The best to-do list apps in 2026
Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick on iPhone and Android. A free plan, a one-time purchase for Apple devices, and a calendar-and-habits app, priced.
On this page
Todoist is the best to-do list app in 2026, on iPhone and Android alike. Quick Add turns a typed sentence into a task with its date, time, and repeat, and one free account syncs your phone, laptop, and watch. Most to-do apps get twelve tasks on a Sunday and two visits in March, so the one that is fastest to add to wins. Pick Things 3 if every device you own is Apple and you want to pay once, or TickTick if you want a calendar, habits, and a focus timer in the same app.
Quick picks
| Rank | App | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  TodoistBest overallTop pick | |
| 2 |  Things 3Paying once on Apple devices | |
| 3 |  TickTickCalendar, habits, and a timer |
Here is how the three hold up, plus three free apps that may be enough. We used each one by hand, adding tasks, setting repeats, and checking the same list on a phone and a computer. What mattered most was how fast a task goes in and whether the list opens on every device you own. After that, we focused on what the free plan caps and whether you pay once, monthly, or yearly. Sync was the weak spot for all three.
Todoist: Best to-do list app overall
Todoist is the to-do app we would put on a phone that also has to talk to a work laptop, whether the phone is an iPhone or an Android. One account opens on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, the web, Apple Watch, and Wear OS, with no separate purchase per device. Type "call the dentist every other Tuesday at 9am" and the task lands with its date, time, and repeat already set.
The free Beginner plan covers a short personal list: 5 projects, 3 filters, a week of activity history, and reminders on any task with a date and time. The cons are real. Sync can undo a recent complete or reschedule on another device until you reload. Calendar events show in Today, but from one Google or Outlook calendar at a time, and they are read-only. There is no habit tracker or focus timer, so pick TickTick if you want those in the same app.
Quick Add: a whole task in one line
Quick Add reads dates, times, projects, labels, priorities, and repeats out of the sentence you type. Patterns like "every 30 days from completion" work, so a chore you finish late does not come due again the next morning.
What Todoist costs
Pro is $7 a month or $60 a year, with a 7-day trial. Pro raises the ceiling to 300 projects and adds the calendar layout, deadlines, and location reminders. The US App Store sells it as Pro Legacy at $6.99 a month, and Google Play renews at the web price. Prices are from Todoist's pricing page in October 2026.
Who should skip Todoist
Skip Todoist if a household wants to share one paid account. There is no family plan, and Family Sharing does not pass Pro along, so each person pays for a seat. Skip it too if you want habits or a Pomodoro timer next to your tasks.
What we like
- Pro: Quick Add understands dates and repeats you type
- Pro: Free plan is enough for a short list
- Pro: Apps for iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and the web
- Pro: One account covers every device, with no per-platform purchase
Watch out for
- Con: Free plan stops at 5 active projects and 3 filters
- Con: Pro does not cover a second person
- Con: Sync can undo recent edits across devices
- Con: No habit tracker or focus timer
Our pick overall
Todoist
Things 3: Best for paying once on Apple devices
Things 3 is the to-do app for people who only use Apple devices and do not want a subscription. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro, and nowhere else. Today splits into the day and This Evening, while Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday hold the rest, so the backlog stays out of sight without filters to maintain. Areas and projects with headings keep a long personal list readable. Apple Calendar events sit above your to-dos in Today. On the Mac, Quick Entry and keyboard navigation are the reason many people stay.
Each platform is a separate one-time purchase on the US App Store (October 2026): $9.99 for iPhone and Apple Watch, $19.99 for iPad, $49.99 for Mac, and $29.99 for Vision Pro. iPhone, iPad, and Mac together come to $79.97. Only the Mac app has a trial, 15 days with every feature. Sync runs through a free Things Cloud account, not iCloud. Mail to Things turns an email into an Inbox item, as plain text. There is no Android, Windows, or web app, no shared lists or assignees, no file attachments, and no location reminders. Google and Outlook calendars do not show. Family Sharing covers the purchase, but each person gets a separate list. Widgets and the Watch can lag until you open the app. Pick Todoist if anyone you share tasks with, or any device you use, is not Apple.
What we like
- Pro: iPhone is $9.99, once. Mac is $49.99, once
- Pro: A calm Today view, with real projects
- Pro: Fully featured 15-day trial on Mac
- Pro: No yearly fee on the App Store receipt
Watch out for
- Con: Mac, iPad, and Vision Pro are separate purchases
- Con: No Android, Windows, or web app
- Con: No shared lists, attachments, or location reminders
- Con: No trial on iPhone or iPad
TickTick: Best for calendar, habits, and a timer
TickTick is the to-do app for people who want a calendar, a habit tracker, and a Pomodoro timer in the same install. Tasks, habits with streaks, countdowns, an Eisenhower Matrix, Kanban boards, and a built-in calendar share one Today list. It runs on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, the web, Apple Watch, and Wear OS, and one account covers all of them. The free plan already includes sync, reminders, basic habits, and the focus timer, so light personal use does not force an upgrade on day one. Shared lists support assignees and comments.
Free caps show up fast: 9 lists, 99 tasks per list, 2 reminders per task, 5 habits, and shared lists for two people. Premium is $49.99 a year on TickTick's web upgrade page, or $4.99 a month on the US App Store (October 2026). That is less than Todoist Pro's $60, though the web price sat at $35.99 for a long stretch. Premium adds more calendar views, a timeline, task durations, calendar subscriptions, and limits of 299 lists and 999 tasks per list. The screen is busier than Things 3 or Todoist. Sync can bring completed tasks back, and two-way Google Calendar sync has moved or deleted events for some users. There is no team workspace or family plan that covers more than one account. Pick Todoist if you only want a plain list.
What we like
- Pro: Tasks, calendar, habits, and a Pomodoro timer
- Pro: Free plan is enough to learn the app
- Pro: One Premium account covers phone, desktop, and web
- Pro: $49.99 a year, less than Todoist Pro's $60
Watch out for
- Con: Busier than Things 3 or Todoist
- Con: Free caps on lists and habits show up fast
- Con: Google Calendar sync has moved or deleted events
- Con: No team workspace or family plan
Other options
Good apps for a narrower job. Each one says which.
Apple Reminders
Already on iPhone and Mac, with shared lists, if everyone you share with uses Apple devices.
Google Tasks
Free on Android, iPhone, and the web, and the right list if your day runs through Gmail and Google Calendar.
Microsoft To Do
Free on every platform, and the right list if your tasks already live in Outlook.
How we picked
Prices are in US dollars before tax and were checked in October 2026: Todoist's on its pricing page and help center, Things 3's on the US App Store, and TickTick's on its upgrade page and the US App Store. Where the App Store or Google Play charges differently from the web, we say so.
We left out project suites such as Notion, Asana, and Jira, which do a different job, and habit apps with no task list.
Questions
What's the best to-do list app for iPhone?
Todoist is the best to-do list app for iPhone if the list also has to live on a Windows PC or an Android phone. Things 3 is the pick if every device you use is Apple and you want to pay once, at $9.99 for the iPhone app. Apple Reminders is free and already installed. Reminders handles a short list, location alerts, and a shared grocery list with sections sorted for you.
What's the best to-do list app for Android?
Todoist is the best to-do list app for Android. Quick Add and the free plan work the same as on iPhone, and the same account opens on a Windows PC. TickTick is the Android pick if you also want habits and a calendar in one app. Google Tasks is free and fine for a short list that lives next to Gmail. Things 3 has no Android app.
What is the best free to-do list app?
Todoist's free Beginner plan is the best free to-do list app if you use more than one kind of device. The free plan includes 5 projects, 3 filters, recurring dates, shared projects, and reminders on timed tasks. TickTick's free plan covers more tools, including basic habits and the focus timer, but stops at 9 lists and 99 tasks per list. Apple Reminders is free with every feature, location alerts included, but only on Apple devices and icloud.com. Microsoft To Do is free on every platform with a personal Microsoft account. Things 3 has no free version.
Todoist or TickTick: which is better?
Todoist is better for fast capture and for connecting to other apps. Quick Add parses repeats like "every 30 days from completion," and Todoist's integrations go deeper than TickTick's. TickTick is better if you want habits, a Pomodoro timer, and a calendar in one app, which Todoist leaves to extensions. TickTick Premium is $49.99 a year, against $60 for Todoist Pro. Both run on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web. We pick Todoist for a plain list that has to be quick, and TickTick when the calendar is what you open first.
Is Things 3 worth it?
Things 3 is worth it if every device you use is Apple and you want to pay once. The $9.99 iPhone app costs less than two months of Todoist Pro, and it never renews. Full coverage gets expensive: iPhone, iPad, and Mac come to $79.97, and adding Vision Pro brings the total to $109.96. Things 3 has no shared lists, attachments, location reminders, or Android app, so a couple or a mixed-device household needs a second app. Try the 15-day Mac trial first, since the iPhone app has no trial.
Is there a to-do app that works on iPhone and Android?
Todoist, TickTick, and Microsoft To Do all run on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web with one account. Todoist's free plan allows 5 people per personal project, which is enough for a household list. TickTick's free shared lists stop at two people, and Premium raises that to 29. Microsoft To Do is free and shares lists by invite link. Things 3 and Apple Reminders are Apple-only, so an Android partner cannot join a list in either.
What's the simplest to-do list app?
Apple Reminders is the simplest to-do list app on iPhone, because it is free, already installed, and works with Siri and the Lock Screen. Things 3 is the simplest of the paid picks. Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday sort your tasks without filters to set up. Google Tasks is the plain choice on Android, a list with dates that sits beside Gmail and Google Calendar. TickTick is the least simple app here, with habits, timers, and a matrix on the same screen.
Verdict
What's the best to-do list app?
Install Todoist if the list has to follow you across phones and computers. Buy Things 3 if every device you use is Apple and you want to pay once. Use TickTick if you also want a calendar and a habit tracker in the same app, and stay on the free plan until the calendar is why you open it.
Apple Reminders is free and already on iPhone. Google Tasks is free and sits inside Gmail and Google Calendar. Microsoft To Do is free if your work already lives in Outlook. You need one list, not three.
Our pick overall
Todoist