TL;DR
Things vs Todoist: For most Mac users in 2026, Todoist is the better choice for notes because it is free while Things charges for full use. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose Things instead if tasks support is your priority.
Which is better: Things or Todoist?
Todoist is the top pick for most Mac users looking at notes — it is free and installs in one Homebrew command. Things is the stronger choice if you prefer its notes ecosystem. Both are worth trying.
Things vs Todoist
Which is the better notes for Mac in 2026?
We compared Things and Todoist across 6 key factors including price, open-source status, and community adoption. Read our full breakdown below.
Things
Award-winning personal task manager for Mac with a clean design and powerful organization features.
Todoist
To-do list and task manager
Visual Comparison
Todoist
Todoist — Official Website
Our Verdict
For most Mac users in 2026, Todoist is the better choice for notes because it is free while Things charges for full use. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose Things instead if tasks support is your priority.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Things | Todoist |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid | Free |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Replaces | — | Things 3 ($49.99) |
| Best for | tasks, to-do, gtd | tasks, todo, productivity |
| Install | brew install --cask things | brew install --cask todoist |
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
Quick Install
brew install --cask thingsbrew install --cask todoistLearn More
In-Depth Overview
What is Things?
Things 3 by Cultured Code is the personal task manager for Apple platforms - Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro - sold as separate App Store purchases rather than a single subscription for core features. As of August 2026 the Mac app lists around $49.99 (version 3.22.13, released 2026-08-03 on the US Mac App Store), with iPhone commonly around $9.99 and iPad around $19.99. Things Cloud sync is included free for legitimate owners. The product philosophy prioritizes clarity over feature sprawl: Areas, Projects, Headings, checklists, deadlines versus when-dates, the Tonight concept, and a quick-find omnibar that feels native on macOS. The 3.22 line continues Tahoe-era visual and interaction work. Cultured Code's public reputation remains reliability and restraint rather than AI maximalism. Things deliberately skips deep third-party integration marketplaces and clients outside Apple. That choice is either a dealbreaker or the entire point, depending on whether your workday leaves the Apple orbit.
What is Todoist?
Todoist by Doist is a freemium cross-platform task manager spanning Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and web, with a long-standing reputation for natural-language task capture and filter-based productivity systems. By August 2026 the plan matrix is Beginner (free), Pro, and Business on todoist.com/pricing and the plans FAQ: Pro is $7/month or $60/year; Business is $10/user/month or $8/user/month billed yearly. The 2026 changelog shows continued product velocity - Insights expanded to Pro on 16 July 2026, project/section descriptions on 9 July 2026, desktop notes in the 9.x line, plus calendar layout and Upcoming refinements. Todoist Assist features (Task Assist, Email Assist, capture helpers) and Ramble voice-to-tasks differentiate the modern Pro tier from a plain list app. SOC 2 Type II positioning and team roles make it credible for light organizational use, while Karma visualizations keep solo gamification available. It is less designed like a native Apple instrument than Things, and more available everywhere your work actually happens.
Detailed Feature Comparison
Design & Focus
CriticalThings remains the design benchmark. Typography, spacing, animations, and information hierarchy reduce cognitive load. The app actively resists clutter, which helps GTD-style weekly reviews feel calm rather than administrative. On Mac, the 3.22 line keeps Tahoe-era spacing and hierarchy that make weekly review feel like scanning a short list rather than managing a dashboard.
Todoist is clean and faster than many web-first tools, with board/list/calendar layouts. It is not ugly, but it does not match Things' Apple-native editorial polish. Power features add density that some users love and others find noisier. Board, list, and calendar layouts cover more surfaces, so density rises once you turn on filters, labels, and Assist panels together.
Verdict: Things still wins pure design and focus on Apple.
Capture & Natural Language
HighQuick Entry on Mac is excellent with keyboard shortcuts and natural-ish parsing for dates. It is fast for Apple users who live in the app. It is not as universally praised as Todoist's Quick Add language for complex recurring phrases across platforms. Quick Entry covers dates well for people who live inside the Mac app; complex recurring phrases across platforms still land more cleanly in Todoist.
Smart Quick Add remains a hallmark: type "Submit invoice every last Friday p1 #Finance" and get structured tasks. Combined with Ramble voice capture and Assist features on Pro, Todoist is built for frictionless intake from many surfaces. Typing a phrase like "Submit invoice every last Friday p1 #Finance" still structures the task in one shot, and Pro adds Ramble plus Assist when voice or draft help is useful.
Verdict: Todoist still leads intake speed and NLP breadth.
Collaboration & Teams
HighThings is personal-first. There is no Todoist-style Business workspace with roles, centralized billing, and large team project graphs. Sharing is not the product's center of gravity. Family Sharing on App Store purchases is not a substitute for role-based team workspaces.
Shared projects exist across plans; Business adds team workspace structure, up to 500 team projects, roles/permissions, guests, templates, and admin-friendly billing. For client work and small teams this is decisive. Business caps reach toward large team project graphs with guests and templates that Things never attempts.
Verdict: Todoist wins collaboration outright.
Platform Availability
CriticalApple only: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Watch, Vision. No Windows/Android/web client. If your life includes a Windows office PC, Things cannot be the system of record. Vision Pro support exists inside Apple's orbit, but a Windows office PC still forces a second system of record.
Mac/Windows/Linux/iOS/Android/web with consistent sync. The Mac app is capable even if less "Apple pure" than Things. Sync stays consistent enough that the Mac client can sit beside a Windows VDI session without rewriting your lists.
Verdict: Mixed-device life favors Todoist.
Pricing Model
HighOne-time App Store purchases per platform; free Things Cloud. Rough US totals near $50 Mac + $10 iPhone + $20 iPad if you want the full phone/tablet set. No subscription for core task management. Future major versions may be paid upgrades historically, but 3.x updates including 3.22.x remain free to 3.x owners. Rough US totals near $50 Mac plus $10 iPhone plus $20 iPad remain the planning baseline for a full personal set.
Free Beginner is real but limited (5 projects, 3 filters, 1-week history). Pro at $60/year is the practical plan for calendar layout, custom reminders depth, and unlimited Ramble/Assist. Business is per seat. Subscriptions fund ongoing multi-platform development and AI features. Beginner remains usable for light lists; Pro at $60/year is where calendar layout, custom reminders depth, and unlimited Ramble/Assist usually unlock.
Verdict: Things wins buy-once personal ownership; Todoist wins if you need continuous multi-platform SaaS features.
Filters, Views & Planning
HighToday, Upcoming, Moments of triage via Anytime/Someday, project headings, and tags create a humane planning system without query languages. Calendar integration and deadline semantics are thoughtful for personal planning. Deadline versus when-date semantics keep personal planning readable without learning a filter language.
Labels, priorities, filter query language (up to 150 filters on Pro), list/board/calendar layouts, task durations, deadlines, and Upcoming views support elaborate systems. Insights on Pro (as of July 2026) add progress telemetry previously Business-skewed. Pro allows up to 150 filters, and Insights on Pro (July 2026) adds progress telemetry that used to sit closer to Business.
Verdict: Things for humane structure; Todoist for query power.
AI & Automation (2026)
MediumThings stays intentionally restrained. You will not find Todoist-style Assist bundles inside Things; automation usually means Shortcuts, mail-to-Things patterns, and human discipline. Many users consider that a feature. Shortcuts and mail-to-Things patterns cover most solo automation without an Assist product surface.
Ramble, Task Assist, Email Assist, and related Assist surfaces on Pro/Business push Todoist into AI-assisted productivity without forcing them on free Beginner users beyond limited Ramble sessions. Quality varies by workflow, but the roadmap is clearly AI-augmented. Free Beginner keeps Ramble limited; paid plans carry the Assist bundle that capture-heavy users actually notice day to day.
Verdict: Todoist leads built-in AI assistance; Things leads intentional simplicity.
Integrations
MediumDeep Apple ecosystem hooks and URL schemes; fewer third-party SaaS integrations than Todoist's catalog. Ideal inside Apple, limited as a hub for heterogeneous tools. URL schemes and Apple hooks beat third-party catalogs when your stack is already Shortcuts, Calendar, and Mail.
Large integration surface (email, calendars, automation tools, 90+ integrations messaging on marketing surfaces) and API/CLI/MCP reach for agentic setups noted in 2026 product notes. Marketing surfaces cite 90+ integrations, with API/CLI/MCP notes in 2026 product materials for agentic setups.
Verdict: Todoist is the integration hub; Things is the Apple instrument.
Who Should Choose Which?
1Independent designer on Mac and iPhone only
Pay once, sync free with Things Cloud, and keep a personal UX without a yearly Pro bill.
2PM spanning Mac, Windows VDI, and Android
Only Todoist covers that device graph with shared projects and filters in one account.
3Founder doing personal GTD plus light team tasks
Start on Pro for personal depth, then move seats to Business when shared workspace overhead appears.
4Privacy-minded Apple power user who hates SaaS churn
Local-feeling personal system with free Cloud and no Assist marketing treadmill.
Migration Guide
Things → Todoist
Export tasks from Things (CSV/tools/integrations where available), recreate Areas as projects or labels, rebuild Today habits with filters, and schedule a week of dual use. Expect to pay Pro quickly if you need calendar layout and advanced reminders. Keep the Things library readable until Todoist search and filters match your daily paths.
Todoist → Things
Export Todoist tasks and projects, then simplify: collapse label spaghetti into Things tags and headings, drop team-only workflows, buy Mac and iPhone licenses, and accept Apple-only life. Do this only if collaboration is truly gone from your week.
Pro Tips
Do not migrate for aesthetics alone if colleagues assign you tasks in Todoist. Conversely, do not stay on Todoist Pro out of inertia if you are Apple-only and using a thin slice of Pro features - Things may be calmer and cheaper over two years.
Final Verdict
tie
Winner
Runner-up
August 2026 research keeps this as a context tie. Things 3.22.x on Mac is still the most refined personal Apple task manager with honest one-time pricing. Todoist's 2026 Pro and Business velocity - calendar layout depth, Assist and Ramble, Insights on Pro, descriptions - keeps it the correct default when life is multi-platform or collaborative. Declaring a single universal winner would be marketing, not analysis. Re-check todoist.com/pricing and the Mac App Store listing if regional taxes or storefront prices differ from the USD figures above.
Bottom Line: Choose Things for Apple-only personal excellence and ownership. Choose Todoist for cross-platform capture, filters, AI helpers, and teams. If your Monday requires a Windows VDI or shared project assignments, skip the aesthetics debate and start on Todoist Pro. If every device in your bag is Apple silicon and you want the quieter list, buy Things once and stop renting features you will not open.
Video Tutorials
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Expert Insights
The durable mistake is buying Todoist Pro for aesthetics or Things for team work - each app punishes the wrong job-to-be-done.
2026 AI features make Todoist more sticky for capture-heavy users but do not erase Things' ownership and calm advantages.
Version 3.22.13 on the Mac App Store (noted around 2026-08-03) is a maintenance and Tahoe-era polish signal, not a rewrite of Things' philosophy. Do not expect Assist-style features to appear just because Todoist shipped them.
Todoist's July 2026 Insights-on-Pro move matters for solo power users who previously felt telemetry lived only on Business. It does not change the Apple-only ownership case for Things.
Sources & References
Key Verified Facts
- Todoist Pro costs $7/month or $60/year; Business costs $10/user/month or $8/user/month yearly per official FAQ.[cite-4]
- Things is sold as separate App Store purchases per platform with free Cloud sync for owners.[cite-1, cite-2]
- Todoist expanded Project Insights to Pro plans in July 2026 according to the 2026 changelog.[cite-5]
- Things Mac App Store listing referenced version 3.22.13 around 2026-08-03 at $49.99 USD for this article's research.[cite-1, cite-2]
- 1
- 2Things official site
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Product positioning for personal task management on Apple devices."
- 3
- 4Todoist plans FAQ
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Pro $7/mo or $60/year; Business $10/user/mo or $8/user/mo yearly."
- 5Todoist 2026 changelog
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"July 2026 Insights on Pro and ongoing desktop/mobile fixes."
- 6
- 7
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Personal task managers on Mac
GTD-style apps used by individuals on macOS. Compare capture habits, Today versus filter workflows, and whether Windows or Android ever appears on the critical path before you standardize.
Freemium vs paid-upfront productivity
Subscription SaaS versus App Store ownership models. Map three-year spend for Things' ~$80 Apple set against Todoist Pro at $60/year, then add seats only if shared projects are real.