Best Reminder Apps in 2026: 8 Picks for Every Need
The best reminder app for most people is the free one already on their phone: Apple Reminders on iPhone or Google Tasks on Android. If you want more, the right pick depends on what keeps going wrong. Below are eight reminder apps compared on price, platforms, and the one thing each does best, with prices checked on each company's own site in November 2026.
Quick picks
- Best free reminder app for iPhone: Apple Reminders
- Best free reminder app for Android and Gmail users: Google Tasks
- Best for natural-language entry and power users: Todoist
- Best all-in-one value (tasks, calendar, habits): TickTick
- Best for reminders that nag until you act: Due
- Best for families and shared lists: Any.do
- Best free option for Outlook and Windows users: Microsoft To Do
- Best if you keep abandoning reminder apps: allora
Reminder apps compared
| App | Best for | Price | Works on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Reminders | Free reminder app for iPhone | Free | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
| Google Tasks | Free reminder app for Android and Gmail users | Free with a Google account | Android, iPhone, web, and side panels in Gmail, Calendar, and Docs |
| Todoist | Natural-language entry and power users | Free plan; Pro $5/mo billed yearly ($7 monthly) | iPhone, Android, web, Mac, Windows |
| TickTick | All-in-one value (tasks, calendar, habits) | Free plan; Premium $49.99/yr | iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, web |
| Due | Reminders that nag until you act | $7.99 one-time on iPhone (Mac app sold separately) | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro |
| Any.do | Families and shared lists | Free plan; Premium $4.99/mo billed yearly; Family plan for up to 4 people | iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS |
| Microsoft To Do | Free option for Outlook and Windows users | Free | Windows, iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watch |
| allora | You keep abandoning reminder apps | 3 days free, then $15/mo | Any phone that can text (SMS in the US and Canada, WhatsApp elsewhere) |
1. Apple Reminders
Best free reminder app for iPhone
- Price: Free
- Works on: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
What it does best:
- Location reminders that fire when you arrive at or leave a place, including getting in or out of the car.
- "Urgent" reminders that ring like an alarm on iPhone and iPad.
- Flexible repeats (for example, the third Thursday of every month) and an early heads-up before the due time.
The catch: Apple only. There is no Android app, and urgent alarms need iCloud sync turned on.
Source: Apple Reminders official site
2. Google Tasks
Best free reminder app for Android and Gmail users
- Price: Free with a Google account
- Works on: Android, iPhone, web, and side panels in Gmail, Calendar, and Docs
What it does best:
- Tasks show up right inside Google Calendar, next to your events.
- Repeating tasks and a separate deadline field.
- Built into Gmail and Docs, so you can turn an email into a task without switching apps.
The catch: No location reminders, and tasks with subtasks cannot repeat. Google Keep handles quick timed reminders on notes.
Source: Google Tasks official site
3. Todoist
Best for natural-language entry and power users
- Price: Free plan; Pro $5/mo billed yearly ($7 monthly)
- Works on: iPhone, Android, web, Mac, Windows
What it does best:
- Type "pay rent every 1st at 9am" and it parses the date, time, and repeat for you.
- Four reminder types: automatic, custom, recurring, and location-based.
- Projects, labels, and filters if you want a full task system later.
The catch: The free plan has basic reminders only. Custom and multiple reminders per task need Pro.
Source: Todoist official site
4. TickTick
Best all-in-one value (tasks, calendar, habits)
- Price: Free plan; Premium $49.99/yr
- Works on: iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, web
What it does best:
- Natural-language input and reminders on the free plan.
- Built-in calendar view, habit tracker, and focus timer in the same app.
- Email reminders on Premium.
The catch: The free plan caps you at 9 lists, and the sheer number of features is a lot if you only want reminders.
Source: TickTick official site
5. Due
Best for reminders that nag until you act
- Price: $7.99 one-time on iPhone (Mac app sold separately)
- Works on: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro
What it does best:
- Auto Snooze keeps re-notifying you about an overdue reminder until you mark it done or reschedule it.
- Twelve customizable quick-time buttons make setting a reminder very fast.
- Regularly updated, and rated 4.7 on the App Store.
The catch: Apple only, no shared lists, and the Mac version is an extra purchase.
Source: Due official site
6. Any.do
Best for families and shared lists
- Price: Free plan; Premium $4.99/mo billed yearly; Family plan for up to 4 people
- Works on: iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS
What it does best:
- Family plan with shared lists and assigned tasks.
- Reminders over WhatsApp as well as app notifications.
- Location-based and recurring reminders on Premium.
The catch: The free plan only covers basic reminders. Location, recurring, and WhatsApp reminders are Premium.
Source: Any.do official site
7. Microsoft To Do
Best free option for Outlook and Windows users
- Price: Free
- Works on: Windows, iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watch
What it does best:
- "My Day" suggests what to work on today from your lists.
- Recurring reminders that sync with Outlook tasks.
- Basic date detection when you type a due date into a task.
The catch: No location reminders, and it is at its best inside the Microsoft ecosystem.
Source: Microsoft To Do official site
8. allora
Best if you keep abandoning reminder apps
- Price: 3 days free, then $15/mo
- Works on: Any phone that can text (SMS in the US and Canada, WhatsApp elsewhere)
What it does best:
- No app: text "remind me to call the dentist tomorrow at 10" and the reminder comes back as a text.
- Reminders arrive as a text in your messages thread, not as one more app notification.
- Recurring reminders, lists, notes, voice memos, and calendar sync, all by text.
The catch: No free plan, and no visual boards or projects. If you want a dashboard to organize everything, pick Todoist or TickTick instead.
Source: how allora works
How to choose the right reminder app
Start from what keeps going wrong, not from the feature list:
- You just need basic timed reminders: use the free app on your phone (Apple Reminders or Google Tasks).
- You want reminders when you get somewhere: Apple Reminders, Todoist Pro, or Any.do Premium all do location reminders.
- You swipe reminders away and forget them: Due keeps nagging until you act, or get reminders by text so they land in your messages.
- You share tasks with family: Any.do's Family plan or shared lists in Apple Reminders.
- You use iPhone and a Windows or Android device: Todoist, TickTick, Any.do, Google Tasks, and Microsoft To Do all work across them.
- You have tried several apps and stopped using all of them: skip the app and set reminders by text.
Why most people stop using reminder apps
Reminder apps rarely fail because of missing features. They fail because the reminder arrives at a bad moment and gets swiped away, or because adding a reminder takes just long enough that you skip it when you are busy.
Research backs up the timing part. A 2026 diary study of 1,823 next-day intentions found that plain forgetting explained only about 10 to 14 percent of the intentions people did not complete. Most misses came from the situation: something came up, the timing was wrong, or motivation dipped (Haas et al., Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 2026). A reminder helps most when it arrives at a moment you can actually act on it.
That is why the best reminder app is less about features and more about fit: fast enough to add that you actually use it, and delivered somewhere you will actually see it. For some people that is Apple Reminders. For others it is Todoist. For people who have given up on apps, it is a text thread.
Do text message reminders work better than app notifications?
For appointments, the evidence is solid. A Cochrane review pooling 7 studies with 5,841 people found that text-message reminders raised attendance compared with no reminder (risk ratio 1.14), and worked about as well as phone-call reminders at lower cost (Gurol-Urganci et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013).
Texts also reach almost everyone: 91 percent of US adults own a smartphone, and nearly all own some kind of cellphone (Pew Research Center, 2025). A text reminder works on all of them, with nothing to install.
How we checked: prices, plans, and platforms were checked on each company's own website or app store listing on November 2, 2026. Prices change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy. allora is our product; we included it once, with its real downsides, and ranked it for the one situation it fits best.
Frequently asked questions
For most people, the best reminder app is the free one already on their phone: Apple Reminders on iPhone or Google Tasks on Android. If you want smarter entry and more control, Todoist and TickTick are the strongest all-round apps. If you need reminders that keep nagging until you act, Due is the best pick on iPhone. And if you have tried several apps and stopped using all of them, a text-based reminder like allora skips the app entirely.
Apple Reminders on iPhone and Google Tasks on Android are the best free reminder apps. Both are free, sync across your devices, and handle timed and repeating reminders. Apple Reminders also supports location reminders. Microsoft To Do is the best free choice if you live in Outlook. Todoist, TickTick, and Any.do all have free plans too, with their best reminder features behind a paid upgrade.
Apple Reminders is the best reminder app for most iPhone users: it is free, supports location and urgent alarm-style reminders, and syncs across Apple devices. Due is the best paid alternative if you want reminders that keep re-alerting you until you deal with them. Todoist is better if you want to type reminders in plain English.
Google Tasks is the best free reminder app for Android, especially if you use Gmail and Google Calendar, since tasks show up in both. Todoist and TickTick are the best upgrades if you want natural-language entry, more reminder types, or a habit tracker. allora works on Android too, by text, with no app to install.
People usually look for an Apple Reminders alternative for one of three reasons. If you also use Android or Windows, Todoist, TickTick, or Any.do work everywhere. If reminders get swiped away and forgotten, Due keeps nagging until you act. If you want to skip apps altogether, allora lets you set reminders by sending a normal text.
Yes. allora sends reminders as text messages instead of app notifications. You text what you need to remember, and it texts you back at the right time. It works on iPhone and Android with no app to download. Any.do can also send reminders over WhatsApp on its Premium plan.
For appointments, the research says yes. A Cochrane review of 7 studies with 5,841 people found that text-message reminders raised attendance compared with no reminder (risk ratio 1.14), and worked about as well as phone-call reminders at lower cost. That is evidence about healthcare appointments, not every kind of reminder, but it is the strongest research on the question.
Try reminders by text
Text what you need to remember. allora sends it back at the right time.
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