There's nothing wrong with a paper to-do list, but going digital has benefits. You can organize your tasks more efficiently and attach files, links, and notes. You can also share your task list with others and assign them items. PCMag has been reviewing task management software for more than a decade. We look for apps that are easy to use, enable you to work more productively, offer good value, and support all major platforms. We also consider which are best for different users, such as individuals and teams, who follow specific productivity methods (including the Getting Things Done method and the Pomodoro Technique). Our Editors' Choice winners are the exceptionally flexible Asana and full-featured Todoist, but you should explore all of our top picks below to find the one that works best for you.
Overview
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Best OverallTodoist
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Best for TeamsAsana
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Best for the Getting Things Done MethodOmniFocus
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Best for the Pomodoro TechniqueTickTick
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Best for Apple UsersThings 3
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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
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Credit: Todoist
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Best OverallTodoist
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Todoist is a rare five-star Editors' Choice winner because it's simply the best to-do list app on the market. It has a superb design with all the features you could ever need, including collaboration options, custom views, natural language input, and more.
Who It's For
Collaborators: Todoist makes it easy to add comments, assign tasks to others, and even customize the notifications you receive when others make changes or post updates. It's both extremely flexible and highly competent at helping you complete tasks.
Offline users: Any changes you make in the Todoist app when offline are automatically synced the next time you go online, ensuring a seamless experience. This is ideal for commuters and frequent travelers alike.
Specs & Configurations
Android App API Available for Customers Collaboration Features Collaboration in Free Version Free Account Offered Free Version Available Guest Accounts iOS App Location-Based Reminders Number of Collaborators in Free Account 5 Pre-Built Templates Price Per Month From $5 per person Recurring Tasks Learn More Todoist Review -
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Credit: Asana
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Best for TeamsAsana
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Asana is hands-down one of the best apps for managing to-do lists for teams and businesses. It borders on being a full project management app but works equally well, if not better, for groups that need to pass tasks along from one person to another. You can even try out its free version before committing. Finally, Asana feels very responsive and looks quite modern.
Who It's For
Teams: Individuals can use Asana, but it excels as a collaborative app for managing work, thanks to its many convenient, team-focused features, such as automations, progress monitoring, time tracking, and more.
The disorganized: If you need to get both your personal and work lives in order, Asana is a flexible application that you can use to organize everything from your professional goals to what you want to accomplish on the weekend.
Specs & Configurations
Android App Automation Collaboration Features Collaboration in Free Version Free Account Offered Free Version Available Gantt Charts iOS App Number of Collaborators in Free Account 10 Pre-Built Templates Recurring Tasks Time Tracking Learn More Asana Review -
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Credit: OmniFocus
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Best for the Getting Things Done MethodOmniFocus
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
OmniFocus is an excellent to-do list app with a long list of features. It lets you add a tremendous amount of detail to tasks, is powerful, and works reliably. We also like that you can buy the current version for a one-time fee or subscribe to get continuous updates.
Who It's For
Fans of the Getting Things Done method: OmniFocus offers tools and features specifically for GTD, including ways to indicate a task's context.
Individuals: The app doesn't support collaboration, so it's best suited for solo task management.
Specs & Configurations
Location-Based Reminders Recurring Tasks Learn More OmniFocus Review -
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Best for the Pomodoro TechniqueTickTick
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
TickTick is a powerful to-do list app with a reasonable price. It's available anywhere you might want to use it, too. The best part about TickTick is that it supports both the GTD method and the Pomodoro Technique. It also offers collaboration features.
Who It's For
Fans of the Pomodoro Technique: As a strategy for focusing on important tasks without procrastinating or wasting time, the Pomodoro Technique requires a timer. TickTick offers one that specifically supports that method.
Multi-platform users: TickTick has apps for almost every platform imaginable, including Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. You can even use it as a browser extension, on the web, or on smartwatches.
Specs & Configurations
Collaboration Features Collaboration in Free Version Free Version Available Location-Based Reminders Recurring Tasks Learn More TickTick Review -
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Credit: Things
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Best for Apple UsersThings 3
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Things 3 is a worthwhile to-do list app with a top-notch interface. It works only on Apple devices and is a little light on features, but its uncluttered nature might appeal to you.
Who It's For
Apple users: Things 3 is available only on Apple devices, including iPad, iPhone, Mac, and Watch. If you primarily use another platform, this isn't the right app for you.
Individuals: Since it lacks collaboration features, Things 3 is worthwhile only if you want to better manage your own life. To share lists of tasks with family members, groups of friends, or teams, look elsewhere.
Specs & Configurations
Recurring Tasks Learn More Things 3 Review -
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Buying Guide: The Best Task Management Apps for 2026
How We Choose the Best Task Management Apps
To-do list apps exist in great numbers, and only a few stand out. For example, plenty of excellent apps are available for Android or iOS only, but they do you no good if you need to jot down a thought quickly while you're working on your PC. That's why we include only apps that work on both desktops and mobile devices. After evaluating dozens of possible contenders, we selected the highest-scoring apps to list here.
A major consideration when testing and scoring is how well these apps help you organize and stay on top of your tasks. We also consider collaboration, meaning the ability to share a task list with other people. However, this is not a prerequisite of the category, like it is for collaboration apps.
We also looked for apps that fit different user profiles. For example, if you follow the Getting Things Done (GTD) method of organization, OmniFocus and Toodledo are good choices.
What to Look for in a Task Management App
You should consider several aspects of task management apps, but the top three are:
- Design
- Tools for managing and organizing your tasks
- Collaboration options
Design is extra important in this category of apps because you end up looking at your to-do list app often. How will you get anything done if you can't stand looking at an ugly app? Good design is intuitive, so it should enable you to quickly write down things that come to mind.
Every to-do list app comes with tools and features for organizing your tasks and lists, and in an ideal world, these features match up with the way you think. For example, if you are a highly visual person, you might find that color-coding your lists or tasks to show priority is important. If you are deadline-oriented, choose an app that sorts your tasks by due date and or shows them in a calendar view. If you're forgetful, you might want an app that sends you reminders on different devices.
As for collaboration, it's always handy to have the option to share a to-do list. For home use, a collaborative to-do list means you can assign chores to other people or track when someone purchases items off a shared shopping list. In business settings, collaborative task management makes working together easier and more transparent.
What Is the Best App for To-Do Lists?
Todoist is the best to-do list app you can get. It works on every platform. You can use it for free or pay a reasonable fee for all its features. It provides plenty of customization options, too.
What Is the Best Free Task Management App?
Several of the best task management apps have a robust free service tier. Our favorites are Asana and Todoist. Asana is more free-form, while Todoist has a more inherent structure.
What Is the Best Task Management App for Teams?
It should come as no surprise that our top picks for teams are also the Editors' Choice winners: Asana (starting at $10.99 per person per month, billed annually) and Todoist (starting at $8 per person per month, billed annually).
Todoist works best for small groups of people who need to organize relatively uncomplicated tasks. Asana is better for managing more in-depth teamwork, the kind that passes through many hands and takes a lot of steps to complete.
Task Management Apps vs. Project Management Apps
An ongoing challenge for productivity software is differentiating project management apps from those for task and work management.
We believe project management apps must offer Gantt charts and be able to manage complex, project-based work. Project-based work means a series of tasks with a start date, end date, and deliverables. Building a house is a project. Sending a rocket to the moon is a project. Answering support emails, however, is merely a series of ongoing tasks. We occasionally encounter an app that straddles more than one category. Here, Asana is that app. It now includes tools for traditional project management, but it also works perfectly well as a to-do list app.
Overall, project management and collaborative task management apps serve the same general purpose but at different scales. Both keep track of what needs to happen and who needs to do it. They help users manage time more efficiently and regulate how many tasks each team member is responsible for. Project management apps help large groups of people juggle budgets, resources, and schedules in a way that to-do list apps can't. To-do apps are simpler and cost less than project management software. For many types of work, to-do apps are a better fit.