The "best" to-do app is really a question of fit — how much power you want, whether you need cross-platform sync, and how you feel about an account holding your task data. Here's what five popular options are actually known for.
The apps
A long-standing favorite among power users, known for natural-language input (type "pay rent every 1st" and it schedules itself) and support across nearly every platform. It requires an account and syncs through the cloud, with a subscription tier for advanced features like filters and automation.
Combines task management with a built-in calendar and habit tracker, so your to-dos, schedule, and recurring habits live in one place. A strong pick if you want your tasks and calendar unified rather than in separate apps, though that breadth adds a learning curve compared to a plain checklist.
Widely regarded as one of the best-designed task apps around, with a calm, considered interface that's genuinely pleasant to use daily. It's Apple-only and sold as a one-time purchase per platform rather than a subscription, which some people prefer and others find pricier upfront.
Free and built into every iPhone, with no extra download required. It covers the basics — lists, due dates, location-based reminders — well enough for casual use, and syncs via iCloud, though it lacks the deeper organization and automation features of dedicated task apps.
Our own app, built around simplicity and privacy rather than power-user features. No account, no cloud sync — everything is stored on your device, with nothing sent anywhere. It combines task lists and checklists with journaled notes in one simple app, plus local reminders and a Home and Lock Screen widget, so you can see today's list without opening anything.
What actually matters when choosing one
Once you get past the marketing pages, these are the questions that actually separate these apps for your use case:
- Do you need cross-platform sync? Todoist and TickTick sync across nearly any device you own. LOCKEDIN Notes & To-Dos is iOS-only and stays on your device by design — a real trade-off if you regularly switch between an iPhone, an Android phone, and a Windows laptop, but a non-issue if you live in Apple's ecosystem on one device.
- Do you want power-user features, or do you want simplicity? Natural-language input, filters, and habit tracking are genuinely useful for complex task systems. If your needs are simpler — a daily list, a few recurring reminders, some notes — that extra surface area is just more to learn.
- How do you feel about an account holding your tasks? Cloud-synced apps require an account and store your data on their servers to make sync possible. That's a reasonable trade for convenience, but it's a trade — if you'd rather your task list never leaves your phone, that points toward an offline, on-device app instead.
- What's the pricing model, and does it match how you'll use it? Subscriptions, one-time purchases, and free-with-limits all exist in this category. None is inherently better — it depends on whether you want to pay once, pay monthly for ongoing features, or not pay at all.
Try LOCKEDIN Notes & To-Dos
Free to download. Tasks, checklists and journaled notes — locked in, fully private.
The bottom line
All five of these are solid at what they do. If you need serious cross-platform power and automation, Todoist or TickTick are hard to beat. If you want the best-designed experience on Apple devices and don't mind paying upfront, Things 3 stands out. If you just want something free and built-in, Apple Reminders covers the basics. And if privacy and simplicity matter more to you than syncing across five devices — a fast, offline home for your tasks and notes together — that's exactly what we built LOCKEDIN Notes & To-Dos for.