To-do list apps aren't just about getting stuff done. Something deeper is happening. When I create a list of tasks, what I'm really looking for is a feeling of control, accomplishment, and momentum. To-do list apps need to provide that feeling in order to succeed.

Because the act of helping yourself get things done is so personal, there isn't a single Android to-do list app that's right for everyone. But there is a boatload of them to choose from on Google Play.

I investigated dozens of the most popular Android to-do list apps, conducted in-depth testing on 20+ of them, and whittled the list down to the 10 best I could find. Whether you're a power user or a beginner, read on for specific recommendations so you can find the to-do list app for Android that checks the right boxes for you.

The 10 best to-do list apps for Android

• Todoist for everyday use

• TickTick for productivity geeks

• Microsoft To Do for the best free option

• Any.do for collaboration

• Google Keep for unorganized people

• WaterDo for gamifying tasks

• Memorigi for juggling multiple lists

• Tasks for the best value

• Singularity for building habits

• Remember The Milk for power users

What makes the best Android to-do list app?

The best to-do list is the one you'll actually use. So any app that's worth your attention needs to pass a basic test first: is it as intuitive as a sticky note? If the app is too complicated, you might find yourself drifting back to writing your tasks on Post-it notes or in .txt files.

I ran dozens of apps through the "sticky note test." Many didn't make the list due to clunky or complex interfaces. Another key criterion was the ability to add tasks quickly and easily. If an app passed those two hurdles, I reviewed the app's full set of features, paying particular attention to features like reminders, due dates, and syncing between devices.

Based on my experience, the best Android to-do list apps have these five things in common:

• Intuitive design. Productivity apps tend to try to pack in as many features as possible, which can lead to an overwhelming experience. But the best to-do list apps find the perfect balance: they're aesthetically pleasing, have a minimal learning curve, and keep you coming back with intuitive features.

• Easy to quickly add tasks. Including this criterion might feel redundant, but you'd be surprised how many apps overengineer the process of adding tasks. Most leading to-do list apps now have a quick add feature, but some still make you wade through multiple steps to add tasks.

• Reminders and due dates. The best Android to-do list apps make it easy to set due dates for your tasks. They also help you set custom reminders (including push notifications) for each task to help you stay on track. 

• Robust task management options. While beginners can survive with just reminders and due dates, advanced users need features like recurring tasks, subtasks, lists, tags, and priorities.

• Syncing between desktop and mobile. Navigating a small screen isn't always the most productive option, especially if you use your to-do list for work. A web-based version complete with cloud backup is essential for serious use.

The best Android to-do list apps at a glance

Best Android to-do list app for everyday use

Todoist

Todoist pros: 

• Customizable Quick Add task feature

• Reschedule overdue tasks in one click

• Calendar view gives you a bird's-eye view of tasks

Todoist cons: 

• Reminders aren't included in the free version

Most apps on this list are either easy or complex. Todoist, by contrast, is layered: it can be as easy or complex as you need it to be. 

On a spectrum of beginner to advanced, my to-do list needs are firmly in the middle. I found it easy to add tasks in Todoist. I particularly appreciated the Quick Add feature, which has natural language recognition built in. When I wrote "weekly grocery shopping trip," for example, the app automatically created a weekly recurring event. You can also customize Quick Add to include only the task settings you typically need. More advanced features like subtasks, projects, priority levels, and filters are also a breeze to use. 

With nearly two decades of development behind it, Todoist has been refined over time with thoughtful features, like the ability to reschedule all overdue tasks with a single touch. Todoist's productivity tracker helps you stay on track over time, motivating you by visualizing your productivity streaks over time—and even maintaining your streaks while you're on vacation.

To get the most out of the app, integrate Todoist with Zapier. You can automatically create new Todoist tasks from Google Calendar events or from new items added to a Notion database. Discover the top ways to automate Todoist, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows:

Todoist pricing: Free, although reminders aren't available in the free version. Starting at $5/month, Todoist Pro unlocks reminders and additional projects. 

Best Android to-do list app for productivity geeks

TickTick

TickTick pros: 

• Productivity features like Eisenhower matrix and Pomodoro timer

• Unique "won't do" button, for when the best action is no action

TickTick cons: 

• User interface isn't quite as slick as some competitors

Productivity geeks, rejoice: TickTick has you covered. The app's integrated Pomodoro timer helps you manage the time you spend on a task, its white noise features keep you focused, and its Eisenhower matrix automatically sorts your tasks based on how urgent and important they are. Fans of the Getting Things Done methodology will appreciate the "won't do" button, a subtle encouragement to reflect on whether you really have to do the task at all—or whether it might be better to trash it instead.

While TickTick isn't quite as visually polished as Todoist, it has everything you expect from a productivity-focused to-do list app. And the free version is impressively full-featured: reminders, subtasks, and tags are included. You'll need to upgrade if you want a calendar view or most productivity features, though.

Connect TickTick to Zapier to integrate your workflows with other apps. Zapier can help you automatically convert new OneNote notes into TickTick tasks, for example, while Zapier's Google Chrome extension helps you add new tasks to TickTick directly from your web browser. Discover more popular ways to automate TickTick, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows:

TickTick pricing: Free. TickTick Premium, starting at $2.99/month, unlocks features like Pomodoro timers, white noise, and full calendar view.

Best free Android to-do list app

Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do pros: 

• Completely free 

• Uncluttered design and intuitive features

Microsoft To Do cons:

• Some features are limited unless you use other Microsoft products

Most apps do their best to nudge you to upgrade to a premium version. Microsoft To Do takes a different approach: it includes every feature for free in the hopes that the experience pulls you into the Microsoft ecosystem of products (or keeps you there).

Business strategy aside, it's an excellent app, and much more minimalist than I expected from a big corporation. The whole experience just makes sense: My Day takes tasks from all the different lists you have (Home, Work, etc.) and pulls them into a single list. Important pulls all your urgent tasks into one screen. Planned gives you a view of both today and upcoming days.

Microsoft To Do's big innovation is its Suggestions tab, which automatically proposes possible tasks by pulling from your linked Microsoft Outlook calendar and past to-do items. Although I haven't used my Outlook account in nearly a decade, the app managed to pull some old calendar items of mine from 2014 and suggest them as possible future to-do items. Thanks, Microsoft.

You can expand Microsoft To Do's capabilities by using Zapier to connect it with other apps, doing things like automatically converting your emails into tasks in Microsoft To Do. Discover more popular ways to automate Microsoft To Do, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows:

Microsoft To Do pricing: Free

Best Android to-do list app for collaboration

Any.do

Any.do pros: 

• Beautifully-designed app

• Robust collaboration features for teams

Any.do cons: 

• Free version doesn't include recurring tasks or integrations

My "aha moment" with Any.do happened while creating a grocery list. Any.do suggested items for me—bread, eggs, coffee—that I actually needed. Then, it automatically sorted those items into categories (like Eggs & Dairy) to make the shopping experience easier in a grocery store.

Any.do takes this kind of user-first approach with all its features. For example, adding a reminder gives you one-click options for this evening, tomorrow, next week, or someday. I particularly liked Any.do's My Day feature, which is built to help you proactively work on important tasks rather than passively checking off items from a list.

It's also the most beautiful to-do app I've seen. The interface is clean and simple, and it's easy to hop between My Day and other task views that help you visualize your day, week, and longer periods of time. Any.do Teams, an upgraded version of the app, brings this same thoughtful design and UX to collaborative tasks, with features like project boards and customized workflows.

You can connect Zapier with Any.do to expand the possibilities of the app even further. For example, you can add new Trello cards as tasks on Any.do, or you can make your task management hands-free by creating Any.do tasks with voice messages in Google Assistant. Discover more popular ways to automate Any.do, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows:

Any.do pricing: Free, although the free version doesn't include recurring tasks. Any.do's Premium plans start at $2.99/month and unlock recurring tasks, integrations, and team collaboration.

Best Android to-do list app for unorganized people

Google Keep

Google Keep pros: 

• Unmatched flexibility and ease of use

• Automatically syncs with Google Calendar

Google Keep cons: 

• Has reminders and labels, but no other "to do" functionality

• Fairly easy for tasks to get lost

What I love about Google Keep is the no-frills approachability the app has. Something's on your mind? Type it in and add a reminder to come back to it later. See something interesting? Take a photo of it and add it to Keep. Later, when you're on your computer, use the photo as a reminder to do the thing.

Important thing to note here: Google Tasks (not Google Keep) is Google's actual to-do list app. It's gorgeously designed and the learning curve is short. But once it's full of tasks, subtasks, and due dates, the experience starts to feel cluttered. Tasks has advantages—it's tightly integrated with Google Calendar, integrates with Zapier, and includes features like subtasks—but for casual task management, Google Keep is easier to use.

Google Keep is primarily designed as a notes app, but it has reminders, labels, basic collaboration, and a Google Calendar integration. That's enough for simple task management. My own Google Keep is a bit of a mess, but it's also the app I consistently come back to due to its ease of use: I use it for grocery lists, reminders to schedule doctor's appointments, packing checklists, and anything else that's on my mind.

A system like this isn't ideal for important business task management. Things occasionally fall through the cracks. But for personal use? For me, it's a no-brainer.

Google Keep pricing: Free

Best Android to-do list app for gamifying tasks

WaterDo

WaterDo pros: 

• Playful and relaxing to use

• Makes completing tasks fun

WaterDo cons:

• Gamification aspects can be a little distracting

• Not for power users

WaterDo's app onboarding process is hosted by a talking seal. That's the first sign that this is a different kind of task management app. WaterDo's mission is to make to-do lists fun: first, by representing your tasks as bubbles and letting you pop them; and second, by earning points toward an in-app game.

It's all rather whimsical, but these elements don't take away from the core to-do list functionality, which is solid: WaterDo has labels, reminders, repeating tasks, subtasks, and notes. And the app's core "bubble-popping" mechanism is a satisfying way to celebrate completing a task. Further gamification takes place within the Animal Crossing-style islands you unlock by completing tasks. The points you earn can be used to add or upgrade items on the islands. Alternatively, you can use your points to donate to The Water Project, a real-world charity. (WaterDo users have donated over 375,000 liters of water to date).

WaterDo's focus on gamification means it's missing some features that are standard in other task management apps, like multiple to-do lists. Instead, WaterDo has tags that turn your bubbles into different colors. While it's not for power users, WaterDo is a memorable experience that pulls out all the stops to motivate you.

WaterDo pricing: Free. For $0.99/month (or $14.99 for a lifetime license), you can get more productivity features and in-game benefits with WaterDo Premium.

Best Android to-do app for juggling multiple lists

Memorigi

Memorigi pros:

• Easy to organize tasks visually across multiple to-do lists

• Tasks from all lists roll into a single Inbox

Memorigi cons: 

• Subtasks, attachments, and tags are premium features

Ever wish your smartphone's home screen—instead of sucking you into an Instagram or TikTok vortex—would encourage you to get things done? 

The Memorigi experience feels like an answer to that rhetorical question. Navigating your Memorigi task lists feels like jumping between apps on a smartphone. Memorigi is designed around task lists, starting with its default lists like Family and Chores. I appreciated how easy it was to add a temporary task list (for a specific shopping trip, for example) and then remove it once you're done. 

Once you've populated your various individual task lists, Memorigi's interface combines them to show you exactly what you need to see: tasks due today, the number of pending items, anything that's overdue, and a look at what's coming in the days ahead. As tasks come due, they roll into your Inbox; completed tasks move to a Logbook for easy reference.

Memorigi pricing: Free, though the free version is missing some essential features like tags and subtasks. Memorigi Premium costs $49.99/year and unlocks 3rd party integrations, cloud syncing, and more. 

Best value Android to-do list app

Tasks

Tasks pros: 

• Huge variety of task management options

• Almost everything is available in the free version

• Quick add functionality is as easy as sending a text message

Tasks cons:

• Not the prettiest app 

The straightforwardly-named Tasks boasts over five million downloads on Google Play and as many reviews as better-known apps like TickTick. 

It isn't the prettiest app you'll find, but Tasks' free version packs serious value. Unlike most apps, Tasks doesn't nickel-and-dime you with upgrades for core features like task reminders. Everything you need is included, with an impressive 11 options under each task: subtasks, lists, tags, due date, reminder, reminder type, repeat, priority, highlight, notes, attachment. 

Tasks also has the fastest quick add feature I've seen: it's just like sending a text message. It's easy to add tasks in rapid-fire succession (my preferred way of doing it) and then go back to add details. The only thing that bugged me is that Tasks keeps a persistent icon on your phone's notification bar. The idea is that you can quickly add tasks directly from the notification bar, but it crowds the screen and isn't particularly useful. Regardless, it's easy enough to disable. If you're looking for a full-featured free app, Tasks is worth a look. 

Tasks pricing: Free. For cloud backup, access to the web app, and collaboration features, Tasks Premium starts at $1.69/month. You can also get a lifetime subscription for $55.

Best Android to-do list for building habits

Singularity

Singularity pros: 

• Satisfying habits feature

• Easy to create project-based task lists

Singularity cons:

• The tasks filter and calendar view are paid upgrades

Singularity is quirky: its app features a cat in a spacesuit, and the company's website hosts a philosophy-heavy manifesto on the benefits of a flexible "chaos management" approach to tasks.

But underneath the unconventional branding, Singularity stands out for its Habits feature. Completing a habit for multiple days in a row creates a satisfying continuity graphic that encourages you to keep the streak going. Statistics track how often you've completed each task, as well as what your most successful habit is.

I found it intuitive to spin up multiple projects with Singularity, add tasks to each project, and then jump between them. It's possible to break longer projects into different sections, and you can easily invite collaborators. Singularity has a robust filtering capability, allowing you to view tasks by status, tags, or projects. I also like that you can easily file tasks away as "someday" rather than assigning a near-term date to them.

Singularity has a few features I haven't seen much: you can add tasks via email or connect the app to Telegram. It also has a voice input feature, but it's a missed opportunity: you can't input your task's due date using your voice, only the description of the task.

Singularity pricing: Free. Singularity Pro, which starts at $2.99/month, introduces unlimited projects, data syncing, and integrations. There's also a lifetime subscription for $89.99. 

Best Android to-do list app for power users

Remember The Milk

Remember The Milk pros: 

• The most full-featured to-do app you'll find

• Robust search functionality

Remember The Milk cons: 

• Tends to display an overwhelming number of tasks at once

• The free version is relatively limited

Despite its cute name, Remember The Milk is an app for people who take task management seriously. The app, which first launched in 2004, has millions of users and caters to power users with its advanced search functionality and smart features.

If you're an advanced user, you'll love Remember The Milk's powerful search wizard. You can use detailed parameters like keyword, date, and priority level to filter tasks. You can then create Smart Lists that automatically populate with tasks that meet those criteria. Remember The Milk's quick add feature, called Smart Add, uses a combination of autocomplete and dropdown menus to help you specify your task's properties from a single line.

Aesthetically, Remember The Milk feels like an email inbox for your tasks. (Ironically, it looks more like a business-focused app than Microsoft To Do does.) It's certain to have everything you need, but if you're using the free version, you'll quickly run into limitations: subtasks, tags, and attachments are paid features. 

To integrate Remember The Milk with the rest of your workflow, connect it to Zapier. You can use Zapier to add birthdays from Google Calendar to Remember The Milk, log completed Remember The Milk tasks in a Google Sheet, and more. Here are some examples to get you started.

Remember The Milk pricing: Free. For subtasks, tags, and attachments you'll need to upgrade to Pro for $39.99/year.

Other options for Android task management

If none of the apps above look like the right fit, consider giving one of these a try:

• I really like both Nozbe and Trello. They each offer advantages if you're looking to take a more project management-based approach to your tasks.

• Taskade, a productivity app, uses AI to generate lists of tasks based on high-level projects you suggest, and it works pretty well.

• Tasks.org is an open source to-do list. While it doesn't have a web version or sync to the cloud, that's also a benefit from a privacy perspective.

Related reading:

• The best calendar apps for Android

• The best email apps for Android

• The best to-do list apps on any device

This article was originally published in February 2019 by Justin Pot. The most recent update was in August 2023.