Apple Reminders vs Todoist
Apple Reminders and Todoist sit at opposite ends of the same category. Reminders is free, built into every Apple device and deeply tied to Siri and iCloud. Todoist is a cross-platform subscription with more structure, faster capture and real collaboration. Pick Reminders if you are all-Apple and want free and simple; pick Todoist if you need it on Android or Windows, or you run a system Reminders cannot hold.
| Apple Reminders | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (built in) | Free tier; Pro $5/mo ($60/yr) |
| Platforms | Apple only | iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, web |
| Siri & ecosystem | Deep (built in) | Some |
| Structure | Lists, tags, smart lists, subtasks | Projects, labels, filters |
| Quick capture | Good (via Siri) | Best in class |
| Collaboration | Shared family lists | Full team sharing |
| Cross-platform | No | Yes |
Free and built in versus cross-platform and paid
Reminders has two advantages Todoist can never match: it costs nothing and it is already on the phone, woven into Siri, the lock screen and iCloud. For anyone fully inside Apple who wants simple lists and voice capture, that is hard to argue with. Todoist's advantage is reach and depth. It runs on Android, Windows and the web, so your list follows you off Apple, and its free tier is capable while Pro at 60 dollars a year adds the power features. If all your devices are Apple, Reminders usually wins on price alone; the moment one is not, Todoist is the obvious answer.
How much structure do you need
Reminders has quietly grown up. It now has tags, smart lists that filter across everything, subtasks, and shared family lists, which covers most personal use comfortably. Todoist goes further for people who run a genuine system: projects and sub-projects, labels and saved filters, natural-language dates like 'every second Tuesday', and a productivity score that some people love and others ignore. If your day is a handful of lists, Reminders is plenty. If you are managing many parallel threads and want to slice them by context, Todoist's structure pulls clearly ahead.
Which should you pick?
For most Apple users, Reminders is already enough: pick it for free, built-in, Siri-deep simple lists. Pick Todoist if your devices are not all Apple, you collaborate, or you want more structure and the fastest capture and are happy to pay yearly. Todoist earns its price only once the list outgrows what Reminders can hold.
A third option
Both of these treat a to-do list as storage: a place to keep everything you might do. If your problem is the opposite, that everything is already stored and none of it is getting done, NanoDo is the third option: not a bigger box but a shorter question. Three things a day on your lock screen, free to use, with Pro a one-time €4.99.