Things is a task management app for macOS, iPadOS, iOS, and watchOS made by Cultured Code, a software startup based in Stuttgart, Germany.It first released for Mac as an alpha that went out in late 2007 to 12,000 people and quickly gained popularity. The following July, when the App Store launched, it was among the first 552 apps available for iPhone. It was then released alongside the iPad in. To Do is integrated with Outlook Tasks, making it easier to manage all your tasks in one place. Access from anywhere Microsoft To Do is available for free,. The app from Cultured Code is one of the most aesthetically pleasing to-do apps out there. “ This app is the best thing in my life for organising the million and one things I need to do. I love having my to do lists in one place and syncing events with my alerts and calendar. I just wish the events came up on my to do list on that day too as sometimes I forget to look at my events tab.
Before reaching out to our support team, please check out these answers to our most-asked questions.
Using Things on Windows, Android, or the internet
Things is available for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch. We don’t make Things for Android, Windows, the web, or other platforms.
If you just need to add to-dos from a non-Apple device to Things, you can use our handy Mail to Things feature. You can also use the iCloud website to enter to-dos into Reminders and then import them into Things later.
Sharing a list with family or coworkers
Things currently does not have any dedicated collaboration features (collaborating on a specific list or task).
You can, however, share one Things Cloud account with someone else to collaborate on the entire content of that account.
To just send a list of to-dos as plain text to someone else you can use the share feature, or you can use Mail to Things to create to-dos in someone else’s Inbox through an email.
Discounts & bundles
Is Things a single purchase for all devices? – No. Things for Mac, Things for iPhone, and Things for iPad are sold separately – here’s how to buy the apps. If you have more than one Mac or multiple iPhones or iPads, you can install the app without additional cost on all of your devices of the same kind - here’s how.
Are there bundles for all three apps? – No. Developers are unable to provide bundle pricing for combinations of iOS apps and macOS apps. This is something for which Apple doesn’t provide a mechanism.
Are there discounts for education, businesses, previous owners of the app? – We can’t offer any discounts ourselves because we’re selling Things through Apple’s App Store and Apple doesn’t provide us with to give discounts.
If you are a student or teacher, please ask your institution if they are part of Apple’s Education Program which offers discounts.
If you are buying for a business, please check out Apple’s Volume Purchase Program.
Are you upgrading from Things 2 to Things 3? Have a look here.
Apple Watch
Things for Apple Watch requires watchOS 5 or better and a Things Cloud account.
If you’re having trouble with the watch app, please check out our troubleshooting steps as well as our general tips on how to use the app.
Getting a refund from Apple
Since you bought the app directly from Apple through the App Store, you have to ask Apple directly for a refund (developers can’t give refunds). Find Apple’s guidelines on refunds here.
Transferring Things & your to-dos to a new Mac, iPad, or iPhone
Have you got a new device or did you have to wipe your old one? Since you bought Things through the App Store, you can easily reinstall the app. Here’s how.
After you’ve installed Things again, restore your to-dos by logging into your Things Cloud account. Follow the instructions on this page.
Trial versions for iOS and macOS
You can download our Mac trial version here and use it without limitations for 14 days. It requires macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later.
There’s no way for us to offer iOS trial versions at this time. This option is only available to apps that have in-app purchases or subscriptions. Things is a one-time purchase at the time of download without any additional costs, and therefore Apple’s App Store doesn’t let us offer you a free trial.
Pinning Quick Find lists to the sidebar/main lists view
Things doesn’t support pinning Quick Find lists to the sidebar/main lists view, but it’s on our list of feature requests.
View Google/Outlook calendar events in Things
Things can only read data from Apple’s native Calendar app but if you sync your 3rd party calendar data to Apple Calendar, Things can show it to you as well. Here’s how to set up calendar integration.
See your to-dos on other devices (sync)
- To see your to-dos on another device, it must have Things installed.
- To sync data between the apps, you need a free Things Cloud account.
- To use Things on Apple Watch, you need to create a Things Cloud account on your iPhone. Learn more.
- You cannot use third party services like iCloud, Dropbox, etc. or your own server to sync.
- To learn more about how we secure your data, check out this page.
- Things Cloud is optional. If you’re just using the app on one device, you don’t need to turn it on at all.
Adjusting font sizes
At this time, it’s not possible to adjust the font size within Things. This is on our list of feature requests.
Location based reminders (geofencing)
While Things doesn’t have native geofencing support, you can use Apple’s Shortcuts app to automate interactions with Things by setting up triggers based on your geolocation, time of day, or other environmental factor. Learn more here.
Restoring deleted to-dos
On the Mac, deleted to-dos and projects go to the Trash. Since there’s no trash on iOS, all deletions are permanent which is why we’ve made deletions a 3-step-process. You can, however, recover the last deleted item: shake your device immediately after a deletion to recover it. On an iPad with an external keyboard, hit CMD + Z.
Things Helper (Quick Entry with autofill) freezes Things
Invoke Quick Entry with autofill again, wait for 90-120 seconds until you see the error message appear. Confirm it by hitting OK and immediately afterwards reboot your Mac per the on-screen instructions.
Things Cloud password or username change
To change the email address you are using with Things Cloud, follow these instructions.
Need to reset your Things Cloud password? Here’s how.
Things and Alexa
Things and Alexa do not integrate directly due to technical limitations, but if you can build a workflow that generates emails, you would be able to use Mail to Things to send Alexa’s output to your Things’ Inbox.
Alphabetical sorting of to-dos or lists
At this time, it’s not possible to sort content alphabetically in Things. You can always manually re-arrange to-dos or your own lists in to any order you prefer by dragging and dropping, though.
Projects ”disappear” from the sidebar/main lists view
If you gave your projects a start date, you’ve made them inactive until that date – on which they’ll appear both in your sidebar/main lists view and the Today list. Projects added to the Someday list are also inactive. The sidebar/main lists view only shows you active projects so you don’t get distracted by to-dos you can’t do yet.
Repeat to-dos only on specific days
If you need help to set up a repeating rule that only repeats on weekdays, weekends, or just specific days, have a look at the instructions on this page.
Completing a repeating to-do early
It’s currently not possible to complete a repeating to-do ahead of its schedule but it’s on our list of feature requests.
Changes to repeating to-dos don’t stick
If you are making changes to a repeating to-do but the next time the to-do appears those changes are gone you have edited the copy of the repeating to-do, not the template. In order for changes to stick and appear in future copies, you must edit the repeating template. Here’s how.
More questions?
Don’t forget to check out our full support pages – we cover all the main features of the app and how to use them!
Sometimes, pen and paper just don't cut it. It's easy to forget or lose where you've written down everything you want to get done. On other occasions, it's just impossible to fit everything on one Post-It note.
Thankfully, there are plenty of options when it comes to digital to-do lists. The productivity sections on most app stores are crammed with tools to help you organise your life. There's a real range of to-do software out there: some are feature rich and others are little more than a simple checklist. Whatever your way of working, there's a technology-enabled solution.
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To save you the time of sorting through all the apps, here is a selection of some of the best.
Looking for more productivity apps and services? Check out our guided to the best iOS apps and best Android apps.
Things
The app from Cultured Code is one of the most aesthetically pleasing to-do apps out there. Unfortunately, it is only for iOS and Mac but there are ton of options for those who decide to go for the app. Tasks can have large headings with sub-groups and checklists underneath them, you can drag tasks with a finger on mobile to reorder them, and reminders can be set to pop up at a specific time. There's a fairly high cost to Things: on Mac it is £48.99, iPad £19.99 and £9.99 for iPhones.
Todoist
Todoist attempts to gamify productivity. For completing tasks you get awarded karma and over time it is possible to track how much you are getting done. There are apps for almost every device (web, iOS, desktop and Android), plus it also integrates with web browsers and there are plugins for Gmail and Outlook. There are options to review the upcoming week, colour code priority tasks, and delegate items to other people in shared lists. There are two tiers of Todoist: a free version exists but there's also a premium model that adds extra features – such as location-based reminders, templates for tasks and automatic backups – that costs £27.99 per year.
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Omnifocus
This Apple-only productivity manager is built for people who like to seriously organise themselves. It's based on the Getting Things Done time management method and has options for seemingly every possibility. Omnifocus has folders, subfolders, projects, contexts, flags, reviews, forecasts and much more. Custom views can show only the next task in each product to help you keep focus. For some people, there may be too many options. A Pro version lets you run AppleScripts to add automation and offers more extra features. On Mac the standard version costs $39.99 (Pro is $79.99) and iOS is £39.99 (Pro: $59.99).
Wunderlist
This German-created app is on its last legs. After Microsoft purchased the startup that created it in 2015, the tech giant committed to closing Wunderlist. Microsoft is replacing it with a Wunderlist clone called To-Do but so far it hasn't managed to replicate its success. Wunderlist is still one of the best options out there at the moment. It's free, easy to use, syncs incredibly quickly, has options for due dates, sub-tasks, attachments and much more. Most importantly, it's available across all devices. The big caveat is that we don't know when Microsoft will pull the curtains on the service for good.
Free Mac Apps Downloads
Tasks/Reminders
Cultured Code Things
The chances that you own either an iPhone or Android device are pretty high. If you're looking for a barebones to-do list tool that's built specifically for your phone then both Apple and Android-based phones have their own offerings. Both are straightforward and don't come with any thrills. On iOS and Macs, Reminders is a checklist based tool that lets you have multiple lists and items contained within each. You can also set when and where you want to be reminded, add notes and due times. Whereas on Android, Google has recently released Tasks, a new app that's fairly similar to Reminders. There aren't any advanced features but Google's version works with Gmail and its other apps.