Alternatives to Things
Elegant GTD app for Apple platforms
Things ranks #12 of 20 in Task managers, with an Alt Score of 63. It is proprietary, sold as a one-time purchase from $9.99 one-time and available on macOS and iOS. 10 of 11 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Individuals across the Apple ecosystem (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro) who want a personal to-do list and project manager, from simple daily task tracking to more structured, multi-project planning.
A to-do app that organizes tasks into Areas, Projects, and To-Dos, with dedicated Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday lists plus tags, checklists, deadlines, and notes. It includes natural-language date parsing, a Magic Plus button for quick capture, Shortcuts and calendar integration, and syncs across all your Apple devices via Things Cloud.
You capture tasks quickly (often into a global Inbox), then file them under Areas and Projects with optional tags, deadlines, and checklists. Each day you work from the Today list, pulling in items scheduled via Upcoming or Anytime, and check them off as you complete them.
Why people leave Things
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Task managers checklist (15 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Task managers checklist | Things | Todoist | TickTick | Amazing Marvin | Any.do | Remember The Milk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Natural language input | ||||||
| Recurring tasks | ||||||
| Subtasks depth | ||||||
| Projects & labels | ||||||
| Priorities | ||||||
| Reminders (time & location) | ||||||
| Shared lists | ||||||
| Calendar sync (2-way) | ||||||
| Widgets | ||||||
| Quick capture (global shortcut) | ||||||
| Offline |
Every fact and feature listed for Things is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License Proprietary verified 2026-07-12
© 2007-2026 Cultured Code
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/things-3/id904280696 -
Starts at $9.99 one-time verified 2026-07-12
$9.99
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/things-3/id904237743 -
Pricing model One-time verified 2026-07-12
Things 3 is a one-time purchase for each platform; there are no subscriptions.
https://culturedcode.com/things/pricing/ -
Platforms macOS, iOS verified 2026-07-12
Things for Mac, Things for iPad, Things for iPhone, and Things for Vision are sold separately.
https://culturedcode.com/things/support/articles/2803552/ -
Status active verified 2026-07-12
Things is ready for iPadOS 26, with a new app icon, an entirely refreshed interface, more styles for the icon and widgets, and an all-new menu bar.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/things-3-planner-organizer/id904244226 -
Natural language input Yes verified 2026-07-12
It smartly detects what you're typing and figures out what you mean... 'Tom(orrow)', 'Sat(urday)', 'in fou(r days)', 'Au(gust 1)'
https://culturedcode.com/things/features/ -
Recurring tasks Yes verified 2026-07-12
to-dos can repeat according to a fixed schedule or after the previous to-do has been completed
https://culturedcode.com/things/support/articles/2803564/ -
Subtasks depth Partial verified 2026-07-12
It lets you quickly create a checklist within a to-do—so you can break complex tasks into smaller, more manageable steps.
https://apps.apple.com/us/mac/story/id1437833617 -
Projects & labels Yes verified 2026-07-12
Need to find all your 'Errands', or everything you need to discuss with 'Kate'?
https://culturedcode.com/things/features/ -
Reminders (time & location) Partial verified 2026-07-12
For those to-dos you absolutely cannot miss, adding a reminder will give you peace of mind.
https://culturedcode.com/things/features/ -
Shared lists No verified 2026-07-12
This page does not discuss collaboration, where multiple people work on the same tasks together. At this time, Things does not support real-time sharing of to-dos or lists.
https://culturedcode.com/things/support/articles/2803566/ -
Calendar sync (2-way) Partial verified 2026-07-12
This is not a bug, but a choice on our part. Things does not send your to-dos to Apple Calendar.
https://culturedcode.com/things/support/articles/2978194/ -
Widgets Yes verified 2026-07-12
In addition to the Dark and Tinted styles, iPadOS 26 introduces Clear – a glass-like style that lets your wallpaper shine through.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/things-3-planner-organizer/id904244226 -
Quick capture (global shortcut) Yes verified 2026-07-12
Press Ctrl Space to bring up the Quick Entry window.
https://culturedcode.com/things/support/articles/2249437/ -
Offline Yes verified 2026-07-12
You can use Things offline and still access your data.
https://culturedcode.com/things/support/articles/2803586/
FAQ
Yes. Todoist, TickTick and Any.do have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Tasks.org, Super Productivity and Vikunja — every license claim links its source.