Best To-Do and Task Management Apps for Mac

The short answer. Things is the one to choose if you want a beautiful, opinionated Mac-first task list and you do not need to share projects with anyone. OmniFocus is for people who actually follow Getting Things Done and will use defer dates and perspectives — the extra structure is a cost if you will not. Todoist is the answer when the list has to live on every platform and be shared with other people. 2Do is a long-standing alternative, though our data does not record its pricing model, so check the developer’s own page before assuming anything about cost.

This guide covers 4 to-do and task management apps for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment. Last verified 2026-10-05.

Quick comparison

What actually decides this

• The method, not the app. A task manager is a container for a way of working. OmniFocus assumes GTD with projects, contexts and review; a simpler list assumes you just want to capture and finish. Choosing the tool before the method is the most common cause of abandoning it.
• Sync and platform coverage. A Mac-only app is faster and more native but strands you on your phone. A cross-platform service reaches everywhere but is a web app wearing a desktop shell. Which matters depends on where you actually work.
• One-time purchase versus subscription. Several of the strongest Mac task managers are sold as one-time purchases, which is unusual in this category and worth weighing against a subscription that includes sync and collaboration.
• Collaboration. Sharing a project with another person moves you from a personal tool into a team tool, and the two have different requirements. If you never share, do not pay for the ability.
• Getting your data out. Your task history is a record of months or years of work. Whether you can export it, and in what form, decides how expensive it is to change your mind later.

Our picks

• Things — It is a native Mac app built around being easy to use rather than configurable, and it is sold as a one-time purchase. Choose it when you want a Mac-first list that is a pleasure to use and you do not share it.
• OmniFocus — It has projects, tags, defer dates, a Forecast view and custom Perspectives, which are the mechanisms GTD relies on and which simpler lists omit. Choose it when you follow GTD and will use the structure it offers.
• Todoist — It is a cross-platform task manager with projects, filters, reminders and an optional shared team workspace, which is a different job from a personal list. Choose it when your list has to be on every device and shared with other people.
• 2Do — It is a well-established Mac task app; our data does not record its pricing model, so check the developer’s own page rather than assuming. Choose it when you want a long-standing alternative with its own take on task management.

The apps

OmniFocus

OmniFocus is a task manager for macOS. The Omni Group’s task manager for people who follow Getting Things Done, with projects, tags, defer dates, Forecast and custom Perspectives. It is released under proprietary. It is one-time purchase.

Strengths. According to the developer, custom Perspectives let a complex filter, grouping and sort be saved as a reusable view, which is what separates it from a flat to-do list. A perpetual licence is available: $74.99 for Standard or $149.99 for Pro, covering all 4.x updates, with no subscription required. One purchase is a universal licence covering Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro.

Trade-offs. Requires macOS 15.2, which excludes Macs that cannot run the newest macOS release. The perpetual licence covers 4.x only, so the next major version is a discounted purchase rather than a free upgrade. The vendor’s own store page and buy page state different macOS requirements for the same licence. The Omni store page states a macOS 14 requirement for the same licence while the buy page states macOS 15.2. The shipped 4.9.2 app declares 15.2, which is what Nuanyue records. Pro features are a separate licence tier; the Standard licence is not simply a trial of Pro.

Not for. Anyone who wants a simple list of tasks — Things is easier to start with and harder to over-configure. People who need a cross-platform tool that works the same on Windows and Android, where Todoist is the better fit. Users on macOS 15.1 or earlier, since the current release requires macOS 15.2.

What it does. Inbox for capturing tasks quickly, with a keyboard shortcut from anywhere in macOS. Projects with sequential or parallel action ordering, and defer dates that keep work out of view until it is actionable. Tags for cross-cutting contexts, usable in filters alongside projects and due dates. Forecast view showing what is coming up, so the day can be planned around what is available now.

OmniFocus is listed with current version 4.9.2.

Full profile and verified facts for OmniFocus →

Things

Things is a task manager for macOS. Delightful and easy to use task manager. (Award-winning App). It is one-time purchase.

Strengths. Sold as a one-time purchase per platform rather than a subscription, so there is no recurring fee. The Mac trial runs for 15 days with every feature unlocked and no limitations, and to-dos entered during the trial are kept when you buy. According to the developer, sync runs through Things Cloud, a free account that connects Mac, iPhone, iPad, Watch and Vision Pro.

Trade-offs. Each platform is a separate purchase, so covering a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad costs $79.97 in US prices before any Vision Pro copy. There is no web app and no Windows or Android client, so the app is only as portable as Apple’s devices. The Mac app requires macOS 13.3 or later. Apple Silicon support is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks.

Not for. Windows or Android users — there is no client for those platforms. People who need a web app — Things has none. Users who want a highly configurable task system — Things organises work around four fixed lists.

What it does. Today, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday lists. Projects, areas, headings and checklists. Quick Find with app-wide tag search. Natural-language date entry (Jump Start).

Things is listed with current version 3.24.

Full profile and verified facts for Things →

Todoist

Todoist is a task manager for macOS. Cross-platform task manager with projects, filters, reminders and an optional shared team workspace. It is freemium.

Strengths. Runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web from a single account. There is a free tier that covers personal use, with no paid plan needed for reminders, sub-tasks, priorities or board layout. SOC 2 Type II certified, which matters if the account holds work data.

Trade-offs. The free tier caps personal projects at 5 and filter views at 3, which most regular users will reach. Calendar layout, full reporting history and unlimited AI sessions sit behind the Pro subscription. Pro and Business are subscriptions rather than one-time purchases, unlike some Mac-native task managers. Business is billed per user and adds local tax on top of the listed price.

Not for. Anyone who wants a one-time purchase — every tier above the free plan is a subscription. People who keep more than five personal projects and do not want to pay — the free tier caps them.

What it does. Free tier with 5 personal projects, 3 filter views, task reminders and 1 week of activity history. Pro raises that to 300 personal projects and 150 filter views, and adds a calendar layout and task duration. List and board layouts, with custom filters in label, filter and personal project views. File uploads of 5 MB on the free tier and 100 MB on Pro and Business.

Todoist is listed with current version 9.31.0.

Full profile and verified facts for Todoist →

2Do

2Do is a task manager for macOS. Nice todo app. Its pricing is not published.

What it does. 2Do Mac gives your tasks, lists, tags, notes, and checklists a focused desktop workspace.

Full profile and verified facts for 2Do →

How to choose

• One-time purchase. OmniFocus and Things — you pay once.
• Freemium. Todoist — free to use, with paid tiers for additional features.
• Pricing not published in our data. 2Do — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the app before the method. A GTD tool will not help if you never do the weekly review it assumes.
• Assuming a subscription is better because it is newer. Several of the strongest task managers here are one-time purchases.
• Migrating between systems instead of finishing tasks. The migration feels like progress and produces none.
• Never checking how to export. A task history you cannot take with you is a reason to stay, whether or not you want to.

How this guide was put together

Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.

A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.

The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.

Verified 2026-10-05.