TickTick vs Todoist: Which Task Manager Should You Choose?

Choose TickTick if you want tasks, a built-in habit tracker, Pomodoro tools and calendar views in one product. Choose Todoist if you prefer project-based task management with Quick Add shortcuts, custom filter queries and a dedicated team workspace on Business.

Both handle personal tasks, recurring work and collaboration. The decision is less about which app can store a to-do and more about how you want to capture, organize and work through it.

Prices, plans and features checked October 2026, using official documentation. This guide is published by SelfManager.ai. Recommendations reflect documented features and workflow differences.

TickTick vs Todoist at a Glance

Pricing and plan details come from the official product pages and billing documentation.

TickTick and Todoist are the main comparison. SelfManager.ai is the “neither fits” option for readers who want dated workspaces and a record of their day.

1. Capture: What Happens When a New Task Interrupts Your Work?

Both apps support quick capture and natural-language date recognition. Do not choose between them on the assumption that only one understands a phrase such as “tomorrow at 4pm.”

Todoist’s Quick Add documentation describes a compact syntax for adding context as you type:

If the relevant project and section exist, entering “Send proposal tomorrow at 4pm #Work /Admin p1” combines capture, scheduling and filing in one entry.

TickTick also documents natural-language dates and times, tags, priorities and filters. It is a practical choice when you want quick task capture connected to its broader toolkit.

Verdict: Try Todoist if you like typing shortcuts for filing tasks precisely. TickTick also handles quick capture; the documentation does not establish a speed winner.

What about voice capture?

Todoist’s Ramble turns spoken input into structured tasks, interpreting details such as dates, projects and priorities. Free access is limited; paid plans offer unlimited sessions subject to fair-use limits.

TickTick also documents voice input. If voice matters to you, test the output and editing workflow on your device. The presence of voice capture alone does not tell you how well it will handle your instructions.

2. Organization: A Project System or a Broader Personal Toolkit?

Todoist organizes tasks into projects and sections, with labels, priorities and custom filters. Its filter queries let you combine conditions:

• today & p1: today’s highest-priority tasks.
• (today | overdue) & #Work: work tasks due today or overdue.

This helps when your day contains tasks from several projects. You can create a view around what matters now without moving everything into another list.

TickTick also offers lists, tags and smart filters. Its additional tools, including habits, focus features and an Eisenhower Matrix, provide more ways to organize and work through personal obligations.

Consider a day containing client work, household tasks and exercise. If you want routines and focus sessions alongside those tasks, TickTick’s extra tools may be useful. If you mainly want to pull selected tasks from ongoing projects into a few custom views, Todoist may feel more natural.

Verdict: Choose Todoist for a workflow centered on projects and query-based views. Choose TickTick when you will use its broader personal productivity toolkit. Filters alone are not an exclusive Todoist advantage.

3. Calendar Planning: Both Offer More Than a Plain Task List

TickTick Premium includes multiple calendar views and task durations. This makes it relevant if you want to inspect your day visually and plan timed work.

Todoist also supports calendar planning, but its documentation separates two features:

• Calendar integration: Connect Google or Outlook Calendar, see events in Today and Upcoming, and sync tasks to your calendar. This is available on Beginner, Pro and Business.
• Calendar layout and task durations: Plan tasks visually with durations. These require Pro or Business.

Todoist supports one connected calendar provider/account at a time. Calendar events shown inside Todoist are read-only; editing them takes you to Google or Outlook Calendar.

For a workday with meetings and two substantial tasks, compare what happens when your schedule changes. Can you see the conflict, adjust your tasks and understand what remains unfinished? Try that sequence using the calendar provider and device you actually use.

Verdict: TickTick is attractive for calendar tools alongside habits and focus. Todoist is attractive when you want calendar planning within your project system. Neither should be dismissed as merely a plain task list.

4. Recurring Tasks and Deadlines: Match the Rule to the Obligation

Both apps support recurring tasks. The important question is whether the next occurrence should follow a fixed schedule or the date you last completed the work.

Todoist distinguishes these through every and every!. A fixed quarterly task can follow its original schedule, while every! 3 months repeats three months after completion.

TickTick also documents recurrence based on due date or completion date. Flexible recurrence is therefore not exclusive to either app.

Consider two obligations:

• Send a Friday report: Friday stays fixed even if last week’s report was late.
• Replace a filter three months after replacement: The interval should follow the actual completion date.

Todoist’s paid plans also include a separate deadline field, allowing you to distinguish when you plan to work from the final date by which the task must be finished.

Verdict: Both can handle flexible recurring work. Todoist deserves attention if a separately recorded final deadline matters to your planning. Test a real recurring task before migrating your routines.

When the Missing Piece is a Record of the Day

If you already have task lists but struggle to remember what happened, try SelfManager.ai’s seven-day free trial. Create today’s tables, add real tasks, track time where useful and leave comments explaining decisions or blockers.

Start with the core planner. AI can help with planning and review once you have useful context recorded. No credit card is required.

5. Habits and Focus: Built-in Tools or an Extension?

TickTick includes a dedicated habit tracker, Pomodoro tools and statistics covering tasks, focus duration and habits. It is the more direct starting point if you want these functions together.

Todoist can support routines through recurring tasks. It also offers a Habit Tracker extension that records streaks in a task’s description and completion history in its comments.

There is a setup tradeoff: Todoist says the extension overrides the tracked task’s description. If you use that field for instructions, account for that before enabling it.

Verdict: TickTick wins for a built-in habit and focus workflow. Todoist remains a reasonable choice when recurring tasks or its Habit Tracker extension cover your needs.

6. Collaboration: Shared Lists or a Dedicated Team Workspace?

TickTick supports shared lists, assignments and task comments. Its help documentation says free users can add one other shared member, while Premium users can add up to 29 members to a shared list. Both free and Premium users can join shared lists.

Todoist supports shared projects. Business adds a dedicated team workspace, roles and permissions, project folders and centralized billing. Its documented team roles help distinguish administration, membership and guest access.

For a household list or a small shared project, TickTick may provide enough structure. For multiple work projects with deliberate access management, Todoist Business is the clearer fit.

That does not mean every collaboration requires Business. Sharing a small Todoist project is different from operating a dedicated team workspace.

Verdict: TickTick fits straightforward list sharing. Todoist Business wins when you need a team workspace and administration features.

7. Free Plans: Compare the Limits You Will Actually Reach

TickTick’s free plan lists nine lists and 99 tasks per list. Todoist Beginner lists five personal projects and three custom filter views.

These units are not identical. A TickTick list and a Todoist project can be organized differently, so a larger number does not automatically establish a better free plan.

More useful questions are:

1. Can your active work fit within the available containers?
2. Do you need a visual calendar layout and task durations?
3. Do you need more custom views or collaborators?
4. How much past activity do you need to inspect?

Todoist Beginner includes task reminders and one week of activity history. Pro expands project and filter capacity and provides full reporting history. TickTick Premium expands capacity and unlocks its premium calendar features.

Verdict: Start free if your requirements fit. Upgrade for a specific limit or workflow you need.

Pricing: TickTick Premium vs Todoist Pro and Business

US prices checked October 2026. Local taxes, currencies and purchase channels may affect what you pay.

The TickTick figure comes from its official annual upgrade offer. Todoist’s figures come from its current plans and billing FAQ.

For an individual paying annually, TickTick Premium is $10.01 less per year than Todoist Pro at these listed prices. That difference matters, but the workflow you use every day should carry more weight.

Evaluate Todoist Business separately from personal Pro pricing. It serves a different operating setup, and its per-user bill grows with the number of paid members.

If Neither Fits: Daily Tables and Review in SelfManager.ai

You may find both tools capable of holding tasks while wanting a different way to organize the day.

SelfManager.ai begins with dates and tables. Each day can contain separate tables for client work, your projects and personal obligations. Tasks have statuses and priorities; time tracking, notes and comments preserve the details of the work. See how date-based planning works.

For example, today’s client table might contain a testing task, the time spent on it and a comment explaining why it remains blocked. Completed work stays attached to its date, making that day’s record available later.

AI adds another layer: generating dated plans, summarizing a table or reviewing a week using recorded tasks, time and context. The daily planner is the foundation; AI planning and review build on it.

Choose SelfManager.ai if: Your priority is planning by day and keeping a contextual record you can review.

Choose TickTick instead if: Dedicated habits, Pomodoro tools and calendar-based task planning are your main requirements.

Choose Todoist instead if: Project-based organization, custom task views and a Business team workspace are your main requirements.

SelfManager.ai is an installable web app. It does not currently sync external calendars or automatically schedule around meetings. Individual costs $8/month or $72/year. Team costs a flat $30/month or $300/year with unlimited collaborators.

Verdict: Which One Fits Your Use Case?

Choose TickTick when its integrated personal toolkit is useful to you. Choose Todoist when its project structure, capture syntax and team options better match your work.

If neither fits because you want the day itself to be your workspace, try SelfManager.ai’s seven-day free trial. Start with dated tables, tasks, the time tracker and comments, then explore AI planning and review. No credit card is required.

For the broader three-tool perspective, read TickTick vs Todoist vs SelfManager.ai. If you are also considering an Apple-focused personal task manager, TickTick vs Things 3 covers that separate decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is TickTick better than Todoist?

TickTick is a stronger starting point for tasks, dedicated habits and focus tools together. Todoist is a stronger starting point for project-based organization, capture shortcuts, custom filter queries and a Business team workspace. Choose according to the workflow you need.

Is TickTick cheaper than Todoist?

At US prices checked October 2026, TickTick Premium costs $49.99/year and Todoist Pro costs $60/year or $7/month. Both offer free plans. Todoist Business is a separate plan at $10/user/month or $96/user/year.

Does Todoist have a calendar?

Yes. Google or Outlook Calendar integration is available on all plans. Calendar layout and task durations require Pro or Business. Connecting a calendar and using the paid visual layout are separate features.

Does Todoist track habits?

You can use recurring tasks for routines and add Todoist’s Habit Tracker extension for streak tracking. The extension uses task descriptions and comments and overrides the description field. TickTick provides a dedicated built-in habit tracker.

Can I share tasks in both apps?

Yes. TickTick supports shared lists, assignments and comments. Todoist supports shared projects, while Business adds a dedicated team workspace and administration features. Check the limits of your intended plan.

Do both support recurring tasks?

Yes. Both document recurrence based on a fixed schedule or completion date. Check the rule carefully when the next occurrence should depend on when you finish the task.

When should I consider SelfManager.ai instead?

Consider it when you want tasks, tracked time, notes and comments organized within dated tables, creating a record you can review later. AI builds on that context. Check its calendar limitations if calendar integration is essential to you.