Best GTD-Focused To-Do List Apps for Ultimate Productivity

Getting Things Done was developed by David Allen in the 1990s.

Since then, task management apps have come very far. Many of them can now be used with the Getting Things Done methodology to get more tasks done. A lot of these apps are superb for reducing overwhelming and using GTD to capture and organize tasks.

Let's look into more detail about the best task management that follows the GTD system and can help you get more done in your daily routine. If you're hunting for more general to-do list applications, we'd recommend exploring this list.

1. OmniFocus 4

Best Premium GTD App

OmniFocus 4 is the most premium of the options in this list for GTD.

Great for tracking projects, tasks, tags, and upcoming items in a feature called Forecast. OmniFocus is one of the most attractive and well-built applications that comes on iOS, macOS, and even the Apple Vision Pro. The build quality of OmniFocus 4 is the best and the projects are great for tracking progress and coordinating tasks around a project base.

If you've got a budget for something more premium than Nirvana and are open to learning how OmniFocus works, truly making the most out of this powerful tool then we'd recommend it.

2. Nirvana HQ

Best for All Round

Nirvana is one of the best task management apps for following GTD.

Popular with those who follow and use GTD, Nirvana has a structured task management system that uses the same terminology and flows as GTD. Inside of tasks in Nirvana, you can add next actions, add energy levels, and add context tags all useful for GTD.

The desktop app does a decent job at allowing you to add projects, filter by tags and context items, and see what's coming up next for deadlines and tasks. If you're looking for something stricter with how GTD operates, Nirvana is the best task management for GTD use. The focused experience and reasonable pricing make Nirvana much more approachable.

3. Todoist

Best for General Use

Todoist is a general to-do list application not necessarily focused on GTD.

This is a to-do list app that has labels and filters useful for context in GTD, boards for visualizing ideas, and lists for projects. The iOS and Android apps with Todoist serve as a super way to capture tasks on the go which is something people need to do with GTD.

This might take a bit of time to get used to, as it isn't like the other tools that have systems built in, but can be shaped with the premium labels and filters to better align with how you do GTD (Getting Things Done). Many people use Todoist and GTD together.

If you're getting started with the GTD methodology and the tools like OmniFocus 4 and Nirvana are a bit daunting then we'd recommend looking at Todoist. It isn't an out-of-the-box GTD task management app, but it can be molded to GTD and has templates.

4. 2Do

Best for Android

2Do isn't the most attractive tool for task management and GTD.

However, it is functional and works as a system that can be shaped with tags, smart lists, and a range of filtering that can create the perfect lists for your GTD system. It also comes on Android, macOS, and iOS, as an old-fashioned approach to GTD this works.

The other benefit that people like about 2Do is that it is a license, meaning you can get a one-off license and get access to 2Do once.

5. Things 3

Best for Minimal

Things 3 is a minimal task management app that can be used for GTD.

Things 3 is good for GTD although not as strict as the others on this list. You can capture using the quick add on macOS and iOS, and the features allow you to add tags and labels to them. Projects also help for better management of tasks and capture into the right places. They also come with deadlines & due dates.

This evening is another feature that breaks up your to-do list and something that David Allen constantly advocates for around managing your list to best suit you, for this evening, you can push tasks into a sub-list within today to avoid overload.

What is the best to-do app for GTD?

Taking a look at all the options on this list, we'd recommend a few in particular for certain scenarios. These can be for general use, or per device but this might help you when troubleshooting for the best to-do app:

The best to-do list app for GTD beginners?

The most approachable to-do app for getting started with GTD is Todoist.

This is simple and easy in nature for those new to the 5 steps of GTD, but still will allow you to expand your use case, if you decide later on that GTD isn't suitable for you. It will allow you to share things with others, something that apps like Things 3, Nirvana and OmniFocus on this list won't allow you to do.

What is the best all-round to-do app for GTD?

All-round, the best to-do app for GTD has to be Nirvana.

It packs a lot of features in to multiple devices. Making it perfect for Android users, iOS and web alike. One of the easiest ones to get started with even if you have read Getting Things Done once and want to get the basics going. Another good general, all-round one, is Todoist - but it is much more of a general to-do app for all use cases.

What is the best to-do app for GTD on iPhone?

The best to-do app for iOS users is OmniFocus 4.

The company behind OmniFocus build such high quality apps. There is a slight learning curve with them, but they are worth it once you've started managing your tasks and created a GTD workflow in. Notable mention goes to Things 3, whilst not being as well created for GTD, it does do wonders for iOS and macOS users.