Todoist is a good app. Millions of people use it, and for good reason: the natural language input is excellent, it works on every platform, and the design is clean. But “good” does not mean “right for everyone.”
If you have been using Todoist and something feels off, you are not alone. Maybe you want your tasks and calendar in the same place. Maybe Todoist’s karma system feels more like pressure than motivation. Maybe you tried to set up a team workspace and hit a wall.
Whatever the reason, there are alternatives in 2026 that do specific things better. This guide compares seven of them so you can find the one that fits.
Why People Switch From Todoist
Before diving into alternatives, it helps to understand the common frustrations.
No built-in calendar. Todoist shows due dates but does not have a native calendar view that integrates with your existing calendar. You can connect Google Calendar through an integration, but it is a one-way sync that shows tasks as events, not a unified daily view.
Complexity creep. Todoist’s power comes from projects, labels, filters, and priority levels. Over time, many users build systems so complex that maintaining the system becomes a task in itself. If you spend more time organizing tasks than completing them, the tool is working against you.
Limited free plan. Todoist’s free tier limits you to 5 active projects and basic features. For anyone managing more than a handful of lists, the Pro plan ($5 per month) becomes necessary quickly.
Team features feel bolted on. Todoist started as a personal task manager and added collaboration features later. If you need shared workspaces with assigned tasks, comments, and file attachments, the experience can feel disjointed compared to apps built for collaboration from the start.
The Best Todoist Alternatives
1. Any.do
Best for: People who want tasks and calendar in one place.
Any.do solves the biggest gap in Todoist: calendar integration. Your tasks and calendar events appear together in a single daily view called My Day. When you plan your day, you see everything – meetings, deadlines, and tasks – on one screen.
What makes Any.do a standout alternative:
The My Day feature is a daily planner, not just a task list. Each morning, it presents your schedule and lets you decide what to focus on, pulling tasks from all your lists into one actionable view. Learn more about it in the Any.do daily planner guide.
Natural language input works just like Todoist’s. Type “call accountant Friday at 2pm” and it parses the date and time automatically.
AI-powered features help you break down tasks, suggest subtasks, and plan your week more intelligently.
The Kanban board view gives you visual project management for client work or larger projects.
Location-based reminders trigger when you arrive at or leave a specific place, something Todoist does not offer.
The interface is cleaner and simpler. Where Todoist encourages complexity, Any.do encourages clarity.
Free plan includes basic task management and calendar. Premium is $5.99 per month.
2. TickTick
Best for: People who want a built-in Pomodoro timer and habit tracker.
TickTick is the closest direct competitor to Todoist in terms of feature set, but it bundles in a Pomodoro timer, habit tracker, and a more functional calendar view. If you like Todoist’s approach but wish it had more built-in tools, TickTick is worth trying.
The calendar view is a genuine planner, not just a date-filtered task list. You can create events directly in the calendar and see tasks alongside them.
Pricing: free plan is generous. Premium is $35.99 per year.
3. Microsoft To Do
Best for: People already in the Microsoft ecosystem.
If you use Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive, Microsoft To Do integrates seamlessly. Tasks created in Outlook emails appear in To Do, and the My Day feature works similarly to Any.do’s daily planning concept.
The app is completely free, which is hard to beat. The downside is limited third-party integrations and fewer power features compared to Todoist.
4. Google Tasks
Best for: People who live in Gmail and Google Calendar.
Google Tasks is built into Gmail and Google Calendar. Creating a task from an email takes one click, and tasks appear directly on your Google Calendar timeline.
It is free and simple, but it is also very basic. There are no labels, filters, priorities, or collaboration features. If you only need a lightweight task list that shows up on your calendar, it works. For anything more, you will outgrow it quickly.
5. ClickUp
Best for: Freelancers and small teams who need project management.
ClickUp offers task management, documents, goals, time tracking, and dashboards in one platform. It is significantly more powerful than Todoist but also significantly more complex.
If you are managing client projects, leading a small team, or need Gantt charts and workload views, ClickUp delivers. If you just want a personal to-do list, it is overkill.
Free plan is surprisingly complete. Unlimited plan is $10 per user per month.
6. Notion
Best for: People who want to customize everything.
Notion is a workspace that can be anything: a task manager, a note-taking app, a wiki, a database, or all of the above. You can build a custom Todoist replacement with databases, templates, and linked pages.
The flexibility is both its strength and its weakness. Building a system from scratch takes time and requires a willingness to tinker. But once built, a Notion setup can do things no other single app can.
Free for personal use. Plus plan is $12 per month.
7. Things 3 (Apple only)
Best for: Apple users who value design and simplicity.
Things 3 is widely considered the best-designed task manager on Apple platforms. The interface is gorgeous, the keyboard shortcuts are fast, and the “Today” view keeps things focused.
The catch: it is Apple-only (Mac, iPhone, iPad) with no web or Android version. And it is a one-time purchase ($49.99 for Mac, $9.99 for iPhone), which some prefer to subscriptions.
How to Choose the Right Alternative
The right choice depends on what frustrated you about Todoist in the first place.
If your main issue was the lack of calendar integration, Any.do or TickTick will feel like a revelation. Seeing your tasks and events in one daily view changes how you plan.
If you want more features and do not mind complexity, ClickUp or Notion gives you room to grow.
If you want less complexity, Any.do, Microsoft To Do, or Things 3 strips things back to the essentials.
If budget is the primary concern, Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks are completely free.
Migrating From Todoist
Most alternatives, including Any.do, support importing tasks from Todoist or at minimum allow CSV import. Before switching, export your Todoist projects, take a screenshot of your current setup for reference, and start fresh in the new app with only your active tasks. Use the migration as an opportunity to simplify.
Conclusion
Todoist is a solid app, but it is not the only option and it is not the best option for everyone. If you want your tasks and calendar unified, Any.do fills that gap beautifully. If you want a timer and habit tracker built in, try TickTick. If you want full project management, look at ClickUp.
The best productivity app is the one that matches how you actually work, not the one with the longest feature list. Try a couple of alternatives for a week each, and you will know which one fits.