Todoist vs TickTick: Which Task Manager Wins in 2026?

Todoist and TickTick are two of the most popular personal task managers, but they serve different types of users. Todoist emphasizes clean simplicity while TickTick packs in power-user features. Here’s how they compare across every important dimension.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Todoist	TickTick
Free Plan Tasks	5 active projects	9 lists, 99 tasks/list
Starting Price	$5/month	$3.99/month
Natural Language Input	Excellent	Good
Built-in Calendar	No (integration)	Yes
Habit Tracking	No	Yes
Pomodoro Timer	No	Yes
Platforms	All major	All major
Offline Mode	Yes	Yes

Task Management Core

Todoist

Todoist’s task management is elegant and refined:

• Natural language parsing is best-in-class — type “meeting with Sarah tomorrow at 3pm #work p1” and everything gets parsed correctly
• Nested subtasks up to 4 levels deep
• Filters and labels for custom views
• Kanban boards for visual workflow management
• Task comments with file attachments
• Recurring tasks with flexible patterns

TickTick

TickTick matches Todoist’s core features and adds more:

• Natural language input (good but slightly behind Todoist)
• Multiple views: list, kanban, timeline, and calendar
• Subtasks and checklists within tasks
• Built-in calendar view with event integration
• Task duration estimates for time blocking
• Smart date parsing with suggestions

Winner: Tie — Todoist has better input parsing; TickTick has more view options.

Unique TickTick Features

TickTick includes several features that Todoist simply doesn’t have:

Habit Tracker

Track daily and weekly habits alongside your tasks. See streaks, completion rates, and progress charts. This alone can replace a separate habit app.

Pomodoro Timer

A built-in Pomodoro timer that links directly to your tasks. Start a focus session, and TickTick tracks how much focused time you’ve spent on each task.

Eisenhower Matrix

TickTick offers an Eisenhower Matrix view that automatically sorts tasks by priority and urgency — a feature productivity enthusiasts love.

White Noise

Built-in ambient sounds (rain, cafe, nature) for focus sessions. It’s a small touch that shows TickTick’s all-in-one philosophy.

Unique Todoist Features

Todoist has its own exclusive strengths:

Karma System

A gamification system that scores your productivity based on completed tasks, streaks, and consistency. It’s surprisingly motivating.

AI Assistant

Todoist’s AI can suggest tasks, break down projects, reschedule overdue items, and provide natural language scheduling.

Template Gallery

A rich library of project templates for everything from moving houses to planning weddings.

Superior Integrations

Todoist integrates with 80+ apps natively, including deep integrations with Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, and Zapier.

Pricing Comparison

Todoist

• Free: 5 active projects, 5 collaborators/project
• Pro: $5/month — unlimited projects, reminders, filters, themes
• Business: $8/user/month — team features, admin controls

TickTick

• Free: 9 lists, 99 tasks/list, 2 reminders/task
• Premium: $3.99/month — unlimited everything, calendar, habit tracker, Pomodoro

Winner: TickTick — $1/month cheaper and includes more features (habits, Pomodoro, calendar) in its premium plan.

Cross-Platform Experience

Both apps are available on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, and web. Both offer Apple Watch and Wear OS apps.

Todoist has a slight edge in design consistency across platforms — it feels native on each OS.

TickTick is functional on all platforms but occasionally feels inconsistent between mobile and desktop interfaces.

Collaboration

Todoist

• Shared projects with real-time sync
• Task assignments and comments
• Activity log for team visibility
• Business plan adds admin controls

TickTick

• Shared lists and task assignments
• Comments on shared tasks
• Less robust team management features

Winner: Todoist — better suited for team collaboration, especially on the Business plan.

Who Should Choose What?

Choose Todoist If:

• Clean, minimal design matters to you
• Natural language input is important
• You need strong team collaboration
• You rely on third-party integrations
• You want the best mobile experience

Choose TickTick If:

• You want habit tracking built in
• You use Pomodoro technique
• You want a built-in calendar view
• Budget is a priority ($1/month cheaper)
• You prefer an all-in-one tool

For more task management options, see our Todoist review or explore the best tools for freelancers.

The Verdict

Todoist wins on polish, natural language input, and integrations. It’s the refined choice for users who value simplicity and team collaboration.

TickTick wins on features-per-dollar and built-in tools. If you want habit tracking, Pomodoro timer, and a calendar without installing three separate apps, TickTick is the better value.

Both are excellent — your choice depends on whether you prefer elegant simplicity (Todoist) or feature density (TickTick).

FAQ

Can I import Todoist tasks into TickTick?

Yes. TickTick supports importing from Todoist via CSV export. The process takes a few minutes.

Do both apps work offline?

Yes. Both sync changes when you reconnect to the internet.

Which has better recurring task support?

Todoist’s natural language parsing handles complex recurrence patterns slightly better (e.g., “every 3rd Thursday”).

Is TickTick’s free plan better than Todoist’s?

Yes — TickTick allows 9 lists with 99 tasks each, while Todoist limits you to 5 active projects.