There are too many to-do list apps on the market.
Trying them all would be a considerable undertaking, as I know from my own experience.
Why are there so many applications for something that can easily be achieved with sticky notes? Because task management is such a deeply personal experience.
To that end, we scour the web for apps that do this best, to identify the best ones for various scenarios.
This post also required a lot of research.
We started by scouring the web for the best apps for each platform: Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and iPhone/iPad.
We then spent time transferring our to-do lists from one app to another, trying out the top-rated apps in each app store.
And now we present to you what we believe are the best of the best.
Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it in one of these apps.
The best to-do list apps
Todoist
Availability: Windows, macOS, Android, iPhone, iPad Web.
Todoist isn’t the most powerful task manager available.
It’s also not the easiest.
That’s the point, this software strikes a balance between power and simplicity, and it does so while running on almost any platform.
That’s a great selling point, which is why Todoist is one of the most popular to-do list apps.
In tests, adding tasks was fast on all platforms, thanks in part to natural language processing.
You can add new tasks to your Inbox and later transfer them to the corresponding projects, as well as set deadlines.
Paying users to have access to custom filters and tags, as well as rudimentary collaboration tools.
Todoist is flexible enough to fit into most workflows without being overwhelming.
It also periodically adds new features, such as the ability to view projects as a board and the ability to navigate through the program via the keyboard, which has recently been improved.
All in all, this is a fantastic start.
Todoist has a free version and a subscription version that starts at $3 per month.
TickTick
Availability: Android, Windows, macOS, iPhone and iPad, and Web.
TickTick is a fast-growing to-do list software with a diverse set of features available on almost every platform imaginable.
Thanks to natural language processing, adding tasks is easy.
On desktop, there’s a universal keyboard shortcut, and on mobile there are pinned alerts and widgets, making it easy to add a task before you get back to what you’re doing,,
Tasks can be structured using lists, tags, and deadlines, and subtasks can be added to each task.
TickTick provides all of this with native-looking apps, the macOS and Windows versions, for example, differ in ways that make sense given the differences between the two operating systems.
TickTick also has a few more features not available in other apps.
For starters, there’s a built-in Pomodoro timer, which lets you start a 25-minute work session for any of your activities.
Second, it integrates with various third-party calendars, allowing you to see all your tasks and appointments in one location, as well as a block of time.
There’s also a built-in habit tracker that lets you see how many days you’ve kept your fitness and nutrition commitments, and how many days you haven’t.
An Eisenhower matrix view was included in a recent update, allowing you to prioritize your tasks based on what’s urgent versus what’s important.
It has a unique set of features that you won’t find anywhere else.
TickTick has a free version and costs $2.40 per month for the premium version.
Microsoft To Doostpunost: Android, Windows, Web, iPhone i iPad.
Microsoft bought Wunderlist in 2015 and put the Wunderlist team to work on the new to-do list app.
Microsoft To-Do is the result, and Wunderlist’s DNA can be found throughout the project.
The basic interface is simple, and adding tasks is easy, but there is a lot of variety behind the surface.
The strong interaction with the Microsoft ecosystem is the real standout here though.
Outlook users can now sync their tasks from that app with Microsoft To Do, allowing Outlook tasks to sync with mobile devices for the first time.
Windows users can use Cortana or type in the Start menu to create tasks.
This is also, in my opinion, the best-looking to-do list software on the market.
You can customize the background images for each of your lists so you can tell at a glance which one you’re looking at.
You’ll be staring at your to-do list for the rest of the day, so make it attractive.
Microsoft To-Do price: Free.
Things
Availability: macOS, iPhone, and iPad.
To-do list apps tend to fall into two: complicated and minimalist.
Things is kind of both.
That’s about the highest compliment I can give a to-do app.
Although this program has a lot of functionality, it is always easy to use.
Adding jobs is easy, as is organizing them, but there seems to be an infinite number of ways to organize them.
Tasks or projects can be included within areas, projects can contain tasks or headers containing tasks, and tasks can have subtasks as desired.
It might look confusing, but it’s not, which is a testament to the quality of Things’ design.
Other apps provide these features, but Things does it in a way that never feels cluttered, allowing you to easily get back to what you’re doing after looking at your to-do list.
Features like a system-wide tool for quickly adding tasks, integration with your calendar so you can see your appointments as you plan your day, intuitive keyboard shortcuts, reminders with native notifications, and sync with the iPhone and iPad app round out this blend of functionality and beauty.
The only downside is that there are no versions for Windows or Android, however, this is probably one of the reasons why the team was able to focus on creating such a clean product.
You owe it to yourself to test things out if you’re an Apple customer.
Things price: $49.99 for mand and macOS (15-day free trial), $19.99 for iPad, $9.99 for iPhone.
OmniFocus
Availability: macOS, iPhone, and iPad.
This Apple-only program is based on Davi Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) concept, but has so many features that it can be used for any organizing system you can imagine.
For example, you can create three different types of projects depending on whether you need to complete the activities in a certain order six main views allow default, and there are six main views the s that allow you to organize your tasks by the due date, project, and tag.
If you have the Pro edition, you can even add additional previews.
OmniFocus is a power user’s fantasy, with more capabilities than anyone could expect to combine into a workflow, which is the point.
If there’s a feature you want, OmniFocus has it, allowing you to organize your tasks pretty much however you want.
Apple devices are the only ones that can sync.
An online version is occasionally available for use outside of your Apple Mac computers, but non-Apple users should look elsewhere.
OmniFocus Price: From $99.99 per year for a recurring plan.
Also available as a one-time purchase of $49.99 (14-day free trial).
Google Tasks
Availability: Web, Android, iPhone, and iPad.
Google Tasks is a list that you can easily do if you use Gmail and Google Calendar.
That’s because it’s on the sidebar of those two apps and has a lot of connectors.
There is also a special application for smartphones.
The software itself is really basic.
Adding tasks is easy, especially if you already spend a lot of time on Gmail, but there aren’t many organizing features.
There are deadlines, lists, and subtasks, but that’s about it.
However, on desktop, the Gmail connection is the main selling feature.
You can, for example, drag an email into Google Tasks to turn it into a task.
If you want, you can also see your tasks on your Google Calendar.
The best to-do app is one that you can use at any time.
If you’re the type of person who keeps Gmail open on your computer at all times, Google Tasks is the app for you.
Those duties are now available on the go thanks to mobile versions.
This app is free.
Any. do
Availability : Android, iPhone, iPad and Web.
Any. do is a really neat mobile app that lets you quickly enter tasks, organize them into lists, and set dea
But its daily Plan My Day function really shines, forcing you to schedule when you’ll ur many duties so you remember to actually do them.
Any. do also work well with Google and Outlook calendars, so you can see all your events and tasks in one location.
If you’re the type to add items to a list and then forget about them, this is just what you need.
The desktop version isn’t nearly as polished as the mobile version, it’s busy and a bit confusing.
Still, the mobile version of Any.do alone is a strong incentive to give it a try, especially if you do most of your tasks on your phone.