Managers are losing 62% of their workdays on work about work—points out the Anatomy of Work Special Report by Asana.
What could be more irritating than working on something that doesn’t translate to results? Not even close to that.
The best task manager apps can solve the problem by providing a step-by-step road map to unfold a productive day.
What is a task manager app?
A task manager app serves only one purpose: to get things done as quickly and smoothly as possible.
It’s so much more than checking boxes. The best task manager apps shape your identity.
A good tool improves the way you work. A great tool improves the way you think. – Jeff Duntemann
If you choose the right task management application—one that resonates with you—you’re on your way to transforming the way to approach work.
The result? More boxes checked.
Nope…
Your task manager tool will be your best friend. She’ll hold your hands on good days. And she’ll point you in the right direction when things go south.
Let’s see the best task manager apps to quickly find your fiancé.
Nozbe—the get it done app
Mission: Get things done instead of managing things
Nozbe is a beautifully designed, minimalist task manager app for small teams.
It’s perfectly suitable to implement the GTD methodology. There’re no subtask and Kanban boards here, just simple lists with sections and a lot of granular functionalities.
Folks who use Nozbe know my firm stand (a strong no-no) on “sub-projects”, “sub-tasks”, or “prioritization”. They know that I’m all for flat hierarchy (the flatter the better) and prioritizing by dragging and dropping stuff to the top or bottom of the list (instead of popular 1-3 priority system) – Michael Sliwinski, CEO
Nozbe has native integration with Google Calendar (one-way sync), but has its calendar view as well, which is awesome for planning.
Key features:
- Email your tasks to Nozbe and use hashtags to specify the priority, project, section, assignee, due date, and more, straight from your email client
- Create a chain of tasks using task dependencies
- Plan your week with the unique calendar view
- Set your priorities with Nozbe’s powerful priority view
Plans and pricing: €0/mo-€8/mo (per user)
Pros:
- Emailing tasks with hashtag functions
- Excellent mobile app
- Superior look & feel experience
- Excellent support & community
- In-app news feed (just nice!)
Cons:
- Lacks complex functions
- Bit pricy compared to more complex tools
Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch
TickTick—the innovator
Mission: Stay organized and creative
TickTick has been around for a while (since 2013) and it will soon outperform (or even has outperformed) the big name: Todoist.
It has some unique functions which set this task manager app apart from the competition.
Key features:
- Schedule your tasks with ease by using the smart date recognition feature
- Track your habits right in your task manager app
- Plan out your day and time block your tasks with TickTick’s built-in calendar
- Arrange your tasks within an Eisenhower matrix
Plans and pricing: $0/mo-$2.4/mo (per user)
Pros:
- Built-in Pomodoro timer
- Smart date recognition
- Unique functions (habit tracker, Eisenhower matrix, 5 different calendar views)
- In-app customer support (just nice!)
- Excellent mobile experience
Cons:
- Smart date parsing can conflict with other apps on your computer
- Lacks complex functions
- Projects don’t have unique email addresses (can’t email tasks to a specified project)
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch
Todoist—the granddaddy
Mission: Become your trusted second brain
Todoist is the real granddaddy of task manager apps. Many Youtube influencers (Ali Abdaal, Francesco D’Alessio, just to name a few) advocate Todoist.
And not without a reason.
Todoist has all the complexity and simplicity to handle your personal and business projects with ease.
It syncs with your calendar (two-way sync) and has its planner, which is awesome. With Todoist’s smart date recognition, you can quickly schedule your tasks. You can create special filters to customize this task management application to your needs.
Key features:
- Schedule your tasks with ease by using the smart date recognition feature
- With the two-way sync between your calendar and Todoist, you’ll never miss an important thing
- Capture your thoughts in seconds with Todoist’s quick add feature
- Create unique views with advanced filters
Plans and pricing: $0/mo-$6/mo (per user). Your best bet: with Todoist’s Pro plan, you’ll get everything you need to get things done.
Pros:
- Smart date recognition
- Easy to use and customizable
- Two-way calendar sync
- Email tasks with smart dates and tags
Cons:
- Task details open in a new window instead of a side panel (like Nozbe or TickTick)
- Not easy to read on display (small text)
- Lacks complex functions
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch, Wear OS
Asana—the organizer
Mission: Organize work in one connected place
If Todoist is the granddaddy of task manager apps, then Asana is the queen of project management tools.
Asana’s mission is to organize work in one place. And when they say it, they mean it.
With easily customizable views and fields, automations, and integrations, this task manager app can serve as the north star of your team.
And what’s best: complex functions don’t come at the expense of user experience. It’s a breeze to create, schedule, and update tasks and projects.
Key features:
- Manage your tasks and projects with different views (Kanban boards, lists, calendars, timeline)
- Create forms to manage requests
- Streamline your processes with in-app automations
- Record your screen right from Asana and add the video as a comment to the task
- See how your team is performing and assure that they don’t get overloaded with tasks
Plans and pricing: €0/mo-€25/mo (per user). Your best bet: With Asana Premium, you’ll get access to everything that’s at the heart of hardcore project management: custom fields, timelines, forms, rules, and more.
Pros:
- Customizable workflow
- Wide range of native integrations and plugins
- Quick navigation
- Amazing community & template library
Cons:
- Not quite suitable for solo work
- Not-yet-excellent mobile experience
- Lack of customizable email-to-task feature
- Steep learning curve
Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Monday—the work OS for a new way of working
Mission: Create a place where all work happens
Monday is rather a project management application or a work OS, but excels at task management, too.
With an array of features such as boards, dashboards, widgets, apps, automations, and docs, Monday brings all your work to one centralized place.
Monday has a beautiful interface, which you can tailor to your needs. You can use it as a task manager app, a CRM, a company hub, or whatever you like.
Monday’s workdocs replaces Google Docs by providing a collaborative workplace. But it’s so much more than just a doc: you can embed boards right into workdocs and transform your doc into action items.
Key features:
- Real-time collaboration and task management with docs
- Create dashboards to simplify decision-making
- Save time with in-app automations
- Set up integrations with all your tools
Plans and pricing: €0/mo-€16/mo (per user). Your best bet: You’ll need the standard plan (€10/mo) to get the integrations and automations, plus the timeline and the calendar views.
Pros:
- Send and receive emails within the app
- Wide range of native integrations
- In-app automations
- Customizable workspace
Cons:
- Everything starts with a board (but why?)
- Steep learning curve
- Lack of quick capture
- Not GTD-friendly
Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
ClickUp—the app that replaces them all
Mission: Save one day every week
ClickUp is a relatively new player in the productivity game, yet maybe it’s the only app that replaces them all. Since its foundation (2017), the company has been growing enormously and they’re constantly pushing out new functions.
Key features:
- Use the built-in chat function to exchange ideas and avoid meetings
- Plan your projects in a mind map, make notes in the docs, and manage your tasks on a board
- Track your workload, goals, and time with ClickUp’s advanced features
- Automate your workflow with ClickUp automation
Plans and pricing: $0/mo-$19/mo (per user). Your best bet: the Unlimited plan is more than enough to get you started.
Pros:
- Wide range of native integrations
- Integrated docs and automations
- Fully customizable workspace
- Mind maps
Cons:
- Steep learning curve (when I say it, I mean it)
- No quick capture
- The diversity of functions comes at the expense of user experience
- Everything starts with a board (but why?)
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch
Notion—the all-in-one workspace
Mission: Break away from today’s tools, and bring back the good old wisdom
Notion is so much more than other task manager apps. It’s a non-coding, fluid environment. It’s a database. It’s like Excel on steroids.
Maybe Notion was the first app claiming that it replaces them all. If you’re ready to compromise on your standards, it will.
In Notion, everything is a block. And you just start playing with these blocks, like you used to with your LEGO blocks.
Key features:
- Build your very own task manager app from scratch
- Integrate your system with the Notion API
- Collaborate in real-time
- Create customized databases and link them together to surface your work
Plans and pricing: $0/mo-$8/mo (per user).
Pros:
- Excellent writing & editing features (I’m writing this article in Notion)
- Fully customizable workspace (tables, lists, boards, galleries, timelines, calendars)
- Surfacing information is a breeze with filters, grouping functions, rollups, and linked views
- Slash commands (I like it!)
Cons:
- Lack of native email integration (a big disappointment)
- Steep learning curve
- Lack of quick capture
- Offline work is restricted
Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Things—the German handsome guy in blue
Mission: Productivity, simplicity, and beautiful design
Things is a simple task manager app for your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
It was established with the mission to provide a simple, beautiful task manager tool to get things done as quickly as possible.
Key features:
- Quickly capture your thoughts and tasks with Things’ quick entry
- With the Today and This Evening sections, you can rest assured that your day will be productive as hell
- Plan your week with the upcoming list
- Open multiple windows on your Mac and drag your tasks back and forth between projects
Plans and pricing: Things doesn’t offer a subscription. You can buy lifetime licenses for each platform.
Pros:
- Beautiful interface and excellent user experience
- Natural language processing
- Quick add functions
- One-time purchase
Cons:
- Apple-ecosystem only
- No way to bundle apps together into a single purchase (and get a discount)
- Lack of advanced features
- Limited email-to-task functionality (no metadata, no attachments transferred)
Platforms: Mac, iOS, Apple Watch
OmniFocus—the GTDer
Mission: Provide long-term support
OmniFocus is among the top pioneers of GTD task manager apps, dating back to the 2000s. If you’re serious about GTD, work solo and on a Mac, don’t read any further: OmniFocus is for you.
Even David Allen, the inventor of the GTD methodology and author of the best-selling book, Getting Things Done, recommends OmniFocus.
Key features:
- Do your GTD weekly review in OmniFocus and surface your projects when needed
- Quickly capture your thoughts and tasks with a simple shortcut
- Specify tasks in granular details
- Create different types of projects: linear, sequential, and parallel
Plans and pricing: You can buy OmniFocus as a subscription in a bundle for $9.99/mo per user (including Mac, iOS, and web versions). Alternatively, you can purchase your task manager app as a traditional license from $49.99 (Mac version). The web add-on costs $4.99/mo per user.
Pros:
- Offers a structured workspace that appeals to GTD users
- Powerful quick capture
- Excellent navigation and customer experience on Mac (not in the web version)
Cons:
- Lack of collaboration functions
- Limited and pricy web version; no Windows & Android apps
- Requires too much specification upfront
Platforms: Mac, iOS, Web
MeisterTask—the effortless task manager app
Mission: Creating productivity tools that people love to use
MeisterTask is part of the Meister brand, founded in 2006 and having now 33 million users worldwide.
MeisterTask is built around the agile workflow. What I most like about this task management software, however, is the seamless integration with Meister’s other flagship product: MindMeister, the online mind mapping software.
Key features:
- Use mind maps to plan your projects and then create & assign tasks right from the mind map
- Create private dashboards with the Agenda function and see different projects in one centralized place
- Automate repetitive work with built-in automations
- Add custom fields to customize your workflow
- Personalize your My tasks widget with simple checklists and more
- Easily switch back and forth between projects and tasks using the Quick Switcher
Plans and pricing: €0/mo-€20.75/mo (per user). Your best bet: buy MeisterTask and MindMeister together and save up to 30% – get Meister Bundle Pro from €11.55/mo
Pros:
- Perfectly integrates into and works with the Meister Suite ecosystem: MindMeister (mind mapping tool), MeisterNote (documentation)
- Personal checklist in My tasks with the option to convert items to tasks downstream
- Built-in time-tracker
- Email tasks to the app with tags
Cons:
- Everything starts with a Kanban board
- Specifying task details is a bit cumbersome
Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Microsoft To Do—the Wunderlist kid
Mission: Create a simple, and elegant daily task experience built into Microsoft’s intelligent, and interconnected ecosystem
Microsoft To Do is a simple task manager app that preserved some of the heritage from the late Wunderlist. (Actually, Microsoft acquired Wunderlist a long time ago and then retired the app.)
Microsoft To Do offers a simple to-do list and seamless integration with Outlook and the Microsoft ecosystem. It’s nothing more, and nothing less, either.
Key features:
- Sync your tasks with your emails in Outlook
- Plan your week with the intelligent daily planner
- Share your projects with friends and family
Plans and pricing: Microsoft To Do is free to use with a Microsoft account
Pros:
- Integrates with Outlook tasks
- Part of the Microsoft ecosystem
- Very simple & easy to use
- Preserved the anatomy of Wunderlist (I like starring tasks)
Cons:
- Lack of basic functions and customization (such as filters, advanced tagging, projects sections, project description, and task dependencies)
- Couldn’t bring back the superior look & feel of the late Wunderlist
Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Google Tasks—the Gmail super plugin
Mission: Get tasks done faster
Google Tasks is a Google tool that sits on the sidebar of your Gmail account. It comes handy when you look for a basic to-do list and you’re working in Google Workspace already.
You can create basic lists, schedule your tasks, star important items, and set up recurring to-dos.
Key features:
- Create tasks and subtask right from your Google account
- Drag your email to the Google Tasks sidebar to quickly turn it into a task
Plans and pricing: free to use with a Google account
Pros:
- Part of the Google Workspace
- Turn emails into tasks quickly
- Free to use
- Keyboard shortcuts to speed up the work (always handy)
Cons:
- Lack of basic functions
- No desktop app
- Task sidebar doesn’t expand (basically Google Tasks is a sidebar in Gmail)
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Which is the best task manager app, anyway?
After 6+ years of experimenting with dozens of productivity tools, I came to realize that there’s no perfect task manager app.
Each has its advantages and drawbacks.
Here’s a shortcut to find out what’s the best task manager app for you:
- If you’re new to task management and want a simple tool, begin with Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do—choose the one that fits your working platform
- If you’re a GTDer and work in the Apple ecosystem, go with OmniFocus. Otherwise, choose Nozbe, Todoist, or TickTick
- If you work solo and want a simple yet powerful to-do app, Things will save your day
- If you work in a team and manage complex projects, but you want to handle your personal to-dos as well, your best bet is Asana
- If you work on complex projects with your team, Monday or ClickUp is for you
- If you like mind maps, MeisterTask won’t let you down
- If you want to build up and customize your task manager app, go with Notion
The bottom line
One crucial element of finding the best task manager app is trust. At the end of the day, all you want is to put your stuff into a tool that plays the long game.
I love the tools that claim they don’t have an exit strategy. Such task management tools are Nozbe, Todoist, and TickTick. I can rest assured that my task manager housing all my personal and professional projects, won’t fall prey to some tech giant. And my data are safely stored and encrypted.
One more question to ask: are you in alignment with the company’s mission and values?
Image credit. Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
