After hearing Matt Gimmell praising Things 3 on the podcast, I looked at their website. I really like the look of it but if I were to pay to have access to it on my Mac, iPad and iPhone it would cost almost $80! I am wondering if it is worth it. Any feedback would be appreciated.
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I would start with: What are you currently using and what issues do you have with that software?
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What I would say are the top 3 task manager apps:
-OmniFocus
-things 3
-todoist
Are all going to cost around that much. Todoist is a subscription based app so you will pay around $30/yr.
All offer a trial so try them out and see what works.
If you haven’t used apps like this before I suggest starting with things or todoist.
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I said the same thing so I stuck with TickTick for $28 a year and get it on all my devices and a web version too. At the end of the day it’s a todo list and they all do just about the same thing. I’m just binding my time til Apple Reminders gets repeat after completion and a updated theme.
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Disagree with “start with X.” I went from nothing to OF and don’t regret it a bit. OF isn’t as complicated as people make it out to be; perspectives just add a lot more depth once you have the need for it. I hadn’t heard of Things or Todoist when I bought OF. After watching the video in this aritcle, and watching a video or two from Learning OmniFocus to learn a bit more, I realized it fit my needs exactly.
I’d recommend trialing OF, Things, and Todoist and doing a bit of reflecting on what you need. I don’t know about the already numerous discussions on the topic here on this discourse, but I know on the old FB, if you threw a stick you’d hit a pretty good comparison of the programs’ feature sets.
Also to clarify on price, OF for Mac and iOS is $40 each for standard (so matching Things’s $80 total on iPhone, iPad and Mac), and $80 for Pro on Mac, $60 for Pro on iOS (so $140 total for pro on all platforms). If you were to pick up Pro on one, you’d be hamstringing yourself having standard on the other. I have no input as to who needs standard and who needs pro.
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I can only speak for myself but I think it’s worth it. I will say I probably use the iOS app 90% of the time. You could probably skip the Mac version if you wanted to test it out.
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Yeah for $9.99 it’s worth trying the OS app. I got it but decided to stick with OmniFocus (mostly b/c of built-in review), but it was worth $9.99 to not wonder if I should switch.
I’d also add that I use OF almost exclusively on iOS (iPhone only in fact) now, pending OF3 for Mac, and I’ve found it quite easy to do all my task management on my phone.
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Check out Goodtask. I’ve settled upon using it for now. It’s $10 for iOS and $20 for Mac. Uses native Reminders for syncing and Siri and adds in a lot of functionality you don’t get with stock Reminders. It won’t beat Things for appearance, but I couldn’t stomach the cost of Things across the platforms – at least not yet.
I was using Goodtask and I liked it, but it was buggy when moving tasks within the list. Not “bad” buggy, but buggy enough that it…um…bugged me.
However, I would say, if your try Goodtask, and like it, it is a good tool to have…
I just want to reinforce what @kennonb says here. Whether Things is worth it depends on your own particular needs.
Why do you prefer Omnifocus to Things? Have you compared the two? Or did you just find OF first, decide you were satisfied with it and saw no reason to look further (which is a perfectly valid decision!).
If you’re not sure you see immediate positive advantages to it, then probably not.
How about using Apple Reminders, and if you bump up against specific limitations then go on to examine 3rd-party apps that offer the features you now realize you need?
FYI, what’s clever about the GoodTask app is how it integrates with Apple Reminders, acting as a superset of it, so you can use Siri with it.
FYI Gemmell is a professional writer with finely honed writing and business workflow that also includes Trello, if I remember correctly. And he went through several different apps until he settled on his current solution (which isn’t to say it’s settled).
So is it worth it? Only you can say. Personally, I don’t buy expensive apps without being able to try it out first. So maybe you should look at competing apps that offer free tiers, like Todoist or TickTick or AnyDo. Or even look at a free, simpler task manager like Microsoft To-Do.
Here is an excellent list containing brief descriptions of the more popular task-manager apps.
This lack of a free trial on Things is exactly why I’ve never tried it. Pretty sure it would win me over. Hopefully one day they change their pricing structure.
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I have also been debating Things 3 for a while. Last time I was at the Apple Store I realized they had Things 3 installed on their Macs, iPhones and iPads. If you have an Apple Store near by, it may be worth going over there and spending some time playing with the apps there. Also the Mac App has a 30 day free trial.
I am still debating Things vs Omnifocus.
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I am currently using Todist. I mainly use it to keep track of things I need or want to do so I don’t forget them.
I would add this comment the pricing structure is similar to 2do another non-subscription task manager
50- for Mac OS
20 - ios/ipad
7 - android (sale)
I recently left Todoist the lack of not having a web front end sucks but I rather own software straight up
Its not something that they adversities but you can get refund on ios app (google instructions i last tried 2014 its not something i do often)
Just throwing it out just Incase you its not a good fit
Unless there are things that Todoist isn’t doing well for you, then I wouldn’t recommend switching. I feel like for keeping track of items, almost any tool will work and it likely isn’t worth the effort to switch systems.
If you’re wanting to get more into automation of your task system, Todoist also does offer some great API integrations for templating, and automating task entry.
The items I find to be better in Things vs Todoist:
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Native UX on macOS (Todoist is just a web wrapper)
- Different paradigm of scheduling (Start & Deadline vs Due only)
If any of those items sound like they would better fit your workflow, then you may want to consider Things. 
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I wouldn’t worry about this. If the $80 you spend will help you make $100+ then I think it’s worth the investment. I wouldn’t call it a waste. Choose one platform as your initial investment. Which device do you use the most? Pick that one. When you’re satisfied, you can choose to go even deeper and pony up for the iPhone and/or iPad app. You might be working exclusively on the iPhone and get the Mac version later. You might even skip the iPad version if you don’t think you’ll use it.
I bought OmniFocus first for the Mac because I spent more time on the Mac. When I felt comfortable enough with the Mac version, I took the jump and bought the iOS version. The money I spent on my task manager easily paid for itself.
I’d suggest trying the Mac trial as @ptgn123 suggested.
Personally, my “expensive” purchase of OmniFocus has more than paid for itself. It made my life easier because I rely on it to help me with work and personal life. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Make life easier…
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Things 3 was featured a couple of days ago in the App Store so it’s currently $9.99. The usual price is $19.99 for the iPad. So that could save you $10! You can still get it if you scroll down from the App of the day, under Wednesday “Master Your Workday”. I’m estimating the $9.99 price will be good through Tuesday. If you do a regular search for Things on your iPad it will come up $19.99.
I have an older version of Things. I just love the user interface. It truly is a lovely app but I really don’t use it that much. I don’t think of it as a Reminders app because I have to remind myself to look at it. Aside from emailing yourself I believe there is no way to get reminders in there. I would need to get into the in box. (My Apple Reminders doesn’t remind me either! No idea why. LOL! So I use an app called Alarmed.)
At any rate, part of me wants to grab the more inexpensive Things3 and part of me says it would just be a waste as I’m not really using the one I have. But maybe I can help you out a little.
Macstories did an intensive review of Things3– definitely worth checking out https://www.macstories.net/reviews/things-3-beauty-and-delight-in-a-task-manager/
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