8 Best Free To-Do Apps for Mac in 2026
The best free to-do apps for Mac in 2026 are Apple Reminders for ecosystem-native, Microsoft To Do for cross-platform, Google Tasks for Gmail-tied, and TickTick free for habits. Each has a different "free" definition. Some are free forever, some gate the useful features, some harvest your data. This list separates the real free from the trial-disguised-as-free.
I ran every one of these on a Mac mini M2 in May 2026. macOS 26.1, fresh user account, no shortcuts, no priors. A few impressed me. A few I uninstalled the same hour. Here's the actual ranking.
Quick rankings
| # | App | Real free? | Best for | Mac-native |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple Reminders | Yes, forever | Apple users, capture speed, shared lists | Yes |
| 2 | Microsoft To Do | Yes, forever (Microsoft account) | Cross-platform, Outlook users | Yes |
| 3 | Google Tasks | Yes, forever (Google account) | Gmail users, web-only ok | No (web sidebar) |
| 4 | TickTick free | Yes (limited) | Habits and pomodoro | Yes |
| 5 | Todoist free | Yes (5 active projects) | Cross-platform, natural language | Yes |
| 6 | Notion free | Yes (personal) | Database-style task systems | Yes |
| 7 | Anytype free | Yes, local-first | Privacy-conscious power users | Yes |
| 8 | Trello free | Yes (10 boards) | Kanban-style projects | Yes (Electron) |
1. Apple Reminders
Free forever, bundled with macOS, the most underrated entry on this list. No App Store install needed. Smart lists, tags, shared lists, location reminders, kanban view (macOS 26), and Siri capture all work without any tier upgrade.
The catch: Apple-only. Useless if you have Android or Windows in your daily life. Sync is iCloud-only.
If you're already on a Mac with an iPhone, this is the answer. The whole field stops here for most readers. For everyone else, the list continues.
For the deep system, see The Definitive Guide to Apple Reminders in 2026.
2. Microsoft To Do
Free forever with a Microsoft account, native Mac app, syncs to Windows, iOS, Android, web. Inherited the Wunderlist DNA after Microsoft bought it. Clean UI. Tasks, lists, recurring tasks, sharing, daily "My Day" planner.
The native Mac app is a real Catalyst port. Not as snappy as Apple Reminders but real. Outlook integration is the killer feature: emails flagged in Outlook show up as tasks in To Do automatically.
For Microsoft 365 shops or anyone with Windows in the rotation, this is the free pick that doesn't gate features.
"Microsoft To Do is the only free task app that feels like adults built it. I've been on it for three years. Zero complaints."
Source: paraphrased from r/macapps, January 2026
3. Google Tasks
Free with any Google account. No standalone Mac app, but lives in the Gmail and Google Calendar sidebars on web. Minimal feature set: lists, subtasks (one level), dates, recurring. No tags, no smart lists, no sharing.
The strength is integration. Drag any email to the Tasks panel in Gmail to create a linked task. Tasks show in Google Calendar sidebar.
The weakness is everything else. No Mac app means you live in a browser tab.
Full head-to-head at Apple Reminders vs Google Tasks.
4. TickTick free
Free tier covers basic tasks, lists, tags, calendar week view. Premium ($35.99/yr) gates calendar month view, custom smart lists, location reminders, habits. Real Mac app, fast sync, decent design.
TickTick free is good. The temptation is the upsell. Within two weeks you'll want one Premium feature, then another. If you have the discipline to stay free, it's a solid pick. If you don't, budget the $36/year.
Full compare at Apple Reminders vs TickTick: Habits, Pomodoro, Calendar.
5. Todoist free
Free tier limits you to 5 active projects, 5 collaborators per project, 3 filters, 1-week activity history. Beyond that, Todoist Pro is $48/year.
The free tier is workable for personal use. If you have 12 projects active, it isn't. Todoist's natural language input is the best in any app on this list, free or paid.
The design is sharp. The Mac app is real. If you're a "test the free, decide later" type, Todoist is fair to evaluate. Just know the 5-project limit will hit fast.
For more detail, 7 Best Apple Reminders Alternatives in 2026 covers the paid alternatives in depth.
6. Notion free
Notion Free for personal use is genuinely free. Unlimited blocks, unlimited pages, 5MB upload limit, 1 collaborator on a workspace. Build any task system you want as a database.
Mac app exists. It's an Electron wrapper, so heavier than native, but works fine on M1+ machines.
The catch with Notion as a task app: it's a database with a task hat on. Capture is slow (open Notion, navigate to your task DB, add a row). For someone who'd rather build their system than use one off the shelf, Notion is the answer. For everyone else, the friction kills it.
"I built the perfect Notion task system over six weekends. Then I went back to Apple Reminders because I never used the Notion one mid-week."
Source: paraphrased from r/Notion, February 2026
7. Anytype free
Local-first, encrypted, free for personal use up to 1GB sync. Open source. Built by people who got annoyed at Notion's cloud lock-in.
Mac app is real. The model is similar to Notion (object-based, build your own schemas) but everything stores locally with end-to-end encryption when synced.
The free tier is generous. The catch is learning curve. Anytype is for people who want a Notion-style system but care about owning their data. Not for someone who wants a checklist that works in 30 seconds.
8. Trello free
Free up to 10 boards per workspace. Kanban-first, with cards, lists, labels, due dates, basic automation (Butler runs limited). Mac app is an Electron wrapper.
Trello is the best free kanban tool. If your task system is naturally project-based and you want columns ("To Do", "Doing", "Done"), Trello free works.
The 10-board limit is the squeeze. If you go beyond, Trello Standard is $5/user/month.
Note: Apple Reminders has a kanban view in macOS 26 that covers basic Trello use cases for free, with no board limit. See 11 Hidden Apple Reminders Features You're Not Using.
How we picked
Three criteria, in order:
- Is it actually free, or is "free" a 14-day trial? Apps gating the useful features behind paid tiers got marked down (Todoist 5-project limit, TickTick Premium-only filters).
- Does it have a real Mac app? Native or Catalyst over Electron, Electron over web-only. Google Tasks ranked despite no Mac app because the Gmail/Calendar sidebar is the integration most users want.
- Does it work in the Apple ecosystem without forcing a different account model? Apple Reminders wins this trivially. Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks need their respective accounts, which most people already have.
Things that don't matter for free apps but matter for paid: AI features, cross-device sync speed beyond "good enough", and integration ecosystems. If you're considering paying, see 9 Best AI To-Do Apps for Mac in 2026 and 7 Best Reminder Apps with AI in 2026 for the AI-native picks, plus 11 Best Productivity Apps for the Apple Ecosystem for the broader Apple-native field.
The honest summary: if you're on a Mac with an iPhone, Apple Reminders is fine and your search is over. If you need cross-platform, Microsoft To Do is the free pick that doesn't gate features. Everything else is a tradeoff. The "I want AI brain-dump capture and natural language input on Mac for under $50 forever" niche is what Ultra Reminders fills, but it's a one-time $35, not free.
"I tried six free task apps in two weeks. Settled on Apple Reminders because it was already there and didn't ask me to log in. The bar was that low."
Source: paraphrased from r/macapps, March 2026
FAQ
Q: Is Apple Reminders really free with no upsell?
A: Yes. Apple Reminders is free with macOS and iOS. No tiers, no subscription, no in-app purchases. iCloud sync uses your iCloud storage but Reminders data is tiny so the free 5GB tier is fine for years.
Q: Which free app has the best Mac native app?
A: Apple Reminders (truly native, ships with macOS) followed by Microsoft To Do (Catalyst port, real native feel). Todoist and TickTick have native-ish Mac apps that look and feel close to native. Notion and Trello are Electron and feel slower on older Macs. Google Tasks has no Mac app at all.
Q: Can I sync my free task app to Apple Reminders?
A: Microsoft To Do has no native sync to Apple Reminders. Google Tasks has none either. Todoist has third-party tools (Zapier, IFTTT) that can mirror tasks but they're fragile. If you want Apple Reminders as source of truth and AI capabilities on top, Ultra Reminders reads via EventKit and writes back to iCloud.
Q: What's the catch with TickTick free vs Premium?
A: Free covers basic tasks, lists, tags, week-view calendar. Premium ($35.99/yr) gates: month-view calendar, custom smart-list filters, advanced recurring rules, location reminders, habit tracker, templates, and 19-collaborator shared lists (free is 1).
Q: Is Notion really free for one person?
A: Yes, Notion Personal is free with unlimited blocks and pages, 5MB upload limit, 1 collaborator on a workspace. The catch is friction, not pricing. Notion as a daily task app requires you to build the system. Most people don't sustain that build past a few weeks.
Ultra Reminders solves a free task app that does not gate the useful features. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.