Best-of guide
The best free task managers in 2026
Seven task managers you can use without paying, ranked on what the free plan actually includes, where the caps are, and whether a card or a seat minimum is hiding anywhere.
Updated September 22, 2026
How we ranked them
- What is actually included at $0: tasks, projects, views, sync, offline?
- Where are the caps: number of projects, lists, tasks, users or automation runs?
- Which features sit behind the paywall, and are they the ones you need daily?
- Does it work on every device you own, including offline?
- Is there a credit card, trial clock or seat minimum hiding anywhere?
- How does the company make money, and will that change the free plan?
Tasks, email, calendar and contacts with AI, so you always know what to do next.
Fluidwave is the only entry that is free without a paid tier waiting behind it: free forever, no subscription, no credit card. That covers everything, including AI triage for Gmail, auto-prioritization, AI time blocking on Google Calendar, the visual automation builder, Kanban and Gantt views, habits and goals, offline sync, voice control and a Claude MCP connector. The company plans to earn from an optional human task-delegation marketplace instead. The limits are Gmail-only email, a macOS-only desktop app today, and a focus on individuals and small teams rather than large portfolios.
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
Todoist
A cross-platform to-do list known for natural-language capture and a large integration ecosystem.
Todoist’s free plan is a fast, dependable to-do list on every platform, including Windows, Linux, Apple Watch and Wear OS, with the best natural-language quick add around and full offline support. Two-way Google Calendar sync and an official MCP server are included. The cap is five personal projects, and the calendar layout, task durations, custom reminders and most of Todoist Assist sit behind Pro at $5 a month on annual billing. For a simple list that never gets in the way, it is still the benchmark.
Pros
- Best-in-class natural-language quick add that parses dates, projects, labels and priorities as you type.
- Apps for every platform, including Windows, Linux, Apple Watch and Wear OS, all working offline.
- An official MCP server at ai.todoist.net lets Claude and other agents read and write your tasks.
- Two-way Google Calendar sync and, on Pro, a calendar layout with task durations for time blocking.
- A mature ecosystem of templates, filters and integrations built up over more than a decade.
Cons
- No email client: email gets in by forwarding or an add-on, so you still triage your inbox in Gmail.
- Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you; ordering, time slots and planning are manual.
- The calendar layout, task durations, custom reminders and unlimited Ramble all sit behind Pro.
- The free plan caps you at five personal projects.
- Pricing:
- From $5/month (annual) Pro is $5/month billed annually ($60/year) or $7 month to month; the free plan is limited to five projects.
- Best for:
- People who want a fast, reliable to-do list on every device and are happy to keep email and calendar in separate apps.
- #3
TickTick
A cross-platform to-do list that bundles a calendar, habit tracker and Pomodoro timer.
TickTick’s free plan packs in a habit tracker with streaks, a Pomodoro timer, Kanban view, natural-language input and offline apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web. It is the most feature-rich free personal task manager on this list after Fluidwave. Limits are 9 lists and 99 tasks per list, day and week calendar grids are Premium only, and nothing prioritizes or schedules for you. Premium at about $4.17 a month is also among the cheapest upgrades if you outgrow the free tier.
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.
- #4
ClickUp
An all-in-one work platform that combines tasks, docs, chat, goals and dashboards.
ClickUp’s Free Forever plan is unusually generous for teams: unlimited tasks and users, Gantt charts, dependencies, calendar view, docs and whiteboards. If you need project structure without paying, it is hard to match. The trade-offs are complexity and the AI add-on: setup and learning take real time, the interface can feel slow, automations are capped at 100 runs a month on Free, Brain costs $9 per user per month on top of a paid plan, and offline mode only lets you create tasks.
Pros
- Free Forever plan includes unlimited tasks and users, Gantt, dependencies and calendar view.
- ClickUp Calendar syncs two-way with Google Calendar and lets you drag tasks in as time blocks.
- Fifteen-plus views, custom fields and custom statuses on every list.
- Docs, whiteboards, chat and time tracking are built in rather than bolted on.
- Official MCP server and a deep Slack integration.
Cons
- The feature surface is enormous, so setup and learning take real time and the interface can feel slow.
- AI is a separate add-on: Brain costs $9 per user per month on top of a paid plan, and Everything AI costs $28.
- Email lives inside tasks rather than in an inbox, so you still need a separate mail client.
- Offline mode only lets you create tasks; existing tasks cannot be edited without a connection.
- Pricing:
- From $7/user/month (annual) Brain AI is a separate $9 per user per month add-on on top of any paid plan; Everything AI is $28.
- Best for:
- Teams that want one configurable workspace for tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards and dashboards and are willing to set it up.
- #5
Trello
A visual Kanban tool for organizing work into boards, lists and cards.
Trello’s Free plan gives you unlimited cards, ten boards per Workspace and Butler automation, with almost no learning curve. Every board has an email address, and the official MCP server and Slack app are on every plan. It is the right free pick if a visual board is all you want. Calendar and Timeline views, Planner and AI features need Standard or Premium, there are no dependencies or auto-prioritization, and 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.
Notion’s free plan is unlimited for a single user, which makes it a strong free option if you want tasks, notes and wikis in one place and enjoy building your own system. Table, board, calendar and timeline views run on the same database, timeline dependencies and repeating templates work on every plan, and there is an official MCP server. Tasks are a database you assemble yourself, with no native prioritization, waiting list or habit tracking, and offline mode caches individual pages for a few days.
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.
- #7
Asana
A work-management platform for coordinating projects, goals and workflows across teams.
Asana’s Personal plan is free for up to two users and brings list, board and calendar views with unlimited tasks, plus the Gmail and Outlook add-ons, Slack app and MCP server. It is the free pick for someone who expects to grow into portfolios and goals later. The two-user cap is new, Timeline, dependencies, rules and custom fields need Starter at $10.99 per user per month, and offline editing exists only on Android.
Pros
- Mature project tooling: portfolios, goals, workload, dashboards and a well-tested rules engine.
- Official MCP server, Slack app and Gmail and Outlook add-ons that turn email into tasks.
- AI Studio lets you write plain-English instructions that classify and route work.
- List, board, calendar and timeline views on the same project, with native apps on every platform.
- Free and unlimited guests on paid plans.
Cons
- Email stays in Gmail or Outlook; Asana only imports tasks from it and cannot read, reply or triage your inbox.
- Timeline, dependencies, rules, custom fields and most Asana AI need Starter at $10.99 per user per month.
- The Personal plan now caps at two users, and offline editing exists only on Android.
- Nothing places tasks on your calendar; the Google Calendar integration is one-way and there is no time blocking.
- Pricing:
- From $10.99/user/month (annual) The Personal plan caps at two users; Timeline, rules, custom fields and most Asana AI need Starter or above.
- Best for:
- Teams that run many cross-functional projects and want portfolios, goals and reporting on top of task tracking.
Feature comparison
Tasks
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | TickTick | ClickUp | Trello | Notion | Asana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Included | PartialQuick-create parses dates like "tomorrow at 3pm"; priority and recurrence are set from menus. | 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. | PartialAsana AI can draft tasks from a prompt on paid plans, but the quick-add box does not parse dates, priority or recurrence. |
| 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 |
Views
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | TickTick | ClickUp | Trello | Notion | Asana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanban boardDrag tasks between status columns. | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Calendar viewSee tasks and events side by side in a day, week or month grid. | Included | PartialThe calendar layout is Pro only; the free plan shows Upcoming as a list grouped by day. | PartialThe free plan has a month view; day, week and multi-day grids need Premium. | Included | PartialCalendar view needs Premium; Planner on Standard gives a personal day view. | Included | Included |
Integrations
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | TickTick | ClickUp | Trello | Notion | Asana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude MCP connectorConnect the app to Claude through the Model Context Protocol and manage tasks from a chat. | Included | Included | Included | IncludedOfficial hosted server at mcp.clickup.com, currently in public beta. | Included | Included | Included |
Platforms
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | TickTick | ClickUp | Trello | Notion | Asana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offline-firstWorks without a connection and syncs changes when you are back online. | Included | Included | Included | PartialYou can create tasks and reminders offline, but existing tasks and notes cannot be edited until you reconnect. | 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. | PartialAndroid only; web, desktop and iOS need a connection. |
| Mobile appApps for iPhone and Android. | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Pricing
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | TickTick | ClickUp | Trello | Notion | Asana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free planA usable free plan with no credit card required. | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
What makes a free task manager actually free
Every task app has a free plan. The question is whether you can live on it. We judge a free tier by what happens on an ordinary Tuesday, not by the length of the feature table.
The daily features are free. Adding a task in plain English, setting a recurring task, seeing today on a calendar, and reordering by priority should not cost money. A free plan that hides the calendar grid or task durations is a trial with no end date.
The caps are far away. Five projects or nine lists sound fine until your sixth client shows up. Look at the number that will bite first for your situation.
It works everywhere. Free should include the phone, the desktop and offline use. Sync that only runs on paid plans turns a free app into a single-device notepad.
No card, no clock, no seat minimum. A trial that asks for a card is not free, and a plan that requires three seats is not free for one person.
A believable business model. Free plans get squeezed when a company needs revenue. Fluidwave is free forever because it plans to earn from an optional delegation marketplace rather than from your subscription; other companies use the free tier as a funnel to Pro, which is legitimate but worth knowing. If you are weighing a specific upgrade, our Todoist alternatives page shows what each paid tier buys.
How we evaluated and ranked these apps
We compared each product’s free plan as published on its pricing page and documentation in September 2026 against the six criteria at the top of this page. We did not live on each free plan for a week; we read the fine print instead.
What the free plan includes for a daily loop carried the most weight: adding a task in plain English, recurring tasks, a calendar view, a Kanban board and reordering by priority. Where the caps sit came next, expressed as the first limit a typical individual or small team would hit. Which features are paywalled was scored by how central they are to daily use, so a paid calendar grid costs more points than a paid dashboard. Device coverage and offline support, and any card, trial clock or seat minimum, followed. Finally we considered each company’s business model, because free plans shrink when the funnel needs to convert.
Fluidwave is our product and its free plan has no caps, but we list its real limits, Gmail-only email, macOS-only desktop today and no large-portfolio tooling, next to everyone else’s. ClickUp’s and Notion’s free tiers are genuinely generous for what they are, and the verdicts credit them for it.
Free for individuals versus free for teams
Free plans are designed for different people, and choosing by headline generosity misses that.
Free for one person. Fluidwave, Todoist, TickTick and Notion are built around a single user’s day. Fluidwave adds email, calendar and AI without a paywall; Todoist and TickTick are lean lists with tight caps on projects; Notion is a blank workspace you assemble. If you are a solo operator, our freelancers guide walks through setting one up, and the free daily task generator helps on the first morning.
Free for a small team. ClickUp, Trello and Asana give teams boards, assignees and comments at no cost. ClickUp is the most complete, with Gantt and dependencies included; Trello is the simplest; Asana’s Personal plan now stops at two users. Their free tiers are funnels to per-seat plans, so check the price of the first feature you will need. See ClickUp alternatives and Trello alternatives for what happens after the cap.
Free for now versus free forever. monday.com and Taskade also have free tiers, but with no automations or integrations on monday.com’s and one-time AI credits on Taskade’s, we chose to leave them off this list; on paper their free tiers read more like extended trials than plans you could stay on.
The practical advice: pick the app whose free plan covers your daily loop today, and treat the upgrade path as a separate decision for later.
Frequently asked questions
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