A Todoist alternative without the subscription
Looking for a Todoist alternative without a subscription? NanoDo is a minimalist iPhone to-do app: each morning you pick three things and check them off from your lock screen. The app is free, with no account and an optional one-time €9.99 Pro. Todoist is a far more powerful, cross-platform task manager; NanoDo trades those features for a calm daily ritual.
| NanoDo | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · €9.99 Pro | Subscription, ~$5/mo (Pro) |
| One-time, no subscription | Yes | No |
| Works without an account | Yes | No |
| Daily three-things ritual | Yes | No |
| Lock-screen focus task (Live Activity) | Yes | No |
| Beyond Apple (Android, Windows) | No | Yes |
| Projects, labels & power features | No | Yes |
Where Todoist is the better choice
Todoist is the better choice if you manage many projects, work across Android or Windows, collaborate with a team, or lean on natural-language scheduling and labels. It is a full task manager, and its free plan and Pro subscription reflect that scope.
Where NanoDo fits
NanoDo fits when a long list is the problem, not the solution. Three things a day, checked off from your lock screen. Free to use, with no account and no subscription; Pro is a one-time €9.99 if you want the extras.
Why people look for a Todoist alternative
Most people typing 'Todoist alternative' into a search box are not unhappy with the app itself. They are reacting to one specific thing. The free plan caps you at five active projects, which is easy to hit, and from there the nudge to Pro at 5 dollars a month, billed yearly, is constant. Others decide that a tool built for projects, labels and team collaboration is more than a personal to-do list needs. And some just do not want another subscription, or another account holding their tasks on someone else's server.
There is no single best Todoist alternative
Which one is right depends on what pushed you to look. If you want the same power without the subscription, Things 3 is a one-time purchase, though it is Apple-only and sold per device. If you want free and cross-platform, TickTick and Todoist's own free plan are both capable within their limits. If your real problem was that the list itself kept growing, a smaller alternative does more for you than a cheaper copy of the same thing. That is where NanoDo sits: not a lighter Todoist, but a different bet, three things a day instead of a system to maintain.
What you give up, honestly
Moving from Todoist to something minimal is a real trade, and it is worth being clear about it. You lose projects and sub-tasks, labels and filters, natural-language dates like 'every third Thursday', shared lists, and the apps for Android, Windows and the web. If any of those is load-bearing in how you work, a minimal app will feel broken, not calm. NanoDo is for the case where none of them was ever the point, and the list itself had quietly become the thing you were avoiding.