📑 Table of Contents
🙋 Why I Went Looking for a To-Do App
⭐ A Month of Actually Using It
🙋 Why I Went Looking for a To-Do App
My system before this was a mix of phone reminders, sticky notes on my monitor, and a notes app I never actually reopened. Things fell through often enough that I finally sat down and tried three task apps back to back for a week each. Todoist is the one I kept using past the trial week, so I committed to a full month on the free plan specifically, since that's what most people actually start with.
I used it for everything - work tasks, personal errands, recurring chores, even a small freelance project with a couple of deadlines. This review covers what the free plan handles well, where it started to feel tight, and whether I'd tell a friend to just start paying from day one instead.
🔎 What Is Todoist?
Todoist is a task and project management app built around quickly capturing to-dos and organizing them into projects, with natural-language date parsing that turns typing "pay rent every 1st" into a recurring reminder automatically.
- Platform: Android, iPhone/iPad, Windows, macOS, Linux, web browser, and browser extensions
- Free plan (Beginner): 5 active projects, 5 collaborators per project, 3 filter views, 5MB file uploads, basic reminders
- Pro plan: around $5/month billed annually, raising the limit to 300 projects, 25 collaborators, custom reminders, and a calendar layout
The free tier is genuinely usable for a single person managing a normal workload - the limits mostly show up once you start splitting life into many separate projects.
⭐ A Month of Actually Using It
Week one was mostly setup - I made projects for Work, Home, Errands, a freelance project, and a "someday" list, which used all 5 of my free project slots almost immediately. The Quick Add feature, where typing "call dentist tomorrow 3pm" auto-creates a task with the right due date and time, became the thing I used most, on both phone and desktop.
By week two, recurring tasks (weekly trash day, monthly bills) were running on their own and I stopped thinking about them, which is exactly what I wanted. Week three is when I hit the wall: I wanted a sixth project for a new side task and had to either delete an old one or merge two together, which felt like a workaround rather than a feature. Week four was mostly maintenance - checking off tasks, rescheduling a few, and appreciating how little friction there was day to day despite the project cap.
👍👎 The Good and the Not-So-Good
| The Good | The Not-So-Good |
|---|---|
| Quick Add's natural-language dates saved real time every day | 5-project cap on free plan is limiting if you organize by many small projects |
| Recurring tasks just work and stay out of the way | No calendar-grid view without upgrading to Pro |
| Syncs instantly between phone, desktop, and web | Custom reminders (specific times beyond the due date) are Pro-only |
| Clean interface that doesn't feel cluttered even with dozens of tasks | File attachments beyond 5MB require Pro |
📥 Getting Started
🔗 Google Play Store Page — Todoist: To Do List & Calendar By Doist · Free with optional Pro upgrade · Android (search "Todoist" in the App Store on iPhone)Install from the official page above on Android, or search "Todoist" directly in the App Store on iPhone. After creating an account with your email, you land on an empty Inbox - that's intentional, since Todoist wants you to build your project list yourself rather than starting from a template.
- Tap the "+" button and try typing a task in plain language, like "submit report Friday 5pm"
- Create 2-3 broad projects first (Work, Personal) rather than many narrow ones, to stay under the free 5-project limit longer
- Turn on a recurring task for one weekly chore to see the auto-repeat in action
- Explore the Today and Upcoming views from the bottom navigation bar
💡 Tips & Cautions
Use broad projects with sections inside them instead of many small projects - sections are unlimited on the free plan even though projects aren't, so "Work" with sections for each client works better than five separate client projects. Labels are also unlimited on free and are a good workaround for cross-project tagging.
If you rely on being reminded at an exact time rather than just seeing a due date, know that custom time-based push reminders are a Pro feature - the free plan's reminders are tied to when you set the due date and time on the task itself, not separate alerts.
❓ FAQ
Is the free plan actually usable long-term? Yes, for a single person with a moderate task load - the main constraint is the 5-project cap.
Does Todoist work offline? Yes, tasks you add offline sync automatically once you're back online.
Can I share projects with family or coworkers on the free plan? Yes, up to 5 collaborators per project even on free.
What's the real difference with Pro? Mainly project limit (300 vs 5), custom reminders, calendar view, and larger file uploads.
Is there a desktop app or just mobile? Both - Windows, macOS, Linux apps, plus a full web version, all syncing together.
✅ Wrap-up
Todoist's free plan is especially good for someone managing personal life and light work tasks in one place, as long as you're willing to organize with sections and labels instead of many separate projects. If you're the type who needs half a dozen distinct projects running simultaneously, you'll bump into the cap within a few weeks like I did.
#Todoist #TaskManager #ProductivityApps #MobileApps #ToDoList #FreeApps