Todoist vs Things 3 vs TickTick: Which Task Manager Is Best?
If your to-do list feels unmanageable, this comparison shows how Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick really perform.
Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick represent three philosophies for tackling the same challenge: organizing everything you need to do without losing your mind.
If you’re comparing these three task managers, you’re probably serious about productivity. You’ve outgrown simple checklists. You need something powerful enough for complex projects but simple enough to use daily without friction.
Todoist excels at cross-platform flexibility with natural language processing that makes adding tasks effortless. Things 3 offers Apple users the most beautifully designed task manager ever created, with a one-time purchase model. TickTick delivers incredible value—combining task management, Pomodoro timer, habit tracking, and calendar views—for just $36 annually or free with limited features.
This comparison breaks down exactly what each tool does well, where each falls short, and—crucially—what all three miss: intelligent scheduling based on your actual capacity to do the work, not just when it’s theoretically available on your calendar.
We’ll also introduce rivva, which solves the gap all three share: automatic task extraction and capacity-aware scheduling that respects your energy, not just your time.
Todoist: Cross-Platform Simplicity with AI
Philosophy: Clean, simple task management that works everywhere with powerful natural language processing and AI assistance.
What It Is
Todoist is the most popular cross-platform task manager, used by 30+ million people. It focuses on simplicity and speed—adding tasks takes seconds, organization is intuitive, and it works identically across every device and platform.
The 2025 updates brought Task Assist (AI-powered task breakdown and suggestions) and Ramble (voice-to-tasks dictation), plus board and calendar layouts that expand beyond traditional list views.
Key Features
Natural Language Processing: Type “Submit report Friday 2pm @Work #Marketing” and Todoist automatically extracts the due date, time, project (@Work), and label (#Marketing). This industry-leading parsing makes task capture effortless.
Task Assist (AI): Available on Pro and Business plans, the AI assistant helps plan projects, break down complex tasks into subtasks, rewrite vague tasks for clarity, and provide actionable next-step tips. Powered by OpenAI models.
Ramble (Voice Input): New experimental feature lets you dictate tasks naturally. Speak conversationally and Ramble transcribes, interprets, and captures actionable tasks in real-time across 40+ languages.
Board & Calendar Views: Beyond traditional lists, view tasks as Kanban boards or calendar timelines. The calendar layout helps visualize when work needs to happen.
100+ Integrations: Native connections to Gmail, Slack, Notion, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Fantastical, and more. Zapier/IFTTT expand possibilities further.
Collaboration Features: Share projects, assign tasks to team members, comment directly on tasks, track project progress with activity logs.
Pricing (2025 Update - Effective December 10, 2025)
Beginner (Free): Up to 5 personal projects, 5MB file uploads, 3 filter views, 1-week activity history
Pro: $5/month (annual) or $7/month (monthly) - includes Task Assist AI, reminders, calendar views, custom filters, unlimited projects
Business: $8/user/month (annual) or $10/user/month (monthly) - adds team workspace, admin roles, 500 team projects
Strengths
True Cross-Platform: Identical experience on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, web, and Apple Watch. Perfect for users who switch between ecosystems or work in mixed-device environments.
Best Natural Language: “Meeting with Sarah every Tuesday 3pm” creates perfect recurring events instantly. The parsing is consistently accurate and supports complex date/time phrases.
Mature Ecosystem: Years of development mean stable software, extensive integrations, comprehensive help documentation, and large community support.
Fast Task Capture: Quick add shortcuts, browser extensions, email forwarding, voice input (Ramble)—multiple fast paths for getting tasks into Todoist.
Weaknesses
No Built-in Time Management: No Pomodoro timer, no habit tracking, no energy awareness. You’ll need separate tools or integrations for these features.
Limited Free Plan: 5-project limit frustrates many users. Most valuable features (reminders, calendar view, AI) require paid Pro plan.
Manual Calendar Time Blocking: While tasks sync to calendar, you manually drag them to specific times. No intelligent auto-scheduling.
No Automatic Task Extraction: You must manually enter every task. No email scanning or automatic capture from other sources.
Best For
Cross-platform users, teams needing collaboration, anyone wanting clean simplicity, users who prioritize natural language task entry, people needing extensive third-party integrations.
Things 3: Apple’s Beautiful Task Manager
Philosophy: Premium, one-time purchase task manager exclusively for Apple users who value beautiful design and native iOS/Mac integration.
What It Is
Things 3 is widely regarded as the gold standard for task management design. Created by Cultured Code, it won Apple Design Awards twice for its thoughtful interface, intuitive interactions, and seamless Apple ecosystem integration.
It’s not the most feature-rich task manager—it’s the most carefully designed one, stripping away unnecessary complexity to focus on what matters: capturing tasks, organizing projects, and actually getting work done.
Key Features
Areas & Projects System: Unique organizational structure where Areas represent ongoing responsibilities (Work, Family, Health) and Projects are finite goals within those areas. This mirrors natural thinking better than generic folders.
Today, Upcoming, Anytime Views: Structured approach to task management. Today shows what you’re doing now. Upcoming previews the next week. Anytime holds tasks for later consideration.
Quick Entry: System-wide keyboard shortcut (Ctrl-Space on Mac) instantly opens task entry without launching the full app. Add tasks from anywhere on your Mac in seconds.
Deep Apple Integration: Shortcuts app integration, Apple Calendar sync, widgets for iPhone/iPad/Mac, Apple Watch complications, Handoff between devices, iCloud sync with end-to-end encryption.
AI Subtasks: Recent addition automatically breaks down complex tasks into smaller steps using Apple Intelligence.
Pricing (One-Time Purchase)
Mac: $49.99
iPad: $19.99
iPhone & Apple Watch: $9.99
Total for all devices: ~$80
No subscription. Pay once, own forever. Updates included free.
Strengths
Most Beautiful Interface: Unmatched visual design with thoughtful animations, clear hierarchy, and pleasant aesthetics. Using Things 3 feels genuinely delightful.
No Subscription: One-time $80 investment (for all devices) vs. annual subscriptions that compound over years. Cost-effective long-term for Apple users.
Fast, Native Performance: Built specifically for each Apple platform. No compromises, no cross-platform limitations. Feels instantly responsive.
Keyboard-Optimized: Extensive keyboard shortcuts make desktop task management lightning-fast for power users who minimize mouse/trackpad use.
Minimal Cognitive Load: Unlike feature-heavy alternatives, Things 3 strips distraction. The interface never gets in your way—just tasks, projects, and focused simplicity.
Weaknesses
Apple Ecosystem Only: No Android, Windows, Linux, or web access. Completely unusable outside Apple devices. Deal-breaker for multi-platform users or teams.
No Collaboration: Individual-use only. Can’t share projects, assign tasks to others, or collaborate. Not designed for teams or even family task coordination.
Limited Integrations: Zapier/IFTTT supported but fewer native integrations compared to Todoist. Apple Calendar sync is excellent, but fewer third-party connections.
No Built-in Time Management: Like Todoist, lacks Pomodoro, habit tracking, or time blocking features. Pure task organization, not comprehensive time management.
No Automatic Task Extraction: All tasks manually entered. No email scanning or intelligent capture.
Best For
Apple-exclusive users, individuals wanting beautiful design, people preferring one-time purchase over subscription, users valuing simplicity over features, keyboard-focused power users.
TickTick: Feature-Rich All-in-One Value
Philosophy: Combine task management, calendar, Pomodoro timer, habit tracking, and more into one affordable tool that works everywhere.
What It Is
TickTick is the Swiss Army knife of task managers—it includes everything. While Todoist and Things 3 focus on doing one thing well (task management), TickTick bundles task lists, calendar views, Pomodoro timer, habit tracker, and Eisenhower Matrix into a single app.
The generous free plan and affordable Premium tier ($36/year) make it accessible, especially compared to Todoist’s higher pricing or Things 3’s upfront cost.
Key Features
Built-in Pomodoro Timer: Integrated timer for focused work sessions. Start a 25-minute Pomodoro directly from any task. Tracks completed sessions, logs distractions, includes white noise for better concentration.
Habit Tracker: Library of 60+ pre-made habits (exercise, meditation, reading) plus custom habits. Set goals, track streaks, view statistics. Helps build routines alongside managing tasks.
Multiple Calendar Views: Monthly, weekly, daily, 3-day, agenda, and timeline views. Drag-and-drop time blocking. Integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud for unified scheduling.
Eisenhower Matrix: Built-in urgent/important quadrant view helps prioritize tasks using the classic productivity framework. Visualize what’s critical vs. what can wait.
Smart Lists & Custom Filters: Automatically filter tasks like “high-priority items due this week” or “Work tasks assigned to Sarah.” Create custom views for any criteria.
Voice Input: Dictate tasks using natural language. “Meeting with client tomorrow” auto-sets date and creates task. Faster than typing on mobile.
Pricing
Free: 9 lists, 99 tasks per list, 2 reminders per task, habit tracking, Pomodoro timer, basic features
Premium: $35.99/year ($2.99/month) - unlimited everything, calendar views, custom smart lists, calendar subscriptions, 299 lists with 999 tasks each, themes, statistics
Strengths
Exceptional Value: $36/year ($3/month) for Premium is cheapest comprehensive task manager. Free plan generous enough for many users.
All-in-One Approach: Task management + calendar + Pomodoro + habits + statistics in one app. Eliminates need for multiple separate tools.
True Cross-Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, web, browser extensions, Apple Watch. Works identically everywhere.
Generous Free Plan: Unlike Todoist’s limited 5-project free tier, TickTick’s free version includes habit tracking, Pomodoro, and calendar—substantial functionality at zero cost.
Calendar Integration: Excellent two-way sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud. Tasks appear as calendar events, calendar events appear in TickTick.
Weaknesses
Interface Feels Dated: Not ugly, but not beautiful either. Compared to Things 3’s elegance or Todoist’s clean modern design, TickTick feels cluttered and less refined.
Basic Collaboration: Team features exist but feel like afterthought. Asana or ClickUp far superior for actual team project management.
Natural Language Less Advanced: Supports natural language but requires specific symbols, less intuitive than Todoist’s industry-leading parsing.
Occasional Sync Issues: Some users report sync delays across devices or calendar integration problems, particularly with third-party calendars.
No Automatic Task Extraction: Like Todoist and Things 3, requires manual task entry. No email scanning or intelligent capture.
Best For
Budget-conscious users, people wanting all-in-one productivity features, students managing coursework/exams/habits, freelancers tracking projects+habits+focus time, anyone wanting maximum features for minimum cost.
Where All Three Fall Short
Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick are excellent task managers. Each solves task organization brilliantly within its philosophy. But they share fundamental limitations:
1. Manual Task Entry Required
All three require you to manually enter every single task. Email contains commitments (”Can you send the report by Friday?”), meeting notes mention follow-ups, Slack messages assign work—but none of these tools automatically extract tasks from those sources.
You’re the human middleware, reading messages and manually typing tasks into your app. This creates friction and means things get forgotten.
2. No Capacity Awareness
All three help you organize what to do. None help you decide when based on your actual capability.
They treat Monday 9am (after great sleep, no meetings) the same as Friday 4pm (after terrible sleep, six back-to-back meetings). All time slots are equal. But you’re not equally capable in all time slots.
Example:
You have “Write quarterly strategy document” (demanding, 2-hour task).
Todoist/Things 3/TickTick: You manually schedule it for Tuesday 2-4pm because your calendar shows those hours free.
What they miss: Tuesday 2-4pm comes after six meetings and poor sleep. You’re mentally exhausted. The time is available but you’re not capable of strategic thinking.
3. No Intelligent Scheduling
All three can show tasks on a calendar. None automatically schedule tasks based on deadlines, priorities, and capacity. You’re still manually deciding when to do everything.
This works fine with 10 tasks. It breaks down with 50 tasks, multiple projects, and competing priorities. You spend mental energy planning instead of executing.
4. No Proactive Adaptation
When your day changes (meeting runs over, urgent task arrives, you’re more tired than expected), all three require you to manually reschedule everything. There’s no intelligent reorganization—you’re the algorithm.
rivva: The Intelligent Alternative
While Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick excel at organizing tasks, they all require manual entry and treat every hour as equal. rivva brings intelligent automation—automatically capturing tasks from email and scheduling them when you can actually do them well, based on your capacity.
What Makes rivva Different
Automatic Task Extraction:
Unlike all three competitors (which require manual entry), rivva automatically extracts tasks from emails. Meeting summaries, Notion comments, GitHub issues, direct requests—if it’s in your inbox, rivva captures it. Lower friction, nothing forgotten.Capacity-Aware Scheduling:
Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick schedule based on when time is available. rivva schedules based on when you’re actually capable.By integrating with Apple Health, rivva forecasts your energy based on sleep quality, HRV, and activity data. Demanding work gets scheduled during predicted peak hours. Routine tasks during valleys. Your Watch becomes your productivity advisor.
AI Assistant (Nia):
Chat naturally: “Schedule meeting with Sarah Thursday 3pm” or “Add task: quarterly report by Friday.” Nia handles scheduling complexity automatically. You don’t manually organize—Nia plans your day overnight while you sleep.Proactive Adaptation:
Meeting runs long? Nia automatically reschedules remaining tasks considering your adjusted energy. No manual replanning needed—the system adapts intelligently.
Key Features
Automatic email task extraction (none of the three have this)
Capacity-aware AI scheduling (none consider energy)
Nia (AI assistant) for natural language interaction
Energy-based daily planner with visual timeline
Smart auto-scheduling based on energy + calendar + priorities
Proactive rescheduling when plans change
Two-way Google Calendar sync
iOS-native mobile experience
Pricing
Monthly: $13.99/month
Quarterly: $31.50/quarter ($10.50/month billed quarterly)
7-day free trial
rivva vs. Each Competitor
vs. Todoist:
✅ rivva: Automatic task extraction (Todoist requires manual entry)
✅ rivva: Capacity-aware scheduling (Todoist is time-only)
✅ rivva: AI plans your day (Todoist requires you to schedule)
❌ rivva: iOS and web only currently (Todoist is cross-platform)
❌ rivva: More expensive ($10.50-13.99 vs $5/month)
vs. Things 3:
✅ rivva: Subscription with continuous improvements (Things 3 one-time but static)
✅ rivva: Automatic extraction (Things 3 manual entry)
✅ rivva: AI scheduling (Things 3 manual organization)
✅ rivva: Capacity-aware (Things 3 doesn’t consider energy)
vs. TickTick:
✅ rivva: AI scheduling (TickTick manual time blocking)
✅ rivva: Automatic extraction (TickTick manual entry)
✅ rivva: Capacity-aware (TickTick has habit tracking but no energy awareness)
❌ rivva: No built-in Pomodoro (TickTick has it)
❌ rivva: More expensive ($10.50-13.99/mo vs $3/mo)
Best For
Professionals tired of manual task management, iOS users wanting intelligent automation, anyone who tracks sleep/activity with wearables and wants that data driving productivity, people who value intelligence over features, those wanting automatic email task extraction.
Which Tool Is Right for You?
Choose Todoist if:
✅ You need cross-platform access (Android, Windows, Linux, web)
✅ Natural language processing is priority
✅ You want extensive integrations (100+)
✅ Team collaboration matters
✅ You prefer subscription with continuous updates
✅ Clean simplicity appeals
Perfect for: Cross-platform users, teams, anyone wanting simple elegance, people who switch between ecosystems.
Choose Things 3 if:
✅ You’re fully in Apple ecosystem (Mac, iPhone, iPad)
✅ Beautiful design is priority
✅ You prefer one-time purchase ($80 total)
✅ Fast keyboard-driven workflow matters
✅ You want absolute simplicity
✅ Individual use only (no collaboration needed)
Perfect for: Apple enthusiasts, design-conscious users, keyboard power users, anyone wanting premium experience without subscription.
Choose TickTick if:
✅ Budget matters ($3/month or free)
✅ You want all-in-one features (Pomodoro, habits, calendar)
✅ Cross-platform access needed
✅ You value maximum features for minimum cost
✅ Generous free plan sufficient
✅ Students or freelancers juggling many needs
Perfect for: Budget-conscious users, students, freelancers, anyone wanting comprehensive productivity suite affordably.
Choose rivva if:
✅ You want AI that plans your day, not just lists tasks
✅ Automatic task extraction from email is valuable
✅ Capacity-aware scheduling matters
✅ You track sleep/activity with wearables
✅ You’re tired of manual task management
✅ Intelligence more valuable than feature count
✅ iOS user wanting native experience
Perfect for: Busy professionals, founders, executives, anyone recognizing capacity varies throughout day, people wanting automation that respects human limitations.
Conclusion
Todoist, Things 3, and TickTick are all excellent tools—each brilliant at what it does.
Todoist delivers cross-platform simplicity with AI assistance and natural language that makes task capture effortless.
Things 3 provides the most beautiful task manager ever designed, with thoughtful Apple integration and no subscription.
TickTick offers incredible value, packing task management + Pomodoro + habits + calendar into an affordable all-in-one tool.
But all three share the same limitations: manual task entry, no capacity awareness, and no intelligent scheduling.
rivva solves what they miss: automatically capturing tasks from email, scheduling work when you can actually do it well based on your energy levels, and providing AI that plans your day while you sleep.
The right choice depends on your priorities:
Need cross-platform? Todoist
Want Apple beauty? Things 3
Value maximum features for minimum cost? TickTick
Want intelligence over organization? rivva
Most offer free trials. Test your top two choices with real work for a week each—the right tool will feel intuitive, not forced.
Ready for task management that actually understands when you can do your best work?
Get Todoist’s natural language ease, Things 3’s elegance, TickTick’s comprehensive features—plus the capacity-aware intelligence none of them offer.