription which many people like to pay once and forget.
Great "This Evening" mode that allows you to seperate personal evening tasks if you like to break things up.
Awesome for individual project planning allowing you to set a deadline and aim towards it.
Hard to find but some people don't like the lack of sharing abilities.
Some people don't like paying 2-3 times across devices as they charge per device.
Those on Mac & iOS who want to pay once and use forever.
Those who don't want AI features or new additions being added all the time.
Good reliable, and easy to use app that works well for Apple users.
It is not free to use.
You have to download license per device.
You are limited to iOS & macOS.
iPhone is $9.99, iPad is $19.99 and macOS is $49.99
This is one-off allowing you to have access for life.
Apple Watch comes under the iPhone license.
Microsoft To-Do is a fantastic free to-do list application available to anyone with a personal Microsoft account.
It’s accessible on a wide range of devices, making it a great cross-platform solution. It’s one of the best to-do list applications due to its combination of free, reliable features. You can create lists, manage them, and use tools like My Day suggestions to help organize what you need to work on each day.
There are also integrations with Microsoft Planner and Outlook, allowing you to flag emails as tasks—especially useful if you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem. Originally redeveloped from Wunderlist, this app includes custom themes and backgrounds. It’s perfect for students, regular Microsoft users, or anyone wanting a free to-do list app with a variety of features rather than highly detailed ones. Google Tasks is a similar experience to Microsoft To-Do and offers some good abilities. If you're hunting for similar free Google Tasks alternatives, we'd recommend reading this.
Connects with Outlook to flag emails as tasks.
Connects with the Microsoft services like Planner for better 365 connection.
Just works well and is free to use.
Allows you to change theme.
Good for sharing lists with others - for chores or work items.
Hasn't changed much since 2017's launch.
Not the best looking design out there.
Those who use Microsoft Outlook and want to capture tasks
Those who want something easy to use, free & not fussed about good-looking options.
Good as a Google Tasks alternative.
It is free to use with a Microsoft account.
Perfect for those who want something free to use.
Structured is a great daily planner if you’re looking for a lightweight mobile app for casual use.
It’s ideal for organizing tasks around the home, planning for the weekend, or managing a work week. Structured uses a timeline layout, so you can easily see your day at a glance, including recurring tasks like routines. Many users love its visual design, making it popular with those who prefer aesthetic applications. It also has an AI feature that lets you speak to it to organize your day—a useful tool if you need a bit more structure in your routines and task management. Structured has got a lot better and is now available for iOS & Android.
This has to be one of the best visual routine planner apps on the market.
Works for iOS and Android - so perfect for mobile users.
Comes with AI feature for capturing tasks using your voice.
Perfect for those who capture things with audio (AI feature) to help organize the day ahead.
Mobile friendly but comes with Mac app for desktop use.
Not suitable for a work-based to-do list app.
Best for casual users who are managing home life or light tasks here and there.
Good for visual thinkers who want to see a timeline of their tasks for the day ahead.
Trello is a versatile visual to-do list application, popular with teams but equally effective for individual use.
It’s perfect for creating Kanban-style lists to organize tasks and notes, with checklists to keep everything in order. Trello is highly customizable, allowing users to add themes and backgrounds to personalize their boards.
It is free to use and includes some powerful automation features with its premium upgrade. However, even on the free plan, Trello offers robust features and a reliable mobile app that makes task management easy and efficient. It's great for project management tool for small to large teams.
Easy to use and learn.
Comes with calendar, inbox & planner.
Great task management tools for visual planners.
Free and doesn't require subscription to use majority of features.
Additional views do come as part of premium.
Not as good for granular time-blocking despite new planner modes.
Visual planners who like to see their schedule.
Good for capture and inbox management.
Those on a budget.
Routine is a minimal, planner-style application that helps you manage tasks.
It also allows you to handle calendar events, and notes all in one place. Many people like Routine for the clean design and the simple nature it offers. It connects with iCloud, Outlook and Google Calendar to allow you to connect up events and begin time blocking them. Many people like how you can access it on other devices and capture quickly, this makes life easier if you're on your desktop and you want to quick add an event.
From our tests, it just works well for adding tasks and organizing them into a week calendar view.
Good-looking design and easy to use.
Comes with a weekly calendar view with Google and iCloud integration.
Nice for taking notes alongside and meeting agendas.
Always updated and managed by an independent team.
Not everyone's cup of tea.
Not as fast on iOS and Android.
Designed for lovers of minimal designs.
A nice Things 3 alternative with free plan.
Lunatask is a secure to-do list application that helps you manage tasks with end-to-end encryption. In addition to task management, it also includes note-taking and journaling features, making it versatile for users who like to combine productivity tools.
Known for its speed, functionality, and well-designed interface, Lunatask has become a popular choice among budget-conscious users who still want reliability. For those seeking a balanced tool that handles tasks, notes, and journaling in one place, Lunatask is an excellent option. Very popular for ADHD task management too.
Great for tasks, notes & journal in one.
Solid E2E encryption for people who want to lock down notes/tasks.
Perfect for light habit tracking alongside too.
Popular for ADHD planning.
E2E security is tricky if you forget passwords.
Security conscious individuals.
Those who want to combine their notes and tasks in one.
Godspeed is a lightweight to-do list application designed for ultra-fast task capture.
According to the website, tasks can be captured in just 50 milliseconds, making it comparable in speed to Superhuman. This quick capture is primarily achieved through keyboard shortcuts, supported by a powerful desktop application and a lightweight mobile app for on-the-go use.
For users who prioritize speed and frequently rely on their keyboard, Godspeed is an ideal to-do list app. It’s especially suited for developers and time-conscious individuals. While it may lack the aesthetic appeal of other apps, Godspeed excels at rapid task entry, reminders, and efficient keyboard use.
Very fast to add tasks.
Uses keyboard shortcuts to capture.
Works on macOS for quick access.
Comes with basic lists.
Not ideal if you're looking for views like Kanban.
Not as good for those who have come from apps like Motion.
Not available on Windows.
Speedy keyboard shortcut users who want to manage tasks.
Those Mac users who want something less flashy.
Nirvana is a GTD-based to-do list application that appeals to those who follow the “Getting Things Done” method developed by David Allen.
It helps users organize tasks within the GTD framework, focusing on capturing, organizing, and completing tasks with a structured system of tags, folders, and other organizational tools. This setup allows users to think of their tasks as part of a larger framework. Alongside Nirvana, it stands out as one of the best applications available, similar to OmniFocus 4, for effectively managing tasks and supporting a systematic approach to productivity.
Packed with features for GTD focused work.
Easy to use and approachable (not too daunting).
Good features like context for each task.
GTD modes like next actions, someday & lists.
It won't be good if you're a non-GTD user.
Those who embrace GTD in their routine.
Those who want structure to their task management.
Let's breakdown which one matches most to your needs. Whether you're a solo user, or a team that want to be able to manage tasks collectively together, let's ace the pairing and crack on with the task list.
This is our top nominated to-do app that we believe delivers an all-round experience that we'd recommend for the majority of use cases; whether that is teams, individuals, casual users & those who want to use on a wide range of devices.
The best to-do app on our list is Todoist.
Available on all devices including Google Chrome/email & even assistant tools.
It offers the widest range of features for all types of users - ranging from teams to casual use.
Todoist works very well at being a tool for your personal and work life task management which some struggle with.
Offers the best free platform for task management with the least amount of limits humanly possible.
Google Tasks & Microsoft To-Do win best free task app.
Both are provided free with a Google/Microsoft license as part of the ecosystems.
They offer good features, wide range of access and all you need for basic task management.
They won't have power-user level features but if you want something totally free, they are your bet.
Not so keen on project management software and seeking out help with managing your small to medium sized team with just tasks? These tools are good for handling tasks, organizing them in views like Kanban/calendar and helping assign tasks including comments & administrative management.
All of these tools will help you add team members, assign tasks, schedule them in a view.
Motion offers the most extensive set of features with AI including documents, projects & more.
Trello is the most suited for full-scale project management, if you expand in the future.
These to-do list apps are designed most for focus. If you want something uber clean, something that gives you the features you need, without the haze of messy designs or over-complex features.
Things 3 is the most clean iOS & macOS app for tasks out there.
Superlist is also clean and attractive to use especially for taking checklists.
For students, the focus is budget & simple use cases. Maybe in some cases the ability to share and collaborate on tasks. But the primary choices we've recommended are for low-cost & basic use.
Google Tasks, Any DO and Todoist all do great for this.
They can help you manage the basic needs, whilst setting you up for the future.
They all allow you to add tasks, schedule and Any DO and Todoist have some sharing abilities.
For educators, we'd recommend Microsoft To-Do as you get it as part of your Edu license.
Narrowing your needs to follow the system developed by David Allen (writer of Getting Things Done) then we'd recommend these tools. If you want a more extensive deep dive into these recommendations, here are GTD apps for task management.
Nirvana and OmniFocus 4 are the best for GTD.
Easily the best set-up and focused towards the methodology.
Those who are hardcore GTD users tend to go with Nirvana.
OmniFocus can be used by anyone, but can be moulded best for GTD.
If you're looking to shape how you manage your tasks there are fewer options. These are better for those who have the grip on managing their time with their own process & system. They need to adaptable and open-plan.
We'd recommend both Trello and Notion.
They are both more maluable for your own task management.
Notion allows you to build your own databases with layouts & workflows.
Trello is similar but with boards, automations & checklists you can do a lot more for shaping structure.
Looking for Windows? Typically, you need something fast and that works with Microsoft 365 well. But also something that works well on Android too. Many of those on Windows tend to go with Android. Here's our recommendations:
Microsoft To-Do is the most Windows focused tool and works with Microsoft 365.
Any DO has a good Windows app and Android app that people tend to like list management on.
Other tools like Todoist and TickTick work on there well too.
Looking for your new Mac, or need a change of scenery? These are the best to-do apps for Mac, if you wanted more help we have gone more extensive on how these work and what features make users excited to use them.
Things 3 and Godspeed are power-user tools for Mac.
Godspeed is all about managing tasks on that keyboard fast, but lacks views & projects.
Things 3 is all about that minimal, clean experience and is one of the most loved Mac apps (outside of productivity).
Lunatask is another notable nod, it focuses on balancing tasks/notes & journal in one.
Looking for something robust, or maybe with secure ways to lock down what's on your list of things to do? There are tools that do that, not too many, but tools that are trustworthy.
Todoist has good security, but is a company that has publicly stated they never want to be acquired.
Lunatask has security in the form of E2E encryption allowing you to lock down tasks & notes.
These are options we trust the most from this list whether feature-led or longevity.
So, budget is your worry. That's totally fine, let's help you find some good choices for free apps.
They have a generous free plan with list & board view.
It's easy to get started with no task lists, more on views & features like filters.
This is perfect for beginners and those who don't need advanced time blocking.
This is a good one if you want some fun.
TickTick has habit tracking and themes in their free plan.
Themes and modes like calendar are limited for paid users.
If you want a calendar & task system in one.
Trello offers this as part of the free user account allowing you that in one.
Perfect for visual thinkers who are on a budget.