Free vs Paid To-Do List Apps for 2021

The testing procedure was simple: I used all ten of these apps as my primary to-do list app for ten days. I focused on these apps as personal to-do lists, but as a freelancer, I often blend my work and personal lists together, so I used the apps for both. Since these apps are not an apple to apple comparison -- some are basic, and some are packed with features -- the process was not entirely systematic. 

I tried out whatever features each app had and evaluated them according to their intended use. I evaluated the apps on how much they can do and how easily they do it. Features were important, but so was user-friendliness. While some level of a learning curve is inevitable, especially for apps that can do more things, I was looking for relatively intuitive and quickly masterable apps. 

A to-do list app is useless if you don’t use it, so I paid close attention to which apps I was most excited to open each day. What I learned in this process is that using ten to-do apps simultaneously is not efficient. However, checking off the same task ten times is a powerful dopamine rush!  

Before Todoist, I thought I had to choose between powerful features and ease of use. I would read descriptions of to-do list apps that seemed capable of transforming my life, that could manage everything: work projects, grocery lists, and future plans. But when I downloaded them, they were usually too complicated. They could do lots of stuff, sure, but the learning curve was steep, and using them was a pain -- so I stopped. Todoist is both user-friendly and fully featured, and while I wouldn’t say my life is totally transformed after using it for a week, I’m definitely more organized. 

Todoist features an Inbox, where you enter tasks that you can move elsewhere later. This works well for entering things as they occur to you, without having to think about details. Later, you can add deadlines, turn tasks into projects or add them to existing projects, etc. (Folks who use the Getting Things Done system will recognize how well Todoist fits into that model, but it works well for anyone/any system.) 

And as someone who, well, doesn’t always get things done, I appreciated the way Todoist deals with overdue tasks: it marks them but offers a “reschedule” option that quickly moves tasks to the next day or any other day you choose. You can do this for all overdue tasks at once, as well, so it’s not an onerous procedure. 

Todoist’s language parsing is smooth and intuitive: you tell it what you want, and it does it. “Write 1 hour every day” becomes a recurring task, “grocery shop Monday” gets scheduled to Monday. 

The Premium upgrade ($3.99/month or $35.99/year) is definitely useful. You can set reminders for tasks, add labels and custom task views, create project templates, and pick a theme. It also lets you look at your completed tasks and activities in-depth, great for people who want to measure their progress over time. You probably know just by looking at that list whether or not you need those features. 

The free version is also packed with features and probably enough for most people to use as a personal to-do list app. For more complicated work projects or organization fanatics, Todoist premium would make a great project manager. So it really depends on what your needs are. 

Todoist can do complicated things, but it feels simple. It does everything you need without requiring a lot of effort. It’s easy to learn and a pleasure to use. It is the app on which, when I finish writing this article, I will check off “delete other to-do list apps.” 

Todoist is a Goldilocks app, and for me, it was just right. But that means it makes compromises on either side -- it’s not as dead simple as our Runner Up, Google Tasks, and it’s not as fully featured as project management tools like Asana or Trello. 

So if you’re looking for more or less than Todoist, it may not be the best app for you. That said, for most people, especially if you're looking for an app for personal, non-professional use, either the free or premium version of Todoist is likely to meet your needs.

For managing complex projects, software/apps cannot be beat. But when it comes to jotting down a quick list of things I want to get done on a Saturday morning? The biggest competitor to a to-do list app is good old paper and pencil. And honestly, most of them don’t measure up to the ease of simple handwriting --no tapping, no tiny keyboard and typos and autocorrect, no accidentally assigning “do dishes” to next Wednesday. 

But even analog-inclined people like me don’t always have a pen and paper handy, and our phones are always with us. 

Enter Google Tasks. Simple, intuitive, and accessible on the rectangle that lives in your pocket. There’s not much to say about Google Tasks because there’s not much to Google Tasks, which is the best thing about it. 

Blank screen, button with a plus sign to add tasks, that’s it. And that simple screen makes you recognize the constant low-level stress of making tiny decisions. Peaceful and functional, what more can you ask for? 

Maybe nothing, but Google Tasks does offer a bit more, in the form of integrations with Google Calendar and Gmail. As a person who ignores fake/aspirational things on their calendar -- if I block off 3 PM to “revise draft,” the only thing I can guarantee is that I will be doing something else -- I rely heavily on the ability to add a task to a date without specifying a time, and that’s what Google Tasks lets you do. 

You can also add emails as tasks. And having the task list available on the sidebar in Gmail is handy too -- especially since some days it seems like half my tasks are email related. These integrations also mean that your task list is easily accessible on the web and across devices, which is convenient and also allows you to enter tasks on a real keyboard easily if you prefer. 

Though the interface is simple, you can do a few more things with Google Tasks. The app allows you to make multiple lists, so you can keep lists for different projects or for future events (movies to see, trips to take if that’s ever possible again, etc.). You can also add details to tasks, set due dates and reminders. 

All of this makes Google Tasks my pick for best simple to-do list app, especially for users of other Google products. If you’re already in the Google ecosystem, Google Tasks saves you time because you don’t have to open a new app. And it’s free! If you’re looking for a simple to-do list app, there is no reason to pay for it. Google Tasks offers everything you need. 

You know what I hate about to-do lists? They tell me what to do. I resent this, especially in the morning. It’s a new day, and yet I’m already beset by yesterday’s plans, tomorrow’s deadlines, and assorted obligations that I don’t want to think about until after coffee. 

Microsoft To Do’s opening screen, “My Day,” is blessedly blank. It invites you to think, “what do I want to do today?” And even if you then fill that list with things you need to do, it provides a feeling of choice. It also invites you to think actively about the day ahead, which I found to be a useful practice in the morning. 

Of course, part of the point of a to-do list is to, you know, remind you of what you need to do. Microsoft To Do has lists for planned tasks, projects, important tasks, items assigned to you, and just a general task list that allow you to see everything you have on deck. You can also make new lists. With a tap, you can add tasks from these lists to the “My Day” screen. A lightbulb icon on the “My Day” screen pulls up suggestions for tasks you may want to add, streamlining the process. 

While this may feel like an extra step, it aligns with the way life actually works. The best-laid plans are often thwarted by a surprise meeting or even just a bad night’s sleep. By planning your day first thing in the morning, you can take into account new information, as well as your current energy levels. 

Microsoft To Do use to be Wunderlist, a beloved to-do list app that was acquired by Microsoft. I’m not sure how it compares to Wunderlist, but this was one of my favorite apps to visit each day. The design is clean and satisfying to use, and taking a few minutes to design my day each morning helped me focus and prepare. Microsoft To Do saves you money (it’s free!) and it also ends up saving time. The time spent building your day seems to make things run more smoothly, so it’s like you get back the time you put in. 

I don’t play video games. Gamification generally annoys me. I am not motivated by tiny pictures of coins. And yet, I love this habit tracker/to-do list app that takes the form of an RPG video game. I’m guessing that if you do like games, you’ll like it even more than I do. 

Habitica makes behavior change into a quest, and the user, in the form of an adorable avatar, is the hero. Complete your tasks, and you gain health and experience points. Get enough points, and you receive coins that you can use to equip your avatar with items and tools. You also earn eggs that hatch into pets and mounts to join you on your journey. You can join parties and guilds with other users or hang out in the tavern to chat with other Habitica community members.

Habitica is really a habit tracker that includes a to-do list feature. The app lets you track three things: to-dos, habits (which can be things you want to stop doing or things you want to do more), and “dailies,” which are things you want to do every day (or weekly, monthly, or yearly). I used the dailies section to list my recurring tasks and the to-do section for things I only had to do once. Both lists allow you to add a checklist or notes to a task and set a level of difficulty that determines how many points you get to complete the task. You can also set reminders and add tags. This adds up to a pretty robust set of features, but the app is definitely more of a personal app than a professional one. 

There is an upgrade -- $4.99/month, $14.99/3 months, $29.99/6 months, and $47.99/12 months. However, the paid version doesn’t offer more features, just more in-game items. For me, that’s not worth it, but if you’re used to paying for items in video games, you may not balk at the price and find that the paid version enhances your experience. 

The app is delightful. It’s also highly motivating. Where overdue alerts on most to-do list apps feel a bit like getting scolded, in Habitica, you want to finish your tasks to get more coins or avoid losing health points. The stakes may not be real, but they feel both important and enjoyable. Maybe I like gamification after all. 

It’s a good app, but very similar to Todoist and not quite as user friendly or powerful. To-do list app preferences are personal, though, so you might want to take advantage of their free trial and see how you like it. It has a special grocery list feature.

I had high hopes for Remember the Milk, a popular app that’s been around a long time. But I found it confusing and not very user-friendly -- every action seems to take a tap or two more than necessary. It has powerful features, especially on the pro version, but the pro version is only available as an annual subscription, which means it’s more of an investment to try it out. 

Part kanban board, part mindmap, this is an interesting app that is better as a project manager than as a to-do list app. This appealed to me initially because I love mind maps. But I never got a handle on this app. It has a lot of unique features that don’t seem to integrate with each other. At $10 per month, the Pro version is pretty steep.

If you already use Trello, it’s a great option as a to-do list. You can create to-do lists with high levels of customization and flexibility. But if you’re only looking for a to-do list app, Trello is overly complicated. Also, the card structure of Trello means you don’t get the satisfaction of checking items off. 

Good simple app with a built-in Pomodoro timer. The premium version ($2.79/month or $27.99/year) allows you to estimate how long a task will take, which helps time management. For Pomodoro devotees, or those who want to try it out, this is a solid choice.