Best To Do List Apps in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

Todoist wins on capture speed. You can add a task from your phone, browser, email, or watch, type the date in plain words, and let Todoist sort it into the right project and priority. Recurring tasks, subtasks, and sections keep longer projects organised without turning the list into a project management tool, and filters let you build views such as "work due this week" in a few taps.

Pro, at $7 per month or $60 per year, adds reminders, the calendar layout, task durations, deadlines, and full activity history. That is the plan most regular users will need once reminders matter, because the free plan does not include them. The limit to watch is project count, since five active projects fill up fast if you separate work, home, health, and personal goals.

TickTick is the app to pick if you want fewer apps on your phone. Tasks live beside a calendar, so you can drag a task into a time slot, and habits sit in the same daily view, so a streak is visible next to the work that fills the day. The Pomodoro timer and white noise options help with focus sessions without opening another tool.

Premium is listed at $49.99 per year on the website, with a monthly app store price of $4.99, and it removes the free caps while adding custom filters, full calendar functions, and more themes. The interface is busier than Todoist, and some people will prefer a simpler list. If you like having tasks, habits, and time in one place, that extra density is a fair trade.

Things 3 feels different from most task apps because it is built around a daily and weekly rhythm rather than a long list. The Today view shows what you chose for today, Upcoming shows the week ahead, and Someday holds ideas without cluttering the present. Headings inside projects and a clean checklist view keep larger goals readable.

Pricing is one-time per platform: $9.99 for iPhone and Apple Watch, $19.99 for iPad, and $49.99 for Mac, with Things Cloud sync included. That suits people who dislike subscriptions, but it also means there is no free plan to try the full app before paying, beyond the App Store refund policy in your region. Things 3 is personal only, so households and teams that need shared assignments should look elsewhere.

Microsoft To Do is the simplest strong option on this list, and that is its strength. The My Day view asks you to pick a small set of tasks each morning, shared lists work for a household or a small team, and tasks from Outlook and Microsoft Planner appear in the same place. If your work email is Outlook, this app removes friction that other apps add.

The limits are real. A task has only one level of steps, there is no board view, and customisation is thin compared with Todoist or TickTick. For many people that is enough, because a to do list should be short. If you need projects with nested sections, filters, and priorities, a dedicated task app will serve you better, but it will cost money or setup time that Microsoft To Do does not ask for.

Any.do suits people who want a pleasant daily list without learning a task system. The planner view walks through today, tomorrow, and upcoming tasks, the calendar view shows events beside tasks, and the mobile apps are quick to open and update. Voice entry and WhatsApp capture, where available, help when you think of a task away from your desk.

Premium is listed at $7.99 per month, or $4.99 per month when billed annually, and it adds features such as unlimited reminders, custom recurring tasks, and more themes and integrations. The free plan covers basic lists and sharing, which is enough to test whether the daily planner workflow fits. Any.do is less suited to heavy project work, since its strength is the day, not the database behind it.

Google Tasks is the right to do app if you already live in Gmail and Google Calendar and want the smallest possible addition. A task created from an email stays linked to that email, due dates appear in Calendar, and the mobile app is fast for checking off a short list. There is nothing to configure, and nothing extra to pay for.

That minimal design is also the ceiling. There are no priority levels, tags, or custom filters, and recurring options are basic. People with more than a few lists, or with work that needs sorting by project and urgency, will outgrow Google Tasks quickly. As a free companion to Google Calendar, though, it covers daily errands and simple work tasks without fuss.

Apple Reminders has improved into a capable free task app for Apple users. You can ask Siri to add a reminder, set a location trigger such as "when I get home", build smart lists from tags and dates, and share a grocery or household list with family. It is already on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so there is no new account or app to learn.

The trade-off is ecosystem lock-in. There is no native Android or Windows app, and web access is limited compared with cross-platform tools. Project handling is also simpler, with sections and tags rather than the filters and boards in Todoist or TickTick. If everyone in your household uses Apple devices and your lists are straightforward, Apple Reminders is hard to beat for price and convenience.

OmniFocus is built for people who run a complete personal task system, often based on the Getting Things Done method. Perspectives let you build custom views for contexts, projects, and review dates, defer dates hide tasks until they are actionable, and the review cycle prompts you to revisit projects so nothing goes stale. Automation and Shortcuts support add depth for power users who want tasks to flow between apps.

That power comes with a learning curve and a price. The subscription is listed at $99.99 per year, with a free trial available, and one-time purchase options are also offered on the vendor site. OmniFocus is Apple only, so it will not help if you work on Windows or Android. For most people it is more system than they need, but for a committed Apple user with many projects, it is the deepest option here.

Superlist is a newer option that focuses on shared lists that feel good to use. You can keep personal tasks, household lists, and small team work in one app, add notes to tasks, and share a list with a link or an invitation. The design is clean and fast, and it suits people who found older task apps either too plain or too complex.

Because Superlist is still growing, its integration list and template library are smaller than those of Todoist or TickTick, and pricing should be checked on the vendor site before you commit, since plans and regional prices change. The free plan is enough to test personal and shared lists. If you want a modern shared list app and you do not need the deepest automation, Superlist is worth a trial week.