Todoist, TickTick, and Things 3 are three of the most recommended personal task managers on the market, but they solve the “what should I do today” problem in very different ways. Todoist leans on natural-language quick entry and broad platform reach, TickTick bundles a calendar, habit tracker, and Pomodoro timer into one subscription, and Things 3 is a one-time-purchase, Apple-only app built around clean design rather than feature sprawl. This guide compares current pricing, platform availability, and the day-to-day features that matter most — recurring tasks, natural-language input, and widgets — so you can match the app to how and where you actually work.
At a Glance
| App | Starting Price | Free Plan? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todoist | Free, or Pro at $7/mo (billed monthly) / $60/yr (billed annually) | Yes — 5 personal projects | Cross-platform users who want fast natural-language entry |
| TickTick | Free, or Premium at $49.99/yr ($4.99/mo billed monthly) | Yes — 9 lists | Power users who want calendar, habits, and Pomodoro bundled in |
| Things 3 | One-time purchase per platform: $9.99 (iPhone & Watch), $19.99 (iPad), $49.99 (Mac) | No — 15-day trial only | Apple-only users who want polished design and no subscription |
Short Verdict
Todoist is the safest pick if you (or your household) mix Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, and Linux devices and want a generous free tier plus the most mature natural-language input on the market. TickTick is the best value for people who want a free tier that already includes a calendar view and habit tracker, with a premium upgrade that undercuts Todoist Pro on price. Things 3 is not for everyone — there’s no Android or Windows version and no free plan — but for Apple-only users who want a beautifully designed app they pay for once instead of forever, it remains a strong choice, especially since its 2026 update overhauled how repeating to-dos work.
What These Apps Are
All three are personal task managers: apps for capturing to-dos, scheduling them, grouping them into projects or lists, and repeating them on a cadence. They sit a notch below full project-management software like Asana or ClickUp — the focus is individual productivity, though all three allow light collaboration on paid plans.
Todoist and TickTick are subscription SaaS products with a free tier, available on nearly every major platform. Things 3, from Cultured Code, is a traditional App Store app: no account required, no ads, and a flat purchase price per Apple platform, with device sync handled for free via Cultured Code’s own cloud service.
Pricing Breakdown
| App | Free Tier Limits | Paid Tier & Price | What Paid Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todoist | 5 personal projects, 3 saved filter views, 1 week of activity history, 5MB file uploads | Pro: $7/mo or $60/yr (~$5/mo) | 300 projects, 150 filters, full history, 100MB uploads, calendar & table layouts, AI Task/Email Assist, auto backups |
| TickTick | 9 lists, 99 tasks/list, 19 checklist items/task, 1 attachment/day, basic reminders | Premium: $49.99/yr or $4.99/mo | 299 lists, 999 tasks/list, 199 checklist items/task, 199 attachments/day, multiple calendar views, Eisenhower Matrix, unlimited habits |
| Things 3 | None — 15-day free trial per platform, no ongoing free tier | One-time: $9.99 (iPhone & Apple Watch), $19.99 (iPad), $49.99 (Mac); also sold for Apple Vision Pro | Full app, no in-app purchases or subscription — each platform is a separate purchase |
A practical note on the math: an Apple user who wants Things 3 on iPhone, iPad, and Mac pays roughly $80 once, with no further charges for syncing. A Todoist Pro or TickTick Premium subscriber pays less upfront but keeps paying every year.
Platform Availability
- Todoist: Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Linux, Apple Watch, Wear OS, plus browser extensions and email add-ons.
- TickTick: iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, a web app, and a browser extension.
- Things 3: Apple only — Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. There is no Android, Windows, Linux, or web version, and none is planned.
Recurring Tasks, Natural-Language Input & Widgets
Recurring tasks: Todoist and TickTick both let you type a recurring pattern directly into the task field (e.g. “every 3 months”), and both support standard recurrence rules. Things 3 handles recurrence through a repeat-rule dialog rather than typed text, and its August 2026 update (version 3.23) improved it: repeating to-dos can be completed early, rescheduled with a choice between “Make Exception” (one occurrence) or “Update Rule” (all future occurrences), and tracked from a new Repeating list.
Natural-language input: Todoist has the most complete implementation — its Quick Add field recognizes dates, times, recurring patterns, labels, priorities, and project assignment in a single typed line (e.g. “Call dentist tomorrow 4pm #Health p1”). TickTick has a comparable Smart Date Parsing engine for dates and times. Things 3’s Quick Entry recognizes relative date phrases (such as “in 5 weeks”) and converts them to a calendar date in the device’s language, but it does not parse labels, projects, or recurrence from typed text the way the other two apps do.
Widgets: All three support home-screen widgets on mobile. Todoist offers iOS and Android widgets for viewing and quick-adding tasks. TickTick’s widgets let you view and add tasks from the home screen. Things 3 added interactive iOS/iPadOS home-screen widgets in 2023 and has supported iOS Lock Screen widgets since iOS 16. None offers a desktop-OS widget outside the apps themselves.
Pros
- Todoist: Runs on nearly every platform and wearable; the most mature natural-language quick-add on the market; generous Pro tier (300 projects); strong third-party integrations.
- TickTick: Free plan already includes a calendar view, habit tracker, and Pomodoro timer; Premium is cheaper per year than Todoist Pro; also cross-platform on desktop, mobile, and web.
- Things 3: No subscription, ever; widely praised interface and interaction design; free Things Cloud sync between your own devices; 2026 update made recurring to-dos far more flexible.
Cons
- Todoist: Free tier caps you at just 5 projects and 3 filters, which power users will hit quickly; AI features are Pro-only.
- TickTick: Interface is busier than Todoist or Things 3 because it packs in more views and tools; some users find the many feature toggles overwhelming at first.
- Things 3: No free tier beyond a trial; no Android, Windows, Linux, or web client at all; paying separately for Mac, iPhone/Watch, and iPad adds up versus a single cross-platform subscription; no native collaboration features for sharing lists with others.
Who It’s a Good Fit For
Choose Todoist if you switch between Android and Apple devices, or use Windows or Linux at work, and want the fastest typed task entry. Choose TickTick if you want one app to also handle your calendar and habit tracking without buying separate apps, and you want the richest free tier of the three. Choose Things 3 if every device you own is made by Apple, you value interface polish over feature count, and you’d rather pay once per device than indefinitely.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Skip Things 3 if you have any Android or Windows devices in your daily routine, need to share lists with people who aren’t on Apple hardware, or want to try a full feature set before paying anything beyond a short trial. Skip Todoist’s free tier if you manage more than five ongoing projects and aren’t ready to pay for Pro. Skip TickTick if you specifically want the single cleanest, most minimal interface of the three — that’s Things 3’s strength, not TickTick’s.
Bottom Line
There isn’t a single “best” app here — it depends on your platforms and your tolerance for subscriptions. Todoist wins on cross-platform reach and input speed, TickTick wins on free-tier feature depth and price-per-year, and Things 3 wins on design and a one-time cost if you’re fully inside the Apple ecosystem. Most people can make a confident choice just by checking which devices they own and whether a $0 free tier or a one-time purchase matters more to their budget.
FAQ
Is Things 3 really a one-time purchase, not a subscription?
Yes. Each Apple platform is sold as a single flat-price App Store purchase ($9.99 for iPhone & Apple Watch, $19.99 for iPad, $49.99 for Mac) with no subscription or in-app purchases, and sync between your own devices is included for free via Things Cloud.
Does Things 3 work on Android or Windows?
No. Things 3 is Apple-only, covering Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. There is no Android, Windows, Linux, or web version.
Which app has the best free plan?
TickTick’s free plan is the most feature-rich of the three, including a calendar view and habit tracking at no cost, though it limits you to 9 lists. Todoist’s free plan is more restrictive on project count (5) but includes unlimited tasks within those projects. Things 3 has no ongoing free plan, only a 15-day trial.
Can I use natural language to add recurring tasks in all three apps?
Todoist and TickTick both let you type recurrence directly into the task field. Things 3 uses a separate repeat-rule dialog instead of typed recurrence, though its 2026 update made managing and rescheduling those repeating to-dos considerably more flexible.
Which is cheapest per year if I want the paid tier?
Billed annually, TickTick Premium costs $49.99/yr, a bit less than Todoist Pro’s $60/yr annual plan; billed monthly, TickTick is $4.99/mo versus Todoist Pro’s $7/mo. Things 3 has no recurring fee at all after the one-time purchase, which can be the cheapest option long-term if you stay on the same Apple devices for years.
Sources
- Todoist Pricing
- Todoist Help: Due dates & times (natural language)
- Todoist Downloads (platform availability)
- Todoist Help: Android widget
- TickTick Pricing / Upgrade Page
- TickTick Download (platform availability)
- TickTick Features (widgets)
- TickTick on the App Store (subscription prices)
- Things 3 for iPhone & Apple Watch on the App Store ($9.99)
- Things 3 for iPad on the App Store ($19.99)
- Things 3 for Mac on the App Store ($49.99)
- Cultured Code: Things Pricing
- Cultured Code: Repeating To-Dos, Refined (Things 3.23)
- Cultured Code: Things 3.1 Date Parsing
- Cultured Code: Interactive Widgets