What is the Best To-Do List App?

To-do list apps have become a popular tool for people to manage their daily responsibilities and improve their productivity.

Today, I’ll share my recommendations for to-do list apps, and tell you why I like them, but also their drawbacks to help you choose an app that best fits your needs.

Criteria for Evaluating To-Do List Apps

First, it’s important to define some criteria to evaluate to-do list apps. So here is the list I made:

• Ease of use: A to-do list app should be intuitive and easy to use, allowing you to quickly add, edit, and prioritize tasks. A cluttered and confusing interface can make it difficult to stay organized and can even discourage you from using the app altogether. It should be frictionless.
• Features: Different to-do list apps offer a range of features, from basic task management to more advanced project management tools. Consider what features are most important to you, such as task reminders, recurring tasks, collaboration options, or the ability to attach files.
• Cross-platform compatibility: If you use multiple devices or platforms, such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer, you’ll want a to-do list app that can sync across all of them. This ensures that your tasks are always up-to-date, no matter where you are.
• Customization: A good to-do list app should allow you to customize the app to suit your preferences and workflow. This might include the ability to create custom tags or labels, set task priorities, or adjust the app’s color scheme.
• Pricing: To-do list apps can range from free to quite expensive, so it’s important to consider your budget when evaluating options. Some apps may offer a free version with limited features, while others may require a monthly or annual subscription to access all of the app’s features.

Now, let’s explore what I think are the best to-do list apps, according to these criteria and my experience with them.

Todoist

Todoist is a popular app that offers a clean and simple interface, making it easy to use. It allows you to create tasks and sub-tasks, set due dates and reminders, and even collaborate with others. The app also integrates with many other productivity tools, such as Google Calendar and Trello. Todoist offers a free plan, as well as a paid Premium plan that includes additional features such as labels and filters.

Todoist offers basically all the features you need, however, I think the free plan is too much limited. As soon as you will have a lot of tasks, you’ll need the premium plan which is $5 a month, and I think it’s a bit expensive for a to-do list app.

Otherwise, the application is very well done, easy to use, beautiful, intuitive, available on phone, etc… I used it for 3 months before switching to TickTick.

TickTick

I’ll quickly go over TickTick, because it’s almost the same thing as Todoist. The interface is just a little bit different, a little bit less intuitive than Todoist but still easy to use. The price is also different, almost half of Todoist.

And that’s why I think this application is one of the best at the moment, the value for money is excellent, because the application is worth Todoist but at half the price.

Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do is a free app that integrates with the Microsoft ecosystem, including Outlook and Teams. It allows you to create tasks and lists, set reminders, and even add notes and files to tasks. The app also offers a “My Day” feature, which allows you to focus on the most important tasks for the day.

One downside of Microsoft To Do is that it lacks some of the advanced features of other apps, such as sub-tasks and labels. Also, it is not great when you have a lot of projects and tasks.

It is more basic than Todoist (board view, sections, typing reminder time with the task…) but you can share tasks list with other people using MS To Do. Also, tags in MS To Do are not really convenient compared to Todoist.

But it’s a free app, so you can start with it, and when you’ll need to include more tasks or projects in your app, just switch to another solution.

Trello

Trello is an app that allows you to create boards, lists, and cards for organizing tasks and projects. It offers a visual interface that is particularly useful for those who prefer a more visual approach to task management.

Trello also offers many integrations with other tools, such as Slack and Google Drive.

The app has a free plan, as well as a paid Business plan that includes more advanced features such as custom backgrounds and app integrations.

You can do all sorts of things with Trello. It’s just a Kanban board where you drag lists around, but automations and power-ups can make it very powerful!

In the end, Trello is very easy, but powerful, and not as overwhelming as options like Notion, Asana, etc…

Any.do

Any.do allows you to manage your to-do lists, calendars, and reminders in one place. The app is available on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, and the web, and it offers a range of features such as voice entry, recurring tasks, and the ability to share lists with others.

One of the advantages of Any.do is its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for you to navigate and manage your tasks. Additionally, the app supports collaboration, allowing you to share your lists with others and work together on tasks.

The app also integrates with other apps such as Gmail and Google Calendar, making it easier to manage tasks and appointments from a single location.

However, there are some drawbacks to using Any.do. The free version of the app has limited features, and some of the more advanced features are only available with a paid subscription.

Any.do also has limited customization options, which may not be suitable for you if you require more flexibility in your task management. Another drawback is that there is no dedicated desktop app, which may be a disadvantage for users who prefer to work on their desktops.

Things

Things is a to-do list app for Mac and iOS devices, known for its elegant design and user-friendly interface. It allows you to create tasks, set reminders, and organize tasks into projects and areas. The app also offers a “Today” feature, which shows the most important tasks for the day.

One advantage of Things is that you just need to purchase the app to use it fully, it doesn’t work with a subscription.

However, I think it’s a shame that it can only be used on iOS and Mac. This is annoying if you use an iPhone and a Windows computer for example.

I don’t have a Mac or an iPhone so I couldn’t try this app, but from what I hear it’s apparently one of the best apps for task management.

Which One you Should Use?

It depends on your needs. For me, I use a combination of NocoDB for planning long-term tasks, and Google Keep for capturing tasks easily. These two apps are not task management applications and my workflow is really special so I won’t talk about it, but it works for me and it doesn’t require me to pay, that’s why I don’t use any of the apps above.

I would recommend you starting with Microsoft To Do, then as the complexity of your system grow you can switch to TickTick or Trello.

There are other apps I have not talked about such as Remember the Milk, Asana, Notion… that can be interesting for you if you don’t like the apps I introduced here.

In the end, it’s up to you to try different applications to find the one that works best for you.

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