10 Best Todoist Alternatives in 2026 (Free & Paid)
Todoist is a superb task manager, but its free plan caps projects, reminders sit behind Pro, and it does tasks and nothing else. We tested the best alternatives, from generous free apps to all-in-one tools, and ranked the 10 worth switching to.
Let's be fair up front: Todoist is one of the best task managers ever built, and for many people it's worth staying with. We named it a top pick in our best free to-do list apps roundup and gave it a strong review in RytePad vs Todoist. But people still look for alternatives for concrete reasons: the free plan caps active projects (around five) and collaborators, reminders are effectively a paid feature, Pro runs about $4/month, and Todoist deliberately does one thing, tasks, so notes, goals and journaling need other apps.
Below are ten alternatives that fix one or more of those issues, each with honest pros and cons. Some are more generous on free, some are more powerful, and some replace two or three apps at once.
Tasks plus diary, goals and notes, with free reminders.
Reminders, calendar and Pomodoro on the free plan.
No paid tier at all, great for Microsoft users.
The 10 Best Todoist Alternatives
Jump straight to any app:
| App | Best for | Reminders on free? | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. RytePad | Tasks + diary, goals, notes | Yes (email) | $14.97/yr |
| 2. TickTick ↗ | Most generous free plan | Yes | ~$35.99/yr |
| 3. Microsoft To Do ↗ | Completely free | Yes | Free |
| 4. Things 3 ↗ | Apple design lovers | Yes (paid app) | One-time purchase |
| 5. Google Tasks ↗ | Google users | Basic | Free |
| 6. Any.do ↗ | Clean daily planner | Limited | ~$3/mo |
| 7. Trello ↗ | Visual kanban tasks | Basic | ~$5/mo |
| 8. Habitica ↗ | Gamified tasks & habits | Yes | ~$5/mo |
| 9. Superlist ↗ | Modern tasks + notes | Yes | Paid tiers |
| 10. Remember The Milk ↗ | Smart lists, power users | Basic | ~$39.99/yr |
RytePad
Best for: people who want tasks plus a diary, goals and notes in one app
If your frustration with Todoist is that it only does tasks, or that reminders cost extra, RytePad answers both. Its date-based task manager gives you unlimited daily tasks and email reminders on the free plan, plus a Pro auto-copy feature that rolls unfinished tasks forward with "D1|", "D2|" day counters. Around it sit a private diary, long-term and monthly goals, reusable lists and a smart notepad, all encrypted with AES-256-CBC and searchable together. For many people it replaces a task app plus a journal plus a notes app.
Honest caveat: RytePad's task engine is simpler than Todoist's. There's no natural-language input, no sub-tasks, labels or filtered project views, and it's a web app with no native mobile apps or offline mode. If you loved Todoist's task depth and just wanted it cheaper, TickTick or Things 3 are closer swaps. RytePad wins when you want breadth (tasks plus everything else) and free reminders, not maximum task power. See the full RytePad vs Todoist breakdown.
- Unlimited tasks and free email reminders
- Adds diary, goals, lists and notes
- Auto-copy rollover for unfinished tasks (Pro)
- AES-256 encryption on every plan
- Full unlock just $14.97/yr
- No natural-language input
- No sub-tasks, labels or filters
- No native apps or offline mode
Tasks Plus Your Whole Day — With Free Reminders
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TickTick
Best for: the closest swap with a far more generous free plan
TickTick is the alternative most Todoist users end up choosing. It matches Todoist's polish and cross-platform apps, but its free plan is more generous, including reminders, a calendar view, a habit tracker and a built-in Pomodoro timer. It even has natural-language input of its own.
Honest caveat: some limits (list counts, calendar features) still nudge heavy users to Premium, and the interface can feel busy with all those features switched on.
- Reminders and calendar free
- Built-in Pomodoro and habits
- Great cross-platform apps
- Some caps on free
- Can feel feature-heavy
Microsoft To Do
Best for: a genuinely free Todoist replacement
Microsoft To Do is fully free with no premium tier, including reminders, due dates, steps, lists and a "My Day" planner. It syncs with Outlook tasks and flagged emails, making it excellent for anyone in the Microsoft world.
Honest caveat: it's fairly basic next to Todoist and shines mainly inside the Microsoft ecosystem; it has no journaling, goals or notes.
- Everything free, reminders included
- My Day planning view
- Deep Outlook integration
- Basic feature set
- Best inside Microsoft's ecosystem
Things 3
Best for: Apple users who want elegance and no subscription
Things 3 is the most beautifully designed task manager on Apple platforms, with a calm, focused interface, projects, areas, and a thoughtful today/upcoming flow. You buy it once instead of subscribing, which many prefer over Todoist Pro.
Honest caveat: it's Apple-only with no web or Android, the upfront cost is per platform (iPhone, iPad and Mac are separate), and it has no collaboration.
- Gorgeous, focused design
- One-time purchase, no subscription
- Great project structure
- Apple only, no web
- Separate purchase per device
- No collaboration
Google Tasks
Best for: people who live in Gmail and Google Calendar
Google Tasks is free and frictionless if you're already in Google. It sits in the Gmail and Calendar sidebars, turns emails into tasks, and shows due items on your calendar, with simple lists, sub-tasks and dates.
Honest caveat: it's minimal, with no priorities, tags or advanced reminders, and only really makes sense within Google's tools.
- Built into Gmail and Calendar
- Turn emails into tasks
- Free and simple
- Very limited features
- No priorities or tags
Any.do
Best for: a clean daily planner with a calendar
Any.do pairs a minimal, attractive interface with a "My Day" flow, calendar integration and shared lists for families. It's one of the better-looking Todoist alternatives.
Honest caveat: its free plan is fairly restrictive, with recurring reminders and more locked to Premium, so you may hit the paywall sooner than with TickTick.
- Beautiful, minimal design
- Daily planner and calendar
- Shared lists
- Restrictive free plan
- Key reminders need Premium
Trello
Best for: visual thinkers who prefer boards to lists
Trello swaps Todoist's lists for kanban cards you drag across columns. For managing projects visually, alone or with a small team, it's intuitive and its free plan is generous.
Honest caveat: a board is overkill for a simple personal task list, and automation and larger boards need a paid plan.
- Intuitive drag-and-drop boards
- Great for visual/team work
- Generous free plan
- Overkill for simple lists
- Add-ons need paid
Habitica
Best for: turning tasks into a motivating game
Habitica gamifies your to-dos and habits: complete tasks to earn XP and gear, skip them and your character takes damage. For people who respond to game mechanics, it makes task-doing genuinely fun, and the core is free.
Honest caveat: the game layer is polarizing and it's not built for serious project planning.
- Fun, motivating gamification
- Habits and to-dos together
- Free core experience
- Game layer isn't for everyone
- Weak for complex planning
Superlist
Best for: a modern app blending tasks with rich notes
Superlist is a newer, design-forward task app from ex-Wunderlist team members. It blends tasks with rich notes and collaboration, aiming to be more flexible than a pure to-do list while staying slick and fast.
Honest caveat: as a younger product it's still filling in features, and the most useful tiers are paid.
- Modern, polished design
- Tasks blended with notes
- Good collaboration
- Still maturing
- Best features are paid
Remember The Milk
Best for: power users who love smart lists
Remember The Milk is a veteran with powerful smart lists (saved searches), tags, priorities and many integrations. Longtime users swear by its flexible organization.
Honest caveat: the interface feels dated next to Todoist, and features like subtasks and unlimited reminders need Pro.
- Powerful smart lists and tags
- Many integrations
- Reliable and mature
- Dated interface
- Subtasks and reminders need Pro
How to Pick Your Todoist Replacement
Start from the specific reason Todoist wasn't working for you:
- You wanted reminders and more, free: TickTick or Microsoft To Do.
- You wanted the same power without a subscription: Things 3 (Apple) or TickTick.
- You wanted tasks plus journaling, goals and notes: RytePad, all in one encrypted app.
- You wanted visual project boards: Trello.
- You wanted motivation to actually do tasks: Habitica.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free Todoist alternative?
TickTick has the most generous free plan among pure task apps (reminders, calendar and Pomodoro included), and Microsoft To Do is entirely free. If you want tasks plus a diary, goals and notes with free reminders, RytePad's free plan is the most complete all-in-one option.
Which Todoist alternative includes free reminders?
TickTick, Microsoft To Do, Habitica and RytePad all include reminders on their free plans, which is a common reason people leave Todoist, where reminders are effectively a Pro feature.
Is there a Todoist alternative without a subscription?
Yes. Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks are fully free, Things 3 is a one-time purchase, and RytePad's free plan has no time limit with an optional low-cost $14.97/year Pro instead of a monthly subscription.
Can I import my Todoist tasks into another app?
Todoist can export tasks (for example as CSV), and some apps like TickTick offer Todoist importers to make switching easier. For others, you'd recreate active projects manually, which is quick if you only carry current tasks across.
Which alternative is closest to Todoist?
TickTick is the closest match in look, feel and cross-platform polish, with a more generous free plan. Things 3 is the closest in design quality if you're on Apple and prefer a one-time purchase.
Can one app replace Todoist and my notes app?
Yes. RytePad combines a task manager with a private diary, goals, lists and a notepad, all searchable together, so it can replace both a to-do app and a separate notes or journal app. Superlist also blends tasks with rich notes.
The Bottom Line
Todoist is excellent, and if you only want a task manager, TickTick and Things 3 are the closest, most capable swaps, with TickTick winning on free features. But if the real issue is juggling separate apps for tasks, notes and journaling, RytePad is our top pick: it handles everyday tasks with free reminders and adds a diary, goals and notes in one encrypted place, for free or $14.97/year. Just be honest about whether you need task depth (choose TickTick/Things) or all-in-one breadth (choose RytePad).
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