Best To-Do List Apps

Picking the right To-Do app can be hard sometimes. Just searching for one yields thousands of results, making the choice even harder. There are free ones, paid ones, subscription-based ones. I personally had a really hard time choosing one. I juggled between a few of them, use one for a week, and then change etc. So, if you are looking for a new To-Do app, and one to stick to, you’ve come to the right place. Every app that I will write about here has been personally tested by me. Anyways, let’s jump right into it.

What makes a to-do app a good to-do app?

There are a couple of things I want to point out before going into the apps individually. For me to even consider an app it has to fulfil these points:

• Cross-platform support: I want to be able to input a task wherever I am. If I have my work pc, but not my phone, I still need to create tasks, so cross-platform support is a must for me. Even a web app works.

• Clean user interface: This is an obvious one. I don’t want to look for a list for 20 minutes. I need it to be easy to access.

• Reminders: Another obvious one, since it’s so basic. But on some apps, it’s still behind a paywall(Looking at you Todoist).

• Sync: This comes hand in hand with the first point, but I’ve experienced apps where the sync is slow, or just plain doesn’t work.

Okay, now that we’ve laid down some ground rules, let’s start.

Todoist

I’m sure you’ve already heard of Todoist. It’s by far the most popular one. It is available on almost every platform. Sync works perfectly. Natural Language Processing is just great. But, it’s not free. Of course, you can use it for free but that puts way too many limitations on you. Like the basic reminder feature is not available, a limited amount of lists etc. If you are someone who is willing to pay, it can be a great choice, It has tons of integrations which is pretty nifty. The premium price is $36 annually or $4 per month.

TickTick

The direct competitor to Todoist is TickTick. It has almost all of the features from Todoist, even Natural Language Processing(even though I still think that the Todoist one is better overall). What I really like about TickTick is the habit tracking feature. You can track up to 5 habits on the free plan. It also includes a focus timer, which I absolutely love. Tracking my tasks, habits and time all in the same app is just so convenient. The free version is nowhere as limiting as the Todoist free version. There are still some limitations of course, as I mentioned above, only 5 habits, up to 9 lists, but you’ve got reminders. The overall annual price is $28.

Microsoft To Do

Next one on the list is the To-Do by Microsoft. It is a successor to the Wunderlist app, which I know a lot of people loved, and this app is slowly catching up to it. The biggest advantage is that there is no premium version of this, it is completely free. Of course, it is not as feature-packed as Todoist or TickTick, but that’s understandable. What I really like is the My Day feature, where you can choose your tasks for the day. Other than that, it doesn’t offer anything special, just a very simple app overall. For the people out there, who do not want to be limited in any way, or just don’t want to pay, this is a great choice. Natural Language Processing only works on iOS for now, but I’m sure the Android app will get it soon.

Habitica

Habitica is an interesting choice, especially for nerdy people like myself. It is divided into three categories; Habits, Dailies and To-Dos. It doesn’t allow custom lists, but that’s not a big deal, since there are tags. I really like the social aspect of the game, where you get in a party and if you don’t do a habit or miss a daily, the whole party suffers. Really interesting system for people who like video games. It is completely free, with an option to subscribe to support the development. I really want to like this app, but for some reason I’ve always had problems with syncing, the app not opening, crashes and stuff like that. It also feels a bit outdated, compared to the other apps on the list.

Final Verdict

If you haven’t made your decision yet, I can help you out a bit. If you want a completely free app, clean and simple, then Microsoft To-Do is your best choice. If you have no problem paying for an app, but would like a much more featured interface, then my vote goes to TickTick. The Pomodoro timer, habit tracker and cheaper price than Todoist make it the best to-do app overall. On the other hand, if you are into gamifying your life and tasks, then Habitica is always a good choice. It takes some time to get used to it, but it can really help if you have a hard time sticking to your habits.