Todoist vs TickTick vs Things 3: 5 To-Do Apps Ranked (2026)

To-do apps are the most-downloaded productivity category after note-taking, and they are also the category where users most often abandon and re-download competitors. The reason shows up in the 1-3 star reviews. A task you forgot to mark complete sits there for months. A reminder that did not fire made you miss a deadline. A subscription that renewed at $49.99 for features you never used. Between 2022 and 2025, the category moved aggressively toward subscription pricing. Todoist made natural-language input and reminders Premium-only. TickTick pushed calendar view, custom themes, and Siri integration behind Premium. Things 3 stayed one-time-purchase but Apple-only. Microsoft To Do and Apple Reminders remained free but feature-limited. App Store ratings sit between 4.5 and 4.8 but the 1-star reviews reveal the gap between marketing and daily use.

We pulled the latest 1-star and 2-star reviews on the 5 most-used to-do apps in early 2026. The complaints cluster around five themes: reminder reliability, subscription paywall on features users assumed were free, cross-platform sync delays, natural-language input quality, and the question of whether AI-powered task suggestions deliver enough value to justify the upgrade.

Apps Analyzed

• Todoist: Cross-platform task manager with natural-language input. Free tier with 5 projects, Pro at $4 monthly or $36 annually. Targets users who want a single app across iOS, Android, web, and desktop.
• TickTick: Cross-platform task manager with built-in calendar and Pomodoro timer. Free tier; Premium at $35.99 annually. Targets users who want time-blocking and task management in one app.
• Things 3: Apple-only task manager with a one-time purchase model. iOS at $9.99, iPad at $19.99, macOS at $49.99, no subscription. Targets users in the Apple ecosystem who want a polished UI.
• Microsoft To Do: Free task manager integrated with Outlook and Microsoft 365. Free across iOS, Android, web, Windows. Targets Microsoft 365 users.
• Apple Reminders: Built-in iOS and macOS reminders app. Free, no subscription. Targets users in the Apple ecosystem.

Top Complaints Across All 5 To-Do Apps

Five complaints repeat across every major to-do app in the 1-3 star review pool.

1. Reminders fail silently after OS updates. Every to-do app in this group has reviews describing reminders that did not fire after iOS 17 or 18 updates. The cause is usually notification permission reset but the user impact is the same: a missed task.

2. Sync between devices lags 30-120 seconds. Reviews describe completing a task on phone and seeing it incomplete on laptop minutes later. The lag is normal cloud sync timing but feels broken in real time.

3. Subscription paywall on natural-language input. Reviews from long-time Todoist and TickTick users describe natural-language input being the original reason they downloaded the app and finding it now requires Premium.

4. Recurring tasks edge cases. All five apps support recurring tasks but each has specific bugs around "every other Tuesday", "the last day of the month", "every weekday except Wednesday". Reviews describe specific patterns failing or creating duplicates.

5. Customer support email-only and slow. Phone support does not exist at any of these apps. Reviews describe waiting 5-14 days for email-only responses on issues like missing subscriptions and sync failures.

Ranked by Complaint Rate (Worst to Least Bad)

1. Todoist: Subscription Paywall on Natural-Language Input

Todoist was the cross-platform task manager that other apps measured themselves against for a decade. The 1-3 star reviews describe a steady migration of features behind the Pro subscription that frustrates long-time users.

Pattern 1: Natural-language input feels gated. Reviews describe natural-language input working for basic phrases on the free tier but specific power features (location reminders, recurring patterns like "every other Tuesday") requiring Pro. The boundary feels arbitrary.

Pattern 2: Reminder feature requires Pro. Reviews describe creating a task with a due date on the free tier and discovering reminders are Pro-only. The free tier shows the due date but does not fire a reminder.

Pattern 3: Project limit dropped from 80 to 5 in 2023. Reviews from long-time users describe the free tier project limit being aggressively cut. Power users were grandfathered briefly and then forced to upgrade or consolidate.

Pattern 4: Filter feature limited on free tier. Reviews describe wanting custom filters like "today AND not work" and finding the filter feature limited to predefined filters on the free tier.

Pattern 5: Karma feature gamification annoying. Reviews describe the Karma productivity score appearing on the main screen and being unable to hide it without Pro. The gamification clashes with users who want a minimal UI.

Star rating reality: iOS ~4.8, Google Play ~4.6. The store rating reflects the long-tenured power-user satisfaction; the 1-star tier is feature gating and price increases.

2. TickTick: Premium Gating of Calendar and Siri

TickTick positioned itself as Todoist plus calendar plus Pomodoro. The 1-3 star reviews describe the all-in-one positioning losing credibility as Premium gates expand.

Pattern 1: Calendar view requires Premium. Reviews describe being shown the calendar view in onboarding and finding it requires Premium ($35.99 annually). The free tier shows a teaser.

Pattern 2: Siri integration requires Premium on iOS. Reviews describe wanting to add tasks via Siri and finding the integration gated behind Premium. Microsoft To Do and Apple Reminders offer Siri free.

Pattern 3: Pomodoro timer requires Premium for advanced settings. Reviews describe expecting full Pomodoro functionality on the free tier and finding focus history, custom intervals, and white noise gated behind Premium.

Pattern 4: Recurring task patterns inconsistent. Reviews describe specific recurring patterns ("the last weekday of the month") failing or creating tasks on the wrong day.

Pattern 5: Sync between iOS and Android slower than Todoist. Reviews from cross-platform households describe TickTick sync lag of 30-90 seconds between devices, slower than Todoist's near-real-time sync.

Star rating reality: iOS ~4.8, Google Play ~4.5. The store rating reflects the all-in-one appeal; the 1-star tier is Premium gating and sync lag.

3. Microsoft To Do: Wunderlist Promises Unfulfilled

Microsoft acquired Wunderlist in 2015 and shut it down in 2020 with the promise that Microsoft To Do would be the spiritual successor. The 1-3 star reviews describe Wunderlist features that never made the migration.

Pattern 1: List sharing limited compared to Wunderlist. Reviews describe sharing lists with non-Microsoft users and finding the share-link experience worse than Wunderlist offered. Sharing with Microsoft 365 users works smoothly; sharing externally requires guest accounts.

Pattern 2: Subtask depth limited to one level. Reviews describe wanting nested subtasks like Things 3 or Notion offers and finding To Do supports only one level of subtasks. The hierarchy is shallower than the marketing implies.

Pattern 3: My Day feature resets confusing. Reviews describe adding tasks to My Day and finding the list reset at midnight with no way to keep the same set of tasks visible the next day automatically.

Pattern 4: Outlook task sync inconsistent. Reviews describe creating a task in Outlook and not seeing it in Microsoft To Do until the next sync cycle, sometimes 5-15 minutes.

Pattern 5: Customer support routes to Microsoft 365 support. Reviews describe filing a support ticket and being routed to general Microsoft 365 support that does not have To Do specialists.

Star rating reality: iOS ~4.8, Google Play ~4.6. The store rating reflects the free price; the 1-star tier is Wunderlist nostalgia and feature gaps.

4. Things 3: Apple-Only Lock-In, $79 Across Devices

Things 3 from Cultured Code is one of the few productivity apps that stayed one-time-purchase. The 1-3 star reviews describe the cumulative price of buying it on iPhone, iPad, and Mac and the Apple-only ecosystem lock-in.

Pattern 1: Cumulative cost across devices reaches $79.97. Reviews describe paying $9.99 on iPhone, $19.99 on iPad, and $49.99 on macOS. The pricing is one-time but the cumulative figure surprises users who expected a single purchase to cover all devices.

Pattern 2: No Android, no Windows, no web app. Reviews from users with mixed-platform households describe being unable to share or collaborate. Cultured Code is explicit about the Apple-only position.

Pattern 3: Collaboration features absent. Reviews describe wanting to share a Things project with a family member or coworker and finding no native collaboration. Workarounds via shared Reminders lists are not equivalent.

Pattern 4: No web sync to non-Apple devices. Reviews from users who switch to a work Windows laptop describe being unable to access Things tasks during work hours.

Pattern 5: Updates infrequent. Reviews describe years between major feature additions. Cultured Code is small and the slow update cadence is by design but reviews compare it unfavorably to Todoist's update cadence.

Star rating reality: iOS ~4.9, macOS ~4.8. The store rating reflects power-user satisfaction with the design; the 1-star tier is platform availability and cumulative cost.

5. Apple Reminders: Sync Lag, Limited Natural-Language Input

Apple Reminders is free, ships with iOS and macOS, and improved significantly in iOS 13. The 1-3 star reviews describe a feature set that has caught up to mid-tier paid apps but still trails Todoist on natural-language input.

Pattern 1: Natural-language input weaker than Todoist. Reviews describe typing "remind me to call mom Thursday at 7pm" and getting partial parsing. Apple improved this in iOS 17-18 but the gap to Todoist Pro is still visible.

Pattern 2: Sync between iPhone and iPad lags after airplane mode. Reviews describe completing a reminder on iPhone in low connectivity and finding it incomplete on iPad later. iCloud sync is reliable on good connectivity but degrades in spotty conditions.

Pattern 3: Shared lists with family members duplicate occasionally. Reviews describe shared Reminders lists creating duplicate items when both family members add the same task quickly.

Pattern 4: Smart Lists limited. Reviews describe wanting custom filters like "today AND high priority AND not work" and finding Smart Lists supports a fixed set of filter combinations.

Pattern 5: Reminder notifications can stack and overwhelm. Reviews describe creating dozens of recurring reminders and getting a wall of notifications in the morning. The notification grouping options are limited.

Star rating reality: Apple Reminders does not have an App Store rating as it is a system app. Complaints surface in Apple Support communities and in iOS feedback channels.

How to Decide Between These 5 To-Do Apps

Five practical rules to apply before committing.

• Decide on platform reach first. If you have Android, Windows, or web requirements, eliminate Things 3 and Apple Reminders. If you live in the Apple ecosystem, Things 3 becomes a serious contender despite the price.

• Decide on subscription tolerance. Todoist and TickTick require Premium for full functionality. Things 3 is one-time. Microsoft To Do and Apple Reminders are free. Match the pricing model to your willingness to pay.

• Test natural-language input on your actual phrases. Type the kind of task you actually create. Compare what each app parses correctly. Natural-language quality is where free and paid apps diverge most.

• Verify reminder reliability after a recent OS update. Create a 5-minute reminder, lock the phone, wait. If the notification does not fire, check notification permissions. The reliability test predicts everyday performance.

• Test the recurring task pattern you actually need. "Every other Tuesday", "the last day of the month", "every weekday except Wednesday". Try the pattern you actually use. Recurring task behavior is the most common 1-star complaint.

Read the Negative Reviews Before You Subscribe

A $35.99 annual to-do app subscription compounds, and the renewal happens silently for most users after the first year of high motivation. The fastest way to figure out whether a specific to-do app delivers the experience you want is to read recent 1-star reviews filtered by date. Unstar.app lets you pull the most recent negative reviews for any of these five apps in seconds, with date filtering and sentiment clustering on the reminder-reliability, subscription, and sync patterns.

Related reading: Notion vs Evernote vs Obsidian: 5 Note-Taking Apps Ranked covers the productivity-app neighbor to to-do apps. Productivity App Reviews: What Power Users Complain About covers the broader productivity-app pattern that overlaps with task management. Fantastical vs Google vs Apple Calendar: 5 Calendar Apps Ranked covers the calendar-app category that lives next to a to-do app for most users.