If productivity is a burden on your soul, you may need some help. Two great task management solutions for your personal and work needs include TickTick and Things 3. They each have similar features to keep you on top of your daily schedule. Before making a commitment, however, you will want to thoroughly explore each option to know if either suits your personal needs and overall workflow.
Jump to:
- What is TickTick?
- What is Things 3?
- TickTick vs. Things 3: Comparison table
- TickTick and Things 3 pricing
- Feature comparison: TickTick vs. Things 3
- TickTick pros and cons
- Things 3 pros and cons
- Methodology
- Should your organization use TickTick or Things 3?
What is TickTick?
TickTick is a task management app that centers around task list organization, scheduling and management. It offers multiple task views like list, kanban and calendar, as well as resources to keep track of deadlines. Users can set task reminders, time tasks, record their times and set reminders for meeting special goals.
Figure A
What is Things 3?
Things 3 is a productivity checklist designed to help you manage personal and work tasks. You can stay on top of daily tasks or long-term goals all while using a fast and intuitive user interface. Users can search, organize and filter tasks, as well as set reminders to avoid missing them.
Figure B
TickTick vs. Things 3: Comparison table
| Features | TickTick | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Task management | Yes | Yes |
| Time tracking | Yes | No |
| Gantt charts | Yes | No |
| Operating systems | Universal | Apple only |
| Free version | Yes | No |
| Starting price | $35.99 per year | $9.99 one-time purchase |
TickTick and Things 3 pricing
Both applications have similar functions but drastically different pricing models.
TickTick
In TickTick, there are two options for potential users. The freemium version is available in web, desktop and mobile versions, as is the Premium subscription.
Free version
In this edition, users can create tasks and then view them as lists or kanban boards. You can also time tasks and see limited performance analytics.
Premium
For this version, you have more data visualization options, like Gantt charts and calendar view. It also has more filter options and analytics.
Things 3
For Things 3, it offers several apps you can get for a one-time purchase. The software is designed for building to-do lists, scheduling tasks and managing your packed calendar quickly. In terms of features, most versions have access to all the same features, with slight differences in the UI. The Quick Find tool on the desktop can be activated via keyboard to search the entire app, whereas you need to swipe first on mobile before searching.
Mac
The desktop version of Things 3 costs $49.99. It allows you to coordinate all your devices with the app in one place.
iPhone and Apple Watch
Both mobile versions of the app cost $9.99.
iPad
The iPad version of the software costs $19.99.
Feature comparison: TickTick vs. Things 3
Each of these task management solutions offers great productivity and scheduling features, but where they differ can be the major decider.
Task management
When it comes to tasks, both apps allow you to create tasks, schedule them with reminders in calendars and organize them. You can search and filter tasks quickly in both, but when it comes to viewing options, Things 3 is primarily calendar-based.
TickTick offers multiple data views, such as Gantt charts, and the ability to build an Eisenhower matrix. You can also time tasks or create reminders for habit-building goals. Things 3 is more centered around fast navigation for scheduling and reminding you of tasks on your daily checklists.
Time tracking
Things 3 doesn’t offer time tracking, whereas TickTick does, although it is limited. You can set a timer for a task and view simple analytics on past times. Things 3 doesn’t have advanced time tracking features like timesheets, automation, detailed reporting or integrated budgeting tools.
Gantt charts
Things 3 doesn’t offer much for work visualization as it’s more of a personal app for managing tasks. TickTick offers data visualizations like kanban, task lists and calendars. They also provide unique visuals like Gantt charts to keep track of team progress and deadlines. If you go into settings, you can even enable an Eisenhower matrix to organize your tasks by urgency (Figure C).
Figure C
Compatible operating systems (OS)
TickTick offers versions for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux and web, as well as browser extensions and email extensions. Things 3 is an Apple-only app for Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch.
Cost
Things 3 does not offer any free versions of their app, but it does have a 14-day free trial. TickTick has a version for users to download for every OS version. The Premium version of TickTick is a $35.99 yearly subscription, while the most expensive version of Things 3 is $49.99 one-time purchase. In the long run, you would pay more for the TickTick premium, but you would have access to more team collaboration features as well.
TickTick pros and cons
Pros of TickTick
- Available for the majority of operating systems in web, mobile and desktop versions.
- Offers a good free plan to explore and manage simple tasks.
- Great for personal use.
Cons of TickTick
- Not enough features for complex task management.
- Premium version has most of the important features, like time tracking and Gantt charts.
- Limited compared to other free task management tools.
Things 3 pros and cons
Pros of Things 3
- Fast navigation for scheduling tasks.
- Intuitive user interface and ease of use.
- Great for managing personal life and work.
Cons of Things 3
- Apple only.
- Not suited as business team software.
- Limited features compared to other task and project management solutions.
Methodology
For this article, we took into account user reviews, user interface and navigation, functionality and cost. We compared the software objectively and from the point of view of what buyers are looking for or avoiding in an application. Use cases were heavily considered, and features were used to determine how suited each software is for a purpose.
Should your organization use TickTick or Things 3?
If you are looking for a personal productivity tool with little to no learning curve, then Things 3 is a great option. The fact that it’s only for Apple users can make it much harder to implement for a business team, especially when considering personal preference and cost. TickTick has a free version you can test out and is available on multiple operating systems and devices. It will be much easier to implement for a team and collaborate with, but compared to other project management software, it’s very simple.
Other tools like Wrike, ClickUp or Trello have powerful features like advanced reporting, AI and customization. They’re better suited for more complex workloads compared to either Things 3 or TickTick.
