Best to-do list app for ADHD: Todoist, TickTick, Structured and others compared

What makes the best to-do list app for ADHD?

The best to-do list app for ADHD is the one you will still open in a month, so pick on friction, not features. A few things decide that.

• How fast is a new task? If adding "buy bin bags" takes more than a few seconds, you will stop. Check the capture step first.
• Where does the list show up? Reminders and widgets on your lock screen do more than a tidy list you have to remember to open.
• Does it show time? A list shows what, not when. Apps that put tasks on a timeline or give each a duration show whether your day fits.
• How much setup does it want? Projects, labels and filters reward people who enjoy organising and punish people who do not.
• What happens when you miss a day? Some apps pile up red overdue tasks. Look for ones that let you reschedule in one tap.
• Free plan caps. Free tiers limit projects, reminders and history. Know the cap before you build your system on it.

We have not tested these apps. Features and prices below come from each maker's own page, checked on 2 November 2026.

Which apps are plain lists?

Todoist and TickTick are the two most-used plain lists, and both are fast to capture in.

Todoist's pricing page lists a free plan and a Pro plan. Pro adds a calendar layout, task duration, custom task reminders, deadlines, 300 personal projects rather than 5, and 150 filter views rather than 3. The page quotes in US dollars: $5 a month billed yearly or $7 monthly. Our data shows about £6.99 a month.

TickTick's home page lists a habit tracker, a Pomodoro timer, calendar views from daily to yearly, and sync across phone, computer, tablet and watch. Sign-up is free. Premium prices vary between third-party sites, so look at the upgrade screen.

The honest difference is that Todoist is simpler and TickTick does more. If you want one app to run lists, habits and a work timer, TickTick covers it. If you want the least possible between you and the list, Todoist is easier to live in.

Which apps show your day, not just a list?

Structured and Tiimo draw the day as blocks, which suits people who lose track of time rather than tasks.

Structured shows tasks, events and routines on a timeline. The App Store listing says the free version includes drag-and-drop planning, an inbox, sync across Apple devices, sub-tasks, a Pomodoro timer and a dyslexia-friendly font. Pro adds recurring tasks, calendar connections and AI day planning. It is Apple-only.

Tiimo plans the day as coloured blocks with timers and is the pricier of the two, from about £6.49. It suits people who want the day laid out visually. It is overkill for a plain list.

Llama Life sits between them: a list where every task has its own countdown, and a finish time for the lot.

Which app helps when you cannot start?

Goblin Tools' Magic ToDo breaks a task into smaller steps, and the website is free.

You type the job, for example "clear the spare room", and it returns a list of steps. The Goblin Tools site lists other tools too, including an Estimator for how long something takes and a Compiler that turns a brain dump into action items. It says it is kept free by sponsors, with a separate Pro section whose price we could not see. The caveat is the one that applies to any AI: it can produce steps that make no sense for your house, so read the list as a draft. See our guides on task paralysis and apps that break jobs down for more.

How should you set up a to-do list so it survives a bad week?

Keep the structure shallow and the first screen short. A list with forty items is a list you stop opening.

• One inbox, one place. Put everything in the inbox first and sort it once a day or once a week, not at the moment of capture.
• Three things for today. Most apps let you filter to today. If yours does, cap the day at what you could realistically finish, then move the rest.
• Name tasks as actions. "Book MOT" is startable. "Car" is not. Goblin Tools' Magic ToDo is one way to get a vague item into a first small step.
• Use reminders sparingly. Reminders on everything become wallpaper. Set them for the few things with a real time attached.
• Review, then delete. If a task has been moved five times, either break it down or admit you are not doing it and remove it.

None of that depends on which app you pick, which is why we suggest trying a free tier before paying for anything.

Which one should you start with?

If you only try one, try the free tier of the one that matches your problem.

Give any app two weeks. If you are not opening it by then, change the app, not yourself.

Things to know

• Prices change and differ by country. US-dollar prices on makers' pages will not match what you pay in sterling.
• AI features are drafts. Check the output before you rely on it.
• Your data lives on their servers. Read the privacy page before putting anything sensitive in a task.
• We have not verified every platform. Check that your phone and computer are supported before paying.