| Product | Ideal for | Price from | Free version | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-round daily planning | See website | Yes | Visit | |
| Tasks plus calendar and habits | See website | Yes | Visit | |
| Microsoft ecosystem tasks | Free | Yes | Visit | |
| Google ecosystem tasks | Free | Yes | Visit | |
| Notes plus planner | See website | Yes | Visit | |
| Simple lists and reminders | See website | Yes | Visit | |
| Classic smart lists | See website | Yes | Visit | |
| Free team planning | See website | Yes | Visit |
A planner app must capture tasks fast, show today clearly, remind you at the right time and sync across phone and computer. Free tiers differ in project limits, reminders, collaboration and calendar views, so the best free app depends on how you plan. We compared free tiers, task entry, calendar views, reminders and platform support.

Ideal for: All-round daily planning

Todoist is the all-round free planner pick. Its free tier covers projects, labels, filters and task entry, with natural language parsing that turns a typed phrase into a dated, prioritised task in seconds. Apps on phones, desktop and web sync reliably, and the today view keeps daily planning focused on what matters now.
The catch is reminders. Location and time reminders, plus some advanced filters, sit on the paid Pro plan, so a user who relies on push reminders for every task may need to upgrade. For a planner who checks a today list daily, Todoist free tier is enough for most personal planning.

Ideal for: Tasks plus calendar and habits

TickTick suits users who want planning, habits and focus tools in one place. Its free tier covers tasks, lists, calendar views, habit tracking and a Pomodoro timer, which helps a user plan a day, build a habit and focus on work without switching apps. Calendar integration shows tasks beside events, which many pure task apps lack.
The weakness is simplicity. TickTick offers so much that minimalists may find it busy, and some advanced lists, calendar features and themes need a paid plan. For a user who wants one app for tasks, habits and focus, TickTick free tier is the most complete package here.

Ideal for: Microsoft ecosystem tasks

Microsoft To Do suits Microsoft 365 users who want a free, reliable task list. It is fully free for core tasks, with a My Day view that helps you pick today priorities, lists, reminders and integration with Outlook mail, calendar and Teams tasks. That Microsoft fit makes it effortless for work accounts.
The limit is depth. Project management, advanced filters and team planning trail Todoist and ClickUp, and calendar power comes from Outlook rather than To Do itself. For a Microsoft user who needs a clean daily list, To Do is free and sufficient.

Ideal for: Google ecosystem tasks
Google Tasks suits Google users who want the simplest possible list. It lives inside Gmail and Google Calendar, so a task can start from an email in one click, and lists sync across phone and web without a separate subscription. That simplicity is its main virtue for users who already live in Google apps.
The weakness is power. Google Tasks lacks projects, tags, priorities beyond starring, and advanced reminders, so a user with complex planning needs will outgrow it fast. For a Google user with a short daily list, Google Tasks is free, fast and frictionless.

Ideal for: Notes plus planner
Notion suits planners who want notes, projects and tasks in one workspace. Its free personal tier covers unlimited pages and blocks, with databases, boards, calendars and templates that can build a weekly planner, a habit tracker or a project hub. That flexibility appeals to users who plan in documents, not just in lists.
The catch is reminders and focus. Notion reminders are weaker than Todoist or TickTick, and building a good planner takes setup time that a simple task app avoids. Notion fits a user who already takes notes in Notion and wants planning beside them, not a user who wants a ready-made today list.

Ideal for: Simple lists and reminders
Any.do suits users who want a simple list with a daily review ritual. Its free tier covers lists, reminders and a Moment feature that walks through today tasks each morning, which helps a user start the day with intention rather than a long, guilt-inducing list. Calendar integration shows tasks beside events.
The limit is project depth. Any.do handles lists and reminders well, but complex projects, filters and team planning trail Todoist and ClickUp, and advanced features need a paid plan. For a simple daily planner with reminders, Any.do is calm and effective.

Ideal for: Classic smart lists
Remember The Milk suits planners who love smart lists and search. Its free tier covers tasks, lists, tags and smart lists built from saved searches, which lets a power user slice tasks by due date, tag, location or priority in ways simpler apps cannot match. That search power has kept it popular for many years.
The weakness is modern polish. Its interface feels older than Todoist or TickTick, and some features, such as advanced reminders and integrations, need a paid Pro plan. For a planner who thinks in searches and smart lists, Remember The Milk remains a distinctive and capable choice.

Ideal for: Free team planning
ClickUp suits teams and power planners who want a free, full workspace. Its free tier covers unlimited tasks and members for basic use, with lists, boards, calendars, docs, goals and many views in one platform. That generosity makes ClickUp the best free team planner here, especially for a small team that cannot yet pay for project software.
The catch is complexity. ClickUp offers so many features that a personal planner may feel overwhelmed, and large workspaces can feel heavy. For a solo user with a simple list, Todoist or TickTick will feel faster, while a team that needs docs, goals and views free will prefer ClickUp.
We compared free tier limits, task entry, calendar views, reminders, collaboration and platform support for apps still operating in October 2026. We kept simple lists, all-round planners and team workspaces in the list, since free planning needs differ. We did not test every free tier limit in daily use, so confirm current free limits on the vendor site before committing to a system.
Start with your daily habit, not with features. A planner only works if you open it every morning, review today tasks, and capture new tasks the moment they arrive, so pick the app whose today view and capture flow feel fastest to you. Test capture from phone, desktop and email, since a task that takes a minute to enter will not get entered.
Next, check free tier limits against your real use. Count projects, tasks, collaborators, reminders and calendar needs, and confirm they fit the free tier, since a free plan that caps projects at five will frustrate a user with ten areas of life. Upgrade only when a limit actually blocks you, not because a paid feature looks appealing.
Finally, keep the system simple. Use one today list, one inbox for new tasks, and a weekly review to clear stale tasks, rather than building a complex system with dozens of projects and tags. A simple planner you use daily beats a powerful planner you abandon in week two, and most free tiers here support a simple system well.
Todoist is our pick for most users because of its strong free tier, natural language entry and cross-platform apps. TickTick suits users who want habits and a calendar too, while Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks suit users inside those ecosystems.
Yes, for most personal planning, since the free tier covers projects, labels, filters and task entry. Reminders and some advanced filters need a paid plan, so users who rely on push reminders for every task may need Pro, while daily list checkers will manage free.
ClickUp offers the most generous free tier for teams, with unlimited tasks and members for basic use, plus docs, goals and many views. Todoist and TickTick free tiers suit personal use better, while ClickUp suits a small team that needs shared planning free.
Yes. All apps in this list offer free tiers, and Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks are fully free for core tasks. Free tiers cover daily planning well, with paid plans adding reminders, advanced filters, collaboration and storage for heavier users.
Check it every morning, capture tasks immediately, keep today list short, and review weekly to clear stale tasks. A planner fails when capture is slow or the list grows unchecked, so keep the system simple and review it on a fixed day each week.