Todoist vs Things vs TickTick: to-do apps, and the one that isn't a subscription

Things 3 is the strange one out in every to-do-app comparison, and it's worth leading with: it's not a subscription at all. $49.99 once for iPhone, $19.99 for iPad, $79.99 for Mac — pay once, own it, no renewal ever, and no Android or Windows version, full stop. If you're all-in on Apple hardware and hate recurring charges on principle, that's the whole pitch right there.

Todoist and TickTick are the two actual subscriptions competing against each other, and TickTick is meaningfully cheaper: $35.99/year against Todoist Pro's $60/year — a price Todoist raised about 25% in late 2025, so if you're working from an older comparison, the gap used to be smaller than it is now. Roughly 40% cheaper, in TickTick's favor.

What that extra $24 a year buys with Todoist is mostly polish and AI: a cleaner interface, strong natural-language task entry ("submit report next Friday 3pm" just works), and an expanding AI suite including a voice-to-task feature. TickTick spends its lower price differently — it bundles a Pomodoro timer, a habit tracker, an Eisenhower Matrix view, and a full calendar, essentially four apps' worth of functionality under one to-do list.

| | Price | Model |
|---|---|---|
| Things 3 | $49.99–79.99 one-time (per platform) | no subscription, Apple only |
| TickTick | $35.99/yr | subscription, bundles habit/Pomodoro tools |
| Todoist | $60/yr | subscription, cleaner UI + AI features |

If you want more tools in one place for less money and don't mind a slightly busier interface, TickTick is the better deal outright. If simplicity and natural-language input are what actually get you to use a to-do app consistently — which, for this category, is the entire point — Todoist's extra $24/year might be worth it just for the habit it reinforces. And if a recurring charge for a to-do list bothers you on principle, Things 3 is the only one of the three where that's simply not a factor after you buy it.