TickTick vs Todoist – Which Is Better?

TickTick and Todoist are two of the top productivity apps available today. They come with multiple features and boast an excellent user base.

If you’re looking for a similar tool and have shortlisted these two, then this article is for you. It will help you pick the better tool based on what they offer.

Down below, we have done a comprehensive comparison between TickTick and Todoist. From our review, we can say TickTick is the better app between the two. Let’s now find out why we are saying so and how they fare feature-on-feature.

TickTick vs Todoist – What Are They?

TickTick

TickTick is a task management tool helping businesses, professionals, students, and educators to capture ideas, organize their to-do-list, collaborate with teams on shared projects, set reminders on deadlines, and stay creative.

It is an American software company founded by Zhinim Chen. The app came to life in 2010 as an Android task manager, attracting many users. In 2013, the platform was rebranded to TickTick with more functionalities and a new version outside of Android.

TickTick has continued to grow since then. Now the app is available on Linux, Windows, iPhone, Apple WatchOS, and MacOS.

Additionally, you can access it through Firefox extensions or Google Chrome. To get started, you can create an account with your Google, Facebook, Twitter, or Apple accounts.

This cross-platform and collaborative tool helps you organize almost everything in life. Whether a personal goal or a work-related endeavor, TickTick enables you to manage all tasks ahead of you.

The app features flexible calendar views, where you can check and conveniently handle your schedules.

TickTick makes collaborating with others more efficient. With TickTick, you can share lists of tasks, assign tasks on the go, or collaboratively plan a family weekend. To efficiently get things done, you can seamlessly sync TickTick with over 30 features and over ten platforms.

TickTick has features ideal for the Pomodoro Technique and the Getting Things Done (GTD) way of working. The app allows you to create custom views and use the inbox to jot down anything that crosses your mind.

Many people who choose TickTick as their primary productivity app speak well about it. However, its free version, which anyone can sign up for, gives access to basic functionalities. Subscribe to its premium version to access advanced features that make the app tick.

Todoist

Todoist is a simple but robust productivity tool that can help organize your work and life. In a world where remote working and studying have taken precedence, Todoist comes in handy to meet the growing demand for better time management and optimization.

With Todoist, you can plan your day or week by adding simple tasks to tick off as you go. You can also add descriptions to each task and achieve more daily. Todoist serves over 30 million people organizing billions of tasks for their work, education, or personal life.

The California-based app was founded in 2007 by Amir Salihefendic while he was still a student and had two programming jobs. The idea of Todoist was born when Mr. Amir needed an effective way to manage his work and productivity at school.

For over 13 years, Todoist has helped Mr. Amir and millions of users to reduce stress and achieve their goals. Todoist stands out for its user-friendliness and straightforward approach, making it easier for beginners to use.

Todoist is compatible with any web, desktop, or mobile device. Todoist has reminders, priorities, due dates, comments, labels, and integrations to help you manage work projects, and household tasks, and collaborate with teams.

Once your Todoist account is up, you can quickly create your first project and add tasks. The app provides a simple walkthrough of where to find projects and to-do lists. It also points you to a more detailed document to guide you on how to get started.

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TickTick vs Todoist – Getting Started

TickTick

Before you embark on organizing tasks on TickTick, it’s essential to learn some basics of establishing the system in simple steps.

1. The first step is to transfer tasks from your mind to the TickTick app

Your mind can easily manage two to three tasks. But if the number goes to 20 or 30, your brain may lose focus and lead you to forget some tasks occasionally. TickTick frees your mind while keeping track of everything.

  • Collect all your random and unplanned thoughts through your inbox.
  • Add a new task by tapping the “+” sign on mobile or typing “quick adding box” on your desktop.
  • Set due dates and reminders using the calendar icon.
  • Set a task as recurring and priority to your tasks.

2. Organize tasks through lists, folders, and sections

Once you’ve created tasks, start organizing them to keep everything in order. Collect tasks using different lists, sort out tasks through sections, and collect lists in folders.

  • Create a new list by clicking on “add list “at the left sidebar
  • Add sections within a list
  • Create a new folder to collect lists by dragging and dropping a list onto another one

3. Arrange your tasks with smart lists and calendar

  • TickTick has inbuilt smart lists, namely All, today, tomorrow, and the following seven days. These lists automatically filter tasks and stick them on your left sidebar.
  • Arrange your tasks on the TickTick calendar

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Todoist

Todoist can help you manage a project or plan an exercise routine. The tool keeps your tasks organized so you can achieve your productivity goals.

1. Start with a project

  • Create a project by selecting the ”+” icon in the navigation menu.
  • Add every task that comes to your mind in your new project.
  • Stay on schedule, as the app can automatically detect due dates regardless of the way you put it.
  • Split tasks into subtasks and organize tasks into sections.

2. Get all things out of your head

  • If you are unsure which project to focus on, add your tasks to the inbox at the top of your navigation menu.
  • Selectively move tasks from inbox to projects. Use the project icon in the task view.

3. Plan your future

Todoist lists tasks due today, this week, or any day in your Today and Upcoming views. You can find both views below the inbox.

Since you can easily be lost in the day, keep the focus using the color-coded priority levels. And whenever you make progress, look back and celebrate your accomplishments.

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TickTick vs Todoist – Features

TickTick

Task management

TickTick has a long list of features to help you manage tasks. You can allocate each task a due date, tags, priorities, or assignee. Task management features also allow you to duplicate a single task or set a task to be recurring.

The app parses natural language dates, so if you typed today or tomorrow, it can figure out what day it is and set a due date for the task.

Smart views and inbox

TickTick allows you to create custom views using its smart list feature. The feature also taps into the GTD, and based on the search filter, it will enable you to see all the high-priority tasks you may want to do right in front of your computer.

TickTick inbox is the default place to write down your new tasks as soon as they cross your mind. Using it as GTD intends can help you sort through everything you collect in the inbox, add details to your tasks, or file them to their correct task lists.

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Collaboration

The best thing about TickTick is that it allows you to share tasks with others, assign tasks to your team, or let them give you tasks. The app notifies you whenever a collaborator joins or creates a task on the shared list.

Tracking Habits

TickTick also allows you to add Habits. You can enter anything you wish to track, such as exercising, meditating, or reading. You can check these Habits as you would for tasks, though they display differently.

A calendar view helps you track how often you make a Habit in a month. Additionally, the platform gives you options to indicate how many times you should make a Habit per day.

Todoist

Work centralization

With Todoist it is possible to centralize your projects in one place, hence simplifying your workflow. You can achieve this by connecting Todoist to your calendar, email, and files. You can also send emails in Todoist as tasks or even add voice notes to comments for context-rich tasks.

Task views personalization

Todoist’s labels, filters, boards, and themes ensure that you create task views to your liking. This further simplifies your workflow. For instance, use filters to create custom task views based on deadlines, assignees, etc. Todoist’s labels will also help you find specific tasks in seconds.

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Task sharing

To avoid being overwhelmed by work, the platform allows sharing and delegation of tasks among colleagues. It’s also possible to create a “delegated” tag to be able to track delegated tasks.

Notifications

Todoist’s platform will notify you whenever a project is completed, when people post comments, and more, ensuring that you don’t miss out on anything.

Other Considerations

TickTick

Dashboard

The first thing to notice on TickTick’s dashboard is the inbox, which temporarily works as a storage box for all tasks yet to be organized. Creating a task through the inbox is also straightforward. Simply look for the text box and type in your task.

TickTick has a user-friendly dashboard. You can easily access other features, so you shouldn’t worry about navigating the app.

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Customer support

TickTick offers its customer support through the Get started tab, advanced tips, FAQ, and user guide. Get started guides you on how to launch the app successfully; advanced tips help you navigate the app, while the FAQ section answers your concerns about using the app.

Many users are unsatisfied with TickTick’s customers since most responses look generic and not timely. The other way of contacting TickTick is by emailing support@ticktick.com or through social media: Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit.

Security and privacy

TickTick has a solid document on its privacy policy that clearly outlines the data the app collects and why. The platform pledges not to sell your data and to delete all information within a week of deleting your TickTick account.

TickTick does not provide much security information, but we assume it’s almost solid. It uses Amazon Web services to offer server space. TickTick pledges to notify you within 72 hours in case of a breach.

Todoist

Dashboard

Todoist’s straightforward dashboard helps you easily carry out and manage powerful tasks. It is not like a standard project management tool as it uses natural language input to help you create tasks the same as you would give instructions to someone.

If you wish to have recurring tasks every week on Wednesday, input the project name after the project name. If you must work with subtasks, create sub-projects instead of projects to keep your work organized.

Security

Todoist has a robust security system that helps prevent unauthorized access, monitors for potential vulnerabilities, and encrypts user data in transit and at rest. The app stores all user data on AWS servers, which are automatically backed up with several redundant copies.

To gain access to your account, you need email verification or password-based authentication. The tool also offers admin controls and prioritizes transparency and data privacy.

Customer support

The Todoist team is always ready to help out and answer questions. However, it needs an effective way to resolve your problems quickly; hence they offer other ways to solve them independently.

First, check out their known issues page to see if what you are experiencing is already known to the team. The known issues page is regularly updated in English, and the tool also includes the statuses of known bugs reported.

Todoist does not offer phone support, but you can submit a request for the team to get back to you through email.

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TickTick vs Todoist – Pricing

TickTick

TickTick has an excellent free version that lets you keep track of what you need to do and plan tasks for the future. However, the free version is limited in features, hence the need to upgrade to its premium version to enjoy advanced features and an organized life to the fullest.

TickTick’s premium annual version will cost you $27.99 per year to give you access to full calendar functionality, customized filters, create more, and keep everything under control.

Todoist

The Todoist Basic version is free, which gives you access to five active projects, file uploads of up to 5MB, and five collaborators. Upgrade to Pro or Business plans for $4 and $6 respectively, to access more features such as reminders and higher limits.

TickTick vs Todoist – Similarities and Differences

Similarities

TickTick and Todoist have much in common regarding managing tasks, whether personal or job-related. TickTick uses a three-column information display, which looks similar to Todoist, and the two support subtasks.

Task management is a crucial component of productivity. Luckily, both Todoist and TickTick do an excellent job of keeping your tasks organized. They also allow you to collaborate with your team and assign tasks.

TickTick and Todoist allow users to set reminders, priority levels, and due dates. The two have freemium versions, meaning you can enjoy their features as long as you want. But you need to upgrade to premium versions to unlock advanced features and the tools’ capabilities.

Both TickTick and Todoist offer excellent flexibility through their official apps for a wide range of devices. The two provide official apps for Windows, Web, Mac, Android, and iOS. You can easily access tasks, add new ones, and manage them across devices.

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Both platforms also offer official apps for Apple Watches and iOS-based wearable gadgets. The two apps further simplify accessing tasks through browser extensions and support the integration of third-party apps.

They both come with adjustable interfaces. They offer shortcuts to streamline your work, and the two can boost your collaboration to smoother and more robust levels, as they come with a comments feature.

Differences

TickTick allows you to create folders for your projects and tasks. On the contrary, Todoist does not qualify. TickTick also offers a more descriptive approach to your tasks, where you can add more information.

Todoist is best suited for users looking for a comprehensive task management solution. It offers features like project organization, collaboration solutions, and app integrations, including Gmail and Slack.

On the other hand, TickTick is an excellent option for those looking for more flexibility and customization in a task management system. It is feature-packed, and some of the features you wouldn’t find on Todoist include provisions for creating custom labels and categories.

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TickTick offers comments and attachments with both its freemium and paid versions. On the other hand, Todoist only has attachments and comments provisions on its paid version.

TickTick has no feature to track your productivity level. On the brighter side, Todoist has a karma feature, which can help you gauge, track, and visualize your productivity levels.

When you complete a task, you accumulate karma points on Todoist, and you can visualize your progress using colorful graphs based on these points.

TickTick vs Todoist – Pros and Cons

TickTick Pros

  • It has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to use.
  • Navigating TickTick is easy. You can move between panes, assign tasks, change due dates, or set recurring tasks with a single click.
  • It allows you to create multiple reminders to track projects and use its search functionality to retrieve information.
  • TickTick facilitates integration with third-party tools such as Gmail, Zapier, and Slack.
  • TickTick has an inbuilt calendar view.
  • It allows you to forward an email and convert it to a task.
  • TickTick is frequently updated with excellent features, so you can always expect a better experience when using the app.

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TickTick Cons

  • Not suitable for large corporations running complex projects
  • No plugin for the Safari browser

Todoist Pros

  • Todoist offers a pleasant experience with a friendly interface with no learning curve.
  • Its free plan has enough features to help you manage your projects.
  • Todoist offers reliable and automatic syncing.
  • Todoist features an intuitive and natural language to help you create, schedule, and prioritize tasks.
  • You can get the app on any web, desktop, or mobile device.
  • It stands out with its flexibility. You can use Todoist to manage your household endeavors and work projects or collaborate with your teammates.
  • Its unique Smart Schedule feature lets you plan your day by suggesting the best time to work on specific tasks based on set priorities, due dates, and tentative completion times.

Todoist Cons

  • Todoist doesn’t have an inbuilt calendar view. Since it connects to Google Calendar, it creates a mix-up of To-do-list and Google Calendar meetings, which is hard to manage.
  • Arrangement of tasks is limited
  • It requires internet connectivity, hence it’s not suitable for offline use.
  • It cannot track time. However, it allows you to integrate it with other time-tracking tools, such as Toggl Track, PomoDone, and Time Doctor.

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Final Verdict: TickTick vs Todoist – Which is Better?

Deciding on a better app between TickTick and Todoist takes work. The two have a lot in common, but a few different aspects set them apart.

But if you are looking for a more affordable tool whose free version offers more features, I recommend TickTick. TickTick is a feature-packed and solid solution for freelancers and small businesses who wish to stay on top of their tasks without a learning curve.

About Author

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing.
Tom has been a full-time internet marketer for two decades now, earning millions of dollars while living life on his own terms. Along the way, he’s also coached thousands of other people to success.