To Do Machine vs Todoist (2026) — which to-do app fits you?
Updated . Prices and features are checked against Todoist's own pages; see the sources at the bottom of this page.
Todoist is one of the most established to-do apps around: fast capture, a clean list layout, apps on nearly every device, and a free plan. To Do Machine starts from a different idea. Instead of one well-made layout with settings, 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.
Both are good at keeping tasks. They differ in who decides what the app looks like.
AT A GLANCE
| Feature | TO DO MACHINE | TODOIST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Standard $69.99/year; Max $199.99/year. 7-day free trial (14 on Max). | Free Beginner plan; Pro $60/year (7-day trial); Business $96 per person/year (14-day trial). |
| Platforms | iPhone and Mac, plus the web | Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Linux, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS, browser extensions, email add-ons |
| AI | To Do Machine (built on Anthropic's Claude) creates and edits tasks, projects, reminders, and repeats, and redesigns the app itself. | Todoist Assist and Email Assist on Pro and Business; Ramble (voice to tasks) and Task Capture Assist on every plan (10 sessions/month on Beginner); Filter Assist free; connectors for Claude, ChatGPT and MCP. |
| 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. | List, board, and calendar (Pro) layouts; filter views (3 free, 150 Pro); 4–8 themes. |
| Calendar | Two-way sync with Google and Apple Calendar; time-blocking that respects meetings, focus blocks and breaks. | Google Calendar integration; calendar layout on Pro. |
| Sharing | Personal app; no shared projects today. | Up to 5 people per personal project; Business adds a shared team workspace. |
| Integrations | Google and Apple Calendar | Large integration directory plus automation partners; public API, CLI, MCP server. |
THE SHORT VERSION
Pick Todoist for a mature, cross-platform task manager with a big integration ecosystem. Pick To Do Machine if you want an app that changes its own layout to fit how you think, on iPhone and Mac, plus the web.
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. Todoist gives you settings to adjust; To Do Machine changes the app itself.
- Your brain doesn’t fit the default layout. In Todoist you adjust filters and views. In To Do Machine you say “hide everything but today and upcoming, overdue up top” and the screen is rebuilt that way.
- You want things no to-do app ships. A habit streak next to your tasks, a countdown to three deadlines, a reading log: To Do Machine builds them as custom features, and you can roll them back.
- Your calendar and your tasks work together. Two-way sync with Google and Apple Calendar and time-blocking around your meetings, focus blocks and breaks.
- You’d rather talk than tap. Todoist’s AI helps you capture and break down tasks. To Do Machine also manages the app itself: projects, reminders, repeating rules and the layout, from one conversation.
- You want one app shaped around a system. Six-task days, hard thing first, urgent vs. important: To Do Machine sets up the system and the screens that go with it.
Where Todoist is the better choice
- You’re on Android, Windows, or Linux, or you want a watch app. Todoist runs almost everywhere; To Do Machine is iPhone and Mac, plus the web.
- You share projects with other people. Todoist lets you share projects and has a team plan. To Do Machine is built for one person’s tasks today.
- You live in integrations. Todoist connects with a large set of apps and automation tools, and has a public API and an MCP server. To Do Machine connects to your calendar, and that’s about it.
- You like the default. If Todoist’s inbox-today-upcoming shape already fits you, there’s little reason to switch.
Switching from Todoist
Bring your tasks over with screenshots. Take pictures of your Todoist projects and views, send them to To Do Machine, and it reads them and recreates your tasks. It can mirror the setup you were used to as well, then change it as you go. It works from the pictures, not a connection to your Todoist account, so you can also just describe a project or a recurring task in a sentence.
TRY IT
Get To Do Machine on the App Store for iPhone and Mac, or open the web app. Start the free trial and tell it how you work.
GET THE APPSOURCES
Each company's own pages and App Store listings, checked on October 20, 2026.
