People leave Todoist for three distinct reasons, and the right replacement depends entirely on which one you have. Reason one: the free tier's five-project cap. Reason two: $4 a month for a personal list feels like too much. Reason three, and the most common one in my inbox, is that Todoist stopped feeling simple, somewhere around the twelfth label and the saved filter you spent twenty minutes writing.
Those need different answers. I build one of the apps below, so read that section with the appropriate scepticism.
The Options at a Glance
| App | Price | Why switch to it | Natural-language dates | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TickTick | $3.99/mo | More features for less money | Yes | Everything |
| Microsoft To Do | Free | Genuinely free, unlimited | Partial | Everything |
| Things 3 | $50 one-off | Best design, no subscription | Yes | Apple only |
| Google Tasks | Free | Already in Gmail | No | Web, iOS, Android |
| Notion | Free to $10/mo | Tasks beside docs | No | Everything |
| Taskaro | $3.49/mo | Board and timer, fewer knobs | No | Android, web |
1. TickTick: The Straight Upgrade
If you like Todoist and just want more for less, this is the switch, and most people end up here. TickTick is cheaper at about $3.99 a month, and it adds a habit tracker, a Pomodoro timer and a calendar that Todoist charges extra for or does not have.
The catch: the free tier is tighter than Todoist's in a different way, 9 lists of 99 tasks each, with the calendar and kanban views on Premium. And if your reason for leaving was "too many features," this is the wrong direction entirely, since TickTick has more of them. TickTick vs Taskaro covers that fork.
2. Microsoft To Do: The Free One That Is Actually Free
No paid tier, no task limits, every platform, and the My Day view that empties itself each morning. If you are leaving over the five-project cap or the $4, this costs nothing and removes both problems immediately.
The catch: no board, no notes section, no timer, no stats, no export. You are swapping features for freedom from limits. Microsoft To Do vs Taskaro has the full trade.
3. Things 3: Best Design, If You Are on Apple
Things is the one app on this list people describe as a pleasure to use. The interaction design is better than Todoist's, the Today and Upcoming views are beautifully judged, and it is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, roughly $50 across iPhone and Mac.
The catch: Apple only, no Android, no web, no collaboration. And fifty dollars up front is a real commitment compared with a trial. If you live entirely on Apple hardware and plan to keep an app for five years, it is the cheapest option here by a wide margin.
4. Google Tasks: The Minimum Viable Option
Free forever, no limits, inside Gmail and Google Calendar. If your Todoist was mostly five recurring errands and a shopping list, this does the job at zero cost.
The catch: it is a flat list with dates. No board, no notes, no stats, no export, and losing Todoist's natural-language input hurts more than you would expect. The Google Tasks roundup covers where that ceiling sits.
5. Notion: Only for a Specific Person
Worth listing because so many people try it, and worth a warning. Notion can replace Todoist, but only after you build a database, properties and views. The free personal plan is generous and the notes are unmatched.
The catch: you will spend an evening designing before you track a task, and it is slow on mobile. If your issue with Todoist was configuration overhead, Notion is that problem multiplied. Notion vs Taskaro is the longer argument.
6. Taskaro: For the Third Reason
Mine, and it only answers reason three. If you left Todoist because it grew into a system you maintain, the pitch is subtraction: a kanban board one click from your list, a flat notes section with no folders, a calendar week view, a contribution graph of your whole year, and a focus timer you start from the task. No labels, no filters, no saved searches, no karma, no collaboration. Not because they are hard to build, but because they are the things that made Todoist feel heavy.
The catch, plainly: you will lose things you probably use. No natural-language dates, which is Todoist's best feature. No integrations. No iOS app. No sharing. The free tier is 3 tasks a day, 3 notes and 2 focus sessions, which is far tighter than Todoist's free plan. Pro is $3.49 a month or $26.99 a year. The head-to-head goes feature by feature.
Pick by Your Actual Reason
- Hit the five-project cap: Microsoft To Do, or TickTick if you will pay.
- Price: Microsoft To Do or Google Tasks, free. Things 3 if you are on Apple and think long term.
- Want more features for less: TickTick.
- Too many features: Taskaro or Google Tasks.
- Want the nicest app: Things 3.
- Want tasks next to documents: Notion.
One Thing Before You Migrate
Export your Todoist data first, it offers CSV and template exports, because almost nothing on this list has a Todoist importer. Then do not import everything. Most people's Todoist contains sixty tasks and nine that are real. A migration is the cheapest chance you will ever get to delete the other fifty-one, and the app you land on will feel dramatically better for it.
Worth saying too: if your Todoist feels heavy because of twelve labels and four saved filters, you can delete those inside Todoist. Sometimes the alternative to switching apps is deleting your own configuration, which costs nothing and takes ten minutes.