Former users of Todoist- Why Did You Switch Apps and What App Are You Currently Using

Software
6

I used Todoist for a couple of years, but eventually switched to Things 3.

Todoist has wonderful functionality and easy to use, but in my opinion, looks awful. I was also bored at looking at the same thing 5-10 times per day.

If someone liked the interface of Todoist, I see little reason to change to another task manager unless you NEEDED more functionality and then you’d probably go for Omnifocus. But then I would ask how complex really is your life to NEED Omnifocus. To me, Omnifocus seems to be for people that love to over-organize and enjoy using the system itself and playing with it. I remember using it and I sat there for hours reading articles and watching videos and it was a buzz as it brought out my geeky side but ultimately realized that is not what I needed, I needed something to simply manage my tasks quickly and elegantly.

The natural language and use of colour as a form of prioritization is a god send in Todoist and is sorely missed in Things 3. Especially the latter, as colors is more organic to me to determine prioritization rather than fiddling with tags which is easy to do but not the same.

Things 3 is very attractive, also easy to and unlike Todoist has a calming feel… Besides those, I also enjoyed that my Today screen can, if I like, divide up all my tasks between their respective projects as opposed to Todoist which simply muddles everything together on the Today screen. Its a shame there is not a Windows version, but not a problem, I just them look up on Things on my phone instead. I mainly use it though on my Macbook.

I will be continuing to use Things 3 and enjoying it. However, once Todoist refresh their apps with a fresh modern design I will be moving back as to me its clearly superior in almost every dimension.

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7

Maybe I don’t get Todoist but I’ve not fallen for it like others have. I’ve tried using it for work (a Windows machine) and it just doesn’t quite work as I want it. I think my biggest issue is it’s a web app in an electron wrapper so it doesn’t have the integration I want so it sends me reminders by email which my inbox is already over flowing.

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8

I’ve been using ToDoist for a few years now, and it meets my needs. I really don’t care what it looks like, but in case that’s an issue, ToDoist did add the ability to select different “themes” a few versions back. It used to be a very ugly red with no option to change. The ToDoist 'themes" are really just options to change the color scheme, but some of the colors are pleasing. I like the “blueberry” theme.

I’m not especially enthusiastic about ToDoist, but unless something changes I’m not going to exert the effort necessary to overcome inertia and change to a competitor.

Can you share some of the reasons you’re not satisfied?

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9

Correction: there is a Mac version of Things, I didn’t get that right before. I just don’t have it because it’s a $50 purchase! Maybe some day…

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10

I used Todoist for a year and it worked great. I switched to Omnifocus for my Macs and iOS because I disliked the Todoist interface and its ugliness (to my eyes) grew to bother me more and more. I’m also a bit down on subscription software if I can avoid it.

I’m glad I switched, though Omnifocus does have a somewhat intense learning curve. It is pretty though.

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11

I was an avid Wunderlist user when I was still working with Android and Windows. Since then, I’ve stopped using those devices and discovered it was closing. I used todoist for a bit, but eventually switched over to 2do, which comes with my SetApp subscription. So far, I’m loving it. It’s not quite as intuitive as my brain would hope, but I’ve recommended it to every person on my team.

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12

I followed basically the same path as @Britishxninja, except I used Wunderlist with Apple. Went to Todoist for quite awhile and then to went to 2Do a few weeks ago. I had somehow acquired the iOS app some time ago and also went for 2Do since it was in Setapp. I’m happy with it. Seems to be a clean interface and reasonably easy to navigate.

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13

I had the exact same discovery! I think I picked it up when it was Apple’s app of the week several years ago.

14

I’m one of the many people that keep trying out different track management apps, it’s become a bit of a hobby!!

I looked at Todoist but it didn’t stick with me. I did use the previous version of Things but didn’t like the interface and look; something I know they have now addressed but it’s expensive to dive back in.

I now use 2Do which I like and Taskpaper which fascinates me because of its simplicity and flexibility, you can basically do pretty much anything with it as it is fundamentally a text file. I use the Taskpaper app on macOS and Editorial as a Taskpaper client on ios, it’s a great combination. For anyone who enjoys tinkering Taskpaper is definitely worth a look.

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15

I have been using so many ToDo apps that I lost count a long time ago. But being an avid GTD’er and with that, having a specific workflow in mind, I’m rather picky about my software (then again, who isn’t :wink: ). I work in a Windows environment at the office and an Apple environment at home, which limits my options. Currently, I’m using a two-pronged approach with Things 3 at home and OmniFocus 3 (eagerly awaiting the web version) on an iPad at the office.

The ones that I’ve tried, and that somehow stuck with me are:

  • OmniFocus
  • Things 3
  • Nirvana (no updates for several years and no hierarchy for projects, but pretty full featured nonetheless)
  • 2Do
  • Quire - Looks promising but their lack of a pricing structure and the fact that I don’t know much about the people behind it prevents me from adding more information into the system
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16

I was a Todoist user but switched to TickTick awhile ago. In the process of switching I wrote out the things I liked about Todoist and TickTick so I’m going to paste that note here. Keep in mind that I wrote this months ago so some stuff may have changed but I’m sure most of it’s very valid.

What TickTick Does Better

To start I like info pane that is on the right. You can in fewer buttons add details or start a list. It feels more natural. Also, you can more easily change the date or move to another time.

Having a tomorrow button is huge. I get you have a 7-day on Todoist but it’s nice having a button right there under Today to see what I have to do the next day.

Custom list or smart list feel more robust. I can really fine tune these list to be exactly how I want it.

There is a dark theme.

The mobile has a button that allows you to go through your days task and allows you to move them to another day easily so you can plan your day out.

The completed button is way better then what Todoist does. It feels less clunky then Todoist’s way of doing it.

I like how you can see the completed task for the day or under a list.

I love how I can set a 1 day, 3 day, 5 day, or 1 week reminder before the task needs to happen.

I love how I can set a duration of a task.

I love how the calendar and time that pops up for setting a date for a task is setup. Everything is nice and clean. Looking at Todoist’s little calendar that pops up looks limited and cheap compared to this one.

I love how the add new task box is at the top and center and ready for me to input something into it. Where Todoist you have to press a button before you can add a task, kind of annoying.

I don’t miss the karma points. If anything they made me anxious to reach the goal. I would even make up fake task to make sure I got the goal.

The sync on MacOS and iOS works perfect. Even WatchOS gets it right. I’ve always had an issue with Todoist where I would mark off a task on my MacBook and it would not sync to my iPhone so alerts would go off on my phone when they were completed.

Making a task into a smaller list of task using the info pane on the right is so much easier to understand and make compared to Todoist. Todoist you have to make the task and then nest them. Where TickTick you make the main task and in the info pane that pops up just press the list button.

It has a Pomo Timer in the iOS version.

I love how when you click on a task days away it will tell you in the info pane how many days away that task is.

It’s easier to input comments into TickTick since info pane is always visible. On Todoist you have to hover over the item and then press the comments button. With having the pane on the side in TickTick I can keep the comments area open and scroll through other items which helps with managing task.

You can make how much you completed so far in percentages in TickTick, like 25% done.

Has an online app, and other apps for all devices.

TickTick is cheaper than Todoist

Todoist feels stale while TickTick is constantly adding new features and improving

TickTick has an actual calendar in the app while Todoist sync with another app and it never seem to be “right” or was a mess for me.

You can put a tag just about anywhere in TickTick and it picks it up.

TickTick has a trashcan in case you delete something you did not mean to do. Todoist does not but has backups but seem useless if you just need one thing and not a complete restore.

What Todoist Does Better

The biggest thing that Todoist does better then TickTick is the natural language typing. I can type “pick up socks 23 days from now” and it will understand it perfectly. But TickTick only knows basic stuff like “march 23” or “lunch”.

Also, Todoist does “not” time better. I can type in “call Beth on Monday” and I can backspace on Monday as that is not the date I want as I want Sunday because I want to remind myself to call her on Monday when it’s Sunday. TickTick doesn’t allow you to back out of the date, but you can hit enter and then back out from there.

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17

Great question- task managers are the gift that keep on giving! I switched from Omnifocus to Todoist to decrease the fiddle factor. Yes the interface is ugly, but using Todoist is pretty simple. I tried Things on the Mac and really liked it. The main pluses were the nicer interface and the integration with the calendar in the app. The latter really helps with planning day to day. In the end I didn’t switch because I had just paid for a years subscription to Todoist. In the meantime I have connected Todoist to Google calendar which helps daily planning, but it is clunkier than using Things.

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18

If Things were to meet these two things (ha) faster than Todoist updates their app, would you stay with Things? The reason I ask is that I moved from Todoist to Things because I like the look and feel of Things, and I didn’t want to pay a subscription for the same (mostly) functionality of an app(s) that I pay for once. (Though Todoist’s Siren Song keeps pulling at me occasionally.)

I’m just curious, and I like to hear/read why people stick with a particular app. I think I spend just as much time reading app comparisons as I do using the apps I have. The app sets I keep revisiting are: Mail/Spark/Outlook, Things/Omnifocus/Todoist. and News aggregators. :slight_smile:

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19

I tried Todoist for a month during their free trial and it just didn’t click with me. Like a few other posts here I went back to Wunderlist. For me it’s a great blend of ease and power. Microsoft owns Wunderlist and has been doing right by it a couple years now. They plan to phase it out with Microsoft To Do which is already on iOS and are working on a Mac app. I’ll probably go to that when it ships.

It’s crazy to me that MSFT, which has been traditionally harder to use and has unattractive design, has nailed a task manager (at least nailed it to me).

20

TickTick looks interesting

I was using Things 2, which I loved, however a new job meant I was forced onto a PC, and needed some sort of cross platform compatibility. Todoist seemed to do the job so paid for a year’s subscription. I just could not get on with it. I am now using 2Do through Setapp and synch through the basic version of Toodledo. Again I have found I am using it less and less. Oh for Things to have a web app.

21

I’m between Things 3 and Todoist right now.

Mainly because I use a PC at work.

I really like how if I forward an email to my Todoist account, I get an exact copy of the email, including the atttachemnts. Even the rich text and highlighting are preserved from the email. It literally looks exactly like it does in Outlook.

With Things 3, I can forward an email, but no formatting is retained. Just the text. And there is attachment support.

To be honest, I’m very curious what Cultured Code (makers of Things 3) are working on for future updates. Everything I see people ask about on twitter they say they aren’t going to do.

It will be interesting to watch. I’m a little worried we will enter a Things 3 slump of development similar to the 5+ year slump they had with Things 2.

22

I bought into Todoist’s Pro plan last fall when I was able to lock in the $29/yr price, before the (small) price increase to $3/month. Although the interface is definitely clunkier than much of the competition, and it handles subtasks/checklists worse than TickTick/Things/Taskade/etc, I’m pretty enamored of its powerful and flexible tasks (eg recurring tasks where the due date of the next instance of that task depends on when it is completed - the next instance can be exactly two months from when the task is checked-off, for example, as opposed to every two months period) and its English language parser. The other thing I find incredibly useful is two-way sync with my calendar, so that I can set a day/time for something but if I move it in the calendar it will immediately sync back to Todoist.

Finally, I bought in for last year’s promise of a ‘reimagining’ of the app, which apparently includes a one-click Trello-like ‘Cards’ view, which Todoist gave a sneak-peek of 4 months ago on Twitter:

If Todoist falls down on its promised improvements, and If I can find a (better-looking) Mac/iOS task app that works with Google Calendar (which I live inside for all my tasks and planning) for 2-way sync, I’d definitely consider switching. But right now the other task managers either have their own calendar views or offer one-way task pasting into calendars, so I don’t know of better options for me right now.

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23

Todoist has stuck with me for years.

The key things that made me switch (and then) stick:

  • Recurring dates - agree with @bowline, the recurring date handling is excellent. The two options for recurring (recur based on due date, or recur based on date completed) were a game changing improvement on my previous tool. Good automation.
  • Shared projects - I’m not interested in a system that can’t do this. I have projects that are just me (eg. work, personal), but I also have projects with my partner (eg. house chores). I don’t want to look in different systems for the things I have to get done.
  • Filters - the custom filters do a great job of helping me focus on my current context.
  • Automation - I’ve been adding certain tasks via IFTT/Zapier for years. It’s excellent.

For me personally, the subscription price is a bargain for what I get out of it.

24

I agree on all four features. I have been using Todoist for about five years and those features and the natural language task entry keep me with todoist. There are a few small frustrations with the product but they don’t overwhelm the benefits (for me).

25

OmniFocus works best for me. I have to ignore the features I haven’t yet discovered I need.

Things I love about OmniFocus: (in no particular order)

  1. Defer Dates - I can hide things that are not relevant until later in the month/season/year
  2. Automation - there is so much I can do without ever opening the app (because let’s be honest, todo apps can be a timesuck. I can add tasks into my inbox from multiple programs and contexts
  3. Custom Perspectives - the MOST IMPORTANT thing for me about a task manager is deciding what to do on any given day. I am a professor at three different colleges, have a family of 4, own a home with property, etc, and there are too many tasks that can be done at any one time. OmniFocus custom perspectives (requires pro, cheaper on iOS) allow me to identify what I can do by triaging what is available giving certain Contexts.
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    I rule the task manager, it doesn’t rule me, is key for me. I just want to understand options given the day or the week/month/year.

If you don’t have that many horizons of responsibility or different hats that you wear I would go with Things 3 - great combination or power and pleasure. If you have SetApp then 2do is pretty good.

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