Everyone wants the best of the best in everything, right? Nobody really gets excited about using one of the 10, 20, or 30 best to-do list apps in existence. Everyone needs something that is going to stand out from the crowd, and with this list, you can be sure that you will get a great app that will stand out from the rest.
Lots of people make to-do lists in order to get things done, but unfortunately, most of them do not manage to achieve their goals. So let’s see how we can easily start getting things done with the help of the best to-do list apps for iPhone and the best android to-do list app.
All the apps in this article are great task management tools but they’re also very different at the same time. We all have our own way of working and our own requirements, so the rest of this article is going to focus on helping you decide which of these apps meets your needs.
To do this, I’m going to compare each app on the following criteria:
- Best apps for cross-platformability: A comparison table for which platforms each app is available on.
- Best apps for productivity features: A comparison table of key productivity features and which apps provide them.
- Best apps for user experience: A look at the best apps from a UX perspective.
- Best apps for teams: Which of these apps are most suitbale for teams/collaboration?
- Best value for money: How many features are you getting for your money?
I’ve put together some tables for cross-platform ability, features, and value for money – so you can compare things for yourself – but I’ll also add my own thoughts for each section. As for the best apps for teams section, some of these apps simply aren’t designed for teams and there are a few that really stand out on this aspect – so I’ll just go ahead and mention the apps that win this category and explain why.
Todoist (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari, Firefox)
Free, $3/monthor $5/month
Todoist is more geared towards individuals than entire workforces although you can group tasks and lists into projects, which might work for small teams.
Generally, though, Todoist is going to be a better option for the individual worker who’s looking for something similar to the Gmail interface combined with Google Calendar functionality.
Key features
- Quick Add: Quickly create and organise your tasks in a matter of clicks with Todoists Quick Add feature.
- Deadlines & reminders: Set deadlines, recurring deadlines for repeat tasks and reminders to make sure you keep on top of everything.
- Projects & goals: Create and manage projects with sub-tasks, set goals and keep track of progress.
- Highlight tasks: Highlight the most important tasks with colour-coded priority levels.
- Reports: Keep on track of your progress with reports and earn Todoist Karma points for hitting targets.
There is a “Business” version of Todoist that offers additional features to make project management easier for teams but you’re probably going to go with another app if that’s what you’re after.
Any.do (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)
Free or $2.99/month
Unlike nTask, Any.do truly is a task management app and it doesn’t try to be anything else. It’s a wonderfully designed app, too, that’s available across all major platforms and the web app means you can access it in-browser on almost any device.
If you’re looking for a task management app that’s available on smartwatches, this will also be one of your few options – and, thankfully, it’s a very good one.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create and manage tasks, schedule deadlines and set reminders.
- Project management: Manage projects, assign tasks, create roadmaps and monitor progress .
- Calendar: A sleek calendar app to view and manage your tasks, accessible across all of your devices.
- Daily planner: Manage your workload for the day ahead to make sure everything gets done.
Any.do is a pleasure to use with its sleek interface design and smooth operation. You get all of the basic features you would expect from a tool like this: to-do lists, task management, etc. However, the calendar and daily planner integrations are excellent and the transition between each interface is very responsive.
This is a really great app.
Things (Mac, iOS)
$49.99 for Mac, $19.00 for iPad or $9.99 for iPhone
Unfortunately, Things is only really an option if you’re an Apple loyalist and it’s a shame there isn’t even a web app available to Windows and other OS users on board. However, there is a benefit to this, if you’re a Mac and iPhone/iPad user: Things is designed from the ground up for macOS and iOS – and it shows.
Aide from being design and optimized for Apple devices, Things also offers up a few unique features that you end up wishing were more commonplace.
For example, its “Upcoming events” interface constantly reminds you about what you need to do over the next couple of days and this stops you from being caught out by tasks you’d forgotten about.
It’s a small feature but it makes a real difference – especially when you have a demanding task coming up that requires some mental preparation.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create to-do lists for “Today” and “This evening”.
- Checklists: Tick events off your list as they’re completed with checklists.
- Calendar events: Create calendars for work, family, personal and other categories.
- Schedules & Reminders: Schedule tasks and set reminders.
- Upcoming lists: All of your upcoming tasks over the next few days appear in your upcoming list, so nothing catches you by surprise.
- Headings: Use headings to break up and organise tasks on your list.
Another simple but great feature is headlines. This allows you to break up to-do lists with headlines so you can categorize tasks and make larger lists easier to read. Again, simple but effective.
Google Keep (iOS, Android & web)
Free
While many of the tools in this article are task management apps built around the to-do list concept, Google Keep is far more limited in terms of features. Strictly speaking, Google Keep is a note-taking app with a checklist feature that acts as a to-do list.
You can also create bullet point lists, add voice notes, type text notes and add pictures to your dashboard and organise them with colour codes and lables.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create to-do lists, notes, voice notes or add photos to your dashboards.
- Reminders: Set reminders to keep on top of your tasks.
- Labels: Add labels to your lists to categorise and organise them.
- Colour-code: Colour your notes to match categories or prioritise tasks.
With Google Keep you can set reminders for your tasks – including location based reminders – and that’s about the extent of it. You’re not going to choose Google Keep if you want advanced features but it’s a good option if you need a simple to-do list app that’s accessible on just about every device.
Habitica (iOS, Android & web)
Price: Free
I can safely say Habitica is unlike any other tool in this article and unlike any other to-do list app I’ve ever come across. I should make it clear that Habitica isn’t really designed for work but more geared towards developing better habits while you’re away from the computer.
This doesn’t mean you can’t use it for work purposes or as a tool to improve work-life balance, though.
Habitica gamifies the to-do list experience by getting you to create an Avatar, which receives points and bonuses for completing the tasks on your list. The more points you win, the stronger your Avatar becomes and the more in-game features and rewards you unlock.
Key features
- Gamified to-do lists: Habitica turns to-do lists into a mobile game experience.
- Habits: Schedule good habits you want to develop or bad habits you want to overcome.
- Avatars: Create your own Avatar to progress through your gamified to-do lists.
- In-game rewards: Earn points for completing tasks and developing good habits, level up your avatar, unlock new features and earn in-game rewards.
- Battle monsters: Join other Habitica users to fight monsters with your Avatars.
You can create positive habits that earn you points as well as negative habits you want to avoid, in which case points are taken away from you. You can also create habits that have both positive and negative outcomes – for example, eating a healthy dinner. If you eat something healthy, you win points; if you eat something unhealthy, you lose points.
Who says to-do lists need to be boring?
Toodledo (Android, iPhone, iPad, Web)
If you need your application to fit the way your life works, then Toodledo may be an option for you.
Why?
You can make your own workflow or work within their systems. It gives you the flexibility of a task management software in an online todo list.
However, the interface looks a little clunky compared to more cutting-edge tools.
Are you going to say toodle-oo to the tool because of this? 👋
Toodledo Key Features
- Smart sorting
- Tags
- Habits
- Outlines
- Folders
- Reminders
- Sharing
Pros
- Can handle a basic task management
- Built-in timer to record actual time spent on a project
- Can synchronize with devices across platforms
Cons
- Advanced features are mostly limited to the premium version
- The free version lacks basic team collaboration capabilities
- Doesn’t have many preset templates for simple task list management
Toodledo Pricing
Toodledo offers four pricing plans:
- Free
- Unlimited tasks
- Task notes
- Recurring tasks
- Simple alarms
- And more
- Standard ($2.99 per month billed annually)
- All “Free” features
- Subtasks
- Graphs
- All app integrations
- And more
- Plus ($4.99 per month billed annually)
- All “Standard” features
- Full Lists
- Full Habits
- Priority support
- And more
- Business (contact for a custom quote)
Toodledo Ratings
- Capterra: 4/5 (from 27+ reviews)
- G2: 4.2/5 (from 43+ reviews)
Conclusion
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth writing down: this well-known saying encourages us to make lists of things we want to accomplish and keep track of the tasks we do every day. Today, we manage our tasks with computer programs, smartphone apps or even store them on the cloud.
At some point, nearly every task you have to complete comes down to doing just one thing: getting started. Whether it’s making a phone call or responding to an email, you have the urge to begin, but then that nagging voice in your head kicks in with a laundry list of reasons why it’s too late to follow through. At the top of that list: start small.”