The best to-do list apps for iPhone in 2026 Fast to add to, clear about today, easy to share.
A to-do app for everyday life has a short job description. Adding a task should take seconds, today should look different from next month, and a list should be easy to share. These eight each get most of that right.
I build Driftto, and it is on this list. It sits in the last group, about adding tasks without opening your list app, because that is the only job it does. It does not hold your lists. The six list apps come first, and they are the ones to choose between.
This page is about everyday lists: chores, groceries, work, a move, a trip. I judged each app on how fast you can add a task, how it separates today from later, projects and sections, sharing a list, widgets and price. Facts come from each app's App Store page, pricing page and help center, checked in October 2026. If you follow Getting Things Done, there is a separate list for GTD apps.
The short list
Three hold lists and projects: Things 3, Todoist and TickTick. Three are free and simple: Apple Reminders, Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks. Two add tasks to those apps from outside them: Driftto, which sends a typed or spoken task to the list app you pick, and Drafts, which keeps the text until you send it on.
| Rank | App | Best for | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lists and projects | ||||
| 1 |  Things 3 |
Plan your day and your projects, Apple only | $9.99 on iPhone, once | |
| 2 |  Todoist |
The same list on every phone and computer | Free, or $59.99 a year | |
| 3 |  TickTick |
A to-do list and a calendar in one app | Free, or $49.99 a year | |
| Free and simple | ||||
| 4 |  Apple Reminders |
Shared family lists, nothing to install | Included with iOS | |
| 5 |  Microsoft To Do |
Free, with My Day and Outlook sync | Free | |
| 6 |  Google Tasks |
Tasks next to Gmail and Google Calendar | Free | |
| Adding tasks from outside the app | ||||
| 7 |  Driftto |
Add to your list app without opening it | From $2.99 a month | |
| 8 |  Drafts |
Write first, pick the list app after | Free, or $2.99 a month | |
Lists and projects For plans with stages, dates and other people.
1 Things 3
Cultured Code · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro
The tidiest way to split today from later, if every device you own is Apple and nobody else needs your lists.
- Price
- $9.99 once on iPhone. The iPad and Mac versions are sold separately, and the Mac version has a free trial.
- Adding a task
- The Magic Plus button drops a to-do anywhere in a list. Siri, a share extension and a Control Center control add one from outside.
- Today and later
- Today holds what you chose for now, with This Evening below it. Upcoming shows dated to-dos next to your calendar events.
- Projects and sharing
- Areas for parts of your life, projects inside them, and headings to split a project into stages. No shared lists.
- The catch
- Nobody else can edit your lists. You can send a plain-text copy, but a shared shopping list has to live in another app.
Things suits the person who wants their list to feel calm. Each morning you pick what goes into Today, and everything with a later date waits in Upcoming until its day comes. A house move becomes a project with headings like Pack, Utilities and Address changes. Widgets put a list on the Home Screen or the Lock Screen, so you see today without opening the app.
2 Todoist
Doist · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Android, web
The safest pick when your list has to follow you to an Android phone or a Windows laptop.
- Price
- Free for up to five personal projects. Pro is $59.99 a year or $6.99 a month in the App Store.
- Adding a task
- Type "water plants every Sunday" and Quick Add sets the date and the repeat. Siri works, and Ramble turns spoken words into tasks.
- Today and later
- Today lists what is due now. Upcoming, right below it, lays out the week and lets you jump ahead to any later week.
- Projects and sharing
- Projects with sections, subtasks and a board view. Share a project and assign tasks; the free plan allows five people per project.
- The catch
- Five projects on the free plan fill up fast, and custom reminder times are a Pro feature.
Todoist works as well for a household as for an office. A shared project for a trip can hold sections for bookings and packing, with comments on each task and a name next to who does it. It runs on Linux, Windows and Android too, so nobody is left out. If you want tasks to reach Todoist without opening it, Driftto does that. Here is how Driftto sends to Todoist.
3 TickTick
Appest · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, web
The most features per dollar on this page, if a busy app doesn't bother you.
- Price
- Free with limits. Premium is $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the App Store.
- Adding a task
- Siri, widgets, email and Telegram. Voice input with AI Mode can turn one spoken sentence into several tasks with dates.
- Today and later
- Calendar views put tasks next to your events. The grid view and calendar subscriptions need Premium.
- Projects and sharing
- Lists with a kanban view, subtasks and tags. A shared list holds two members on the free plan and 29 on Premium.
- The catch
- The free plan stops at nine lists and 99 tasks per list. Habits, focus timers and a matrix crowd the app whether you use them or not.
TickTick bundles a to-do list, a calendar, a habit tracker and a Pomodoro timer. If you plan your week by looking at a calendar, that mix is the reason to pick it. The extra-large widgets show tasks and your schedule side by side. Driftto also writes into TickTick, into the list you choose once. How Driftto sends to TickTick.
Free and simple No subscription, and fine for most households.
4 Apple Reminders
Apple · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro
The best free choice for most iPhone owners, and the easiest list to share with a partner.
- Price
- Included with iOS, with no subscription.
- Adding a task
- Ask Siri, or type a line in a list. Shopping lists sort items into sections like dairy and produce by themselves.
- Today and later
- Today and Scheduled are built in and fill themselves from the dates you set.
- Projects and sharing
- Sections, a column view, tags and subtasks. Share a list, then assign a reminder to someone on it.
- The catch
- Lists, sections and subtasks are as deep as it goes. There is no project inside a list, so big plans get cramped.
For the groceries or a list of jobs around the house, Reminders is hard to beat, because the other person already has it on their iPhone. Invite them and they can add, edit and check things off, while your own alerts stay private. The Home Screen widget lets you tick items off without opening the app. For most people with an iPhone, it is the place to start.
5 Microsoft To Do
Microsoft · iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
A free list that plans one day at a time and syncs with Outlook, for people whose work runs on Microsoft.
- Price
- Free.
- Adding a task
- Type into a list or use a widget. Emails you flag in Outlook show up as tasks.
- Today and later
- My Day is a daily planner that suggests tasks from your lists. Everything else waits in its own list.
- Projects and sharing
- Lists, and steps inside a task. Share a list with family or coworkers, and they are notified when something changes.
- The catch
- Widgets can show and add tasks, but not check them off, so finishing a task always means opening the app.
To Do is the list for people whose day starts in Outlook. Flag an email and it becomes a task, and your tasks sync back to Outlook. Each morning My Day offers suggestions, and you decide what goes in. Steps break a chore into smaller parts, and a shared list works for a family as well as for a team at work.
6 Google Tasks
Google · iPhone, iPad, Gmail, Google Calendar
The plainest list here. Right for people who live in Gmail and Calendar and want a checklist, not a system.
- Price
- Free.
- Adding a task
- Type a task in the app, or turn an email into a task from the Gmail side panel. A Home Screen widget is available.
- Today and later
- Due dates and notifications. On a computer, your tasks open in a panel inside Google Calendar.
- Projects and sharing
- Lists, details and subtasks. Giving a task to someone else goes through a Google Chat space or a Google Doc.
- The catch
- No Apple Watch or Mac app. On a computer it only lives inside Gmail, Calendar and other Google apps.
Google Tasks does very little, and that is why people like it. A task has a title, details, a date and maybe a few subtasks, with nothing else to set up. Its strength is where it sits: next to your email in Gmail and inside Calendar on the web. A task made from an email keeps a link back to that message.
Adding tasks from outside the app For when opening the list app is the slow part.
7 Driftto
Made by me · iPhone
The fewest steps from a task in your head to a task in Reminders, Todoist, TickTick or Google Tasks.
- Price
- Free to download. $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year with a free week for new subscribers, or $29.99 once.
- Adding a task
- Opens with the keyboard up. Type or speak, tap where it goes. Siri, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and a Control Center control on iOS 18.
- Today and later
- None. Driftto only delivers the task; dates and planning stay in your list app.
- Sends to
- Apple Reminders, Todoist, TickTick and Google Tasks from this page, plus Notion, Asana and email. One task can go to several at once.
- The catch
- It does not write to Things or Microsoft To Do. In Reminders and Todoist the whole note becomes the task title, with nothing in the notes field.
Driftto is for the moment a task turns up while you are busy with something else. It opens to a text field with the keyboard already up. You type or say the task, tap Reminders or Todoist or wherever it belongs, and it lands in the list you picked when you set that destination up. There is no list to scroll and no project to choose.
I made it because adding a task in a list app meant waking the phone, finding the app, waiting for it, and picking a project before I could type. A Lock Screen widget or "Hey Siri, new capture in Driftto" removes that part. Planning the task still happens in your list app, which is where it should happen.
8 Drafts
Agile Tortoise · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
The way to reach Things or Microsoft To Do without opening them, at the cost of one extra step.
- Price
- Free to use. Drafts Pro is $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year, and adds custom actions and extra widgets.
- Adding a task
- Opens to an empty draft. Siri, a widget, the share extension and the Apple Watch app capture too.
- Today and later
- None. Drafts holds text, and dates are set in the app you send it to.
- Sends to
- Reminders, plus actions in its directory for Things, Microsoft To Do, TickTick and more.
- The catch
- Sending is its own step. You write, then run an action, and creating or editing actions needs Pro.
Drafts treats every note as text before it becomes a task. Open it and there is an empty page, so nothing stands between you and the words, and where they go is a choice you make afterward. Its public action directory has ready-made actions for Things and Microsoft To Do, the two list apps on this page that Driftto cannot reach.
How I picked
The six list apps had to run on iPhone, keep today apart from later, and let you organize or share a list. I left out day planners built around a timeline, which answer a different question. The last group was judged on one thing only: the number of steps between a task in your head and a task in your list, without opening the list app first. Driftto leads that group because it takes the fewest.
Nobody paid to be on this page and none of the links earn me anything. Prices change, so check the App Store before you buy. The date at the top says when I last looked.
Questions
What is the best free to-do list app for iPhone?
Apple Reminders, for most people. It is already installed, it shares lists, and it has sections and smart lists. If you also use Outlook at work, Microsoft To Do is the next one to try.
Is Things 3 worth paying for?
If you only use Apple devices and keep your lists to yourself, yes. It is $9.99 once on iPhone. If you need to share a list, it is the wrong app.
Which to-do app is best for sharing with a partner?
Apple Reminders if you both have an iPhone, since you can share a list and assign items. Todoist if one of you is on Android.
Can I add tasks to Things without opening it?
Yes. Siri, the Control Center control and the share extension all add to Things, and Drafts has a Things action. Driftto does not write to Things.
Driftto is in the App Store now.
Free to download. The yearly plan starts with a free week.