Five apps for organizing tasks: compare the free plans.
Por Rodrigo Pereira
0
The task management app needs to show you what to do, remind you of deadlines, and allow you to find pending tasks later. The rest depends on your routine. Comprehensive calendars, automations, and dashboards can help, but they may also require a subscription that you don't need to maintain a personal list.
Todoist, Microsoft To Do, Any.do, TickTick, and Notion offer different options. This comparison considers free use and what to check before paying. Terms and conditions were checked in September 2026; confirm the offer displayed in your account before subscribing.
Compare this to three tasks in your routine.
Choose a simple action, a recurring commitment, and a small project with steps. For example: replying to a message, reviewing a monthly bill, and organizing documents for a trip. Use the same examples in the apps you want to compare.
Consider how much work it takes to create, edit, complete, and locate each item. A feature can exist and still be inconvenient for you. If the most frequent operation requires multiple screens, this difficulty repeats itself throughout the week and weighs more heavily than an advanced function used rarely.
| Application | Use that deserves attention. | Before paying |
|---|---|---|
| Todoist | Personal lists and organization by project. | Check the plan's views and limits. |
| Microsoft To Do | Daily list and tasks with steps. | Verify your account integration. |
| Any.do | Personal planning with a calendar | Differentiate between individual and shared use. |
| TickTick | Tasks with planning resources | Check out Premium tools and limits. |
| Notion | Projects that require documentation | Compare personal use and collaboration. |
Todoist: lists and projects with basic reminders
Todoist's Beginner plan includes task organization and task reminders. Therefore, the old claim that every reminder requires a subscription no longer describes the current plan. More advanced features, views, and project limits need to be compared in the current offering.
Tasks and projects to organize upcoming actions and track deadlines.
To assess personal usage, create a small project and write down clear actions. Separate the deadline from the preparation needed to meet it. If the deadline is Friday, a task to start reviewing on Thursday might be more useful than discovering the pending issue only on the due date.
Todoist is an option to consider when you want a structured list without building a database. Before subscribing, identify which limitation or feature is hindering your work. Don't subscribe just to unlock a screen you don't yet know how to use in your daily routine.
Microsoft To Do: select what goes into the day
Microsoft To Do offers lists, steps, dates, and reminders, as well as the My Day view. It helps you select tasks for the current period without making your entire to-do list an immediate priority. A task can remain saved in your list while you choose others for today.
Lists, steps, and a "My Day" overview to organize personal tasks.
Integration with flagged emails and other Microsoft features depends on the account type and service used. Check compatibility before assuming that any message from any provider will appear automatically. Personal and organizational accounts may also have different rules.
Try breaking down a project into steps within a task. If you need to assign responsibilities, track multiple statuses, or produce team reports, consider whether a more comprehensive project management tool would be better suited. A personal list doesn't need to replicate the entire management of an organization.
Any.do: calendar and personal planner
The free version of Any.do includes personal tasks and lists, calendar integration, and basic reminders. Advanced recurrences, location-based reminders, and other additional features are part of paid offerings. Check out the difference between repeating a simple task and setting up a more specific rule.
Lists and personal planning with calendar integration.
Personal plans and shared spaces have different purposes. Premium is geared towards individual use; Family and Workspace cater to collaborative needs. Purchasing a personal plan does not automatically make a team environment available to other people.
When comparing the interface, check if you can clearly distinguish between events and tasks. A meeting time should appear as an appointment, while a flexible action can remain in the list. If everything gets mixed up, adjust the view so that a pending item is not interpreted as a confirmed meeting.
TickTick: Check out which planning resources you need.
TickTick combines tasks with planning tools and offers free access, with features and limitations different from the Premium plan. Before choosing a feature set, check the current plan for calendar views, filters, and organizational options you intend to use.
Tasks and planning resources to keep track of the routine.
A good test is to create a recurring task and observe how the app handles the next occurrence after completion. Also check reminders and notifications on your device. The desired behavior depends on the activity: reviewing something every Monday is different from repeating it a few days after completion.
If you intend to use a stopwatch or habit tracker, evaluate these functions separately. They can be convenient within the same app, but they shouldn't obstruct access to your main list. Keep visible what you use every day and save the rest for when needed.
Notion: tasks alongside project documents
Notion allows you to combine pages, lists, and databases. It can be useful when each task needs context, such as references, decisions, and documents. For a simple shopping list, this structure might require more setup than you'd like.
Pages and templates for gathering tasks and materials for a project.
The terms of the free plan differ between individual and collaborative use, including file limits and other features. Don't treat the personal plan as unlimited team space. Also, check which AI features are part of the offer, rather than assuming they're included in the free access.
Notion allows you to manually make pages available for offline use in compatible applications, even on the free plan. Paid plans add automatic download capabilities. Prepare the necessary pages before losing connection and check what has actually been downloaded to your device.
Date, reminder, and recurrence are not the same thing.
The date indicates when a task is due or should happen. The reminder triggers an alert. The recurrence defines how the next occurrence will be created. An application can offer all three functions with different settings and restrictions.
When creating a monthly account, for example, you may need a fixed deadline and prior notice. Maintenance performed after a certain interval, however, may depend on the completion date. Test these situations before importing the entire history to determine if the behavior matches your expectations.
- Check if the task has a date and time when necessary.
- Check which action triggers the next event.
- Try setting a short-term reminder to confirm the notification.
- Be aware of the time zone if you use devices in different regions.
- Review system permissions if the warning does not appear.
The system's own options may be sufficient.
Google Tasks and Apple Reminders are alternatives for those who need lists and reminders within their existing ecosystem. Before choosing an additional service, check if your existing tool allows you to record, find, and complete the tasks you need to track.
If you use Keep, reminders are now stored in Tasks. Google documentation This explains the change and the notifications. This avoids searching in Keep for behavior that now depends on Tasks or Calendar.
The guide to organizing the routine in three layers This shows how to distribute capture, planning, and execution. Choosing a tool only solves part of the problem: you also need to decide when you will review the input and how you will select the day's work.
Make a small migration before taking everything.
- Choose a few tasks that are representative of your routine.
- Create lists or projects with simple names.
- Check dates, recurrences, and reminders.
- Test the synchronization between the devices you use.
- Complete and retrieve a task to understand its history.
- Check that the data is exported or copied before the final change.
Imports can alter fields, attachments, or recurrences. Compare a sample with the previous system and keep a copy of the data while validating the migration. Do not delete the source before confirming that the necessary information has reached the destination.
If documents accompany the tasks, the guide of apps for reading and note-taking This helps to separate the reference from the action. You can save the file in an appropriate location and insert only the link into the task, as long as access remains available.
Sharing requires someone to be responsible and a result.
Before inviting someone, check the permissions for the list or project. See if the person will be able to edit, complete, or invite other participants. Share only the necessary content, especially when it includes personal information or client documents.
Write the task with an observable outcome: “send the revised version of the budget” is clearer than “view the budget.” Agree on who will perform the task and where the delivery will be recorded. An app alone cannot solve a responsibility that was left undefined in the conversation.
For group work, the guide of remote work tools It brings together communication and files. The task list can point to these materials, keeping a main location for deadlines, responsible parties, and delivery status.
When a subscription makes sense
List the missing feature, how often you use it, and the total cost. If a feature saves a recurring step or enables work that the free plan doesn't cover, there's a concrete reason to consider a subscription. A temporary offer, on its own, doesn't define a need.
Compare monthly fees, annual charges, renewal options, and the number of users. Team plans may charge per member, while a personal plan only covers the account itself. Also check where the subscription will be managed if you sign up through the mobile app store.
If you cancel, check which data will remain accessible and which functions will stop working. Export what you need before losing access to specific features. Uninstalling the app does not automatically stop a recurring charge.
Include accessibility in the comparison. Increase the text size in the system and check if titles, dates, and buttons remain legible. If you use a screen reader, navigate through the actions of creating, editing, and completing a task. An application may have all the desired features and still not adequately meet your interaction needs. Also test the search with words you usually remember: the name of the project, the person, or the document. Finding an old pending task is part of daily use, just as much as registering a new one.
Common questions
What is the best free app?
Which one meets your task and reminder needs with the least maintenance effort? Compare using the same examples and check the limits relevant to your routine.
Does the free Todoist app have reminders?
Yes, the Beginner plan you saw includes task reminders. Advanced features and limits may depend on other plans; check the current offer.
Do I need Notion to organize projects?
No. It's an option when tasks and documents need to be kept together. A small project can also be tracked in a list with clear steps.
Why didn't the notification arrive?
Check the time, account, time zone, and app permissions, as well as the system's Focus mode. Try a nearby reminder to identify if the problem is general or specific to a task.
Choose two apps, log the same three tasks, and use each workflow before migrating your history. The comparison becomes clearer when you're working on part of your own work.
