An Apple Reminders alternative with a daily focus
Looking beyond Apple Reminders? Reminders is free and deeply tied to Siri and iCloud. NanoDo is a free iPhone app that adds what Reminders lacks: a daily three-things ritual and a lock-screen focus task you check off without opening the app. There is no account and no data collection; the lock-screen Live Activity is part of a one-time €9.99 Pro.
| NanoDo | Apple Reminders | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · €9.99 Pro | Free (built in) |
| One-time, no subscription | Yes | Yes |
| Works without an account | Yes | Yes |
| Daily three-things ritual | Yes | No |
| Lock-screen focus task (Live Activity) | Yes | No |
| Beyond Apple (Android, Windows) | No | No |
| Projects, labels & power features | No | No |
Where Apple Reminders is the better choice
Reminders is the better choice if you want something free, built in, and tied tightly to Siri, the Apple ecosystem and shared family lists. For simple lists it is hard to beat.
Where NanoDo fits
NanoDo fits if lists aren't the problem, focus is. It shows one thing at a time on your lock screen and asks for just three each morning. It is free, with an optional one-time €9.99 Pro.
Reminders is free and good, so why an alternative?
Apple Reminders is free, built into every iPhone, and genuinely capable: lists, due dates, tags, smart lists, shared family lists, and deep ties to Siri and iCloud. For most simple lists it is hard to justify anything else, and this page will not pretend otherwise. People look past Reminders for one narrow reason: it is a place to store tasks, not a way to run a day. It will hold four hundred reminders as happily as four, and for some people that is exactly the problem they are trying to escape.
What NanoDo adds, and when to ignore it
NanoDo does not try to be a better list than Reminders; it adds the two things Reminders leaves out. First, a daily limit: three things, chosen each morning, instead of an ever-growing store. Second, a lock-screen focus task, so the next thing is visible without opening anything. That is the whole difference. The ritual and the widget are free; the Live Activity version of the focus task is part of a one-time €9.99 Pro. If you just want somewhere to keep tasks, Reminders already does that for free, and you should keep it. NanoDo is only worth it if the missing piece was the ritual, not the storage.