Things 3 vs Todoist: An Honest 2026 Comparison

Things 3 vs Todoist is the comparison Apple users run when a basic list stops being enough. Things 3 is a beautifully designed, Apple-only task manager sold as a one-time purchase per platform. Todoist is a polished, cross-platform task manager sold as a subscription. The platforms you live on decide most of the answer.

Both apps are excellent at the core job of holding tasks. What separates them is philosophy: one is a crafted object for one ecosystem, the other is a utility that follows you everywhere. This comparison walks through pricing models, capture speed, collaboration, and portability, then covers the third option for people whose real frustration is neither design nor platforms.

Things 3 or Todoist: which one should you pick?

Pick Things 3 if you work on Apple devices only, you work alone, and you care about how a tool feels hour to hour. Pick Todoist if you touch Windows, Android, or the web, if you plan with other people, or if you lean on integrations. That is the verdict in one paragraph; the rest of this page is the reasoning.

Things 3 by Cultured Code is routinely cited as the best-designed task manager ever shipped, and it has the Apple Design Awards to show for it. The interaction model is calm: areas, projects, headings, a Today view that behaves like a daily plan rather than a guilt list. It assumes one person, one Apple ID, and no Windows machine anywhere in your life.

Todoist by Doist takes the opposite bet. It runs natively on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, the web, and in browser extensions, syncs instantly, and parses natural language better than anything else in the category. It is less beautiful, more ubiquitous.

If Things is close to right but not quite, our Things 3 alternatives roundup covers the Apple-native options, and the Todoist alternatives page does the same for the cross-platform side.

How do the pricing models compare?

Things 3 charges once per platform, with the Mac, iPhone, and iPad versions sold separately. Todoist charges a subscription for its Pro tier, with a usable free plan underneath. The models feel emotionally different long before the math differs: one is a purchase you make peace with, the other is a meter that runs forever.

The shape of each:

Plan detail	Things 3	Todoist
Cost model	One-time per platform	Subscription or free tier
Devices	Mac, iPhone, iPad sold separately	All platforms in one plan
Features gated	None after purchase	Reminders, filters, project limits
Sync	Things Cloud, free with purchase	Included on all tiers
Trial	Mac demo available	Free tier instead of trial

Competitor pricing changes often. Verify current prices on the Things and Todoist pages before deciding. quik.md pricing later in this post is exact.

An honest observation on the math: if you use all three Apple platforms and keep Todoist Pro for three years, the totals land in the same neighborhood. The real pricing question is not which number is bigger. It is whether you resent subscriptions enough to accept Apple's walls, or resent platform lock-in enough to accept a meter.

Which app is faster for capturing tasks?

Both are fast, and both lose to voice. Things 3's quick entry on Mac, with autofill pulling context from other apps, is the fastest typed capture in the Apple world; on iPhone, the share sheet, widget, and Shortcuts support cover most taps. Todoist's global quick add shortcut works on every platform and parses dates inline, which makes it faster once the task has a deadline in it.

The gap shows up in the scenarios. Capturing "email Maya the revised quote Friday" is Todoist's game, because the parser turns it into a dated task in one motion. Capturing a to-do while reading in Safari is Things' game, because quick entry with autofill grabs the page title and link automatically. Neither helps when your hands are busy, which is the scenario voice tools exist for.

What about collaboration and sharing?

Todoist supports collaboration as a first-class feature: shared projects, task assignment, comments, and notifications when things change. Things 3 has no meaningful collaboration at all, no shared projects, no assignment, no comments. It is a personal tool by deliberate design.

This is the hardest line in the comparison. If you plan with a partner, a family, or a team, Things 3 is not a rounding error away from working; it simply does not do the job. If you work entirely alone, Todoist's collaboration features are weight you carry for no benefit, and Things' single-mindedness becomes a virtue.

How do Things 3 and Todoist compare feature by feature?

The quick version before the portability talk:

Feature	Things 3	Todoist
Platforms	Apple only	Every major platform
Design	Category benchmark	Clean, utilitarian
Natural-language parsing	Good on dates	Best in category
Quick capture	Quick entry, share sheet, Shortcuts	Global quick add everywhere
Recurring tasks	Yes, flexible	Yes, very flexible
Calendar integration	Shows calendar events	Calendar via integration
Collaboration	None	Shared projects, comments
API and integrations	Mail to Things, Shortcuts	Large catalog plus API
Export	Limited, mostly PDF or share	CSV per project
Cost model	One-time per platform	Subscription behind free tier

Two rows deserve emphasis. Things' calendar integration, showing your events above today's tasks, is genuinely beloved and changes how people plan a day. Todoist's API and integrations make it the connective tissue in automation stacks, which is why it survives inside teams that could afford anything.

Do you lose your tasks if you switch?

There is no clean automated migration in either direction, so expect manual work. Things 3's export story is thin: you can share or print lists, but there is nothing like CSV export of everything. Todoist exports CSV per project. Moving into Things means recreating tasks by hand or via Shortcuts scripts; moving out means the same in reverse.

The habit transfer takes about two weeks either way. Run both apps in parallel, capturing everything new into the new one, before you delete anything.

Is there a third option for voice capture and markdown?

quik.md is the third option for people whose real problem is that neither app fixed the moment thoughts arrive. You speak a thought, AI organizes it into the right project with the next step written, and every project exports as markdown. It is a PWA that runs in any browser, which also answers the platform question: the free tier works with browser speech recognition and a daily AI-organize cap, on any device with a browser.

The honest framing: quik.md is not a Things replacement or a Todoist replacement. It has no Apple design polish, no shared projects, no calendar view. It exists for the thirty seconds when a thought arrives and typing into any field, on any platform, is too slow. If that moment is your bottleneck, the design-versus-platform debate is solving the wrong problem.

Pricing is simple: free with a daily AI-organize cap, $14.99 monthly, $69.99 yearly, or $99.99 once for lifetime, which incidentally competes with the one-time-purchase appeal on Things' side too. Pro comes with a 7-day trial. For the detailed head-to-heads, see quik.md vs Things and quik.md vs Todoist.

A split that works well: quik.md as the capture layer upstream, Things or Todoist as the structured system downstream. Markdown export makes the handoff clean, because voice-captured tasks arrive in a format any tool can read.

FAQ

Is Things 3 better than Todoist?

For solo users inside the Apple ecosystem, many people find Things 3 the more pleasant tool: the design is exceptional, the interaction model is calm, and the one-time pricing avoids subscriptions. Todoist is better for cross-platform work, team collaboration, integrations, and natural-language parsing. Neither is strictly better; the platforms you use decide most of it.

Does Things 3 work on Windows or Android?

No. Things 3 runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and Apple Watch only, and there is no web app as of 2026. If any part of your work happens on Windows, Android, or a browser on a shared machine, Things cannot cover it and Todoist can.

Can you collaborate in Things 3?

Not in any real sense. Things 3 has no shared projects, task assignment, or comments; it is a personal task manager by design. Todoist supports shared projects, assignment, comments, and activity history, which makes it the default answer for households or teams that plan together.

Is Things 3 really a one-time purchase?

Yes, but per platform: the Mac, iPhone, and iPad versions are separate purchases, and the iPhone version is required for capture on the go. As of 2026 the combined cost across devices is meaningful but finite, while Todoist's useful features sit behind an ongoing subscription. Check each vendor's current pricing before deciding.

Can I migrate from Things 3 to Todoist, or back?

There is no clean automated path in either direction. Things 3 has limited export options and Todoist imports mainly via CSV or its integrations, so expect to recreate active tasks manually and rebuild recurring rules by hand. Move active tasks only, and run both apps in parallel for two weeks.

What is a good alternative to both Things 3 and Todoist?

If your friction is getting thoughts captured before they fade, quik.md is a voice-first alternative. You speak a thought, AI files it into the right project with a next step, and every project exports as markdown. It runs in any browser, so it covers the platforms Things 3 cannot.

Related reads

• Things 3 alternatives: honest picks
• quik.md vs Things: full comparison
• Todoist alternatives: 8 honest picks
• quik.md vs Todoist: full comparison