When was the last time you forgot to do an important task?
And, when was the last time you decided to create to-do lists, but never kept up to it-because obviously, who has the time to pull out a pen and paper to note everything down?
Well, you are not alone. It’s a human tendency to forget things, and later regret not being efficient at task management.
Having a to-do-list app is not only about organizing the daily tasks but also keeping track of the progress, and completing them to meet goals.
Do we even need to explain why everyone should have to-do-list applications on their smartphones?
There are over hundreds of to-do-list applications with a great many features and specifications. These applications have been around for a long time.
But, here’s something: Not all the applications fit the user requirement. Keeping track of tasks and daily work is an intensely personal thing, and users will switch off from any application that doesn’t meet their needs.
Let’s face it. Finding the right to-do-list application can be an overwhelming (and equally disappointing) task. That’s why we conducted exhaustive research on the top-rated applications reviewed each of them on the basis of their features, ease of use, pricing, and supported platform.
We have written this article after spending a lot of time during feature analysis and unbiased comparison. And finally, we present to you what we believe is the best to do list apps for iPhone, Android, Windows, and MacOS.
Microsoft To-Do
- Supported Platforms:Android, Windows, and iOS
- Pricing: Free
From office task management to daily life events, Microsoft To-Do can be your go-to application for recording everything you need to get done, every single day.
To-Do by Microsoft empowers the users to accomplish more by adding a new task, tracking the on-going work, removing the to-do once it is completed.
With access to your daily list, you can review tasks due, set reminders to complete them on time, streamline your activities, and eliminate all confusion.
Highlights:
- Microsoft To-Do has a very clean and user-friendly interface. The app assures great flexibility with the standard UI and UX.
- The deep integration with Microsoft tools is a standout feature. If you are using Outlook and wish to sync your task to your mobile phone, the Microsoft To-Do makes it possible with one-click.
- Adding to-dos has never been easier. For this application, Windows and iPhone users can also use voice command service.
- For example, if you are using Windows, you can ask Cortana to add a new task to your specific to-do list.
- It is cloud-based and so it can be integrated with Office 365.
What’s Missing:
- The tools lack task management and collaboration feature.
- MacOS version is still unavailable and hence Microsoft To-Do needs to work on the collaboration front.
Best Suited For:
- Both Personal and Professional needs. If you want a personal space to create and track your tasks, Microsoft To-do is the best. It’s not for those who want to work collaboratively with colleagues on the same project.
Wunderlist
- Supported Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows, Kindle Fire and the Web
- Pricing: Free
With Wunderlist, you get the flexibility to get stuff done with ease.
Whether you have plans to meet a friend, deliver a project, contact a client, or plan a business party, Wunderlist is the perfect solution for ticking off all your professional and personal to-dos.
Highlights:
- The app makes it super easy to create, organize, and share the to-do on the go. You can also group the related list in one folder.
- It allows the users to assign to-dos and tasks irrespective of geographical locations, set reminders, and accomplish tasks within the due date.
- The tool allows users to work collaboratively. With Wunderlist, teamwork can be very flexible since you can share tasks and work together. It’s also a perfect app where you can host all communications together.
- With Wunderlist, you can print the to-do with one click.
What’s Missing:
- The application is not suitable for advanced task management.
- It doesn’t support a native calendar view and built-in time tracking feature, which can be a hindrance for task management.
Best Suited For:
- Basic level task management. As long as you need standard task management features in a to-do list app, Wunderlist comes in really handy.
- For advanced task management, this online to-do list tool is not the best choice.
Todoist
- Supported Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows, and the Web
- Pricing: Free Version Available
Millions of people are using this application to streamline daily tasks and activities.
The tool lets the user keep track of all their tasks, and in that way, helps them enjoy peace of mind. With Todoist, you can efficiently add the tasks, set reminders, never worry about forgetting urgent things.
It works anywhere, anytime, and across all devices.
Highlights:
- It keeps all the tasks in one place and gives users confidence that all the activities and to-dos are well organized.
- Where ‘Quick add’ allows users to capture and manage tasks, the ‘Reminder feature’ helps them build habits and remember approaching deadlines.
- The prioritization feature facilitates prioritizing tasks, highlighting what’s more important, and mapping out project goals
- The application can be integrated with dozens of third-party applications like Dropbox, Zapier, IFTTT, AmazonAlexa, GoogleCalendar, and others.
What’s Missing:
- Built-in time management and tracking feature are missing.
- Todoist lacks a dedicated module for meeting management.
Best Suited For:
- Todoist is best for those people who want to meet productivity goals.
- The Todoist Karma points, streaks, and levels are some of the features they can use to see tangible progress of your project.
- This feature lets you measure the progress through beautiful visualization and graphs.
TickTick
- Supported Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows, and the Web
- Pricing: Free Version Available
- Paid Plan Starts at: $2.4/month
As the name implies, this tool lets the user make checklists (to-do lists), organize them in the order of priority, and then tick them off after completing the tasks.
Millions of people use this to do list template to capture, organize, and prioritize tasks and make the most of their working days.
Highlights:
- The in-built calendar facilitates reminder setting so you never miss an important meeting, a client’s project delivery, or an important phone call.
- The flexible calendar view helps a user check their schedule and manage it according to their convenience.
- Those who want to work collaboratively, can assign tasks, share the to-do list, check project progress, and stay productive together
- TickTick can be synced across multiple platforms. The tool supports voice input, Siri commands, and it can also convert emails into tasks.
- TickTick also has Pomo Timer, which is based on the Pomodoro Technique that helps the user to stay focused and play white noise in the background.
What’sMissing:
- TickTick doesn’t support integration with other project management apps, which hinders workflow.
Best Suited For:
- It’s perfect for everyone who wants to increase their daily productivity. The PomoTimer is a great feature that can be used to enhance focus and eliminate distraction.
- With TickTick, Organization is simple. You can organize tasks into lists, tasks, subtasks, and folders.
- Furthermore, all these can be sorted in accordance with priority, tags, and custom lists.
Things
- Supported Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch
- Pricing: 15-Day Free Trial Available
- MacOS: $49.99
- iPad: $19.99
- iPhone & Apple Watch: $9.99
Things is an award-winning, and critically acclaimed personal task manager, specially designed for iPhone and Mac users.
It's got powerful features, all-new design, and a great many interactions. It has no shortage of functionalities, and yet all features are provided in a manner they never feel cluttered. Things are the best to-do list apps for the iPhone.
Highlights:
- Easy drag and drop UI that allows users to rearrange the task in order of priority.
- Headings feature for creating categories within the task and forming structure to streamline the workflow.
- Calendar view with start and end date of the task.
- Push notifications for reminders, advanced search filters, and focus mode for essential tasks.
- Visual aids like a pie chart that allows project tracking and progress monitoring over time.
What’s Missing:
- The tools lack collaboration feature. The lists cannot be shared with others and so, co-working through Things is not feasible. It's more of a personal task manager.
- The app is available only for Apple device users.
Best Suited For:
- Apple Device users who want to sync their to-dos across all the devices, and review, edit, and organize the personal tasks. Things are mainly recommended for personal use.
Keep & Share
- Supported Platforms: iPhone, Android, and Windows.
- Pricing: Free Plan for individual use is available with 500 calendar entries
- Paid Plan: For personal use is available at $9 per month with 3000 calendar entries
- Multi-User plan: starts at :$19 per month with 3000 calendar entries
Have you ever wanted to have a personalized calendar that marks all your important dates, meetings, schedules, and upcoming tasks? In short, your virtual time management assistant.
Keep & Share is one such application that offers a secure and customizable calendar which you can review, edit, and access anytime, anywhere.
These calendars are shareable, which makes office collaboration very simple and secure.
Highlights:
- As soon as an admin makes any changes in the schedules, all team members get instant notifications by text message and emails.
- Keep & Share can be used to assign tasks, jobs, and schedule appointments with team members and also in their personal calendars.
- All the individual calendars can be grouped later to create a master calendar.
- The tool tagging and variant coloring options, which makes the organization very simple. Using the tags, you can filter the calendar to find just what you need.
- You can divide events between different team members, add extra details in grids, and compare schedules through the side-by-side view.
What’s Missing?
- The tool lacks a dedicated subtask management feature and the time-tracking option.
- One can share the calendar with team members, but cannot integrate it with other task management applications.
Best Suited For:
- Office and Team Work. If you want to manage a big project by keeping all the team members on the same page, Keep & Share is a perfect choice.
- The tool will keep all the employees on track of what's happening and what has been changed in the plan.
Any Do
- Supported Platforms: Android and Windows.
- Pricing: Free Plan with basic features is Available
- Paid plan with advanced features starts at: $2.99 per month
Your busy life needs an application that can streamline all your tasks and help you become a more organized and productive person. Any-Do is one such application with extensive task management features. It is used by millions of people to get more things done.
Highlights:
- The tool’s basic functionality is organization. You can organize your lists, tasks, and events, and set reminders for each.
- The application seamlessly syncs with all types of devices and operating systems, which makes your to-dos accessible anytime, anywhere.
- With beautiful calendars and the turbo-charged features, the users can keep track of all their projects, save time, and make every day productive.
- The app has a one time, recurring, custom, and location-based reminder settings, which assures that you never miss out on what’s important.
What’s Missing:
- Any Do doesn't support advanced task management for the free plan. For example, you cannot share the list or integrate it with third-party tools in the free version.
- The premium plan, however, offers both communication and collaboration features.
Best Suited For:
- Both personal and professional needs, especially users who want to complete tasks based on their geographical locations. The location-based notification features are a great way of getting things done just where you want.
Toodle Do
- Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Web browsers, and Windows.
- Pricing: Free Plan with basic features is Available
- Paid plan with advanced features starts at : $2.99 per month
With Toodle Do, Task management is easy, efficient, and productive. If you want a To-Do application with great many task management features, Toodle Do has to be the final pick.
It has got everything you need to streamline workflow, organize tasks, and boost productivity.
Highlights:
- It is a powerful application with features like Due Dates, Reminders, Schedule, and Folders management.
- You can quickly sort all the lists with the easy search, filter option, and tags.
- The Status features allow users to keep track of the tasks, and the Batch Edit can be used to make changes to the group.
- Prioritize the tasks and to-dos by adding stars, setting goals, and adding priority levels.
- The tool has a wide variety of options like exporting, importing, and data backup.
What’s Missing:
- The tool lacks a dedicated customer care support or issues management module.
- Both the collaboration and advanced task management features are missing in the free plan.
Best Suited For:
- Office teams on tight-schedules and deadlines. The collaboration features, tasks addition via email, full history, and priority support are some of the features that can make task management efficient for professionals.
OmniFocus
- Supported Platforms: iPhone and Mac Computers
- Pricing: 14-Day Free Trial Available
- OmniFocus : 3 license is available at $49.99
This is a To-do list application with the most refreshing design. OmniFocus is built with a fresh design and interactive UI, which makes it an appealing platform to work on. With all the powerful features like Quick entry, forecast, view options, perspectives, syncing, and light and dark mode, you can take complete control of the daily tasks.
Highlights:
- You can add actions through Siri Voice Command, and the reminder setting to make sure you never forget anything important.
- The actions can be grouped into tasks, and then into projects. This way, you and your team can work collaboratively. For better search results, add tags, set priority, importance level, and location.
- There is a perspective feature that can be used for OmniFocus users to plan their day and do things on their lists. Online syncing assures that all your data are always up-to-date on all your devices.
- Mac users can opt for a pro plan where they use features like custom sidebar, focus mode, custom perspective, and apple script.
What’s Missing?
- The application is not available for Android and Windows users.
- For beginners, OmniFocus can be too complicated. Many options can be overwhelming to understand at first.
Best Suited For:
- iPhone mobile and Mac computer users who want to follow to-dos and streamline workflow in both personal and professional aspects of their lives.
- It's an excellent tool for users who follow the GTD approach as it has a dedicated functionality to help get everything done faster.
Notion
- Supported Platforms: Web, Mobile, Mac, Windows
- Pricing: Free Version is Available
- Personal plan is available at: $4 per month
- Team plan is available at: $8 per month
- Enterprise plan is available at: $8 per month
This new to-do list tool is designed for writing, collaborating, planning, and organizing purposes. With Notion, you get to do a lot more than setting up tasks and reminders. It's a one-in-all tool with a great many features.
Highlights:
- The application supports over 30 media types, and lets you have a simple and comfortable writing experience.
- It works like GiHubWiki by turning a user’s tribal information into the easy-to-look answers.
- You can add tasks, assign teams, and roles. You can create checklists and roadmaps to accomplish the assigned roles through Kanban board, list view, and Calendar.
- This tool lets you keep a record of all the critical information through spreadsheets and the databases.
- It works offline too and syncs with your devices in real-time.
What’s Missing?
- It lacks communication features and real-time discussion with the team members
- The time tracking feature is not available.
Best Suited For:
- Notion is the perfect solution for ticking off all your professional to-dos and managing tasks at an advanced level.
- The project management is more accessible with Notion, but you'll have to use a separate application for communicating with the team members.
Conclusion:
Finding the best task management software system can be overwhelming. More the options, more confusing it gets. Hence, we have done your homework and presented you with the top-rated tools to pick from.
If you are an android user, TickTick and Todoist can be a great pick. Windows users can easily rely on Microsoft To-Do, and Apple users can go with Things and OmniFocus. And if you want a tool that works across all platforms, Wuderlist, Toodle Do, and Keep & Share can be the safest (and the smartest) pick.
This marks the end of best to do list applications available. What do you think will work best for your task management needs? Let us know in the comments below.
Originally Published at: Finest Five To-Do List Apps in 2019 for Android, iPhone, Windows, and Mac
Kelv13
Я пользуюсь этим приложением на Маке — похоже, информация выше — устарела…