Things 3 is beautiful software. Cultured Code built something with a level of craft that most task managers never approach — the animations, the keyboard shortcuts, the way projects and areas nest inside each other. People don’t just use Things 3. They love it.
So why leave?
Three reasons keep coming up. First, it’s Apple-only. Mac ($49.99), iPhone ($9.99), iPad ($19.99) — separate purchases, no web app, no Windows, no Android. If your life changes platforms, Things 3 stays behind. Second, there’s no collaboration. You can’t share a project, assign a task, or even send someone a link to a to-do. It’s radically single-player. Third, the one-time purchase model means updates come when they come. Things 3 launched in 2017. It’s been refined, but there’s no Things 4 timeline, and some features (natural language dates, tags) still feel like they’re from a different era.
If any of that has started to chafe, here’s where to look.
Quick Comparison
| Alternative | Price | Best For | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todoist | Free – $5/mo | Cross-platform, fast capture | Works everywhere, strong free tier |
| TickTick | Free – $35.99/yr | Feature-rich all-in-one | Calendar, habits, Pomodoro built in |
| OmniFocus | $9.99/mo or $74.99 one-time | GTD power users on Apple | Deepest project structure available |
| Microsoft To Do | Free | Simple lists in Microsoft ecosystem | Free and built into Windows/Outlook |
| Any.do | Free – $4.99/mo | Clean design with calendar view | Minimal UI closest to Things aesthetic |
Deep Dives
Todoist
Todoist is the default recommendation for a reason. It works on every platform — Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, web, browser extensions, email add-ons — and the experience is consistent across all of them. If the Apple-only limitation pushed you away from Things 3, Todoist removes that constraint entirely.
The free tier handles up to 5 active projects with basic features. The Pro plan at $5/month ($4/month annual) unlocks labels, filters, reminders, calendar integration, and file uploads. The quick-add bar uses natural language (“Email Jake about the contract every Friday at 3pm”) and it actually works.
Where Todoist falls short compared to Things 3: it’s not as beautiful. The UI is clean but functional, not delightful. The project/section/task hierarchy is flexible but doesn’t have Things 3’s elegant Areas > Projects > Headings structure. And Todoist’s approach to recurring tasks and dates, while powerful, requires learning its syntax.
But it ships features. Regularly. And it works on your phone, your partner’s Windows laptop, and the Linux machine at work.
TickTick
TickTick is what you’d get if Things 3 tried to be everything. Tasks, subtasks, calendar view, habit tracker, Pomodoro timer, Eisenhower matrix, Kanban board — all in one app, all cross-platform.
The free tier is remarkably complete. Premium costs $35.99/year — less than Things 3’s Mac app alone. You get calendar integration, custom smart lists, historical stats, themes, and higher limits on lists and tasks.
The design isn’t as refined as Things 3. TickTick’s UI is busy — there are a lot of views, a lot of icons, a lot of options visible at once. If Things 3’s minimalism was what you loved most, TickTick might feel noisy. But if you wanted Things 3 to do more — especially with calendar integration and habit tracking — TickTick delivers on that wish at a price that’s hard to argue with.
TickTick works on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, web, and has browser extensions. The sync is fast and reliable across all platforms.
OmniFocus
OmniFocus is the opposite direction from “I’m leaving Things 3 because it’s too limited.” It’s more Apple-only, more complex, and more structured. But for people who left Things 3 because it wasn’t powerful enough, OmniFocus is the answer.
OmniFocus lives and breathes GTD (Getting Things Done). Custom perspectives let you slice your task database any way you want. Sequential vs. parallel projects, defer dates, review cycles, and context-based filtering give you control that Things 3 never offered.
The subscription is $9.99/month for all platforms (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, web). A one-time Standard license is $74.99, with Pro at $149.99 — both are universal cross-platform purchases. The web access in the subscription is a meaningful upgrade over Things 3’s total lack of browser access.
The learning curve is real. OmniFocus assumes you either know GTD or are willing to learn it. If you found Things 3’s simplicity appealing, OmniFocus will feel like switching from a sedan to a semi truck. But if you’re the kind of person who reads David Allen’s book twice, this is where you end up.
Microsoft To Do
Microsoft To Do is free, and for a surprising number of people, that’s enough. It handles simple lists, due dates, reminders, recurring tasks, and a “My Day” planning view that’s conceptually similar to Things 3’s Today view.
It integrates deeply with Outlook and Microsoft 365. Tasks created from flagged emails show up automatically. Shared lists work for basic collaboration — something Things 3 can’t do at all.
The limitations are real: no labels or tags, limited filtering, no project nesting, and the design is… functional. It looks like a Microsoft product. If Things 3’s aesthetic sensibility matters to you, Microsoft To Do will feel like a downgrade in every visual dimension.
But it’s genuinely free, it works on every platform, and it handles the 80% case of task management without asking for a credit card. If you’re leaving Things 3 because of platform lock-in and you already live in Microsoft’s world, try it first.
Any.do
Any.do is worth looking at specifically if Things 3’s design is what you’ll miss most. It’s the cleanest-looking cross-platform task manager available — minimal, white-space-heavy, with a built-in calendar view that shows tasks and events together.
The free plan covers basic tasks and lists. Premium starts at $4.99/month and adds advanced recurring tasks, color tags, location-based reminders, and a calendar widget. The Workspace plan ($5/active user) adds team features.
Any.do doesn’t have Things 3’s depth. Projects are simple lists, not nested structures. There’s no “Areas” concept. The filtering is basic compared to Todoist or OmniFocus. But if your daily workflow is “look at today, check things off, add new things quickly,” Any.do handles that with a visual polish that most task managers lack.
The main risk: Any.do has a smaller team and less public roadmap than Todoist or TickTick. Feature development can be unpredictable.
Who Should Switch (and Who Shouldn’t)
Switch if:
- You need to access your tasks from a Windows machine or Android phone — Things 3 will never support those platforms
- You want to share projects or assign tasks to someone else
- You need a web version for those moments when you’re on a borrowed computer
- The one-time purchase model has left you uncertain about the app’s future development
Stay with Things 3 if:
- You’re all-in on Apple devices and that isn’t changing
- The single-player nature is a feature for you, not a bug — you don’t want the complexity of shared lists and assignments
- You value design craft above feature breadth — nothing on this list matches Things 3’s visual and interaction quality
- Your task management needs are simple enough that the feature limitations never actually bite
Things 3 is software for people who know what it is and want exactly that. If you’ve started wanting something it isn’t, it’s time to look around. If it still fits, stay.
FAQ
Will Things 4 ever come out?
Cultured Code hasn’t announced a release date or even confirmed Things 4 is in development. The company is famously quiet about its roadmap. Things 3 has received consistent updates since 2017, including Shortcuts support and design refinements, but no major feature overhauls. If you’re waiting for cross-platform support or collaboration, there’s no indication that’s coming.
Is TickTick really a good replacement for Things 3?
Functionally, yes — it does everything Things 3 does plus more, at a lower price, on more platforms. Emotionally, no. TickTick’s design doesn’t have the same craft. If your attachment to Things 3 is about how it feels to use, TickTick will feel like a lateral move at best. If your attachment is about what it does, TickTick is a strict upgrade.
What about Apple Reminders? It’s gotten better.
It has. Apple Reminders now supports tags, smart lists, Kanban-style column views, sections, and location-based alerts. For basic task management within the Apple ecosystem, it’s a legitimate free option. But it still lacks project structure, start dates (as distinct from due dates), deep filtering, and the intentional design flow that Things 3 provides. Reminders is a great grocery list app that’s trying to grow up. It’s not a Things 3 replacement yet.
Which alternative has the closest keyboard shortcut experience to Things 3?
Todoist comes closest. It has extensive keyboard shortcuts for creating tasks, moving between views, setting dates, and navigating projects. OmniFocus also has strong keyboard support on Mac. TickTick has shortcuts but they’re less discoverable. None match Things 3’s specific shortcuts exactly, but Todoist requires the least muscle-memory retraining.