Checklist apps serve a specific purpose that's often overlooked in the rush toward complex project management tools: they help you remember the simple, everyday things. Not quarterly objectives or team dependencies, just groceries, packing lists, weekend errands, and the thirty small tasks you need to knock out before you can relax.
The best checklist apps stay out of your way. They open fast, let you add items without ceremony, and provide the satisfying dopamine hit of checking boxes. They don't force you to assign due dates, priority levels, or project categories when you just need to remember milk, batteries, and to call your mom.
We evaluated checklist apps specifically for daily use, not work project management. Our criteria included speed of task capture, mobile-first design (because you're usually making grocery lists while standing in your kitchen, not sitting at a desk), simplicity that doesn't overwhelm, and the ability to share lists with family or roommates when needed.
This guide focuses on apps that understand the difference between task management and checklist creation. They're lightweight, accessible, and designed for the unglamorous but essential work of remembering what you need to do today.
What Makes a Great Daily Checklist App?
Our Selection Criteria
Choosing a checklist app differs from selecting productivity software. You're not optimizing workflows or tracking project timelines. You're capturing tasks quickly and checking them off.
We assessed each app against these criteria:
Speed of capture: The time between thinking "I need to remember this" and having it written down should be under 5 seconds. Apps requiring you to choose projects, set dates, or navigate menus before adding items don't work for spontaneous checklist creation.
Mobile excellence: Most checklists happen on phones. You're at the grocery store realizing you forgot something, packing for a trip, or doing weekend errands. Apps needed fast mobile performance, offline access, and interfaces optimized for thumbs, not mouse cursors.
No mandatory complexity: Due dates and priorities are useful for project management but overkill for checklists. We favored apps where these features are optional or absent entirely. Adding "buy paper towels" shouldn't require filling out metadata.
List organization without overwhelm: You might maintain separate lists for groceries, errands, and packing. Apps needed simple list management without enterprise-level folder hierarchies.
Sharing capability: Many checklists are collaborative. Grocery lists shared with partners, moving checklists coordinated with roommates, vacation packing lists for families. Apps needed easy, lightweight sharing.
Free or cheap: For simple task lists, expensive subscriptions don't make sense. We prioritized free apps or very low-cost options.
Many task management apps failed because they're built for work. Asana, ClickUp, and Monday are powerful but absurd for grocery lists. The apps below understand that sometimes you just need to remember things, not manage them.
1. Clear
Best for iOS: Clear
Clear reimagines checklist apps with gesture-based interaction and playful design. Instead of tapping buttons, you pull to create tasks, pinch to switch lists, and swipe to complete items. It feels less like using software and more like manipulating physical lists.
The interface is deliberately minimal. No due dates, no priority systems, no attachments. Just lists and items. For daily checklists, this limitation is actually perfect. When you're standing in the grocery store, you don't need to see metadata. You need to see "milk, bread, eggs" and check them off as you grab them.
Clear's themes and sounds provide surprising motivation. Completing an item triggers a satisfying sound and animation. Different themes change the entire vibe of the app. This matters more than it sounds like it should. The tiny dopamine hit from checking off "buy lightbulbs" actually helps you do the boring errands.
The gesture controls take about 5 minutes to learn but become second nature quickly. Pull down anywhere to add a new item. Pull down at the top to create a new list. Swipe items right to complete them, left to delete. These gestures are faster than tapping through menus once you learn them.
Clear's limitation is platform availability. It's iOS and Mac only, and the Mac version is less polished than mobile. If you need cross-platform access or use Android, this won't work. The app also lacks sharing features, so collaborative lists require different tools.
Recently rebuilt from the ground up, Clear added new themes, better iCloud sync, and improved reliability. The app went from abandoned to actively developed, which matters for long-term usability.
Pricing: One-time purchase, approximately $5-7 depending on region. No subscription.
Best for: iOS users who want a fast, gestural checklist app for personal use, anyone who values design and interaction polish, and people who find traditional task apps too complex for simple lists.
2. Todoist
Best for Tasks & Checklists: Todoist
Todoist scales from simple checklists to full project management, which makes it versatile but potentially overwhelming. For checklist use specifically, it works well if you stick to its simpler features and ignore the rest.
The quick add function is fast. Type or speak your item, hit enter, and it's captured. Natural language processing handles dates if you need them, but you can skip dates entirely for pure checklist mode. Create a "Groceries" project, add items, check them off at the store.
Board view transforms lists into Kanban-style columns, which some people prefer for visual checklist management. You can drag items between columns or use the traditional list view. The flexibility helps different thinking styles.
Sharing works smoothly. Invite someone to a project (your grocery list, moving checklist, whatever), and you both see updates in real-time. When your partner adds "orange juice" to the shared grocery list, you see it immediately.
Todoist's challenge for simple checklist use is that it wants to be more. The interface shows features you might not need: priority levels, labels, filters, productivity scores. You can ignore these, but they create visual noise if you just want uncomplicated lists.
The free tier is generous for individual checklist use. You get up to 5 projects, which translates to 5 separate lists. Most people don't need more than that for personal checklists. Premium adds features that matter more for work tasks than daily lists.
If you already use Todoist for work, using it for personal checklists too means one less app. If you're starting fresh just for checklists, simpler options might fit better.
Pricing: Free tier includes 5 projects and core features. Pro plan $4 per month adds reminders, labels, and unlimited projects.
Best for: People who want a checklist app that can grow into task management if needed, those already using Todoist who want to consolidate, and anyone who needs robust sharing and collaboration features.
3. Due
Best for Persistent Reminders: Due
Due specializes in reminders with persistent nagging, which makes it excellent for checklists where forgetting items has consequences. Need to remember to pick up your prescription? Due will remind you, then remind you again, then keep reminding you until you actually do it or mark it complete.
The app's killer feature is reminder management. Unlike apps that send one notification you can dismiss and forget, Due keeps bothering you at intervals you set. This works perfectly for checklist items that must get done today: pharmacy pickup, returning library books, calling the bank before 5pm.
Creating quick lists is straightforward. Add items, set reminders if needed, check them off when complete. The interface is clean and focused. Due doesn't try to be a full task manager, which keeps it from getting cluttered with features you don't need for simple lists.
The app integrates well across Apple devices. Add an item on your Mac, get reminded on your iPhone. For people embedded in the Apple ecosystem, this seamless sync makes Due a natural fit.
Due's limitation is platform exclusivity (Apple only) and its reminder focus. If you don't need aggressive reminding, you're paying for a feature you won't use. The app also lacks collaboration features, so shared household checklists require different tools.
Available through Setapp subscription or as standalone purchase. For Setapp subscribers, Due is essentially free as part of the bundle. For others, the one-time purchase price is reasonable if you need the specific reminder functionality.
Pricing: One-time purchase around $8-10, or included with Setapp subscription.
Best for: Apple users who need persistent reminders for time-sensitive checklist items, people who often dismiss notifications and forget tasks, and Setapp subscribers who get it as part of their existing subscription.
4. Sorted 3
Best for Time-Based Checklists: Sorted 3
Sorted 3 combines checklists with time-based scheduling, letting you see your list items plotted across your day. This hybrid approach works well for people who need more structure than a simple list but don't want full calendar complexity.
The timeline view shows your tasks as blocks of time. Morning errands stack together, afternoon tasks appear later. You can drag items to rearrange your day visually. For daily checklists, this helps you see what's actually feasible rather than maintaining an impossibly long list.
Auto-scheduling is the premium feature that sets Sorted apart. Tell the app when you're free and what needs doing, and it arranges your tasks into your available time. This addresses a common checklist problem: you have twenty items but only three hours. Sorted helps you see what fits today versus what should move to tomorrow.
Quick capture is fast despite the time-focus. Add items without scheduling them, then drag them into your timeline when you're ready to plan. You can maintain Sorted purely as a checklist app and ignore the scheduling features if that's too much structure.
The panic mode feature helps when your day goes sideways. Everything shifts automatically when appointments run long or you need to reschedule. Your checklist items adjust to your new reality without manual rearranging.
Sorted's complexity can be overkill for purely simple checklists. If you just need to remember groceries and weekend errands, the timeline and auto-scheduling are more features than necessary. The app shines for people whose checklists need temporal structure.
Pricing: Free version with limitations. Premium subscription around $15 annually unlocks auto-scheduling, unlimited tasks, and full features.
Best for: People who want to see their checklist in the context of time, those who struggle with realistic task estimation, and anyone seeking something between simple lists and full calendar management.
5. Any.do
Best for Calendar Integration: Any.do
Any.do blends minimalist design with practical features, finding a sweet spot between too simple and too complex. The app looks clean enough to feel uncluttered but includes enough functionality to handle diverse checklist needs.
The interface combines lists, calendar, and reminders in one view. You see your checklist items alongside calendar events, which helps plan your day holistically. Errands appear next to appointments, so you remember to grab groceries on the way home from your dentist appointment.
Quick add supports voice input, which matters when your hands are full or you're driving. Speaking your checklist items is faster than typing them one-handed while carrying bags.
Sharing lists works smoothly for household collaboration. Create a grocery list, share it with your partner, and both of you can add items or check things off. Updates sync in real-time, preventing duplicate purchases.
Any.do's calendar integration is genuinely useful for checklists. Unlike pure list apps, you can see what day you planned to tackle weekend errands. Unlike complex calendar apps, checklist items don't require specific times unless you want them.
The app's limitation is that the free version feels constrained. Location-based reminders, recurring tasks, and other useful features require premium. Compared to Todoist's generous free tier, Any.do asks for payment sooner.
Design-wise, Any.do is polished. The interface feels modern without sacrificing usability. If you care how your apps look and want something that feels premium, Any.do delivers.
Pricing: Free version with core features. Premium around $3 per month or $27 annually adds location reminders, recurring tasks, and customization.
Best for: People who want checklist and calendar integration, those who prefer voice input for task capture, and users seeking a middle ground between minimalist apps and feature-heavy project managers.
6. Google Tasks
Best Free Option: Google Tasks
Google Tasks is the checklist app most people don't realize they have. Built into Gmail and Google Calendar, it provides dead-simple list management without installing anything new.
The integration with Gmail is surprisingly useful for checklists. Drag an email into Tasks to create a checklist item from it. That confirmation email about your dentist appointment becomes a task. The shipping notification for your package becomes a reminder to check the porch. Email-to-task conversion turns your inbox into checklist source material.
Google Tasks lives in the sidebar of Gmail and Google Calendar, making it accessible wherever you work. You don't switch apps to check your list. It's just there, persistent and available.
The mobile app is basic but functional. Add items, organize into lists, set due dates if you want. Nothing fancy, but nothing complicated either. For people who don't want to learn new software, Google Tasks requires almost no learning curve.
Integration across Google services means Tasks appears everywhere you use Google products. Your grocery list sits next to your email. Your weekend errands appear alongside your calendar. This ubiquity beats having to remember to open a separate app.
Google Tasks' limitation is its extreme simplicity. No sharing, no subtasks in the mobile app, no rich features. If you need to collaborate on lists or want advanced functionality, Tasks feels limited. But for personal, simple checklists, the lack of features is actually refreshing.
The fact that it's completely free with no premium upsells or ads makes it hard to beat for budget-conscious users. If you already live in Google's ecosystem, you have a checklist app already installed.
Pricing: Free with Google account.
Best for: People already using Gmail and Google Calendar daily, those who want zero learning curve, and anyone seeking a completely free option without ads or upgrade pressure.
7. Apple Reminders
Best for Apple Users: Apple Reminders
Apple Reminders has evolved from basic to genuinely capable, especially if you're embedded in Apple's ecosystem. It now handles collaborative lists, smart lists, tags, and enough features to compete with paid apps.
The natural language input works well. Type "buy milk tomorrow at Whole Foods" and Reminders creates a task due tomorrow with a location trigger. When you arrive at Whole Foods, your phone reminds you. This location awareness is perfect for errand checklists that happen at specific places.
Sharing lists with family or roommates is seamless if everyone uses Apple devices. Create a "Groceries" list, share it, and everyone can add items or mark things complete. The integration with Messages means you can share lists directly in conversations.
Smart lists automatically organize tasks based on criteria you set. Create a smart list showing everything due today across all your lists. Or one showing flagged items. These dynamic views help when you maintain multiple checklists but want to see priorities consolidated.
Siri integration makes hands-free list management practical. "Hey Siri, add bread to my grocery list" works reliably. Voice capture matters when you're cooking, driving, or otherwise occupied.
Reminders' limitation is its Apple exclusivity. No Android version, no web version, no Windows app. If anyone you want to share lists with uses non-Apple devices, collaboration breaks down. The app is also less polished than dedicated checklist apps like Clear, feeling more utilitarian than delightful.
The fact that it comes pre-installed and syncs across all Apple devices makes Reminders hard to beat for Apple users who want simple, free checklist management. You don't need to install anything or pay anyone. It just works.
Pricing: Free, pre-installed on Apple devices.
Best for: Apple ecosystem users who want sophisticated features without installing additional apps, families using all Apple devices who need shared lists, and anyone who wants powerful functionality at zero cost.
Which Checklist App Should You Choose?
Quick Decision Guide
Your ideal checklist app depends on your ecosystem, collaboration needs, and complexity tolerance.
If you're iOS-only and value design: Clear offers the most polished, gestural experience. It's beautiful and fast but doesn't share lists or work on Android.
If you need sharing and might want more features later: Todoist scales from simple lists to full task management. The free tier works well for most personal checklist needs.
If you need aggressive reminders: Due's persistent nagging ensures you actually complete time-sensitive items. Apple-only and costs money, but worth it if you constantly forget critical tasks.
If you want time-based structure: Sorted 3 shows your checklist items in timeline view, helping you see what actually fits in your day. More complex than pure list apps but useful for temporal planning.
If you live in Google's ecosystem: Google Tasks integrates seamlessly with Gmail and Calendar at zero cost. Basic features but completely free and always accessible.
If you're all-Apple, all the time: Apple Reminders has evolved into a capable, free option with location reminders, sharing, and Siri integration. No additional app needed.
For household collaboration: Todoist, Any.do, or Apple Reminders all handle shared lists well. Choose based on what platforms your household uses.
Many people use multiple apps: Google Tasks for work-related lists, Clear for personal groceries, Sorted 3 for weekend planning. Pick based on your specific use case rather than trying to force one app to do everything.
Checklist Apps FAQ
Common Questions Answered
What's the difference between a checklist app and a task manager?
Checklist apps focus on simple item creation and completion without requiring metadata. Task managers add due dates, projects, priorities, and organizational features. Use checklist apps for groceries and errands. Use task managers for work projects and complex goals. Some apps like Todoist work well for both.
Do I need to pay for a checklist app?
Not necessarily. Google Tasks and Apple Reminders are completely free and handle most checklist needs. Clear and Due require one-time purchases ($5-10) but no subscriptions. Todoist's free tier covers basic checklist use. Premium features in most apps add functionality that matters more for task management than simple lists.
Can I share grocery lists with my partner who uses Android while I use iPhone?
Yes, but you'll need cross-platform apps. Todoist, Any.do, and Google Tasks all work on both iOS and Android. Clear and Apple Reminders are Apple-only and won't share with Android users. For mixed-device households, choose platform-agnostic apps.
What's the fastest way to add items to a checklist?
Voice input or widgets. Apps with good Siri or Google Assistant integration let you speak items without opening anything. Home screen widgets let you add items with fewer taps. Clear's gesture controls are fast once learned. Google Tasks appears in Gmail's sidebar, eliminating app switching.
Do checklist apps work offline?
Most do. Clear, Todoist, Apple Reminders, and Google Tasks all allow offline use with automatic sync when connection returns. This matters for grocery shopping in basements or traveling with spotty service. Check specific apps if offline access is critical for your use.
Should I use one checklist app for everything or different apps for different lists?
Whatever you'll actually use. Some people prefer one app for simplicity. Others use Google Tasks for work lists and Clear for personal errands because different contexts benefit from different tools. There's no wrong approach if it works for you.
Final Thoughts
Getting Started
The best checklist app is the one you'll actually open and use. Start with whatever's already on your device: Google Tasks if you use Gmail, Apple Reminders if you're on iPhone. Use it for a week before downloading alternatives.
If the built-in options feel limited or clunky, then explore dedicated apps. Clear if you're iOS-focused and value design. Todoist if you want room to grow into more complex task management. Due if persistent reminding matters more than features.
Don't overthink it. Checklists are meant to simplify your life, not become another complicated system to manage. Pick something simple, capture your items, check them off. That's it.