Todoist is a great task manager — until its free plan starts feeling small. The free tier limits you to a handful of projects and five collaborators per project, and power users quickly find the features they relied on sitting behind a paywall. The good news: 2026 has several genuinely free task apps that cover the same ground, and some add things Todoist never had. We tested eight of them to find the best free Todoist alternatives.
How we picked these eight
Every app below has a real free plan — not a trial that expires after two weeks. We looked for tools that are actively developed, work across desktop and mobile, and give Todoist switchers a clear reason to move. Each pick covers a different angle, from near-clones to full project-management platforms.
1. TickTick — best all-rounder for personal productivity
TickTick is the closest thing to Todoist with extras. It has the fast quick-add, labels, lists, and recurring tasks you already know, then adds habit tracking and a built-in Pomodoro timer — two things Todoist has never offered natively. The free plan covers the core of it, with premium at $3.99 per month or $35.99 per year ($49.99 list price) if you ever want it.
The calendar view is genuinely useful, and the mobile apps are among the best in this roundup. If you liked Todoist but wanted it to do more for your day as a whole, TickTick is the easiest switch: you can rebuild your projects in an afternoon and barely notice the change.
Watch out for: some advanced views and extra calendar integrations sit on the premium tier.
2. Microsoft To Do — best for Microsoft 365 users
If your life already runs on Outlook and Teams, Microsoft To Do is the obvious free pick — it is free for all users, no subscription needed at all. The My Day feature is its standout: every morning you pull tasks from your lists into a focused daily plan, which is a nicer planning ritual than Todoist's Today view for many people.
You get task lists, subtasks, reminders, priority levels, and due dates, all synced through your Microsoft account and integrated with Outlook tasks. It is deliberately simple, which is exactly the point.
Watch out for: project management is basic — there is no kanban board and no rich label system like Todoist's.
3. Google Tasks — best for Gmail and Workspace users
Google Tasks is completely free and lives where many people already work: the sidebar of Gmail and Google Calendar. If Todoist felt like a separate app you had to remember to open, Tasks removes the friction entirely. Tasks created from emails carry their links, subtasks and due dates are supported, and everything appears on your Google Calendar.
There is no catch and no upsell — this is just a free utility from Google.
Watch out for: it is minimal to a fault. No labels, no shared projects with real permissions, no reporting. It is a to-do list, not a system.
4. Any.do — best calendar-task combo
Any.do merges your tasks, calendar, and reminders into a single planner, which makes it ideal if you plan your day by time rather than by list. The signature Moment feature walks you through a daily planning ritual each morning, and the design is cleaner than most competitors.
The free plan covers basic personal use, with premium starting at $4.99 per month billed annually ($4.99 per user per month for Teams) for teams and power features. The apps are polished on every platform, and voice entry works better here than in most rivals.
Watch out for: team collaboration and some advanced reminder features are paywalled, so it suits solo planners best.
5. Remember The Milk — best for list lovers
Remember The Milk is one of the oldest names in task management, and it still shines at the one thing Todoist's free plan restricts: organizing tasks into smart, saved views. Smart Lists let you slice your tasks by tag, date, location, or any combination, and the free plan is genuinely usable for personal tracking.
Premium starts at $39.99 per year and mostly unlocks mobile extras. If you leaned on Todoist's labels and filters, this is the free alternative that recreates that feeling most faithfully.
Watch out for: the interface looks dated next to modern apps, and the mobile experience is the main casualty of the free tier.
6. Trello — best visual boards
If your Todoist projects were really workflows in disguise, Trello's kanban boards are a better home for them. Each card holds checklists, due dates, attachments, labels, and comments, and the free plan covers unlimited cards with a generous set of core features. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month.
For shared household lists, editorial pipelines, or job hunts, the board metaphor beats a flat task list. The quick learning curve means a Todoist refugee can be productive in minutes.
Watch out for: simple one-off task capture is clunkier than Todoist's quick-add, and power-ups beyond the basics are paid.
7. Asana — best free plan for small teams
This is the pick for the team that outgrew Todoist's five-collaborator limit. Asana's free plan supports up to 10 users with unlimited tasks and projects, plus list, board, and calendar views — a remarkable amount for free. Paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month.
Collaboration is where Asana earns its place: task assignments, comments, dependencies, custom fields, and project timelines that Todoist's flat structure cannot match — though note that custom fields and timelines are paid-plan features, not on the free tier. For a student group, a freelance crew, or a small startup, it is hard to beat.
Watch out for: solo users may find it heavy, and advanced automations and reporting require a paid plan.
8. ClickUp — best feature-packed free tier
ClickUp's free tier is famously generous: unlimited tasks and members, multiple views (list, board, calendar, and limited Gantt), docs, goals, chat, and native time tracking. Paid plans start at $7 per user per month billed annually ($10 month-to-month). If you left Todoist because you wanted everything in one place — tasks, notes, docs, and time tracking — ClickUp is the answer.
The customization goes deep: custom statuses, custom fields, and automations let you build exactly the workflow you want. It is the most complete free offering in this roundup by a wide margin.
Watch out for: all that power means a real learning curve, and the app can feel slow compared to Todoist's snappiness.
At a glance
| Tool | Free plan | Standout feature | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| TickTick | Free basic use | Habits + Pomodoro timer | Personal all-rounder |
| Microsoft To Do | Free for all users | My Day daily planner | Microsoft 365 users |
| Google Tasks | Completely free | Gmail/Calendar integration | Workspace users |
| Any.do | Free basic use | Calendar + tasks in one | Time-blocked planners |
| Remember The Milk | Free basic use | Smart Lists | Label/filter lovers |
| Trello | Free plan | Kanban boards | Visual workflows |
| Asana | Free for up to 10 users | Team collaboration | Small teams |
| ClickUp | Free, unlimited tasks | All-in-one workspace | Power users |
How to switch from Todoist in an afternoon
1. Audit first. Open Todoist and list your active projects, recurring tasks, and shared lists — most people find half their projects are dead weight.
2. Pick by use case. Solo and want more than tasks? TickTick. Live in Outlook or Gmail? Microsoft To Do or Google Tasks. Team of under 10? Asana.
3. Rebuild lean. Create your lists or boards in the new app and re-enter only the active tasks. A fresh start beats a messy import.
4. Check the importer. Most apps above offer an import option — check your chosen app's help docs for a Todoist or CSV import if you would rather migrate than retype.
5. Run both for a week. Keep Todoist installed while you confirm the new app handles your daily flow, then delete the old one.