Todoist vs TickTick Review: Which App Fits Your Day?

Todoist vs TickTick Review: Which App Fits Your Day?

This Todoist vs TickTick review starts with an uncomfortable truth: both apps will hold your tasks perfectly well. The real difference is what happens next — whether you open the app again tomorrow, and whether the free plan runs out of room just as you're relying on it. I compared the two using each company's own pricing pages plus recent independent comparisons, so you can pick by how you work.

Quick answer: Choose Todoist if you want a fast, uncluttered task list with excellent natural-language capture and you don't need habits or a focus timer built in. Choose TickTick if you want tasks, calendar views, habit tracking, and a Pomodoro timer in one app — and you'd rather pay $49.99 a year than $60. Both free plans work, but TickTick's is roomier.

Contents

Todoist vs TickTick at a glance

Todoist asks, "What needs doing?" TickTick asks, "What does your whole day look like?"

AreaTodoistTickTick
Core ideaClean task list, organised by projectsTasks + calendar + habits + focus timer
Free plan5 projects, 3 filters, 1 week of history9 lists, 99 tasks per list, 5 habits
Paid planPro: $60/year or $7/monthPremium: $49.99/year
CalendarPro onlyBasic free; full views on Premium
Habit trackerNo — recurring tasks onlyYes, with streaks
Pomodoro timerNoYes, built in
CaptureExcellent natural languageGood natural language
Best forA fast list that stays tidyOne app for the whole day

Prices are US list prices from October 2026; check the live pricing page before you pay.

Price and free plans: what you actually get for $0

Both start free with no trial clock. But they run out in different places — and that decides whether "free" lasts a month or a year.

Todoist: Beginner, Pro, and Business

Todoist's free plan, called Beginner, covers 5 personal projects, 3 filter views, 1 week of activity history, and 5 MB uploads. Five projects sounds fine until you run work, home, a side project, and a shared household list in one app. Pro costs $60 a year or $7 a month, lifting the cap to 300 projects and adding the calendar layout, custom reminders, and Task Assist AI features. See also our AI tools for small business roundup.

Todoist raised Pro from $48 to $60 a year in December 2025 — part of why TickTick now looks like the value pick. In Todoist's favour, the free plan includes automatic reminders at due times.

TickTick: Free and Premium

TickTick's free plan gives you 9 lists with up to 99 tasks per list, 2 reminders per task, 19 checklist items per task, 1 attachment a day, 5 habits, and 5 countdowns. The limits that bite first are the small ones: the second reminder, the sixth habit, the daily attachment.

Premium is $49.99 a year on TickTick's website (under $4.17 a month, charged yearly), with a $4.99 monthly option through the App Store. It raises the caps to 299 lists, 999 tasks per list, 5 reminders per task, and 299 habits, and unlocks full calendar views and statistics. TickTick's own upgrade page spells out every cap — worth a look before you upgrade.

Capturing tasks: natural-language input and speed

A task app lives or dies on the ten seconds between "I need to remember this" and the thought being safely stored. Both understand plain language: "call dentist tomorrow at 3pm" gets parsed, and "pay rent every 1st" sets up the recurrence.

Todoist's Quick Add is still the benchmark: instant, handling priorities, labels, and projects from one line of text. Pro adds AI help — Task Assist breaks vague tasks into steps, and Ramble turns spoken rambling into several tasks. Based on available documentation and reviews rather than hands-on testing, both look genuinely useful if you capture by talking.

TickTick's capture is good, just less celebrated. Where it pulls ahead is after capture — one task can carry a duration, sit in a calendar block, and feed a focus session. Todoist captures faster; TickTick does more once the task is in.

Calendar and planning: list-first vs calendar-first

Todoist is list-first: the Today view shows what's due, in priority order. The calendar layout is Pro-only and, comparisons note, shows one project at a time. Todoist can show Google Calendar events in Today and Upcoming. List workers will love it; time-blockers will find it a workaround.

TickTick is calendar-first. Even the free plan includes a basic calendar view; Premium adds yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, and agenda views, plus task duration. You see tasks and events together and plan by time, not list order. If you live in a calendar — students blocking study time, freelancers juggling clients — that view is worth more than any single Todoist feature. Our guide to free AI meeting schedulers pairs well here.

TickTick's calendar is powerful but busier; Todoist's Today view holds almost nothing but your tasks. Which screen would you rather open at 8 a.m.? That's your answer.

Habits, focus, and the Pomodoro timer

TickTick bundles three tools Todoist leaves to other apps:

  • Habit tracker: separate from tasks, with streaks. Free: 5 habits; Premium: 299.
  • Pomodoro timer: a built-in focus timer (the Pomo Timer) for focused bursts with breaks.
  • Eisenhower Matrix: tasks sorted by urgency and importance. Basic on free, full on Premium.

Todoist has none of these built in — habits mean recurring tasks, and focus sessions need a separate timer.

Does that matter? Only if you use those tools. If you already track habits and run focus sessions elsewhere, collapsing three apps into one is TickTick's strongest argument. Students get particular mileage from the bundle, and our roundup of free AI tools for students covers the study side of that routine.

Reminders, sharing, and working with other people

Todoist gives free users automatic reminders at due times; Pro adds custom and location-based reminders. TickTick allows 2 reminders per task free, 5 on Premium, plus email reminders and a Constant Reminder that keeps alerting until you act. If you dismiss notifications on autopilot, that nagging reminder helps — though it's Premium and mobile-focused.

For sharing, both are personal-first. Todoist allows 5 people per project on free, the easier choice for a shared household list. TickTick's free shared lists hold 2 members, rising to 29 on Premium. Freelancers should also weigh the wider setup in our AI tools for freelancers guide.

Which free plan can you actually live with?

Todoist's free plan runs out on breadth: five projects is the wall. A sixth bucket, a project per client, or a project per course means upgrading or merging things awkwardly. Teachers splitting planning by class hit this fast; our lesson-planning tools guide is worth a look alongside this comparison.

TickTick's free plan runs out on depth: 2 reminders per task, 5 habits, 1 attachment a day, and a basic calendar view. Track six habits and you're already over.

Count your projects, and count your habits. Under 5 projects, no habit tracking? Todoist free will carry you far. Under 9 lists, tracking habits, liking a calendar? TickTick free is roomier.

How to try both in one week

Don't migrate your whole life to test an app. Run a small, honest trial:

  1. Write down your real setup: projects, habits, the three tasks you keep forgetting.
  2. Install both free plans. Don't pay yet.
  3. Run Todoist for three days. Capture everything in Quick Add; notice whether 5 projects is enough.
  4. Run TickTick for three days. Try the calendar, add habits, run one Pomodoro session on a task you've avoided.
  5. Check friction, not features: which app did you open without thinking?
  6. Only then look at pricing. If both felt fine, pick the cheaper one — TickTick. If one felt clearly easier, $10 a year is not a reason to pick the other.

A wrong pick isn't a trap: TickTick states your data is retained if Premium expires.

Pros and cons: Todoist and TickTick, honestly

Todoist

Pros: fastest natural-language capture; clean, readable Today view; Business tier for team growth; automatic reminders and 5 people per project on free; broad integrations, per available documentation and reviews.

Cons: no habit tracker or Pomodoro timer; calendar is Pro-only; 5-project free cap bites early; Pro is $60 a year; custom reminders need Pro.

TickTick

Pros: tasks, calendar, habits, Pomodoro, and Eisenhower Matrix in one app; roomier free plan; $49.99 a year; full calendar views suit time-blocking; Constant Reminder nags until you act.

Cons: busier interface; free caps habits at 5 and reminders at 2 per task; full calendar needs Premium; capture trails Todoist's polish; 2 members per shared list on free.

Who should pick which app?

Pick Todoist if: you want the simplest possible list, capture tasks at speed, share projects with several people, or get overwhelmed by apps with too many sections. If notes and tasks live side by side, our Notion vs Obsidian comparison covers the same tension from the notes angle.

Pick TickTick if: you plan your day on a calendar, track habits, use a focus timer, or want one app instead of three. It's the better pick for students and anyone time-blocking a week. If countdowns drive your planning, TickTick's built-in countdowns are handy, and our free Exam Countdown Timer covers the same need in the browser.

Pick neither (yet) if: you only need a shared shopping list, or you're happy in Microsoft To Do, Google Tasks, or Apple Reminders.

Frequently asked questions

Is TickTick free?

Yes. TickTick's free plan costs nothing and includes 9 lists with up to 99 tasks per list, list and Kanban views, task reminders, cross-platform sync, and a basic calendar view. Premium, at $49.99 a year, raises the caps and unlocks full calendar views, task duration, and more habits.

Is Todoist free?

Yes. Todoist's free Beginner plan includes 5 personal projects, 3 filter views, 1 week of activity history, and automatic reminders. It's enough for a simple personal setup. Pro, at $60 a year or $7 a month, adds 300 projects, the calendar layout, custom reminders, and AI features.

Which is cheaper, Todoist or TickTick?

TickTick is cheaper at list prices. TickTick Premium is $49.99 a year, while Todoist Pro is $60 a year or $7 a month. Over three years that's roughly $30 saved, before counting the habit and focus apps TickTick replaces. Always check for current promotions and renewal prices before paying.

Which is better for students?

TickTick usually fits students better, because habits, a Pomodoro timer, and calendar views live in the same app as tasks — ideal for revision routines and deadline planning. Todoist suits students who prefer a minimal list and capture tasks quickly. Both free plans work; try TickTick first if you time-block study sessions.

Does Todoist have habit tracking or a Pomodoro timer?

No, not built in. Todoist handles habits only through recurring tasks, with no streaks or dedicated habit view, and it has no built-in Pomodoro timer. TickTick includes both: a dedicated habit tracker with streaks and a built-in focus timer. If those tools matter to you, TickTick is the straightforward choice.

Can I switch from Todoist to TickTick (or back) later?

Yes, and a wrong first pick isn't permanent. Both apps offer free plans you can test with real tasks before paying, and TickTick states your data is retained if Premium expires. Start free, test with your actual projects and habits for a week, and only upgrade once you know which interface you keep opening.

Verdict: pick by your planning style, not the feature list

Choose Todoist if your ideal morning is a short, clean list and a capture box that never slows you down. You're paying $60 a year for focus and polish.

Choose TickTick if your ideal morning is a calendar with tasks, habits, and focus sessions in one place. You're paying $49.99 a year for breadth. That's the better trade for most people.

Start free, run the one-week test, and let your habits decide. The best task app is the one still open on your phone in six weeks.

Read next: If you liked this head-to-head, try our Notion vs Obsidian for students comparison, our best AI tools for freelancers roundup, or another close comparison, Grammarly vs Quillbot.

Methodology: Based on available documentation and independent reviews, not hands-on testing. Prices and limits were checked against TickTick's official upgrade page and October 2026 comparisons quoting Todoist's pricing page, in US dollars. Check the official pages before buying. Last updated: October 31, 2026.

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