Calendars & tasks
A task manager sells one promise: you will not forget anything. That promise rests on two primitives. A task is captured in a single tap, and a reminder fires at exactly the right moment. Of the hundred apps in this niche, 31 regularly lose data or break sync, and 39 draw complaints about silent notifications. Only a handful have raised both primitives to the level where users stop second-guessing whether something was actually saved. The winner is not the app with the richest feature set. It is the app that kills the anxiety: you wrote it, so it is saved, and the reminder will come. Everything else, interface, aesthetics, filters, only matters after the basic contract is honored.
People's rating: 100 apps by reviewsThree findings
one day screen instead of three apps
The market is split between task trackers, calendars, and habit trackers, and almost none of them bring all three into a single day view. TickTick, scored at 82, wins specifically for its unified view of tasks and events alongside voice input with natural language. Floret (81) eliminates mode switching: tasks and events on one screen with no menus. Structured (71) adds a visual map of free time blocks in the day, which people with ADHD find especially valuable. The entry point for a founder is a today view where a task, a meeting, and a habit live side by side with zero context switching.
A shared family calendar with a color per person solves what built-in apps never could43
Families with multiple kids, couples on different phone platforms, and people with irregular schedules are willing to use a dedicated app precisely because the default solutions do not give a clear picture at a glance. Color-coding by person is not a design detail but the core functional answer to the question "who is doing what today". Apps that nail this earn users for years.
I have a big family with five kids ranging from baby to preteen. My older kids are active in multiple sports. My husband and I also have different activities we do. This is the best calendar app I've ever used.
If you have a big family and like to know what direction everyone is going, this is the app for you, especially if you have several active teenagers like myself. Each member of the home has a color, so just a quick glance at the calendar.
We have used Cozi for about 7 years, going to the paid version after the first year. For a family of 6, it helps us stay organized. We mostly use the calendar and grocery list, occasionally other lists such as for packing or camping.
One-tap task entry: users pick an app by how fast they can log the first thought38
People try dozens of apps and stick with the one that captures a task before the thought vanishes. If even a single menu or field stands between the intention and the saved item, the app loses. The speed of that first tap is both the first impression and the daily ritual.
Simple, effective and I basically live with this app every day. I have ADD, never diagnosed until I was 50, and a therapist suggested I make prolific use of to-do lists.
This has all of the things without all of the fluff. Straight to the point, clean aesthetic, and honestly fun to use once you get the hang of it. I've used it for several years now and it was worth the purchase.
It's a great app but I need couple of changes: Please put the 'Add New Task' Bar back. The '+' circle to add a new task is ok but the Bar all the way on top is soooooo much faster and easier.
Feature overload kills usability: minimalism beats power in everyday use35
Users who have tried six or more apps eventually settle on the simplest one, the one with nothing extra. They say directly that the rich feature sets of other apps became a barrier to daily use. A minimal interface does not compromise on value. It becomes the primary argument for choosing a personal planning tool.
Hi! I am a psychological operations specialist/super mom/wife/entrepreneur and influencer. I downloaded this app because it is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and makes it attractive enough to stay consistent. However, I’ve been playing
Everything i Love about TickTick on the web I HATE about the app. I love that it took 15 minutes to learn the tool, and the relief was immediate. I love that it's not bloated with design and integration features and options.
The Minimalist app stands out by doing the opposite of most productivity tools — it removes all the noise. The interface is clean, intuitive, and beautifully simple, focusing purely on helping you list, organize, and complete your tasks.
Tasks and events in a single daily feed eliminates the core cognitive gap of every planner34
Users complain that most apps split tasks and events across separate screens, forcing them to hold two streams in their head at once. When both streams merge into one chronological day feed, users describe it as "finally seeing my whole day at once". This is the one architectural choice that the most demanding users are willing to pay for.
Like most of us, I am always searching for ‘THE APP’. An app that will do it all. I try an app for a week, maybe a month, then look for a new one. However, TickTick is the only app that I have had and continue to use consistently, without
I like how you have both the calendar and tasks on the same app it makes it useful and is the reason why I kept it after downloading so many other apps that are similar.
I like seeing my calendar and tasks in one screen. The time-sensitive information on my calendar affects what tasks I can get done and when.
An update that hides previously free features behind a paywall: the top trigger for mass churn among loyal users33
Users who paid for an app or used it free for years see previously accessible features disappearing behind a new paywall as a breach of contract. This triggers a sharper reaction than features that were always paid. The most damaging cases are when a feature vanishes without warning in an update and support does not respond to questions about getting it back.
I've used this app for four years at this point, and I used to really love the app. The interface wasn't overly complicated, and it was easy to create classes and tasks. While the design wasn't overly modernized and sleek like most scheduling apps now, it worked.
Prior to the latest update I absolutely loved the app. I was a free user, and even then it did exactly what I wanted it to: set pomodoro sessions, track my time among different tasks — it was perfect. The option to block apps was there.
I got this app a good while ago and ended up getting the yearly subscription for all the features. Fast forward to now and they've increased the subscription without notifying current subscribers.
Recurring tasks: the most underrated and most painful feature in the category26
Users who maintain weekly or monthly routines break specifically on recurring tasks: a single deletion removes the whole series, the needed frequency is not supported, or the recurrences vanish after an update. Those who find an app with reliable recurrence stay with it for years and call it out explicitly in reviews. Recurring tasks are the litmus test for a mature product.
UPDATE #4 (8/6/23): I have been using this app for probably around 12 years (since 2011), and loved every minute of it! However, back in 2017/2018, I read something from the developer that stated he was going through some personal issues (
I tried two competing programs before this one, and neither could successfully do recurring tasks the way I needed them to. This program accomplishes this mostly without incident; occasionally a task appears in Google calendar twice.
When I delete a task for the day, which is set to be a daily recurring task, it doesn't keep that setting continuously, so I have to hunt for it in the deleted tasks section, or enter it again. Then I end up with a huge amount of the same task.
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