Apps Like Todoist: 12 Task Managers That Fix What Frustrates You
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About Todoist
Founded
2007
Denmark
Ships to
Worldwide
Editor-reviewed
Every recommendation read and refined by hand
Honest tradeoffs
Drawbacks listed, not hidden
No paid placements
Brands cannot pay to be ranked
Todoist is the task manager most people recommend and quietly outgrow. It got the fundamentals right years before anyone else: type "pay rent every 1st" and it just parses it, drop a task with #Work and @email labels and the Quick Add bar files it correctly, and Karma turns your productivity into a little dopamine game most people pretend not to care about.
The friction shows up once you lean on it hard. Reminders and calendar integration sit behind the Pro tier, and the free plan's five-project ceiling feels stingy the moment your life gets complicated. There's still no native habit tracking, so people bolt on recurring tasks as a fake substitute and end up with a to-do list cluttered by "drink water" showing up every morning.
The design philosophy is also deliberately spartan. That minimalism is a feature until you want nested subtasks that actually behave, or a Kanban board that doesn't feel like an afterthought.
So the real question isn't whether Todoist is good. It's what you actually need it to do that it won't — richer views, built-in habits, a real free tier, or a database that bends to your workflow?
The friction shows up once you lean on it hard. Reminders and calendar integration sit behind the Pro tier, and the free plan's five-project ceiling feels stingy the moment your life gets complicated. There's still no native habit tracking, so people bolt on recurring tasks as a fake substitute and end up with a to-do list cluttered by "drink water" showing up every morning.
The design philosophy is also deliberately spartan. That minimalism is a feature until you want nested subtasks that actually behave, or a Kanban board that doesn't feel like an afterthought.
So the real question isn't whether Todoist is good. It's what you actually need it to do that it won't — richer views, built-in habits, a real free tier, or a database that bends to your workflow?
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12 brands
The 12 Best Alternatives to Todoist
1
TickTick
Est. 2013
Shanghai, China
$
cheaper
People who want Todoist's speed plus habit tracking without a second app
Nearly one-to-one with Todoist on natural language input and recurring tasks, but throws in a built-in habit tracker, Pomodoro timer, and calendar view that Todoist charges for or lacks entirely.
Pros
- Native habit tracker built right in
- Built-in Pomodoro timer and calendar view
- Generous free tier with reminders included
Cons
- Interface is busier than Todoist
- Sync can occasionally lag across devices
2
Things 3
Est. 2007
Stuttgart, Germany
$$$
pricier
Apple users who want the most beautiful, focused task manager available
The same distraction-free minimalism Todoist chases, executed with more polish — the Today and Upcoming views feel effortless and the Magic Plus button is a genuine joy.
Pros
- Best-in-class design and interaction feel
- One-time purchase, no subscription
- Areas and Projects structure that stays clean
Cons
- Apple-only, no Android or web
- No collaboration or sharing features
- Upfront cost per platform adds up
3
Microsoft To Do
Est. 2017
Redmond, USA
$
cheaper
Anyone in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem who wants free basics
Free, cross-platform, with My Day planning and recurring tasks — a genuine no-cost swap if you're leaving over Todoist's paywall.
Pros
- Completely free with no feature paywall
- Deep Outlook and 365 integration
- My Day gives a clean daily focus
Cons
- No natural language parsing
- Weaker for complex project structures
- Limited tagging and filtering
4
Any.do
Est. 2011
Tel Aviv, Israel
≈
similar
People who want a guided daily planning habit
Direct Todoist competitor with natural language, recurring tasks, and a slick daily planning ritual called Moment that nudges you through your list.
Pros
- Moment feature builds a review habit
- Clean calendar and task integration
- Good WhatsApp and voice input
Cons
- Free tier is quite restricted
- Recurring tasks locked behind premium
Visit Any.do
Full guide: Apps Like Any.do
5
Notion
Est. 2016
San Francisco, USA
≈
similar
Power users who want to build their own workflow from scratch
For people who left Todoist because they wanted views, databases, and flexibility — Notion bends into a task system, a wiki, and a project tracker at once.
Pros
- Infinitely customizable databases and views
- Combines notes, tasks, and wikis
- Strong free tier for individuals
Cons
- Steep setup, easy to over-engineer
- No true natural language quick add
- Slower for pure task capture
Visit Notion
Full guide: Apps Like Notion
6
Amazing Marvin
Est. 2018
USA
$$$
pricier
ADHD and neurodivergent users who need customizable structure
Built for people who feel Todoist doesn't understand how their brain works — you toggle strategies like time-blocking, day planning, and reward systems on and off.
Pros
- Modular strategies you enable per need
- Excellent for ADHD-friendly planning
- Built-in habit and reward tracking
Cons
- Higher subscription cost
- Overwhelming number of options at first
7
Sunsama
Est. 2018
USA
$$$
pricier
Knowledge workers who want intentional daily planning
Answers the Todoist gap of turning a task list into an actual daily plan, pulling tasks and calendar events into one deliberate day-planning ritual.
Pros
- Guided daily and weekly planning flow
- Pulls in tasks from Todoist, Asana, and more
- Calendar time-blocking built in
Cons
- Most expensive option here
- Overkill for simple to-do lists
8
Google Tasks
Est. 2018
Mountain View, USA
$
cheaper
Gmail-first users who want tasks where they already work
The truly minimal free option — lives inside Gmail and Google Calendar, handles recurring tasks and subtasks without a subscription.
Pros
- Completely free
- Seamless inside Gmail and Calendar
- Dead simple, no learning curve
Cons
- No natural language input
- Barebones tagging and filtering
- Weak standalone app
9
Habitica
Est. 2013
USA
$
cheaper
People motivated by rewards and gamification
Directly solves the habit-tracking gap that pushes people away from Todoist, gamifying tasks and habits with an RPG where you level up a character.
Pros
- Genuine habit tracking with game mechanics
- Free and open source
- Active community and party system
Cons
- Not built for serious project work
- Gamification wears off for some
10
Asana
Est. 2008
San Francisco, USA
$$$
pricier
Small teams managing real projects together
For teams that outgrew Todoist's collaboration limits — timelines, boards, workload views, and task dependencies that a shared to-do list can't touch.
Pros
- Powerful project views and dependencies
- Solid free tier for up to 10 people
- Strong integrations ecosystem
Cons
- Overkill for personal task lists
- Gets pricey per seat at scale
11
ClickUp
Est. 2017
San Diego, USA
≈
similar
Users who want maximum features in one workspace
An everything-app that swallows tasks, docs, goals, and habits — for people who want more views and features than Todoist's premium tier ever offered.
Pros
- Enormous feature set at low cost
- Multiple views: list, board, calendar, Gantt
- Generous free plan
Cons
- Can feel bloated and slow
- Steep learning curve
12
Superlist
Est. 2020
Berlin, Germany
≈
similar
People who miss Wunderlist's clean simplicity
Made by ex-Wunderlist people, it blends the fast task capture Todoist fans love with notes and collaboration in a genuinely modern, minimal interface.
Pros
- Beautiful, fast, modern interface
- Blends tasks with rich notes
- Built for both solo and shared lists
Cons
- Younger product, still maturing
- Fewer integrations than rivals
Free swaps that skip the paywall
If you're leaving Todoist because reminders and the five-project cap sit behind Pro, three options give you the core for nothing. Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks are fully free and sync everywhere, while TickTick's free tier includes reminders and its habit tracker. Habitica is free and open source if gamification is what motivates you. None of these will nickel-and-dime you for a calendar view.
Built-in habit tracking
Todoist's biggest missing piece is native habits, and bolting them onto recurring tasks never feels right. TickTick has a dedicated habit tracker alongside its task list, Habitica turns habits into an RPG with real stakes, and Amazing Marvin lets you enable habit and streak strategies as modules. If you came looking for one app that does tasks and habits together, start here.
When you actually need more than a list
Some people leave Todoist not because it's too limited but because they want views, databases, or real team features. Notion and ClickUp bend into whatever structure you build; Asana handles timelines and dependencies for small teams; Sunsama turns your tasks into a deliberate daily plan. These are step-ups in power, and in most cases, in commitment.Which Alternative Is Right for You?
Want Todoist's exact speed plus the habit tracker it never built? TickTick is the closest and cheaper swap. On Apple devices and willing to pay once for something beautiful? Things 3 is unmatched. Leaving purely over the paywall? Microsoft To Do or Google Tasks give you the basics free. If habits are the whole reason you're shopping, Habitica gamifies them and Amazing Marvin builds structure around how your brain works. Need real collaboration or project views, Asana and ClickUp scale up, while Notion lets you construct any system you can imagine. And if you want the daily-planning ritual Todoist lacks, Sunsama makes each morning intentional. Frequently Asked Questions
QWhat is the closest free alternative to Todoist?
TickTick is the closest match with a genuinely useful free tier that includes reminders and a habit tracker Todoist doesn't offer. If you don't need natural language input, Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks are fully free and sync across all your devices without any paywall.
QWhich Todoist alternative has built-in habit tracking?
TickTick has a dedicated habit tracker sitting alongside its tasks, which is the single most common reason people switch from Todoist. Habitica goes further by gamifying habits into an RPG, and Amazing Marvin lets you toggle habit and streak-tracking strategies on as needed.
QIs Things 3 better than Todoist?
For Apple users who value design and focus, yes — Things 3 has a more polished interface and a one-time purchase instead of a subscription. But it's Apple-only with no web or Android, and it lacks collaboration, so it's not better for teams or cross-platform users.
QWhat should I use instead of Todoist for a small team?
Asana and ClickUp both outclass Todoist for real team work, offering boards, timelines, task dependencies, and workload views. Both have solid free tiers. Notion is the pick if your team also wants shared docs and wikis living next to the tasks.
QWhy does Todoist hide reminders and calendar behind the Pro tier?
Todoist's free plan deliberately withholds reminders, calendar view, and caps you at five projects to push upgrades to Pro. If that structure frustrates you, TickTick includes reminders free, and Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks give you calendar-linked tasks at no cost at all.
Our Verdict
The Best Todoist Alternative For You
Want Todoist's exact speed plus the habit tracker it never built? TickTick is the closest and cheaper swap. On Apple devices and willing to pay once for something beautiful? Things 3 is unmatched. Leaving purely over the paywall? Microsoft To Do or Google Tasks give you the basics free. If habits are the whole reason you're shopping, Habitica gamifies them and Amazing Marvin builds structure around how your brain works. Need real collaboration or project views, Asana and ClickUp scale up, while Notion lets you construct any system you can imagine. And if you want the daily-planning ritual Todoist lacks, Sunsama makes each morning intentional.