The App Store is full of options when it comes to checklist and todo apps, many of which come with tons of advanced features such as tags, filters, workspaces, and more. If all that makes your head hurt, you aren’t alone. There are lots of todo apps that can help you stay on task without overdoing it.
For adding items to lists, setting reminders, and forgetting about them until you need to act, these are the best checklist apps for iPhone:
Fantastical 2
Combined iCloud calendars and reminders
Fantastical 2 is not only my calendar app of choice, I also use it to manage simple reminders. While I use Todoist for managing projects and time sensitive tasks, I prefer keeping personal and simple checklists next to my calendar.
For example, I have a shared shopping list in Fantastical that my partner and I both add to regularly. The reason I like iCloud reminders is that pretty much anyone with an iPhone or iPad is already set up to use them. This makes sharing lists simple.
I also use iCloud reminders inside Fantastical for making lists of movies or TV shows I want to remember to watch later, and for personal reminders that don’t need to be intertwined into my work life. For things like shopping lists, Fantastical allows you to type an item, hit return, and keep adding more. This makes creating quick checklists incredibly efficient.
If you’re already using iCloud reminders, do yourself a favor and upgrade to Fantastical 2. The entire experience is just better.
- Fantastical for iPhone – $4.99 – Download
- Fantastical for iPad – $9.99 – Download
- Fantastical for Mac – $39.99 – Download
Clear
Gesture-driven checklists that are lightning fast
If you live and breathe checklists, Clear lets you triage through lists faster than most others. Since it’s entire interface depends on swipe gestures, you can drill down, pinch close, and create new items in just a swipe. Swiping left or right on items and lists allows you to quickly mark them as complete or delete them.
To quick add tasks in Clear, type in your item and then instead of tapping done, swipe down above the keyboard again to add it to the list and start typing a new item. Clear also supports several different themes for you to choose between. The settings section also provides quick reference to all the gestures Clear currently supports.
While Clear isn’t my checklist app of choice, I know plenty of folks who use it regularly and love it. If you like swipe and pinching more than you do tapping, Clear is definitely worth a look.
Wunderlist
For a happy in-between
Wunderlist makes checklists dead simple but also offers many other features that aren’t overly complicated. There was a time when I used Wunderlist for both work and personal tasks. In a work environment where colleagues operate on many different platforms, Wunderlist supports them all. Or if you live in a household where some members are using iOS while others are on Android or Windows Phone, Wunderlist is a great option for shared lists.
Much like Fantastical 2, typing in many list items at once is just a matter of hitting return and continuing to type. You can create as many lists as you want for free and collaborate and share them with as many people as you’d like. Best of all, if you don’t want to use the more advanced features of Wunderlist, you can ignore them and they won’t get in your way. There is no learning curve to start using Wunderlist, which makes it ideal for anyone who wants simplicity and is overwhelmed by the likes of apps such as Omnifocus or 2Do.
Your choice for best checklist app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac?
If you keep reminders and checklists as simple as possible, what app do you currently use and why?
For shopping lists, I use the free version of Anylist. It’s super easy to make a quick list of groceries. Then the app automatically sorts the list by isle so it makes grocery shopping faster.
I use an almost identical workflow as yours. Todoist for project or tasks that need potential follow-up or confirmation, Fantastical 2 for brief, one-and-done reminders. It took me a long time to get accustomed to F2, but now it’s to do list of choice.