Alternatives
The best Todoist alternatives in 2026
Todoist is a fast, dependable to-do list, but it never decides what comes next and never touches your inbox. These six alternatives add prioritization, calendars, habits or email.
Updated September 22, 2026
Why people look for a Todoist alternative
Todoist earns its reputation: the natural-language quick add is best in class, the apps run on every platform and work offline, and the ecosystem of templates, filters and integrations has been maturing for more than a decade. People do not usually leave because it broke. They leave because it stops at being a list.
- Nothing decides what is next. Four manual priority levels and filters are all you get; the list is never reordered for you.
- Nothing schedules for you. You drag tasks into the calendar layout yourself, and that layout, task durations and custom reminders all sit behind Pro.
- Email stays in Gmail. Email reaches Todoist by forwarding or an add-on. You cannot read or reply inside it, and nothing summarizes or scores your inbox.
- The free plan is tight. Five personal projects is the cap, and Pro is $5 a month billed annually or $7 month to month.
- No dependencies, no habits, no waiting status. Sub-tasks only, Karma instead of streaks, and a label-plus-filter workaround for anything you are waiting on.
If the pain is deciding where to start each morning, that is decision fatigue, and it is the one thing a plain list cannot fix. The Fluidwave vs Todoist comparison goes through the differences in detail.
Tasks, email, calendar and contacts with AI, so you always know what to do next.
Best for Todoist users who want the app to decide what is next and handle email too. Todoist is a fast, reliable list, but nothing in it prioritizes or schedules for you and email only arrives by forwarding. Fluidwave parses a full sentence into date, recurrence, priority and reminders, ranks the list with twelve tunable criteria, hides tasks you cannot act on yet, triages Gmail with AI and packs tasks into free calendar time. It works offline and is free forever with no credit card and no project cap. The honest limits: Gmail-only email, a macOS-only desktop app for now, and no Todoist import yet.
Pros
- Tasks, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts live in one app, and they link to each other.
- Auto-prioritization and the Active filter hide what you cannot work on yet, so the top of the list is always what to do next.
- AI email triage summarizes, scores and suggests an action for every thread; you confirm with one key.
- AI time blocking packs tasks into real free time inside your working hours and syncs the sessions to Google Calendar.
- A visual automation builder covers both email and tasks, including an AI reply step.
- Works offline, with a Claude MCP connector, voice control and 16 languages.
- Completely free.
Cons
- Email works with Gmail only; there is no Outlook or IMAP support yet.
- Windows and Linux desktop apps are still coming; macOS, web and mobile are live.
- Built for individuals and small teams rather than large-scale project portfolios.
- Pricing:
- Free Free forever. No subscription, no credit card.
- Best for:
- People who want tasks, email, calendar and contacts in one place and want the app to decide what comes next.
- #2
TickTick
A cross-platform to-do list that bundles a calendar, habit tracker and Pomodoro timer.
Best for Todoist users who want habits and a calendar grid without paying for Pro. TickTick is the closest like-for-like swap: natural-language input, recurring tasks, Kanban and Timeline views, offline apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web, and an official MCP server, plus a built-in habit tracker with streaks and a Pomodoro timer that Todoist lacks. Premium is $49.99 a year, cheaper than Todoist Pro. The free plan caps at nine lists and 99 tasks per list, the day and week calendar grids are Premium-only, and there is still no email client and nothing that prioritizes for you.
Pros
- Built-in habit tracker with streaks and statistics, plus a Pomodoro timer and focus stats.
- Calendar, Kanban and Timeline views on top of the list, with tasks draggable onto the calendar.
- An official MCP server at mcp.ticktick.com covers tasks and habits and is listed in Claude’s connector directory.
- One of the cheapest paid tiers among major task managers, with a usable free plan.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web, all working offline.
Cons
- No email client and no AI triage; email arrives by forwarding and you still work your inbox elsewhere.
- Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you; ordering and time slots are manual.
- Day and week calendar grids, calendar subscriptions and the Timeline view are Premium only.
- The free plan is capped at 9 lists and 99 tasks per list.
- Pricing:
- From $49.99/year (about $4.17/month) Premium is US$49.99/year on TickTick’s site; a monthly option and promotional prices are available through the app stores and vary by region.
- Best for:
- People who want tasks, habits and a calendar grid in one affordable app and do not need email inside it.
- #3
Things 3
A design-focused personal task manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad, sold as a one-time purchase.
Best for Apple-only users who would rather buy once than subscribe. Things 3 is a polished native app for Mac, iPhone and iPad with a one-time purchase per platform, free Things Cloud sync and full offline support. Today, This Evening, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday give a simple daily structure, and Shortcuts, Siri and a URL scheme cover automation. It is more manual than Todoist: no priority field at all, no calendar grid, no AI, and few integrations, with no Slack app or official MCP server. Anyone with an Android phone or Windows machine is out.
Pros
- A polished, award-winning native design that feels at home on every Apple device.
- One-time purchase with no subscription, and Things Cloud sync is free.
- Fully offline; everything lives on the device and syncs when you are back online.
- Deep Apple integration: Shortcuts, Siri, widgets, calendar events in Today and a scriptable URL scheme.
- Today, This Evening, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday give a simple structure for daily planning.
Cons
- Apple only: no Android, Windows, Linux or web app, so anyone on a mixed setup is out.
- No calendar grid or time blocking, and calendar events are read-only.
- No email client, no AI features and no auto-prioritization; everything is manual.
- Few integrations: no Slack app, no official MCP server and no public API beyond the URL scheme.
- Pricing:
- From $9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad, $49.99 Mac (one-time) Each platform is a separate one-time purchase, about $80 for all three, with a free 15-day trial on Mac only.
- Best for:
- Apple-only users who want a beautiful, manual to-do app they buy once and never rent.
- #4
Akiflow
A keyboard-driven task consolidator and time blocker for busy professionals.
Best for professionals who want Todoist’s capture speed plus real time blocking. Akiflow’s command bar parses natural-language dates and schedules tasks from the keyboard, then lets you drag them onto a two-way synced Google or Outlook calendar. It consolidates tasks from Gmail, Slack, Notion, Todoist, Asana, ClickUp and Jira, and has an Aki AI assistant and official MCP connector, with apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. There is no free plan, it is pricey monthly at $34, nothing auto-prioritizes, and Kanban, Gantt, dependencies and habit tracking are missing. Email is one-way, so you cannot reply.
Pros
- A fast command bar with natural-language dates for capturing and scheduling tasks entirely from the keyboard.
- Consolidates tasks from Gmail, Slack, Notion, Todoist, Asana, ClickUp, Jira and more into one inbox.
- Drag-and-drop time blocking with two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync.
- Aki AI assistant and an official MCP connector for managing tasks from Claude.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Cons
- Email is one-way: messages become tasks, but you cannot read or reply to email in Akiflow.
- No free plan and one of the pricier planners when billed monthly.
- No automatic prioritization; you still decide the order of your day.
- Habit tracking, dependencies and project views like Kanban or Gantt are missing.
- Pricing:
- From $19/month (annual) Pro is $34 billed monthly; only a 7-day trial, no free plan.
- Best for:
- Keyboard-first professionals who want to consolidate tasks from many tools and time block them fast.
- #5
Trello
A visual Kanban tool for organizing work into boards, lists and cards.
Best for people who think in boards rather than lists. Trello is the simplest Kanban board on the market with almost no learning curve, and its Free plan includes unlimited cards, ten boards and Butler automation, where Todoist’s free plan caps you at five projects. Every board has an email address, Planner on Standard and above lets you drag cards into calendar slots, and there is an official MCP server on every plan. There are no dependencies, no auto-prioritization, no habit tracking, and Calendar and Timeline views need Premium. Offline editing works only in the mobile apps.
Pros
- The simplest Kanban board on the market, with almost no learning curve.
- A generous Free plan with unlimited cards, ten boards and Butler automation.
- Planner connects a Google or Outlook calendar and lets you drag cards into time slots.
- Every board has an email address, and the Inbox captures forwarded email as cards.
- Official MCP server on every plan and a solid Slack app.
Cons
- The Free plan is boards only; Calendar and Timeline views, Planner and AI features need Standard or Premium.
- No task dependencies, no auto-prioritization and no habit or goal tracking.
- Email can be forwarded into Trello, but there is no inbox, triage or AI reply inside the app.
- Offline editing works only in the mobile apps; the desktop app and web need a connection.
- Pricing:
- From $5/user/month (annual) The Free plan allows ten boards per Workspace; Calendar and Timeline views, Planner and AI features need Standard or Premium.
- Best for:
- People who want a simple, visual Kanban board and do not need dependencies, deep reporting or email in the same app.
- #6
Notion
A connected workspace for notes, docs, wikis and databases that you shape into your own system.
Best for people who want their tasks next to their notes and are happy to build the system. Notion’s free plan is unlimited for a single user, with table, board, calendar and timeline views on the same database and dependencies and repeating templates on every plan. It also ships an official MCP server, a Slack app and desktop and mobile offline mode. Unlike Todoist, typed titles do not parse dates or recurrence, tasks are a database you assemble yourself with no native prioritization, waiting list or habit tracking, and there is no native Gmail action since Notion Mail was retired in September 2026.
Pros
- Pages, wikis, notes and databases in one place, with table, board, calendar and timeline views on the same data.
- Free plan is unlimited for a single user.
- Timeline view with dependencies and repeating database templates work on every plan.
- Official MCP server, a Slack app with a /notion task command, and offline mode on desktop and mobile.
- Notion AI on Business can search, write and fill properties across the whole workspace.
Cons
- Tasks are a database you assemble yourself; there is no native prioritization, waiting list or habit tracking.
- Notion Mail was discontinued on 22 September 2026, so email is out of the workspace again.
- Full Notion AI needs Business at $20 per member per month; Free and Plus only get a limited trial.
- Offline mode caches individual pages for a few days and does not work in the browser.
- Pricing:
- From $10/member/month (annual) Full Notion AI needs Business at $20 per member per month; Free and Plus get a limited trial.
- Best for:
- People who want to build their own system from pages and databases and keep notes, wikis and tasks in one workspace.
Feature comparison
Tasks
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural-language task inputType a sentence like "Pay rent by noon on the last day of each month, remind me a week ahead" and the date, recurrence, priority and reminder are parsed for you. | Included | Included | PartialThe date picker understands phrases like "tomorrow" or "next Friday", but a full sentence is not parsed into project, tags and repeat. | Included | PartialAI quick capture in the Inbox turns notes into cards with dates on paid plans; the card composer does not parse dates. | PartialNotion AI can create database rows from a prompt on Business; typed titles do not parse dates or recurrence. | Included |
| Auto-prioritizationThe app orders your list for you using tunable criteria such as due dates, quick wins, importance and dependencies. | Included | Not availableFour manual priority levels and sortable smart lists; the list is never reordered for you. | Not availableThings has no priority field at all; you order lists by hand and use tags or the Today star. | Not availablePriorities and labels are manual; Aki can suggest a plan but does not rank your list. | Not available | PartialAI autofill can populate a priority property on Business, but nothing reorders your list. | Not availableFour manual priority levels and filters; the list is never reordered for you. |
| Recurring tasksDaily, weekly, monthly and custom repeat rules with per-instance skip and reschedule. | Included | Included | Included | Included | PartialBuilt with the Card Repeater or scheduled Butler commands rather than a repeat field on the card. | PartialDatabase templates can repeat on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule, creating a new page each time. | Included |
| Task dependenciesBlock one task on another and see the chain in a Gantt view with circular-dependency detection. | Included | Not availableSub-tasks only; one task cannot block another. | Not availableHeadings and checklists only; one to-do cannot block another. | Not available | Not availableCard mirroring and Butler exist, but there is no dependency field. | Included | Not availableSub-tasks only; one task cannot block another. |
| Waiting-on trackingA dedicated status for tasks waiting on a reply, call or message so they stop cluttering your active list. | Included | Not availableUse a tag or a custom filter; there is no waiting status. | PartialSomeday and tags are the usual workaround; there is no dedicated waiting status. | Not availableUse a label or snooze the task; there is no dedicated waiting status. | Not availableYou can add a Waiting list to a board, but nothing is built in. | Not availableYou can add a Waiting option to a status property, but nothing is built in. | Not availableUse a label and a filter; there is no waiting status. |
| Habits and goalsTrack habits with streaks and connect them to goals and longer-term intentions. | Included | Included | Not availableRepeating to-dos and Areas stand in; there are no streaks or goals. | Not availableRituals guide daily planning and shutdown; there is no habit tracker with streaks. | Not available | PartialHabit trackers are templates you build from databases; nothing is built in. | Not availableRecurring tasks and the Karma score stand in for habits; there is no per-habit streak or goal tracking. |
Views
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanban boardDrag tasks between status columns. | Included | Included | Not available | Not availableTasks are organized in lists and projects, not status columns. | Included | Included | Included |
| Gantt chartTimeline view with day, week and month zoom and dependency arrows. | Included | PartialThe Premium Timeline view shows tasks on a time axis but has no dependency arrows. | Not available | Not available | PartialTimeline view needs Premium and has no dependency arrows. | Included | Not available |
| Calendar viewSee tasks and events side by side in a day, week or month grid. | Included | PartialThe free plan has a month view; day, week and multi-day grids need Premium. | PartialCalendar events appear as a list at the top of Today and Upcoming; there is no day, week or month grid. | Included | PartialCalendar view needs Premium; Planner on Standard gives a personal day view. | Included | PartialThe calendar layout is Pro only; the free plan shows Upcoming as a list grouped by day. |
AI
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI assistantA chat assistant that can create, update, complete and find tasks, switch views and undo its own changes. | Included | Not availableThere is no chat assistant inside the app; the official MCP server lets Claude manage tasks from outside it. | Not available | Included | PartialAtlassian Intelligence on paid plans summarizes cards and turns notes into cards; there is no chat that manages your board. | PartialNotion AI can create and edit pages and database rows, but the full version needs Business; Free and Plus get a limited trial. | PartialTodoist Assist suggests sub-tasks, breaks down work and turns Ramble dictation into tasks; it is not a chat assistant that manages your list, and most of it is Pro only. |
| AI email triageEvery incoming thread gets a summary, a priority score and a suggested action you confirm with one key. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not availableEmail forwarded to the Trello Inbox is turned into cards by AI on paid plans, but nothing summarizes or scores your inbox. | Not availableNotion Mail’s auto-labels retired with the app in September 2026. | Not availableEmail Assist (Pro) turns a forwarded email into a task; nothing summarizes or scores your inbox. |
| AI schedulingAI splits tasks into work sessions and packs them into free time inside your working hours. | Included | Not availableYou drag tasks onto the calendar yourself; nothing fills free time for you. | Not availableThere is no AI in Things; you pick a day for each to-do yourself. | PartialAki AI can plan your day on request; it does not continuously reschedule tasks like Motion or Reclaim. | Not available | Not available | Not availableYou drag tasks into the calendar layout yourself; nothing packs them into free time for you. |
| Voice controlTalk to the app to add and manage tasks hands-free. | Included | PartialVoice input adds tasks on mobile and through Siri; managing existing tasks is not hands-free. | PartialSiri can add to-dos and the Apple Watch takes dictation; there is no in-app voice assistant. | Not available | Not available | Not available | PartialRamble turns speech into tasks, with 10 sessions a month on the free plan; managing existing tasks still needs a tap. |
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in email clientRead, reply, archive, label and search your inbox without leaving the app. | Included | Not availableEmail gets in by forwarding to a list address; you cannot read or reply inside the app. | Not availableMail to Things turns forwarded emails into to-dos; you cannot read or reply inside the app. | Not available | Not available | Not availableNotion Mail, a Gmail-only client, was discontinued on 22 September 2026. | Not availableEmail reaches Todoist by forwarding or through the Gmail and Outlook add-ons; you cannot read or reply inside the app. |
| Email to taskTurn an email into a task with one action and keep the thread linked to it. | Included | PartialForward an email to a list’s address or use the Gmail add-on; the task keeps the text, not a live link to the thread. | PartialForward to your Mail to Things address, or drag a message from Apple Mail to get a link back to it. | Included | Included | Not availableVia third-party tools such as Zapier; there is no native Gmail action since Notion Mail was retired. | Included |
| One-click unsubscribeBulk unsubscribe from newsletters using RFC 8058 one-click links. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Calendar
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time blockingDrag tasks onto the calendar as work sessions, resize them and split a task across several sessions. | Included | IncludedTasks with durations can be dragged onto the calendar, but the day and week grids need Premium. | Not availableTo-dos get a day and an optional reminder time, not a slot on a calendar. | Included | PartialPlanner on Standard and above lets you drag cards into calendar slots; the Free plan has no Planner. | PartialNotion Calendar, a separate app, lets you drag database items into time slots, but they do not appear in Google Calendar. | IncludedRequires the Pro calendar layout, where tasks with durations can be dragged into time slots. |
| Google Calendar syncRead events to find free time and write back only the sessions you choose to sync. | IncludedReads events to find free time and writes only the sessions you choose to sync. | PartialTwo-way Google Calendar sync exists, but calendar subscriptions are a Premium feature. | PartialThings reads events from any calendar set up in Apple Calendar, including Google, but never writes anything back. | Included | PartialThrough Planner on Standard and above, with one Google or Outlook account connected at a time. | PartialNotion Calendar shows Google events beside your databases, but database items do not sync into Google Calendar. | Included |
Automation
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual automation builderNode-based rules with triggers, conditions and actions across both email and tasks, with live match preview. | Included | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier or IFTTT rather than inside the app. | Not availableAutomation happens outside the app through Shortcuts, AppleScript and the URL scheme. | PartialScheduled AI workflows can send summaries and check-ins; there is no trigger/condition/action rule builder. | PartialButler rules with triggers and actions for cards only, with a monthly run cap on Free. | PartialDatabase automations with triggers and actions need Plus or above and cover databases only. | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier, Make or IFTTT rather than inside the app. |
| AI auto-replyAn automation step that drafts or sends an email reply from plain-English instructions. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not availableNotion Mail’s AI drafting retired with the app in September 2026. | Not available |
Integrations
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Contacts syncTwo-way sync with your address book so contacts can be linked to tasks and mentioned in notes. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Slack integrationSync a task list to a Slack board and add tasks with slash commands. | Included | PartialThe official Slack app adds tasks with /ticktick and a message action; it does not sync a list to a Slack board. | PartialOnly through Zapier or Make routed via Mail to Things; there is no Slack app. | PartialTurns Slack messages into tasks and syncs your status; no list sync or slash commands. | Included | Included | PartialThe official Slack app adds tasks with /todoist and a message action; it does not sync a list to a Slack board. |
| Claude MCP connectorConnect the app to Claude through the Model Context Protocol and manage tasks from a chat. | Included | Included | PartialNo official server; community MCP servers use the local Things database or the URL scheme on a Mac. | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Platforms
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offline-firstWorks without a connection and syncs changes when you are back online. | Included | Included | Included | PartialThe desktop app tolerates short connection drops, but full offline editing is not supported. | PartialiOS and Android only; the desktop app and web need a connection. | PartialDesktop and mobile apps cache pages you mark as available offline for up to 72 hours; the web app needs a connection. | Included |
| Desktop appA native desktop app for macOS. | IncludedmacOS today; Windows and Linux coming soon. | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Mobile appApps for iPhone and Android. | Included | Included | PartialiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Vision Pro only; there is no Android app. | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Pricing
| Feature | Fluidwave | TickTick | Things 3 | Akiflow | Trello | Notion | Todoist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free planA usable free plan with no credit card required. | Included | Included | Not availableEach platform is a one-time purchase; only the Mac app offers a 15-day trial. | Not available | Included | Included | Included |
What to look for in a Todoist replacement
Keep what Todoist got right and add what it lacks. That usually means four things.
- Capture speed. Do not accept a worse quick add. Look for a single sentence that parses date, time, recurrence, priority and reminders, not just a date picker that understands “tomorrow”.
- A list that ranks itself. Manual priorities are universal. Automatic prioritization that resorts by due date, quick wins and importance, and hides tasks you cannot act on yet, is what turns a list into a plan.
- A calendar the tasks land on. Ideally drag-to-calendar sessions with a two-way Google Calendar link, and AI that can fill free time when you ask.
- Email in the same place. If most tasks begin as emails, a task manager with Gmail integration that reads and replies inside the app removes the forwarding step entirely.
Also check offline support, since Todoist sets a high bar there, and whether the free plan caps projects or lists the way Todoist and TickTick do. Habit tracking, dependencies and a waiting status are the smaller gaps; TickTick, Fluidwave and Notion cover them to different degrees.
How we ranked these alternatives
Every entry uses the same competitor profile we rely on across the site, with matching pros, cons and prices, so nothing is described more kindly here than on its own page. We did not use ratings, user counts or awards.
We ranked by how much each tool adds on top of what Todoist already does well: prioritization, calendar, email, habits and dependencies. Then we weighed the cost of switching, including the free plan, offline support, platform coverage and how much of Todoist’s capture speed survives.
Fluidwave is first because it keeps sentence-level natural-language input and offline sync, adds auto-prioritization, AI time blocking, a full Gmail client and habits, and is free forever with no project cap. Its limits are real: Gmail-only email, a macOS-only desktop app for now, and no Todoist import yet. TickTick is the closest like-for-like swap. Things 3 suits Apple-only users who want to buy once. Akiflow adds serious time blocking for a serious price, Trello suits board thinkers, and Notion suits people who want tasks next to their notes. All but Things 3 offer an official MCP connector, so Claude can manage your tasks wherever you land.
Frequently asked questions
Switching from Todoist?
Bring your tasks, Gmail and Google Calendar into one free app and let Fluidwave decide what comes next. No credit card.