Task Management Mac: The 3 Top macOS Task Manager Apps In 2024

Task management is an important part of every productive worker’s day, and with the plethora of options on iOS and Android, you might expect that the Macbook task manager industry would be ripe with apps to help your everyday tasks. Turns out this isn’t the case and there are all too many programs that might call themselves to do list app for mac, but are in fact outdated, expensive or both.

So we asked 9 people to review all of the task management mac apps out there and give them an anonymous score. Here is our top three shortlist!

This scoring was based on the following factors:

  1. Ease of use – is the macOS task manager app intuitive to use without instruction?
  2. Functionality – is it just a to do list app for mac or is it a lot more fully fledged?
  3. Value for Money – is there a free or trial version of the task management Mac app?
  4. Cross-platform support – can you easily sync data between the task management Mac app and other devices?

Full disclosure: the selected reviewers were entirely independent, were not paid for their time and did not know that we were affiliated with one of the apps reviewed.

Today app UI

1. Today

Average score: 9.4

Price: Free

Today topped the ranking of the best task management mac app thanks to its smart approach of assigning each task a time.

Pros

  • Incredibly easy to use thanks to its intuitive UI
  • Its support for many native features makes it an ideal Macbook task manager
  • Supports iOS, Android, Web and macOS

Cons

  • Tracking the usage of individual apps needs to be done manually
  • There is no third party integrations, such as timesheet support

“Today is the app that I’m going to keep using. Its time tracking is unparalled” – Emily S.

Todoist app

2. Todoist

Average score: 8.9

Price: Paid with free tier

Todoist scored highly in the reviewers scores thanks to its rich feature set and clean UI. All the features come at a price though with prices from $3/month

Pros

  • Easy to use thanks to its refined UI
  • Packed full of features to make it a great to do list app for Mac

Cons

  • Costly to get a lot of key features
  • With so many features, it can be overwhelming

“I used Todoist before this review and as a long time user, I remain impressed” – John D.

Things 3 screenshot

3. Things 3

Average score: 8.6

Price: Paid ($50 on Mac, extra for other devices)

Things 3 continues the trend of clean macOS task manager apps. Its simplistic UI succeeds where Todoist does not, however lags behind both Today and Todoist with its steep price tag.

Pros

  • Clean task management Mac app UI
  • Smart segmentation of todos by time, importance and custom groupings

Cons

  • Steep price tag with no free tier
  • Mac app could be updated more frequently
  • No Android app

“Things 3 is a beautiful app, but it’s too costly for me.” – Emily S.

How do I get a to do list on my Mac desktop?

To get a to do list on your Mac desktop, download the free Today app, which provides native desktop support and is the highest-ranked app in our review.

Is Things 3 worth the price?

Things 3 has a lot of brilliant features, including filtering tasks by importance and time of day, but with a $50 price for the Mac app alone and additional costs for multiple devices, Things 3 isn’t worth the price for all but the most productivity-obsessed individual.

Which is better Todoist or wunderlist?

Todoist and wunderlist both provide a great range of features, but with wunderlist now discontinued, we’d definitely recommend Todoist 😉

What is the best task manager app?

We asked 9 people to review all of the task management apps out there and the resounding winner was Today, thanks to its powerful features and free price tag.

What is better than Todoist?

Out of all the to do list apps out there, our reviewers have ranked the Today app higher than all others, including Todoist, due to its unique approach of completing tasks.

How do you manage tasks at work?

There are lots of great apps to manage tasks at work, with our favourites being Today, Todoist and wunderlist.

What is the best way to track tasks?

We’ve found that using the Today app is the best way to track tasks, thanks to its powerful feature set and free price tag.

Multitasking in 2024: Is Multitasking Good Or Bad?

Multitasking is commonly assumed to always be a good thing, but is it? We’ve explored the extensive research that has investigated how multitasking affects productivity so we can answer, is multitasking good or bad?

The verdict

So, is multitasking good or bad? Having analysed multiple research papers and even conducting our own (slightly less scientific) study, we can firmly conclude that multitasking is almost always the wrong approach to being productive.

You might think multitasking must be a good thing, but in face, multiple studies have shown that it can actually increase the time to delivery, with humans often overestimating our ability to focus on more than one thing at a time.

How to stay focused?

TLDR; focus on one task at a time. Instead of attempting to multitask, which as we’ve seen typically leads to worse results, we recommend breaking down your day into 3-5 key tasks that you need to get done, and then focusing on only one at a time. A great approach to achieve this is to use an app like Today. The Today app focuses you on the task at hand, preventing you from getting distracted.

You can download Today for free on iOS and Android now.


What multitasking means?

Multitasking is described as the ability for a human to work on more than one task at a time, it is often associated as a positive trait.

Is multitasking good or bad?

Although multitasking is assumed to be a good thing, multiple studies have shown that it can actually increase the time to delivery, with humans often overestimating our ability to focus on more than one thing at a time.

What is an example of multitasking?

A great example of multitasking is when you are trying to complete multiple to-dos at a time, such as checking your emails whilst listening to a lecture.

What happens when you multitask?

When you try to do more than one thing at a time, your brain often lacks the capacity to perform the tasks effectively. Research has also shown that multitasking can even lower your IQ.

What are the benefits of multitasking?

Multitasking isn’t all bad; working on multiple tasks that are both relatively low effort can still be effective.

Chore Apps: The best 5 house chore apps of 2024 reviewed

House chores are a real pain. No-one wants to do them, yet they always have to be done. A companion app can really help you push yourself in the right direction for your household chores. So we asked 10 people to review all of the house chore apps out there and so without further ado, here is the rundown!

Full disclosure: the selected reviewers were entirely independent, were not paid for their time and did not know that we were affiliated with one of the apps reviewed.

Today app UI

1. Today

Average score: 9.7

Price: Free

Today topped every reviewer’s scores thanks to its unique approach of assigning each task a time, allowing the user to work on a task for a set period on a recurring basis.

“Today is the app that I’m going to keep using. Its time tracking is unparalled” – Emily S.

Spotless UI

2. Spotless

Average score: 9.1

Price: Free

The Spotless household app looks to help keep your home clean and clutter-free. Breaking each area of the house into rooms, if you just need to track cleaning, this is your app. Outside of that though, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

“If you just need to track cleaning, this is your app” – Jordan S.

Clean My House UI

3. Clean My House

Average score: 8.8

Price: Free

If you love lists, this app is for you. Clean My House helps organise your house and even schedule errands. The app will remind you each morning what needs to be that done to help you gradually tick off your to-do list.

“If you love lists, this app is for you.” – Billie R.

HomeRoutines UI

4. HomeRoutines

Average score: 8.2

Price: $4.99

HomeRoutines allows the user to create lists around their chores. With reminder notifications and alerts, this highly detailed (but expensive) app keeps track of the things you get done.

“HomeRoutines has cool features to segment tasks, though the UI could be prettier.” – Ryan D.

OurHome UI

5. OurHome

Average score: 6.9

Price: Free

OurHome has a lot going for it. It has iOS, Android and web support, and a host of features around task tracking. Our reviewers found it pretty buggy however, hence its lower score.

“OurHome has a ton of potential, but would need to see it be more reliable before I would want to use it.” – Emily S.


Today app UI

🏆 The winner

Today

Price: Free

With an average score of 9.7, Today is the clear winner with its smart repeating task approach, clean interface and its price (free). You can download Today for free on iOS and Android now.


What is the best chore app?

Our independent group of testers have unanimously agreed that the Today app is the best chore app, helping you to get household chores done the quickest.

Which chore app for kids?

Thanks to its colourful design and easy-to-use interface, the Today app ranked the highest in chore apps best suited to kids.