The best iPhone widgets in 2026 The ones that save you a step, and what each can do in place.
A widget earns its place when it saves a step. It shows what you need without opening the app, or it starts the thing you were about to open the app for. Some widgets only show. Since iOS 17 some can also act in place. These ten each save a step, and I say for each which kind it is.
I build Driftto, and it is on this list. Not at the top: its widget is a button, so it sits in the group of apps that get things in. I looked at widgets because Driftto has one, and I wanted to see what the other nine do that it does not.
The list has three groups: widgets that plan the day, widgets for a glance, and widgets that get things in. For each app I say whether the widget is on the Home Screen, the Lock Screen or both, and whether it acts in place. In October 2026 I went through each app's help pages and US App Store listing.
The short list
Ten apps with a real iPhone widget, grouped by the step each one saves. Fantastical, Todoist, Things 3 and Structured plan the day, and most let you check things off in place. CARROT, Widgetsmith and Streaks help you glance and go. Apple Reminders, Driftto and Drafts get things in.
| Rank | App | Best for | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan the day | ||||
| 1 |  Fantastical |
Your next event on the Home Screen | Free, Premium from $6.99 | |
| 2 |  Todoist |
Tick off tasks from the Home Screen | Free, Pro $59.99 a year | |
| 3 |  Things 3 |
A calm list that checks off in place | $9.99, once | |
| 4 |  Structured |
Your day as a timeline | Free, Pro from $2.99 | |
| Glance and go | ||||
| 5 |  CARROT Weather |
A weather glance with a personality | Premium $19.99 a year | |
| 6 |  Widgetsmith |
Build your own widget | Free, optional Premium | |
| 7 |  Streaks |
Habits you finish from the widget | $5.99 | |
| Get things in | ||||
| 8 |  Apple Reminders |
Built in, and it checks off in place | Included with iOS | |
| 9 |  Driftto |
Capture from any screen, then pick where | From $2.99 a month | |
| 10 |  Drafts |
A tap to a blank page, or an action | Free, Pro from $2.99 | |
Plan the day Calendar and tasks, one look away.
1 Fantastical
Flexibits · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision, Mac
The calendar with the widest widget set, from a one-line Lock Screen glance to a month on the Home Screen.
- Price
- Free to download. Flexibits Premium is listed at $6.99 and $56.99, with a 14-day trial. The listing does not say which is monthly.
- Home Screen
- Up Next, Event List, Calendar and a Fantastical Action button, in small, medium and large sizes.
- Lock Screen
- Five widgets: Up Next in three shapes, a three-week Calendar, and a circular Quick Action to add an event or task.
- In place
- Flexibits says iOS 17 widgets complete tasks, and the Calendar + Event List widget picks a date. The help page marks none as interactive.
- The catch
- Its listing puts many features behind Premium. It says nothing about widgets needing it, so check your plan before you count on one.
Fantastical is a calendar first. The Up Next widget shows the next event or task with its details, and the Event List widget shows what is left of the day. The Quick Action widget is the one that saves a step: one tap to add an event or task by typing a sentence.
2 Todoist
Doist · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Android, web
A task list you can tick off from the Home Screen on iOS 17, with six Lock Screen widgets besides.
- Price
- Free to download. Todoist Pro is $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the App Store, with a 7-day trial.
- Home Screen
- Tasks in small, medium and large, Productivity in medium, and a small Add Task widget that opens Quick Add.
- Lock Screen
- Six: Tasks, Today's Progress, Next Task, Add Task, Task Goal and Productivity. Needs iOS 16 or later.
- In place
- Yes, on iOS 17 you complete tasks in the medium and large Tasks widget. Add Task only opens Quick Add.
- The catch
- The help page does not say you can complete tasks from a Lock Screen widget. Ticking off works on the Home Screen only.
Todoist is the widget to put on the Home Screen if your day lives in one list. Point the Tasks widget at Today, a project or a filter, and the medium size lets you tick things off without opening the app.
Driftto writes into Todoist, so a thought can land in the project you picked without opening Todoist first. How that works.
3 Things 3
Cultured Code · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
Widgets that show any list, project or tag, with a checkbox and a plus button built in.
- Price
- $9.99 on iPhone, bought once. The iPad and Mac apps are separate purchases.
- Home Screen
- Each widget is set up on its own: a list, a project or area, a tag, or a Shortcuts widget. Sizes run from small to double-wide.
- Lock Screen
- Three: List for a customized view, Progress as a ring that fills, and New To-Do, which opens an Inbox to-do.
- In place
- Yes. Interactive widgets are on by default, so the checkbox completes a to-do. A plus button can add to the Inbox or the current list.
- The catch
- The help page does not say whether the Lock Screen List widget checks off. Apple only.
Things lets each widget show a different slice: Today on one, a project on another, one tag on a third. If you keep a small, tidy list, the widget is the list. You rarely need to open the app to see what is next.
4 Structured
unorderly · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Android
A daily planner whose widgets show what you are doing now and what comes next, and check tasks off.
- Price
- Free to download. The listing shows Structured Pro at $2.99 and $6.99 a month, several yearly prices and $99.99 lifetime.
- Home Screen
- Timeline and Inbox in three sizes each, plus Single Task and Subtasks widgets. Widgets are among the free features.
- Lock Screen
- Two, Apple only: Icon, and Icon + Info with the task's title and timing, for the current or next task.
- In place
- Yes on the Home Screen. Tap the circle by a task to check it off, or the title on small widgets. Lock Screen is not described.
- The catch
- Calendar and Reminders sync is Pro. Without it the widget shows only the tasks you typed into Structured.
Structured turns the day into blocks. The Timeline widget shows the block you are in and the ones after it, and the Single Task widget keeps just the current one in view. It suits a day that is mostly a schedule.
Glance and go Weather, habits and buttons you tap without thinking.
5 CARROT Weather
Grailr · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
The weather widget for people who want the forecast, radar and a joke without opening the app. Widgets need Premium.
- Price
- Free to download. Premium is $4.99 a month or $19.99 a year. Premium Ultra costs more and adds a weather maps widget.
- Home Screen
- Listed as a Premium feature, together with Lock Screen widgets. The listing does not count them or give sizes.
- Lock Screen
- Yes, also Premium. The listing adds StandBy, an iPad Lock Screen and an Apple Watch Smart Stack as Premium too.
- In place
- Not described. The listing says tapping the Snark or Forecast widgets for details needs Premium. It names no in-widget action.
- The catch
- The listing puts widgets behind Premium, so the free app has none.
CARROT answers the question you open a weather app for: do I need a coat. Its widgets put the answer, or a dry remark about it, on the Home Screen and Lock Screen. You pay for the widgets, so decide if the glance is worth that.
6 Widgetsmith
Cross Forward Consulting · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
A widget builder: weather, calendar, photos, countdowns and Health in your own colors, plus buttons that start things.
- Price
- Free to download. Premium is optional and monthly or yearly. The listing shows $1.99, $3.99, $19.99 and $29.99 without labels.
- Home Screen
- Custom widgets for weather, calendar, photos, countdowns, music and Health steps. You can swap them by time of day.
- Lock Screen
- Yes. The listing says Widgetsmith customizes the Lock Screen too, for example with weather or a photo.
- In place
- Action widgets on iOS 18 run a Shortcut, call, text or open an app, from the Home Screen, Lock Screen or Control Center.
- The catch
- Weather and tide data need Premium. The developer's page does not say whether Action widgets do.
Widgetsmith is the one to pick when no app has the widget you want. You build it: pick the data, the size, the font. The Action widgets are the useful part for saving steps, a one-tap button for a Shortcut or a call to someone you ring often.
7 Streaks
Crunchy Bagel · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision, Apple Watch
A habit list whose widget checks things off, starts timers and, on iOS 18, adds Control Center buttons.
- Price
- $5.99 on the US App Store, shown as a paid app.
- Home Screen
- A Tasks widget, a Today widget and extra-large sizes. The Tasks widget can be limited to one category.
- Lock Screen
- Yes since Streaks 8 on iOS 16: it shows your tasks and statistics. Timers can pause from the Lock Screen as Live Activities.
- In place
- Yes. On iOS 17 the Tasks widget has a checkmark per task and a play or pause button for timed ones. iOS 18 adds Control Center controls.
- The catch
- It is built for habits that repeat. A one-off errand or a loose thought has no good home in it.
Streaks fits the habits you tick off every day, like water, stretching or a language lesson. The widget makes the tick one tap, and the Control Center controls make it a tap from anywhere on the phone.
Get things in Widgets that start a capture.
8 Apple Reminders
Apple · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
The widget you already have: a list on the Home Screen you can tick off and add to, with nothing to install.
- Price
- Included with iOS.
- Home Screen
- A Reminders widget for the list you choose. Apple says you can add reminders to your lists from it.
- Lock Screen
- The Apple pages I read do not describe a Lock Screen widget. For iOS 26 they describe a Control Center control and the Action button.
- In place
- Yes. The App Store listing says the Home Screen widget lets you view and complete reminders.
- The catch
- It only reaches Reminders. A thought that belongs in Notion or Todoist has to be moved there by hand.
If your list is Reminders, the widget is already good: the list on the Home Screen, a tap to complete, a button to add. It is also the place Driftto writes to most.
Driftto sends a capture straight into the Reminders list you pick. How that works, and the best reminder apps for iPhone.
9 Driftto
Made by me · iPhone
A widget that opens the capture field with the keyboard up. It shows nothing and does nothing in place.
- Price
- Free to download. $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year with a free week for new subscribers, or $29.99 once.
- Home Screen
- Two sizes: small, labeled Capture, and medium, labeled New capture. Both open the capture screen.
- Lock Screen
- Two shapes: circular and rectangular. Both open the capture screen. A Control Center button does the same on iOS 18.
- In place
- Nothing. The widget shows no tasks and does not act in place. One tap opens the app, and you type or speak there.
- The catch
- It is a button, not a view. If you want tasks or a calendar on the Home Screen, use one of the planners above.
Every widget here either shows something or acts. Driftto's does neither, on purpose. It is the shortest way to the capture screen: one tap from the Home Screen, the Lock Screen or Control Center, and the keyboard is already up.
Then you type or speak, and tap where it goes: Reminders, Todoist, Notion or another destination you have set up. I built it because the slow part of capture was the seconds before typing, and a widget removes most of them.
10 Drafts
Agile Tortoise · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
The most configurable capture widget: a grid of buttons that open a blank draft, run an action or show a draft.
- Price
- Free to use. Drafts Pro is $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, and its listing says Pro adds extra widgets.
- Home Screen
- Four types: Grid of buttons, List of top drafts, Draft to show one draft, and Task to show the tasks in one draft.
- Lock Screen
- One widget, with the same function as a small Grid widget. iOS 18 adds a single control for Control Center.
- In place
- Only the Task widget, where a tap toggles a task's status. It needs iOS 17. Grid, List and Draft widgets open the app.
- The catch
- A tap opens Drafts. Sending the text on is a second step, and the docs do not say which widgets need Pro.
The Grid widget is Drafts at its best. Each cell can open a new draft, start dictation, search, or run any action you wrote. One cell can start a meeting-notes template and another can send the text to your task app.
How I picked
An app made the list if it has a widget on the iPhone itself, not only on the Mac or the Watch, and if that widget saves a step in a normal day. Then I read what each one does: Home Screen, Lock Screen or both, and whether it acts in place or only opens the app.
Where a help page or listing says nothing, the table says so. I did not guess. Nobody paid to be here and there are no affiliate links. When a price or a widget changes, this page changes with it; the date at the top says when I last checked.
Questions
What is the difference between a Home Screen and a Lock Screen widget?
A Home Screen widget sits between your app icons. A Lock Screen widget sits around the clock and shows when the phone is locked. Apple added Lock Screen widgets in iOS 16, and they are small and often show one line.
What is an interactive widget?
A widget that acts without opening the app, for example ticking off a task. Apple added this in iOS 17. Todoist, Things, Structured, Streaks and Apple Reminders do it. Driftto's widget does not: it opens the capture screen.
What is a Smart Stack?
Apple describes it as a collection of widgets that shows the right one for your location, activity or the time of day. It rotates between widgets for you. Any widget in this list can sit in a stack.
Which widget is best for capturing a thought quickly?
One that opens a capture field in a single tap. Drafts and Driftto do that. Apple Reminders can also add a reminder from its widget, if the list you want is Reminders.
Driftto is in the App Store now.
Free to download. The yearly plan starts with a free week.