I built Today's Tasks, so this page isn't neutral. But the comparisons here aren't sales pitches either — when a competitor genuinely wins for a use case, I say so. Pick whichever article matches the tool you're already using or considering.
One competing tool, one honest verdict.
Todoist wins clearly on recurring tasks and cross-device sync. Today's Tasks wins on speed, no-signup, and a daily-only view. The honest decision tree.
NotionNotion is powerful for documents and project databases. There's a specific point where it stops earning its weight as a daily list. Here's how to spot it.
AsanaAsana is genuinely excellent for team coordination. It's also genuinely overkill for one person tracking today's list. Honest framing of when each fits.
3-wayA decision matrix across setup, recurring tasks, sync, knowledge management, and cost — plus the combination strategy most people end up at.
When you don't yet know what you're comparing.
Most "free" to-do apps want a password before they'll let you write down "buy milk." Here are the genuinely no-signup options I tested and the tradeoff they share.
RoundupNotion is too heavy for a daily list. The lighter alternatives I tested, what each one trades away, and the one I kept after the experiment.
RoundupMost planner apps look simple in the marketing copy and aren't. A practical shortlist of the ones that genuinely are — including pen and paper.
Personal stackI keep Notion for documents and project databases. Daily tasks belong somewhere else. Here's the actual stack and why each tool earns its slot.
A short note on methodology, since most comparison articles online are written by people who haven't actually used both tools and it shows.
I have a real paid Todoist account, a real Notion workspace I've maintained for three years, and a contractor login to an Asana instance from a 2024 client engagement. The comparisons on this page are written from inside those tools, with screenshots taken from real workspaces, not from a marketing site or a competitor's docs.
The verdicts also do not always favour Today's Tasks. The Todoist comparison openly says Todoist is the better choice if you need recurring tasks or cross-device sync — because it is, and pretending otherwise would waste your time. The Asana comparison flat-out recommends Asana for any small team coordinating shared work. The point of these pages is not "Today's Tasks is best." The point is "here is the actual shape of the decision so you don't waste a Saturday migrating into the wrong tool."
If you spot a factual error — a feature that exists in Todoist that I claimed didn't, a Notion template I missed, a price that's changed — email me and I'll fix it. The articles are dated and re-checked when the tools ship meaningful changes.
If you don't want to read seven 1,000-word comparisons, the same decision usually resolves with three questions answered out loud:
If you'd rather skip the comparison and just see whether the app fits, the fastest answer is to open it — there's nothing to install or sign up for, so the cost of finding out is roughly thirty seconds. The productivity guide covers the underlying habits the three-lane model is designed around.