The short answer
Whether you typed "todoist" or "to do ist", you already know the app. People leave it for four reasons: the calendar sits behind Pro, there is no focus timer, the free plan stops at 5 projects, and every task still has to be typed in by you.
- SayBriefly: best for client work. Tasks arrive from calls, Gmail and projects, each linked to its source, with reminders set by how serious the task is.
- TickTick: best like-for-like swap, with calendar, habits and pomodoro.
- Things: best design, Apple only, pay once.
- Microsoft To Do: best free and simple, great with Outlook.
- Any.do: best daily planner, with WhatsApp reminders.
- Notion: best when tasks live inside docs and databases.
We build SayBriefly, so keep that in mind. We checked Todoist's own pricing page and every alternative's own site or App Store listing in September 2026. Todoist is excellent, and plenty of people should stay on it. This guide is for the ones who have noticed that a better list does not fix a list that is missing half their work.
The task you forgot to write down is the one that bites.
Why people leave Todoist
1. The calendar is a Pro feature
Todoist's pricing page lists the calendar layout on Pro and Business, not on the free Beginner plan. If you plan your day in time blocks, the free plan is a list with dates, and that is where a lot of people start looking around. "Todoist calendar view" and "sync todoist with google calendar" are some of the most searched Todoist questions for a reason.
2. Five projects fills up fast
Beginner gives you 5 personal projects and 3 filter views. A freelancer with four clients and a personal list hits that in the first week.
3. No focus timer
Todoist tells you what to do but not how to sit down and do it. People bolt on a separate pomodoro timer and keep two windows open. "Todoist pomodoro timer" is a steady search for exactly that.
4. You are the only way in
Quick add is fast, maybe the fastest anywhere. It still needs you. The promise you made on a call, the request buried in the fourth reply of an email thread: if you do not type them, Todoist does not know. Task Assist on Pro helps you break tasks down, but it does not listen to your calls.
5. Tasks lose the "why"
"Send the new timeline" is clear on Monday. By Thursday you are digging through email to find which client, which version and what they actually asked for.
All 6 Todoist alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Platforms | Tasks arrive from calls or email | Calendar | Focus timer | Price to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Todoist | Classic task manager (for reference) | All major platforms | No, typed in | On Pro | No | Free Beginner, 5 projects |
 SayBriefly | Client work | Mac, Windows, web | Yes, calls and Gmail, linked to source | Yes, Google sync | Yes, 25/5/15 | Paid plans |
 TickTick | Calendar, habits, pomodoro | All major platforms | No, typed in | Views on Premium | Yes | Free, Premium $49.99 a year |
 Things | Design, Apple only | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro | No, typed in | Today view | No | One-time purchase per device |
 Microsoft To Do | Free and simple | All major platforms | Flagged Outlook email only | No, list only | No | Free |
 Any.do | Daily planner | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, web | Gmail integration | Yes | No | Free, Premium from $4.99 a month yearly |
 Notion | Tasks inside docs | All major platforms | No, typed in | Calendar database view | No | Free, Plus €9.50 a member a month yearly |
Checked on each tool's own website or App Store listing, September 2026. Prices change; check before you buy.
The 6 best Todoist alternatives, reviewed
1. SayBriefly: best Todoist alternative for client work
SayBriefly is built around a different idea from Todoist. Todoist is the best place to type tasks. SayBriefly is the place tasks show up without typing. It records your client calls from your computer, reads your Gmail, and keeps your projects. When a client asks for something on a call or in an email, it becomes a task on one list, with a link back to that exact call, email or project.
The list has Today, Upcoming, Reminders, Completed and All tabs, and Plan My Day to pick what matters this morning. Tasks with a time show on the calendar, which syncs with Google Calendar. Reminders are set by how serious the task is: in our testing a 4,800 EUR penalty due in a month got four reminders and a simple reply got two. Manual reminders always win. Projects have a Kanban board. Any task can start a focus timer, 25 minutes of work with 5 and 15 minute breaks, in a full-window focus card.
Good
- Tasks arrive from calls and Gmail
- Every task links back to its source
- Calendar, focus timer and Kanban built in
Worth knowing
- No iPhone or Android app
- No recurring or location reminders
- No auto-scheduling, no Gantt
- No natural-language quick add as polished as Todoist's
Pick SayBriefly if your tasks come from clients, not from your own head.
2. TickTick: best like-for-like swap
TickTick feels closest to Todoist and then adds what Todoist leaves out: a pomodoro timer, a habit tracker and calendar views. The free plan has 9 lists with 99 tasks each; Premium raises that to 299 lists and adds more calendar views, task durations and email reminders. It also has a Todoist importer, which makes switching easy.
Good
- Pomodoro and habits in one app
- Good value yearly price
Worth knowing
- More features means more to learn
- Still typed in by hand
Pick TickTick if you like Todoist and want a timer and calendar with it.
3. Things: best design, Apple only
Things is calmer than Todoist. Areas, projects, Today, Upcoming and Someday, nothing more. You pay once per device instead of a subscription. Cultured Code says there is no Windows or Android version, so it only works if your whole life is Apple.
Good
- Beautiful and fast
- No subscription
Worth knowing
- Apple only
- Built for one person
Pick Things if you are on Apple and want calm.
4. Microsoft To Do: best free and simple
Microsoft To Do is free, clean and has My Day for daily planning. Its standout is flagged email: flag a message in Outlook and it lands in To Do. Microsoft's support page says this only works with Microsoft-hosted accounts, not Gmail. Many people searching "microsoft todo" land there as the free answer to Todoist's paid plans.
Good
- Free, shared lists, recurring tasks
- Best Outlook fit
Worth knowing
- No calendar view in the app
- Flagged email not for Gmail
Pick Microsoft To Do if you want free and you live in Outlook. See our Microsoft To Do alternatives guide too.
5. Any.do: best daily planner
Any.do combines a task list, a calendar and a daily planner. Premium adds recurring tasks, WhatsApp reminders, location reminders and AI features, according to its pricing page. There is a Family plan for shared home lists and a Gmail integration.
Good
- Reminders on WhatsApp
- Family and Teams plans
Worth knowing
- Recurring tasks are Premium only
- Less powerful filters than Todoist
Pick Any.do if you want your day planned in one screen.
6. Notion: best when tasks live in docs
Notion is not a to-do app; it is a workspace you can shape into one. If your tasks belong next to specs, meeting notes and wikis, a Notion database with a board and calendar view is powerful. Its pricing page lists AI Meeting Notes and Notion Agent on the Business plan.
Good
- Tasks next to docs
- Endless flexibility
Worth knowing
- Setup before it works
- Slower quick capture than Todoist
Pick Notion if your team already lives in it.
Typing tasks vs tasks that arrive
Every app on this list except SayBriefly assumes you are the one who notices a task and writes it down. That works when tasks come from your own head: buy milk, renew passport, write chapter three. It breaks when tasks come from other people.
Said on a call
"Can you send the revised timeline by Friday?" Gone the moment the call ends, unless something heard it.
Buried in email
The real ask is in the fourth reply, under a subject line from last month.
Inside a project
A card moves to review and someone needs to act on it.
SayBriefly's list is fed by all three. That is the whole reason it exists, and it is also why it is not the right pick if most of your tasks are personal chores.
One client thread, two tools
Tom runs a two-person web studio in Manchester. His client, a physio clinic, emails on Monday:
"Thanks for the draft. Could you swap the hero photo, add our new Saturday hours, and send the invoice for phase one? Also, the domain renewal is due on the 30th, can you handle it?"
In Todoist, Tom reads the email, opens Todoist and types four tasks. Quick add makes it fast: "Swap hero photo physio tomorrow p2". He adds a reminder to the domain task. The tasks are good. They do not link back to the email, and if he reads it on his phone at the gym, they may never get typed.
In SayBriefly, the four requests are already on his list when he sits down, inside the clinic's project:
Example of the layout. Real tasks only show what was actually asked.
The domain renewal gets more reminders because a lapsed domain takes the site down. Each task opens the email it came from. On Thursday's call, the client adds "and a booking button", which lands on the same list, linked to the call.
Where Todoist still wins
Todoist has the best quick add of any app we tried. It runs on every phone, watch and desktop. It has recurring tasks, filters, labels and a huge list of integrations. It has been around for years and it is reliable. If most of your tasks come from you, or you add them on the go from your phone, Todoist is hard to beat.
SayBriefly has no phone app, no recurring reminders and no location reminders. Be honest about which of those you use daily.
How to choose a Todoist alternative
| Your situation | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks come from client calls and email | SayBriefly | They arrive with a link to the source |
| You want Todoist plus a timer and calendar | TickTick | Pomodoro, habits, calendar views |
| Apple only, no subscription | Things | One-time purchase |
| You want free and simple | Microsoft To Do | Free on every platform |
| You want a daily planner and WhatsApp | Any.do | WhatsApp reminders |
| Your team lives in docs | Notion | Tasks inside the workspace |
How to switch from Todoist
- Export your open projects. Todoist can export projects. You only need the active ones.
- Use an importer if there is one. TickTick imports from Todoist directly. Otherwise paste the tasks in.
- Recreate recurring tasks. "Every 1st" rules rarely survive an import.
- Connect your calendar and email. This is where a new app earns its place.
- Give it two weeks. The first week always feels slower than the app you know.
A weekly review you can copy
Whatever app you pick, the weekly review is what keeps a list honest. Paste this into a note and run it every Friday.
1. Clear the inbox: anything asked of me this week that is not on the list? 2. Check calls: what did I promise out loud? 3. Overdue tasks: do, reschedule with a real date, or delete. 4. Next week: pick the 3 things that would make it a good week. 5. Money and deadlines: invoices to send, penalties to avoid. 6. Waiting on others: who owes me what, and when do I chase?
Steps 1 and 2 are the ones Todoist cannot do for you. In SayBriefly they are mostly done by the time you sit down.
Mistakes people make when switching
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Rebuilding your whole label system | You spend a week organizing, not working | Start with lists only, add labels when you miss them |
| Switching for one feature | You lose ten others you used daily | List your daily habits before you move |
| Keeping both apps live | Tasks split across two places | Freeze the old one after a week |
| Ignoring where tasks come from | A prettier list with the same gaps | Pick the app that captures your real sources |
Who this is for
Freelancers, consultants and small studios whose tasks mostly come from clients should look hard at SayBriefly. People who want Todoist with a timer should try TickTick. Everyone else who is happy on Todoist should stay; a tool you use beats a better one you don't. Related: to-do list app, pomodoro to-do list, calendar app and pomodoro timer.
How we made this list
We checked Todoist's pricing page and each alternative's own website or App Store listing in September 2026. We only state what a vendor says about itself. SayBriefly is our product, and we have said where Todoist and the others are the better choice.
Questions people ask about Todoist alternatives
What is the best Todoist alternative?
For client work, SayBriefly, because tasks arrive from your calls, Gmail and projects with a link back to the source. For a classic list with calendar views and a pomodoro, TickTick. For Apple-only design, Things. For free and simple, Microsoft To Do.
Is it Todoist or 'to do ist'?
The app is called Todoist, one word. 'To do ist' is one of the most common ways people type it into Google, along with 'to do ist windows' and 'to do ist download'. You are in the right place either way.
Is Todoist free?
Todoist has a free Beginner plan. Its pricing page lists 5 personal projects, smart quick add, reminders and 3 filter views on it. Pro raises that to 300 projects and adds the calendar layout, task durations and Task Assist.
Does Todoist have a calendar view?
Yes, a calendar layout, on Pro and Business. The free Beginner plan does not include it, according to Todoist's pricing page.
Can Todoist sync with Google Calendar?
Yes, Todoist offers a Google Calendar integration. SayBriefly also syncs with Google Calendar, and any task you give a time shows up on its calendar.
Does Todoist have a pomodoro timer?
Not built in. People pair it with apps like Pomofocus, which can pull Todoist tasks on its premium plan. TickTick and SayBriefly both have a focus timer inside the app.
Does Todoist have a Windows app?
Yes. Todoist runs on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and the web. SayBriefly runs on Mac, Windows and the web, with no phone app.
How do reminders work in SayBriefly compared to Todoist?
In Todoist you set each reminder. In SayBriefly the agent decides how many reminders a task needs by how serious it is: a 4,800 EUR penalty due in a month got four, a simple reply got two. Anything you set by hand always wins.
Can I import Todoist into another app?
Todoist lets you export projects, and TickTick has a Todoist importer. For most apps the simplest route is copying your open tasks, not your full history.
Is Notion a good Todoist alternative?
Only if you want tasks inside a wider workspace of docs and databases. Notion is flexible but slower for quick capture, and it needs setup before it feels like a to-do app.
Does SayBriefly have recurring tasks like Todoist?
Not yet. SayBriefly has no recurring or location reminders. If your list is mostly repeating chores, Todoist or TickTick fit better.
Which Todoist alternative works best with Gmail?
SayBriefly picks up requests from Gmail and puts them on your list with a link to the thread. Google Tasks lets you turn a single email into a task by hand from the side panel.
Is there a Todoist alternative with a Kanban board?
Todoist has a board layout itself. TickTick, Notion and SayBriefly (for projects) all have boards too.
