The best reminder apps for iPhone in 2026 Alerts that reach you, and how they get in.
A reminder app has one job: make your phone speak up at the right moment, and keep at it until you act. Most apps can set an alert. Fewer make it hard to ignore. The six alert apps below differ most in that last part, and two more help you get reminders into them.
I build Driftto, and it is on this list. It sits in the second group, because it sets no alerts of its own. What it does is get a reminder into Apple Reminders or another app quickly. The apps that actually remind you come first.
This page is about alerts, not about organizing projects. Six apps make your phone speak up. Two help you get reminders into them fast. Prices and features come from each app's US App Store page, pricing page and help center, as of October 2026.
The short list
Six of these set off the alert themselves: Due, which keeps nagging until you act, Apple Reminders, TickTick, Todoist, Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks. Two have no alerts of their own and feed the others: Driftto, which sends a typed or spoken reminder into Reminders and your other apps, and Drafts, which captures on the watch and sends later.
| Rank | App | Best for | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alerts that reach you | ||||
| 1 |  Due |
Alerts that keep coming until you act | $7.99 once | |
| 2 |  Apple Reminders |
Time, place and Siri, nothing to install | Included with iOS | |
| 3 |  TickTick |
Nagging alerts on every platform | Free, or $49.99 a year | |
| 4 |  Todoist |
Reminders that live in your task list | Free, or $59.99 a year | |
| 5 |  Microsoft To Do |
Free reminders that sync with Outlook | Free | |
| 6 |  Google Tasks |
Simple reminders next to Gmail and Calendar | Free | |
| Getting reminders in | ||||
| 7 |  Driftto |
One screen into Reminders and your other apps | From $2.99 a month | |
| 8 |  Drafts |
Capture on the watch, send to Reminders later | Free, or $2.99 a month | |
Alerts that reach you Six apps, ordered by how hard they are to ignore.
1 Due
Due Apps · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac
The reminder app that refuses to be ignored. If a missed alert is your problem, start here.
- Price
- $7.99 once, with a year of new features. An optional Upgrade Pass at $4.99 a year adds later ones.
- Works on
- iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, synced with iCloud or Dropbox. The Mac app is sold separately.
- Alerts
- By time, with countdown timers and repeats as odd as every third Wednesday of the month.
- Until done
- Auto Snooze repeats a missed alert every 1 to 60 minutes. Critical Alerts get through silent mode and Focus.
- The catch
- Times and timers only. Its App Store page lists no place-based reminders and no shared lists.
Due is built around the alert, not the list. You type "Dentist 3p Thu", it reads the date, and one tap sets it. When the moment passes and you haven't acted, it nags again, as often as you told it to. There is no account to make, and reminders still arrive without an internet connection.
2 Apple Reminders
Apple · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
Covers time, place, repeats and shared lists, and Siri adds to it with no setup. Hard to beat for free.
- Price
- Included with iOS.
- Works on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, synced through iCloud.
- Alerts
- By time, by place such as arriving home or getting in the car, and when you next message a person.
- Until done
- Since iOS 26.2 an Urgent switch rings an alarm at the due time, even in silent mode or a Focus.
- The catch
- The urgent alarm only rings on the device Find My uses as your location, and it needs iCloud Reminders.
For most people this is the answer, and it is already on the phone. Repeats run daily, weekly or on your own interval. Shared lists let a household split the shopping, with reminders assigned to each person. On the watch you get the alert, tick it off and add new ones. It is also the app Driftto writes to most.
3 TickTick
Appest · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Android, Windows, web
Persistent alerts like Due, inside a full task app that also runs on Android and Windows.
- Price
- Free to use. Premium is $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the App Store.
- Works on
- iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Android, Windows, Linux and the web.
- Alerts
- By time and, on iOS, by place. Two reminders per task on the free plan, five on Premium.
- Until done
- Constant Reminder keeps ringing until you complete the task. On iOS 26 it can ring like an alarm.
- The catch
- Reminders sit inside a busy app with habits, a focus timer and a calendar. Plenty to switch off.
TickTick is the pick if you want Due's stubbornness but your reminders also have to show up on a Windows laptop or an Android phone. Turn on Constant Reminder for the tasks that matter, and leave the rest as a single ping. Shared lists cover the family errands.
4 Todoist
Doist · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, web
Strong alerts if your reminders and your work tasks belong in one list. Most of the alert features sit on Pro.
- Price
- Free for basic reminders. Pro is $59.99 a year or $6.99 a month in the App Store.
- Works on
- iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, plus other platforms and the web.
- Alerts
- An automatic reminder once a task has a date and time, on every plan. Custom times and arrive or leave locations need Pro.
- Until done
- On iOS 26 an urgent reminder is a full-screen alarm through silent mode. One on the free plan.
- The catch
- The free plan is thin on alerts. Place-based and extra custom reminders are behind Pro.
Todoist reads a sentence like "call the bank every Monday at 9" and sets the repeat for you. That makes it quick for recurring reminders, and a shared project lets you hand one to someone else. If you already keep your work in Todoist, adding personal reminders there saves a second app.
5 Microsoft To Do
Microsoft · iPhone, iPad, Microsoft 365
A free, plain reminder list for people whose day already runs on Outlook.
- Price
- Free.
- Works on
- iPhone and iPad, synced through a Microsoft account to your other devices and Outlook.
- Alerts
- Remind me at a time you pick, plus due dates that repeat daily, on weekdays, or on a custom schedule.
- Shared lists
- Share a list with anyone, and get notified when they add, complete or remove a task.
- The catch
- No nagging alert and no place-based reminder in Microsoft's own documentation. One ping, then it waits.
To Do's strength is where the reminders come from. Flag an email in Outlook and it shows up as a task on your iPhone, where you can give it a reminder and a repeat. My Day gives you a short list for today. If your job already runs on Microsoft 365, your reminders sit next to your mail.
6 Google Tasks
Google · iPhone, web
The plainest app here. Fine for dated to-dos if you live in Gmail, thin on everything else.
- Price
- Free.
- Works on
- iPhone, and on the web inside Gmail and Google Calendar.
- Alerts
- A notification at the date and time you set. Repeats by day, week, month or year.
- Apple Watch
- No Apple Watch app on its App Store page.
- The catch
- Shared tasks and subtasks can't repeat, and a repeating task can't move to another list.
If you live in Gmail, Tasks earns its place: turn an email into a task, and it waits in the Gmail side panel and on your iPhone. Beyond that it does little, which some people want. Google Tasks next to Apple Reminders.
Getting reminders in No alerts of their own. They feed the apps above.
7 Driftto
Made by me · iPhone
Type or say the reminder once and pick where it lands. Useful when Reminders isn't the only place things go.
- Price
- Free to download. $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year with a free week for new subscribers, or $29.99 once.
- Works on
- iPhone, with Siri, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and a Control Center control on iOS 18.
- Sends to
- Apple Reminders and email built in. Todoist, TickTick, Notion, Asana, Jira and Linear connect.
- Alerts
- None of its own. The alert comes from the app it lands in.
- The catch
- If Reminders is your only list, Siri already does this at no cost. Driftto adds value when you use more than one app.
Driftto opens to a text field with the keyboard up. You write or speak, tap a destination, and the note becomes an item there, in the list you set up once. One note can go to several places at once. How it lands in Apple Reminders.
I built it for the seconds before a reminder exists: unlocking, finding the right app, picking the list. Siri already skips those for Apple Reminders, and I would not pay to replace that. Driftto earns its place when a reminder belongs in Todoist or Asana, and you'd rather not think about which.
8 Drafts
Agile Tortoise · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
A blank page that turns into a reminder with an action. The one in this group with an Apple Watch app.
- Price
- Free to use. Drafts Pro is $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year.
- Works on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
- Sends to
- Reminders and many other apps, through actions you run on the text.
- Alerts
- None of its own. The reminder app you send to sets the alert.
- The catch
- Sending is a separate step after writing. Creating your own actions needs Pro.
Drafts opens to a new page, ready to type. Dictate a note on your Apple Watch, and it waits on your iPhone until you send it on. For people who like to write first and decide later, that pause is the point. For a quick reminder, it is one step more.
How I picked
Alert apps were judged on five things: reminders at a time, reminders at a place, repeats, alerts that keep going until you act, and Apple Watch and sharing. Capture apps on one thing: how few taps from a typed thought to an item in whichever app it belongs in. By voice, Siri into Apple Reminders wins that.
Nobody paid to be here and there are no affiliate links. For lists that organize projects rather than alerts, see the best to-do list apps for iPhone.
Questions
What is the best reminder app for iPhone?
For most people, Apple Reminders. It handles time, place, repeats and shared lists for free. If you miss alerts, Due nags until you act.
Which reminder app keeps reminding you until you do it?
Due, with Auto Snooze, and TickTick, with Constant Reminder. Apple Reminders (iOS 26.2) and Todoist (iOS 26) can also ring an alarm at the due time.
Can iPhone remind me when I arrive somewhere?
Yes. Apple Reminders does it for free. TickTick and Todoist Pro do it as well.
Is there a free reminder app with an Apple Watch app?
Apple Reminders. It is on the watch already, and you can add, see and complete reminders from your wrist.
Driftto is in the App Store now.
Free to download. The yearly plan starts with a free week.