Microsoft To Do Alternatives 2026: 6 Free Options
Microsoft To Do alternatives: Todoist, TickTick, Google Tasks, Vikunja and 2 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•2 min read•Project & Task Management
Verdict:Microsoft To Do is free, simple, and sits inside Outlook and Teams, so many people only switch when it feels too basic. Its My Day planning, shared lists and Outlook flagged emails work well, but there are no real filters, little calendar view, and it is tied to a Microsoft account. Todoist is the natural step up for filters and fast capture, with a free tier capped at 5 personal projects. TickTick combines tasks with a calendar, habits and a timer, so one app replaces three. Google Tasks is the lightweight pick for people who work inside Gmail and Calendar. If your concern is ownership of data, Vikunja is open source and can be self-hosted, and Super Productivity keeps everything local on your desktop. For team work that outgrows checklists, Trello's boards are the usual move. The trade-off is integration with your mail: Microsoft To Do pulls flagged Outlook messages straight into a list, and no alternative does that without extra tools. Stay if you already use Outlook all day and simple lists are enough. Leave when you need filters, calendar planning, collaboration beyond a shared list, or a non-Microsoft account.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todoist | Free (Beginner: up to 5 personal projects, 3 filter views, 5 people per personal project, 5 MB file uploads, 1 week of activity history) | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Powerful filters, any account | Docs only |
| TickTick | Free (9 lists, 99 tasks and notes per list, basic calendar views); paid from $49.99 per year (Premium: 299 lists, 999 tasks per list, unlimited calendar views) | Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS | Calendar and habits | Docs only |
| Google Tasks | Free | Web, iOS, Android | Google users | Docs only |
| Vikunja | Free (Self-host free forever); paid from EUR 4 per month, Vikunja Cloud Personal (Organization EUR 5 per user/month) | Web, Self-hosted | Self-hosted lists | Docs only |
| Super Productivity | Free (Free and open source per the vendor page ('Free. Open source. Yours.'); no paid plan described) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Desktop planner | Docs only |
| Trello | Free (up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, 250 Workspace command runs a month, 10 MB per file); paid from $5 per user/month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android | Shared project boards | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You need powerful filters and quick capture (Todoist is the pick)
- You want tasks with a calendar and habits (TickTick is the pick)
- You live in Gmail and Google Calendar (Google Tasks is the pick)
- You want to self-host your lists (Vikunja is the pick)
- You manage shared projects (Trello is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Microsoft To Do features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Microsoft To Do today: Free (Microsoft To Do pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Todoist
Compared with Microsoft To Do: Free Beginner plan with up to 5 personal projects and 3 filter views. Better filters and natural-language entry than Microsoft To Do, and it is not tied to a Microsoft account, but the free caps are real.
Price: Free (Beginner: up to 5 personal projects, 3 filter views, 5 people per personal project, 5 MB file uploads, 1 week of activity history) (Todoist pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Powerful filters, any account.
TickTick
Compared with Microsoft To Do: Free tier with a built-in calendar, habits and timer. Adds planning features Microsoft To Do lacks; check Microsoft's page for the Premium price.
Price: Free (9 lists, 99 tasks and notes per list, basic calendar views); paid from $49.99 per year (Premium: 299 lists, 999 tasks per list, unlimited calendar views) (TickTick pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS. Proprietary.
Best for: Calendar and habits.
Google Tasks
Compared with Microsoft To Do: Free tasks panel inside Gmail, Calendar, Chat and Drive, with sync to phones. Simpler than Microsoft To Do and no My Day, but handy if you live in Google.
Price: Free (Google Tasks pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Google users.
Vikunja
Compared with Microsoft To Do: AGPL-3.0, free to self-host or EUR 4 a month on Vikunja Cloud. Lists, Kanban and sharing, with your data under your control; fewer polished mobile apps.
Price: Free (Self-host free forever); paid from EUR 4 per month, Vikunja Cloud Personal (Organization EUR 5 per user/month) (Vikunja pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 5.9k GitHub stars · latest release v2.7.1 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Best for: Self-hosted lists.
Super Productivity
Compared with Microsoft To Do: MIT desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, local-first with time tracking. No Microsoft sign-in needed, but sharing lists with others is weak.
Price: Free (Free and open source per the vendor page ('Free. Open source. Yours.'); no paid plan described) (Super Productivity pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 23.2k GitHub stars · latest release v19.3.1 (Oct 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Desktop planner.
Trello
Compared with Microsoft To Do: Free boards for up to 10 boards per Workspace; $5 per user a month billed annually after. Cards instead of lists, a better fit for shared projects than Microsoft To Do's checklists.
Price: Free (up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, 250 Workspace command runs a month, 10 MB per file); paid from $5 per user/month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly) (Trello pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Shared project boards.
Which one to pick
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Todoist, TickTick, Google Tasks, Vikunja, Super Productivity, Trello: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Microsoft To Do. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: Microsoft To Do, Todoist, TickTick, Google Tasks, Vikunja, Super Productivity, Trello. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.