Todoist is still one of the easiest task managers to recommend when the main job is keeping track of things you need to do. The reason to look for an alternative usually isn't that Todoist is missing basic task-management features. It's that your workflow has moved beyond a simple task list.
Closest change without leaving the model? TickTick — the first one I'd test if you want to keep the familiar task-manager workflow.
Want a straightforward free task list? Microsoft To Do — worth trying before paying for something more complicated.
Fully invested in Apple devices? Things 3 — a better fit than an all-purpose work-management platform.
Real problem is planning your day? Sunsama or Akiflow — makes more sense than simply moving your task list to another app.
Want work scheduled around your calendar? Motion — the more relevant option when your calendar drives your tasks.
Moving into team project management? Trello, ClickUp or Planner — depending on how structured your workflow needs to be.
Want tasks alongside documents and databases? Notion — considerably more room to build your own system.
How to choose There isn't one replacement that improves Todoist in every direction — the right pick depends on which part of your workflow has outgrown a simple task list.
If you like the way Todoist works but keep wishing it had a few more personal productivity tools, TickTick is the most natural place to start.
The basic task-management model is familiar: capture tasks, organize them into lists, set dates and reminders, and work through what is due. The difference is everything surrounding that core. TickTick also brings in calendar planning, habits and focus features.
That makes the comparison less about Todoist versus another task manager and more about whether you want your task manager to cover more of your personal productivity system.
The downside is that extra functionality can make the interface feel busier. Todoist's appeal is partly its restraint.
Pick TickTick when: you want to keep the quick task-list workflow but don't want to maintain separate apps for habits, calendar planning, or focus sessions.
Microsoft To Do makes more sense the simpler your requirements are.
You can create lists, add reminders and recurring tasks, plan a daily workload, and keep everything connected to Microsoft's ecosystem. For someone already using Outlook and other Microsoft services, that integration can matter more than having a long feature list.
It is also an easy option to consider if your reason for leaving Todoist is cost rather than functionality.
The catch is that Microsoft To Do isn't trying to be a complete project-management platform. Once you need sophisticated project structures, custom workflows or detailed team reporting, you'll probably start looking elsewhere.
A good test: if your current Todoist setup is mostly a collection of personal lists and reminders, try Microsoft To Do before paying for something more complicated.
Things 3 takes the opposite approach from all-in-one productivity platforms.
It focuses on doing task management particularly well within Apple's ecosystem. Projects, areas, tags, deadlines and daily planning are presented without trying to turn the app into a database, collaboration suite or project-management platform.
That focus is the reason to choose it.
It's also the reason not to choose it if you regularly work across Windows or Android.
For an Apple-only user who wants a task manager that stays out of the way, Things 3 is one of the strongest alternatives to Todoist.
Sunsama is worth considering if the problem with Todoist isn't task management itself but turning a long task list into a realistic day.
The workflow is more deliberate. Instead of simply checking what is due, you bring work into a daily plan and decide how it fits alongside your calendar.
That distinction sounds small, but it changes how the app is used.
Todoist works well as a place to store and organize tasks. Sunsama puts more emphasis on deciding what you are actually going to work on today.
That makes it particularly interesting for people whose Todoist inbox keeps growing faster than they can clear it.
The trade-off is obvious: this approach asks you to spend more time planning.
Instead of stopping at “these are my tasks,” Motion puts more emphasis on when those tasks should happen. Its workflow revolves around scheduling work into the calendar and adjusting that schedule as priorities change.
That makes it a poor replacement if all you want is a clean to-do list. It becomes much more interesting if you constantly move tasks around because your calendar changes.
The price of that extra automation is complexity. Motion is a bigger system to learn than Todoist, and automatic scheduling only helps if you actually want your calendar to drive your task management.
The dividing line is simple: Todoist is primarily a task manager; Motion is much more concerned with turning tasks into scheduled work.
Akiflow sits somewhere between a task manager and a calendar planner.
Its appeal is strongest for people who receive work from several places and don't want to keep jumping between task lists and calendars. The idea is to collect work, decide when it should happen, and manage the day from one planning interface.
That makes it particularly relevant to freelancers, operators and people juggling work from several applications.
It's probably unnecessary if you only have a handful of personal tasks.
But if your problem is too many sources of work rather than too many tasks, Akiflow deserves a closer look.
Trello is a better alternative when the state of the work matters more than the task list itself.
A board such as: Backlog → In progress → Review → Done can make a workflow immediately understandable to a team.
That's useful for content production, marketing pipelines, simple product workflows and other processes where work moves through recognizable stages.
Todoist can organize those tasks, but Trello makes the stages themselves the center of the experience.
The limitation appears when the board becomes overloaded. A large collection of individual tasks with different deadlines and priorities can be easier to manage in a list-based application.
So this isn't really a case of one being universally better. The right choice depends on whether you think about work as things to do or work moving through stages.
ClickUp is where the comparison stops being a straightforward task-manager comparison.
The platform brings tasks together with documents, dashboards, automations, whiteboards, forms, time tracking, calendars and other project-management features. Its current feature set is considerably broader than Todoist's task-focused approach.
That extra depth can be useful for a growing team.
It can also create work that you didn't have with Todoist.
Someone moving from Todoist to ClickUp may gain custom fields, project views and automations, but they also have to decide how those features should be configured and maintained.
For a small team that simply needs shared tasks and deadlines, that's potentially unnecessary overhead.
For a company trying to manage projects, processes and documentation in one workspace, the additional complexity may be justified.
Notion is interesting if your tasks don't exist separately from your notes and project information.
You can build databases for projects and tasks, connect them to documents, create different views, and structure information around your own workflow.
That flexibility is the attraction.
It is also the main difference from Todoist.
Todoist gives you a ready-made task-management structure. Notion gives you building blocks and asks you to create the structure yourself.
If you enjoy designing your own workspace, that can be an advantage. If you just want to add a task and get on with your day, it can be unnecessary work.
Microsoft Planner is more relevant to team environments than personal productivity.
If your organization already relies heavily on Microsoft 365, using Planner can keep project work closer to the tools your team already uses.
It isn't the obvious replacement for someone's personal Todoist account. Its value comes from the surrounding Microsoft environment and the way work can fit into an organization's existing collaboration setup.
That distinction matters. Don't switch simply because Planner appears in your Microsoft subscription.
Compare the workflow your team actually needs.
✓Better suited to organizations already on Microsoft
The useful question isn't which app has more features than Todoist. Pick the problem and the shortlist gets much smaller.
Which Todoist alternative should you choose?
There isn't one replacement that improves Todoist in every direction.
If you want the closest change without abandoning the familiar task-manager model, TickTick is the first one I'd test.
If you mainly want a straightforward free task list, Microsoft To Do is worth trying.
If you're fully invested in Apple devices and want a focused task manager, Things 3 is a better fit than an all-purpose work-management platform.
If your real problem is planning your day, Sunsama or Akiflow makes more sense than simply moving your task list to another app.
If you want software to schedule work around your calendar, Motion is the more relevant option.
If you're moving from personal task management into team project management, look at Trello, ClickUp or Microsoft Planner, depending on how structured your workflow needs to be.
And if you want tasks to live alongside documents and databases, Notion gives you considerably more room to build your own system.
Should you leave Todoist?
Not necessarily.
Todoist has continued to improve its planning and collaboration features in 2026, including a more flexible recurring-task scheduler and expanded team visibility.
If Todoist already handles your tasks comfortably, switching to another app just because it has more features may make your workflow worse.
A better reason to switch is a specific problem:
Your task list needs to become a calendar plan → try Sunsama, Akiflow or Motion.
You want more personal productivity features → try TickTick.
