Todoist

The to-do list to organize work & life

4.8•55 reviews•

991 followers

The to-do list to organize work & life

4.8•55 reviews•

991 followers

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Productivity

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Project management software

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Calendar apps

Simplify life for both you and your team. The world’s #1 task manager and to-do list app.

The Best Todoist Alternatives

The best Todoist alternatives are TickTick, Things, Sunsama, ByDesign, and Google Tasks.

TickTick

4.7 ·

Choose TickTick if...

✓you want tasks, calendar, and Pomodoro together
✓you need consistent desktop and mobile apps
✓you capture tasks from Chrome and Gmail fast

See details ↓

Things

4.8 ·

Choose Things if...

✓you’re all-in on Apple devices and apps
✓you want a calming, polished daily planner
✓you rely on keyboard shortcuts and quick capture

See details ↓

Sunsama

4.7 ·

Choose Sunsama if...

✓you want guided daily planning and shutdown rituals
✓you timebox tasks with realistic workload warnings
✓you need one hub for Jira, Asana, calendars

See details ↓

ByDesign

4.8 ·

Choose ByDesign if...

✓you want auto-scheduling to organize your time
✓you need tasks, notes, goals, and dashboards together
✓you prefer a calendar-first weekly planning workflow

See details ↓

Google Tasks

4.7 ·

Choose Google Tasks if...

✓you want the simplest to-dos inside Gmail
✓you live in Google Calendar and Workspace
✓you don’t want another app or login

See details ↓

What to Consider

Todoist is a go-to task manager for people who want a clean, reliable place to capture work, organize projects, and stay consistent across devices. But the alternatives landscape is broad: TickTick leans into an all-in-one execution stack (calendar views, focus/Pomodoro, and deeper customization), Things 3 prioritizes Apple-native polish and fast keyboard-first capture, Sunsama is built around guided daily planning and realistic timeboxing, ByDesign pushes toward a calendar-centric “life planning hub” with auto-scheduling, and Google Tasks wins on minimalist convenience inside the Google ecosystem.

In evaluating Todoist alternatives, the key factors were how well each tool supports planning (calendar/timeboxing and workload realism), capture (email/web to task), integrations with existing systems, cross-platform experience and mobile quality, collaboration needs, and overall value—especially where premium pricing is justified by automation, focus features, or a calmer day-to-day workflow.

TickTick

Simple and effective to-do list and task manager that helps you make schedules, manage time, and organize all aspects of life

4.7 · 23 reviews

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TickTick shines when a simple to-do list isn’t enough and the goal is to execute from one place. Compared with Todoist’s task-first approach, it bundles a fuller “day management” stack: tasks alongside calendar views and built-in focus tools, so planning and doing live together.

The calendar-and-task experience is a core differentiator for people who like to time-block or quickly sanity-check what fits today. Natural-language input and fast capture help keep friction low, while deeper tagging and filtering make it easier to build a more personalized system than many lightweight apps.

It’s also a strong pick for anyone bouncing between phone and desktop, because the experience stays consistent across platforms. If cost is a deciding factor, TickTick often feels like better value for users who want premium scheduling and focus features without assembling multiple apps.

The trade-off is that some advanced planning features can be paywalled, and the all-in-one philosophy can feel busy if all that’s needed is a minimal list.

Best for

Best for individuals who want tasks, calendar planning, and focus timers in one cross-platform app.

Standout features

✓Calendar and task merged views
✓Pomodoro and focus mode built in
✓Chrome extension and Gmail capture
✓Powerful tags, filters, and smart lists
✓Natural-language date and reminder parsing

Things

Organize your life

4.8 · 27 reviews

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A calm, Apple-native experience is the main reason Things 3 beats Todoist for many personal workflows. It prioritizes polish, speed, and a distraction-free layout that makes daily planning feel effortless rather than admin-heavy.

On macOS, Things 3 is built for keyboard-driven capture and triage, which can be faster than more universal tools when juggling meetings and quick follow-ups. The core views (like Today and Upcoming) are designed to support a GTD-style rhythm without pushing users into overly complex project structures.

It also leans hard into the Apple ecosystem, with strong Siri, Shortcuts, and Apple Watch support that makes task capture and check-offs feel native. Email-to-task workflows reduce the friction of turning messages into next actions.

The trade-off versus Todoist is that Things 3 is less about collaboration and broad cross-platform availability, and more about a premium solo system that “just feels right” on Apple devices.

Best for

Ideal for Apple-only users who want a polished, fast personal task manager.

Standout features

✓Apple Watch, Siri, and Shortcuts support
✓Keyboard-first quick entry on macOS
✓Today and Upcoming planning views
✓Email-to-task forwarding workflow
✓Clean, calming interface design

Sunsama

YC W19. If Google Calendar and Trello had a baby.

4.7 · 21 reviews

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Sunsama is closer to a daily planning system than a traditional to-do app, which makes it a compelling alternative to Todoist for time-starved knowledge workers. Instead of encouraging an ever-growing list, it guides a daily planning and shutdown ritual that turns scattered tasks into a realistic plan.

Its calendar-first workflow is the standout: tasks are assigned durations, dragged onto the schedule, and balanced with workload feedback so the day doesn’t get overcommitted. That makes Sunsama especially useful for people who struggle with overwhelm or who want to protect focus time.

Another advantage over Todoist is how well Sunsama acts as a hub across tools. It can pull work from places like Jira or Asana and pair it with calendar commitments, so “today’s work” is visible even when tasks live in multiple systems.

The main trade-off is price and a heavier planning orientation; it’s less suited to people who just want a quick checklist and more suited to those who want structure and timeboxing baked in.

Best for

Best for busy professionals who want guided daily planning and timeboxing.

Standout features

✓Guided daily planning and shutdown ritual
✓Drag-and-drop timeboxing on calendar
✓Task duration estimates and workload warnings
✓Deep integrations with project tools
✓Single “today” hub across multiple systems

ByDesign

Tasks, Goals, Notes, Calendars

4.8 · 5 reviews

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ByDesign stands out as a planning hub that blends tasks with goals, notes, and a calendar-centric workflow. Compared with Todoist’s primarily task-and-project model, it’s built for people who want their actionables connected to broader life planning and reflection.

Timeboxing is central: tasks can be placed on a calendar, rearranged as plans change, and viewed in weekly or monthly context. For users who want more help turning intentions into a schedule, its auto-scheduling approach adds a layer of structure that many task apps don’t provide.

It also appeals to consolidators who are tired of splitting work between a task manager, a notes app, and a separate planning dashboard. The interface emphasizes clarity and makes it easy to see what matters now versus what’s part of longer-term direction.

The trade-off is that some common capture workflows, like email-to-task forwarding, may not be as mature, making it better for calendar-driven planners than inbox-first taskers.

Best for

Ideal for planners who want tasks, notes, goals, and calendar timeboxing together.

Standout features

✓Auto-scheduling and smart time organization
✓Calendar-first timeboxing and rescheduling
✓Workspaces for notes, reflection, and planning
✓Goals and dashboards tied to actionables
✓Clean, intuitive planning-focused UI

Google Tasks

Manage, capture, and edit your tasks from anywhere, at anytime, with to-dos that sync across all your devices

4.7 · 7 reviews

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Google Tasks wins by being everywhere Google Work happens, making it a practical alternative to Todoist for people who value zero setup. It lives inside Gmail and fits naturally into a workflow where many tasks start as emails that need a follow-up.

The biggest advantage is simplicity: it’s lightweight, quick to capture, and doesn’t ask users to learn a new system or maintain elaborate project structures. For many, that minimalism is a feature, not a limitation, because it keeps task management from becoming its own project.

Google Calendar integration is also a key differentiator for day-to-day planning inside the Google ecosystem. Tasks stay accessible across devices with the same account used for email and calendar.

The trade-off versus Todoist is depth: Google Tasks is best when the requirement is straightforward capture and completion, not advanced organization, complex workflows, or power-user customization.