To Do Machine vs Things 3 (2026) — design you admire or design you direct?
Updated . Things facts come from Cultured Code's site and the US App Store listings; see the sources at the bottom of this page.
Things 3 is widely praised for its design, and it has won two Apple Design Awards. It does one layout extremely well: areas, projects, Today and Upcoming, with no subscription. You buy it once per platform.
To Do Machine takes the opposite approach to design. Instead of one perfect layout, it's a to-do app you redesign by chatting: tell To Do Machine how you work, and it builds the views, features, and layout to match.
AT A GLANCE
| Feature | TO DO MACHINE | THINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Subscription: Standard $69.99/year; Max $199.99/year. 7-day free trial (14 on Max). | One-time, no yearly fee: Mac $49.99, iPhone $9.99, iPad $19.99 (sold separately). 15-day free trial on Mac; no trial on iPhone or iPad. |
| Platforms | iPhone and Mac, plus the web | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro (Apple only; no browser access) |
| AI | To Do Machine creates and edits tasks, projects, reminders, and repeats, and redesigns the app itself. | None listed on its product pages. |
| Customization | The app redesigns itself around how you work, by chatting: custom views (list, kanban, calendar, focus, blueprint), custom fields, layouts and themes, plus brand-new custom features To Do Machine builds on request. | A fixed, carefully designed layout: areas, projects, tags, Today, Upcoming. |
| Calendar | Two-way sync with Google and Apple Calendar; time-blocking that respects meetings, focus blocks and breaks. | Today and Upcoming show your calendar events next to to-dos. |
| Sync | Tasks, projects, calendars sync in milliseconds across iPhone, Mac and the web. | Free Things Cloud sync across Apple devices. |
THE SHORT VERSION
Pick Things if you want a beautiful, fixed design, a one-time purchase, and Apple-only is fine. Pick To Do Machine if you want the app to take the shape of your system, or you need a web version.
Where To Do Machine is the better choice
- The app redesigns itself around how you work. Custom views, custom fields, layouts and themes, plus custom features To Do Machine builds when you ask, all by chatting. Things is one design you adapt to; To Do Machine adapts to you.
- Things’ layout doesn’t fit your brain. You can’t change how Things looks or what its screens show. In To Do Machine you say what you want, like “put overdue at the top, hide projects, add a habit row”, and that’s the app.
- You want features Things doesn’t have. Progress trackers, boards, custom fields, a deadline countdown: To Do Machine builds them.
- You want your calendar to do more than display. Two-way sync with Google and Apple Calendar and time-blocking around your meetings.
- You need the web. Things is Apple-only and has no browser access. To Do Machine also works in a browser at app.todomachine.com, which helps on a work PC.
- You’d rather talk than file. Tell To Do Machine what’s on your mind and it creates the tasks, dates, repeats and reminders.
Where Things is the better choice
- You’d rather buy once. Things is a one-time purchase per device, with no subscription.
- You love its design and it fits you. If areas, projects, Today and Upcoming already match how you think, Things is hard to beat. You never have to design anything.
- iPad, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. Things has dedicated apps for all of them.
- You want a quiet app. No chat, no AI, nothing to set up.
Switching from Things
Bring your to-dos over with screenshots. Take pictures of your Things areas, projects and Today list, send them to To Do Machine, and it reads them and recreates your to-dos. It can mirror the setup too: if you liked Things’ Today screen, show it, and To Do Machine builds something like it that you can then change. It works from the pictures, not a connection to Things Cloud.
TRY IT
Get To Do Machine on the App Store for iPhone and Mac, or open the web app. Start the free trial and describe your perfect layout.
GET THE APPSOURCES
Each company's own pages and App Store listings, checked on October 20, 2026.
