Apple Reminders vs Things 3 in 2026
Apple Reminders vs Things 3 in 2026 is built-in free vs $50-per-platform craft software: Reminders wins on capture and ecosystem, Things 3 wins on calm design and project structure.
I have used both for years. Apple Reminders is the app that's already on your phone, your Mac, your watch, and your iPad. Things 3 is the app you buy three times if you want it on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and it costs around $80 total once you do. The question for 2026 is not which app is "better." The question is what trade you are making, and whether the trade still makes sense after the iOS 18 and 26 updates pushed Apple Reminders forward in real ways.
Look, this is not a tie. Each app wins on different ground. Below is the honest cut.
Quick verdict
Apple Reminders wins for anyone who lives in the Apple ecosystem and wants zero friction to start, free across every device, and Siri-native capture. Things 3 wins for writers, designers, and people who want a beautiful, quiet, project-first workspace and don't mind paying $50-$80 once for that calm. Ultra Reminders wins if you want Apple Reminders' free sync layer plus the AI capture, true nested subtasks, and natural language input that neither app does well today.
Side by side
| Feature | Apple Reminders | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, included with macOS / iOS | $49.99 Mac, $19.99 iPad, $9.99 iPhone (~$80 total) |
| Subscription | None | None |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, iCloud.com (read-mostly) | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch (no web) |
| Cross-platform | Apple only | Apple only |
| Sync | iCloud (free) | Things Cloud (free, included) |
| Quick capture | Siri + share sheet + widget | Quick Entry hotkey on Mac, share sheet on iOS |
| Natural language input | Limited, leaves text in title | Strong, parses and strips entities |
| Nested subtasks | One level only | Two levels (project to-do plus checklist) |
| Recurring rules | Daily, weekly, monthly, custom interval | Same plus more flexible "after completion" patterns |
| Tags | Yes | Yes (better filtering UI) |
| Smart lists | Yes | Yes (called "filters") |
| Project structure | Lists and folders | Areas to Projects to To-dos to Checklist (clearer) |
| Today / Upcoming view | Yes (Today, Scheduled) | Yes (Today, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday) |
| Calendar integration | Reads events into Today | Reads events into Today and Upcoming |
| Sharing / collaboration | Shared lists with @mention assignment | None (single-user app) |
| Location reminders | Yes | No |
| Apple Watch | Native app | Native app |
| Shortcuts integration | Extensive | Limited but improving |
| Templates | Yes (iOS 17+) | Project templates via duplicate |
| Apple Intelligence | Yes (auto-categorize, email-to-task) | No |
| Urgent tab with custom alarm | Yes (iOS 26+) | No |
| Markdown in notes | No | Yes |
| Repeat-after-completion | No | Yes |
| Free trial before buying | N/A (already free) | 14-day Mac trial |
Where Apple Reminders wins
- Free across every Apple device. No second purchase when you switch from a 13-inch MacBook to a Mac mini. No "I bought Things on Mac, do I really need it on iPad too" math.
- Siri. "Hey Siri, remind me to call Sundeep when I get home" still works smoother than any third-party app, and the geofence fires reliably most of the time.
- Sharing. Shared grocery list with your partner. Shared work list with two teammates. Things 3 just does not do this. As of May 2026, it remains a single-user product.
- Apple Intelligence in iOS 18+. Mail can suggest reminders from emails. Calendar events show up under the Today view. Lists auto-categorize for grocery items.
- Location reminders. "Remind me to grab the dry cleaning when I drive past the corner of 5th and Main." Things 3 has no location triggers. Apple Reminders does, and they actually work.
- Apple Watch widget complications. Glanceable next-task on the wrist with no extra setup.
- Templates. Save a project as a template, reuse it. Onboarding plans, packing lists, monthly closes.
"I tried to leave Reminders for Things and lasted two weeks. The minute I needed to share a list with my wife I came back."
- paraphrased from r/iosapps, January 2026
Where Things 3 wins
- Design clarity. Things 3 is the calmer app. Less chrome, more whitespace, fewer competing UI elements. If looking at your task list makes you anxious in Reminders, Things may fix that without changing anything else.
- The Areas to Projects to To-dos to Checklist hierarchy. Apple Reminders has lists and folders. Things has Areas (life domains), Projects (outcomes), To-dos (actions), and Checklists (sub-steps). It maps to GTD almost perfectly out of the box.
- Quick Entry on Mac. Hit Ctrl+Space and type. The dialog parses dates ("tomorrow at 4pm"), tags (#work), and lists. Apple Reminders has no equivalent system-wide hotkey.
- Natural language that strips parsed entities. Type "Email Vimal Friday at 3pm #work" and Things removes the date and tag from the title and applies them as metadata. Apple Reminders leaves the literal text in your task title. Honestly, this one alone makes Things feel a generation ahead.
- Headings inside projects. Group tasks under headings without nesting. Reminders has sections too, but Things uses them more naturally.
- Repeat after completion. "Repeat 3 days after I complete this." Reminders cannot do this. Things can.
- Markdown in notes. Yes. Reminders does not support this.
"Things 3 made me actually look at my task list every morning. With Reminders I had a habit of opening it, feeling overwhelmed, and closing it again."
- paraphrased from r/productivity, March 2026
Pricing
Apple Reminders is free. Always. Across every Apple device you own, present and future. iCloud is included.
Things 3 is a one-time purchase per platform. As of May 2026:
- Things 3 for Mac: $49.99
- Things 3 for iPad: $19.99
- Things 3 for iPhone and Apple Watch: $9.99
- Total to use Things across iPhone, iPad, and Mac: roughly $79.97 (one time, no subscription)
There is no Things 3 family plan. There is no Things 3 sale (Cultured Code rarely discounts). You buy it once per platform per Apple ID. It does not transfer to a different Apple ID, so a family of four wanting Things on every device is paying close to $320.
Ultra Reminders by comparison is one-time $35 for the Mac, with a free 14-day trial, and it sits on top of Apple Reminders so the iPhone, iPad, and Watch experience is the free Apple Reminders app you already use.
For a deeper cost-per-feature view, see our Apple Reminders vs OmniFocus comparison which covers a similar premium-vs-free split, and the broader 7 Best Apple Reminders Alternatives in 2026 roundup.
Who should pick which
- You live entirely in the Apple ecosystem and want zero friction. Pick Apple Reminders. It's already installed.
- You share lists with a partner, family, or coworkers. Pick Apple Reminders. Things 3 does not share.
- You use location-based reminders ("remind me when I get to the store"). Pick Apple Reminders. Things 3 has no geofencing.
- You feel the Apple Reminders UI is too noisy and you want a calm, beautiful workspace just for you. Pick Things 3.
- You run real projects with sub-steps and want a GTD-shaped hierarchy. Pick Things 3.
- You want the speed of Reminders capture but the structure of Things and AI on top. Pick Ultra Reminders, which sits on top of Apple Reminders and adds true nested subtasks, AI clustering, and natural language input that actually strips entities.
- You're a Todoist refugee who wants something quieter. Try Things 3 first, but read Apple Reminders vs Todoist before you commit, because the things you'll miss from Todoist may be available in Reminders for free.
- You're on a Windows or Linux device some of the time. Neither app helps you. Both are Apple-only.
For the broader list of options, the master comparison is Apple Reminders vs Every Major To-Do App in 2026.
What changed in 2025-2026
A few things worth flagging because they shift this comparison:
- iOS 18 added Apple Intelligence's email-to-task and auto-categorization. Reminders pulled forward in 2024-2025 in ways that narrow the gap with Things 3 on capture intelligence (though Things still parses better in the typing flow).
- iOS 26 added the Urgent tab with custom alarms. Reminders can now actually wake you up. Things 3 cannot. For light medication or appointment reminders, Reminders pulled ahead.
- Things 3 has not had a major release in over a year. Cultured Code is famous for slow, deliberate updates. As of May 2026, the Things 4 rumor mill remains a rumor mill. Your mileage may vary on whether you find that reassuring or worrying.
- Apple Reminders shared list sync remains inconsistent. If you share a list with a partner, expect occasional desync. The shared list not syncing fix guide covers the common patterns.
A worked example: Maya's week
Here is how the trade plays out in practice. Maya is a freelance designer on a MacBook and an iPhone, no iPad. She runs three client projects, shares a grocery list with her partner, and takes 8mg of a thyroid pill at the same time every morning.
On Apple Reminders, her morning pill is an Urgent-tab reminder with a real alarm, so it wakes her even on silent. The grocery list is shared, so her partner adds oat milk and it shows up on her phone. Each client project is a list with sections. Total cost: zero, because it was already installed.
If Maya moved to Things 3, the medication alarm is gone (Things has no Urgent tab), and the grocery list cannot be shared at all, so her partner is locked out. She would gain a calmer interface and the Areas-to-Projects hierarchy, and she would pay roughly $60 to put Things on the Mac and iPhone. For Maya, the two things she uses every single day, the alarm and the shared list, are exactly the two things Things 3 cannot do. So she stays. For a designer who works solo, takes no daily medication, and is repelled by the Reminders UI, the same math flips and Things wins. The trade is genuinely personal.
FAQ
Q: Is Things 3 worth $50 if I already have Apple Reminders?
A: For most people, no. For people who feel actively repelled by the Reminders UI and want a project-first GTD shape, yes. The right test is to use Apple Reminders deliberately for two weeks. If you keep avoiding it, Things 3 is worth $50.
Q: Can I migrate my Apple Reminders to Things 3?
A: Things 3 does not have a Reminders importer. You'd recreate manually or use a Shortcut to bridge them. Most people who switch don't bother and just start fresh. The reverse is harder; see our Things 3 to Apple Reminders migration guide for the cleanest path back.
Q: Does Things 3 work on Apple Watch?
A: Yes, with a watch app and complications. The Apple Watch experience is comparable to Reminders for everyday glance and add-task flows.
Q: Why doesn't Things 3 have shared lists?
A: Cultured Code has said for years that they want to do collaboration "right" rather than ship it half-done. As of May 2026 it still isn't shipped. If sharing matters, this is a deal-breaker.
Q: What's the easiest way to try both?
A: Use Apple Reminders for one week with intent: capture everything, set up a Today smart list, lean on Siri. Then download Things 3 free trial on Mac (14 days) and try the same workflow. You'll know within three days which feels right.
Ultra Reminders solves stillness without paying $50 across three platforms. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.