Comparison

Apple Reminders vs GoodTask: Smart Lists Showdown

By Vyshakh Nair, Founder, Ultra Reminders · Updated May 6, 2026 · 8 min read
Part of the master guide: Apple Reminders vs Every Major To-Do App in 2026

GoodTask vs Apple Reminders is a $40 power overlay on the same iCloud database: GoodTask adds advanced smart lists, kanban, and quick actions while still syncing through Apple Reminders. Ultra Reminders sits in the same overlay category but takes a different bet, leaning on AI capture and on-device LLM instead of GoodTask's filter-first approach.

Honestly, GoodTask has been around since the iOS 6 days. It has earned its $40. But the question in 2026 is whether you should still buy it, or whether the gap between vanilla Apple Reminders and a GoodTask-class power overlay is wide enough to justify the upgrade. I tested both for two months on macOS 26.1, juggling four shared lists, two recurring projects, and an ADHD-grade brain dump. Here is what I learned.

Quick verdict

GoodTask wins if you live in advanced smart-list filters and want a kanban view that Apple Reminders refuses to ship as default. Apple Reminders wins if your needs are simple and you do not want a second app sitting between you and iCloud. For most power users, GoodTask is worth the $40 once. For ADHD or AI-native workflows, look at Ultra Reminders instead, which solves a different problem set.

Side by side

Feature Apple Reminders GoodTask
Price Free (built-in) $40 one-time (Mac), or subscription on iOS
iCloud sync Native Yes, reads same database
Smart lists with filters Yes (basic) Yes (advanced multi-condition)
Kanban view Hidden, list-only Yes, full board view
Quick actions on tasks Limited Extensive (snooze, duplicate, copy URL)
Custom recurrence patterns Limited (no Nth day) Better but still ties to Apple's engine
Calendar integration Read-only Read and overlay
Templates Yes (basic) Yes (richer with placeholders)
AI capture or sort No No
Quick capture latency 5+ sec via Siri 2-3 sec via menu bar
iPhone widget Yes Yes
Today view customization No Yes (filters, sort, grouping)
Subtasks One level One level (same engine)
Tags filtering Basic Advanced (tag combos)
Shortcuts integration Native, extensive Yes, plus its own URL scheme
AND/OR/NOT filter logic No Yes
Recurring text snippets No Yes (saved task templates)
Calendar event editing Read-only Read and edit
Free to try first Yes (built-in) No standalone trial on Mac

Where Apple Reminders wins

  • Free and built-in. Nothing to install, nothing to maintain, no second app to learn.
  • Native iCloud sync without a middleware layer. GoodTask reads from the same database, so technically it also syncs natively, but you trust one app instead of two.
  • First-party Siri integration. "Hey Siri, remind me to..." goes straight to Apple Reminders. GoodTask cannot intercept this.
  • Apple Watch app. Apple Reminders has a polished Watch app. GoodTask does not have a dedicated Watch app as of last time we checked.
  • Family sharing setup is one tap. GoodTask reads shared lists fine, but the setup happens in Apple Reminders settings.
  • Action button support on iPhone 15 Pro and later. First-party only.
  • Apple Intelligence categorization. On supported iPhones, the Reminders app auto-categorizes items into sections. GoodTask does not have its own AI layer.

Where GoodTask wins

  • Multi-condition smart lists. Apple Reminders smart lists support filters, but GoodTask lets you stack conditions like "tag = work AND due-date < 7d AND priority > medium" with AND/OR/NOT logic. This alone is why power users buy it.
  • Kanban board view. Apple Reminders has hidden column view via sections, but GoodTask gives you a proper kanban with drag-and-drop columns. Useful for engineers and project managers.
  • Today view that you can actually customize. Sort by tag, group by priority, hide flagged-only items. Apple's Today view is take-it-or-leave-it.
  • Quick action menu on every task. Right-click a task and get snooze, duplicate, copy as text, copy as URL, set timer, more. Apple Reminders gives you fewer options.
  • Templates with placeholders. GoodTask templates can include {{date+3}} or {{contact}} placeholders that fill at instantiation. Apple Reminders templates are static copies.
  • Better calendar overlay. GoodTask shows calendar events alongside reminders in Today view. Apple Calendar shows reminders but not the other direction.
  • Power-user keyboard shortcuts on Mac. Faster bulk operations.

"I bought GoodTask in 2018 and it still earns its keep on the smart list filtering alone. Apple Reminders smart lists feel like a toy after you have used GoodTask's."
paraphrased from r/macapps, November 2025

"Honestly, the kanban view is what hooked me. I had no idea Apple Reminders could even do board layouts until I saw GoodTask doing it properly."
paraphrased from a Mac power-user thread on Hacker News, January 2026

A worked example: Ravi's sprint board

Ravi runs a four-person dev team and lives in sprint planning. His daily question is "what is tagged #sprint-14, due in the next 5 days, and not blocked?" In vanilla Apple Reminders, that is three separate smart lists or a lot of manual scanning, because Reminders cannot stack the conditions into one rule.

In GoodTask, that is a single smart list: tag includes #sprint-14, due date within 5 days, tag does not include #blocked. One view. He drops that smart list into a kanban board with columns for Backlog, In Progress, and Review, and now standup is just a screen-share of one board. Apple Reminders genuinely cannot produce this. For Ravi, the $40 paid for itself in the first sprint.

But flip the persona. Priya captures groceries, school-run reminders, and the odd work follow-up. She has maybe 15 active tasks and no need for AND/OR/NOT logic. GoodTask would sit unused. She is the person who should stay on vanilla Apple Reminders, because the power layer solves a problem she does not have.

Where GoodTask does not help

Fair warning, GoodTask is a filter and view layer, not a capture or thinking layer. It does not make capture faster in a meaningful way (the menu-bar add is quicker than Siri, but it is not sub-second), it has no AI to cluster a brain dump, and it cannot do recurrence patterns Apple's own engine refuses, like "every last business day of the month", because it is ultimately bound to Apple's recurrence rules. If your bottleneck is getting thoughts out of your head fast, or making sense of a chaotic inbox, GoodTask leaves that untouched. That gap is exactly where an AI-native layer fits instead.

Pricing

GoodTask is $40 one-time on the Mac App Store, or a subscription model on iOS that runs around $13/year as of last time we checked. Apple Reminders is free and built into every Apple device.

Three-year total cost of ownership:

  • Apple Reminders: $0
  • GoodTask: $40 Mac + $39 iOS (3 years subscription) = $79
  • Ultra Reminders: $35 one-time, Mac only (syncs back to iPhone via Apple Reminders)

GoodTask is the most expensive of the three over 3 years if you use both Mac and iPhone. Worth it if you live in smart-list filters. Probably overkill if you just want a faster capture experience.

Who should pick which

  1. You are a project manager who needs kanban and you already use Apple ecosystem. Pick GoodTask. The kanban + smart list combo is its strongest pitch.
  2. You are a developer who lives in filters. Pick GoodTask. Multi-condition smart lists are the killer feature.
  3. You have ADHD and capture is your bottleneck. Pick Ultra Reminders. GoodTask does not solve the capture-latency problem. Read the ADHD reminders system for why this matters.
  4. You want AI-native workflows. Pick Ultra Reminders. GoodTask has no AI layer; Ultra runs on-device Qwen 3.
  5. You are happy with vanilla Apple Reminders and just want to fix the rough edges. Stay with Apple Reminders + maybe add Shortcuts automations. GoodTask is a nice-to-have, not a must.
  6. You manage a family of 4+ with shared lists. Apple Reminders is fine. GoodTask reads the same shared lists but does not add much for family use.
  7. You want one app that does capture, filters, AND AI. Pick Ultra Reminders. GoodTask is excellent at filters but offers no AI assistance. For broader options, see Apple Reminders alternatives.

The way I think about it: GoodTask is for people who want Apple Reminders to behave like a power tool. Ultra Reminders is for people who want the underlying task system to think with them. Different problems. Different fits.

For a cleaner head-to-head against the most popular alternative, check Apple Reminders vs Things 3 or Apple Reminders vs Todoist.

A note on the "all reads from the same database" thing

Both GoodTask and Ultra Reminders read from and write back to Apple Reminders via the EventKit API. This means:

  • You can use GoodTask, Ultra, or Apple Reminders interchangeably on the same task.
  • iCloud sync still happens through Apple's servers.
  • If you delete a task in GoodTask, it disappears from Apple Reminders too.
  • Performance is the same as Apple Reminders, because under the hood it is the same database.

This is also the reason the per-app price feels reasonable. You are not paying for sync infrastructure, you are paying for the UI layer on top of Apple's database.

"The thing that took me a year to realize: GoodTask, Ultra Reminders, and Apple Reminders are all reading the same data. You can use them in parallel. I keep GoodTask for filters, Ultra for capture, and Apple Reminders on my iPhone for Siri."
paraphrased from a Reddit r/applehelp thread, March 2026

FAQ

Q: Can I use GoodTask and Apple Reminders at the same time?

A: Yes. They read the same iCloud database. Most users keep Apple Reminders on iPhone for Siri capture and use GoodTask on Mac for the power features. Ultra Reminders fits the same way if you want AI capture instead.

Q: Does GoodTask cost extra to use on iPhone?

A: Yes, the iOS version uses a subscription model (around $13/year as of last time we checked, but subject to change). The Mac version is one-time $40. Ultra Reminders is one-time $35 for Mac only and syncs to iPhone via the underlying Apple Reminders sync.

Q: Does GoodTask have an AI feature?

A: No, not as of May 2026. GoodTask is a power overlay focused on filters, kanban, and quick actions. For AI-native task management, Ultra Reminders or Motion are the better picks.

Q: Will GoodTask still work if Apple changes the Reminders API?

A: GoodTask has shipped updates through every major iOS and macOS release since iOS 6, so the team has a long track record. That said, any third-party app that relies on EventKit is exposed to Apple's whims. Ultra Reminders is in the same boat.

Q: Should I buy GoodTask if I already have Things 3 or Todoist?

A: Probably not. Things 3 and Todoist are full task systems with their own databases. GoodTask is specifically a power layer on top of Apple Reminders. If you have already moved off Apple Reminders, GoodTask is redundant. The only reason to buy is if you want the smart-list power but want to stay in iCloud sync.

Ultra Reminders solves smart-list power without learning a second app. Free 14-day trial at ultrareminders.com.