10 free online to-do list managers

Posted by Doug on December 3, 2008

If you are still jotting your to-do lists on paper, and if that’s working for you, great.  But if you’re looking for a new way to organize your work and stay on top of the stuff you have to do every day, you might want to consider trying out one of the many free, online to-do list manager applications listed here.  There are others out there, and you can find applications that will do a lot more than just manage your to-do lists, but these are the simplest ones (in my opinion), and they are free.  (Most of them require that you register for an account.)

There are some sites out there with a higher level of functionality–project and task managers and such–and we’ll talk about some of those another time.  For our purposes here, I have tried to focus on sites that have to-do list management as their primary function.  My bias in this article is toward Web-based to-do list managers that are free, fairly simple, and fairly intuitive.  First we’ll take a look at the list, and then I’ll give you my top choices, and my recommendations.

Bla Bla List

Bla Bla List is one of the simpler, more intuitive to-do list sites out there.  Once you’re logged in, you can create various lists and add items to each one.  Adding new lists or adding items to existing lists is easy to figure out, and the list lives in a small browser window that is created when you sign in.  By clicking on the “Share” button and entering one or more email addresses, you can share your list with other people, who will be sent a link to your list and have the ability to update the list themselves.  This could be a useful tool for delegating tasks to various members of a work group.  (Or to a spouse or child!)

TaDa List

TaDa List is another very simple to-do list manager that provides the essential functions and not a lot more.  TaDa List also allows you to share your lists with other people via email, and you may either grant them permission to change or update the list, or simply to view it without editing capability, depending on what your needs are.  It’s easy to use, and the user interface is intuitive.  Like BlaBla List, TaDa List allows you to create and manage multiple to-do lists.

TaskBin

If you need more than just the basics, TaskBin might be more what you’re looking for.  There are plenty of options for prioritizing items, and individual tasks can be shared with other members of your work group.  A history log is kept for you–you’ll have a record of all changes made to a list, which can be handy when several people are working on the same list.  You can add another group member’s list to your list page, and keep track of their progress.  You can chat with other members of your group, and you can theme your to-do list page in one of several ways.

Toodledo

Although packed with features, compared with some of the others in this list, I have to confess that I had a little trouble with Toodledo’s user interface.  Once I was signed up for the free account, it took me a little while to figure out how to add items to a to-do list.  For some users, this may not be an issue at all, particularly in light of all the other stuff Toodledo does (although some features are not available on the free accounts).  Some of the additional functionality includes public sharing, a calendar (you can also use Google Calendar if you prefer), a personal goals section, and you can also print out your list in a format suitable for folding into a little booklet.  Additional features are unlocked when you upgrade to a paid account.

Orchestrate

The user interface for Orchestrate is different from most of the other to-do list apps out there, but fairly intuitive once you figure it out.  You can create as many lists as you like, and they are stored in the form of little boxes on the left side of the window.  To work with a list, you drag it onto the open area in the right side of the window, where the list expands for editing.  Aside from the unusual, but simple user interface, Orchestrate is very straightforward–it does to-do lists without adding any other bells and whistles.

Todoist

The first Web-based to-do list manager I ever used was Todoist, and it’s still the one I use most.  Todoist allows you to create multiple lists, and there are some fairly sophisticated features for organizing those lists, but using them requires learning the tags and codes that you enter when you create a list item.  The premium (paid) version adds some additional functionality, including expanded labeling capability and e-mail and other reminders.  There is also a Firefox plug-in for Todoist that makes it a little easier to access and edit your lists.

Remember the Milk

One of the cool things about Remember the Milk is that it has an API that has encouraged developers to integrate Remember the Milk (RTM) with other services.  RTM is a very popular to-do list manager, and it is full-featured, as well.  There are many ways to organize and configure your lists and list items, and there are many ways to set up reminders–via email, SMS messaging, instant messaging–AIM, Google Talk, Jabber, ICQ and others are supported.  You can create smart lists that compile lists of tasks based on criteria that you specify, such as priority or due date, etc.  You can even add tasks via email.

Tasktoy

Some people are wired a bit nerdier than others, and Tasktoy strikes me as the sort of application that a true nerd might like a lot, because it is fairly straightforward and simple, but it is also user-customizable.  To understand what Tasktoy is, you really need to read the About page–this explains the many ways that you can use Tasktoy to manage not only your to-do lists, but other kinds of information as well, such as notes, URLs, etc.  My first impression of Tasktoy was not great–it didn’t seem intuitive–but once I understood what its intended purpose is, it began to make a lot of sense to me.

Sproutliner

I’m not entirely sure what a “supercharged, structured to-do list” is, but that’s what SproutLiner purports to be.  Essentially, SproutLiner allows you to create lists with columns that you define–for example, if you wanted a “notes” field next to your list items, you simply create one, and now you can add a note to each item in your list.  You can add columns in one of three forms: text, list, or checkbox.  You can set them up pretty much any way you wish.  I’ll admit that SproutLiner probably frustrated me more than any other of the to-do list managers I tried, but give it a look, because chances are there is gold there that I just wasn’t smart enough to mine.

Voo2do

This to-do list manager is one of the more full-featured ones I tried–not quite on par with Remember the Milk, but there’s definitely more functionality in Voo2do than there is in, say, TaDa List.  Voo2do has the expected to-do list functions, plus you can track time spent and time remaining on a task, add tasks via email, publish your task lists (read-only Web pages), and there is an API for those who want to integrate Voo2do with other apps.

Bonus:  Jott

Given the criteria I listed at the beginning of this article, I’m not sure Jott belongs in this particular list, but Jott is such a cool tool that I thought it deserved to be mentioned here, plus it integrates with Remember the Milk.  Jott essentially allows you to add items to a to-do list, or create text notes, or send email notes via your phone.  Once you’ve registered for the service, you call Jott’s phone number, you speak your message into the phone, and Jott converts your message to text, which it then sends wherever you choose.  Jott works not only with RTM, but also with Facebook, Google Calendar, Twitter, Amazon, Blogger, Wordpress, and more.  Premium (paid) Jott users get even more options.  Say, for example, you’re out picking up the kids at school, and you remember something you were supposed to do, but you forgot to put it on your to-do list, and now you’re away from your computer, and you’ve got nothing to write on, and you’d probably lose the note, anyway–with Jott, you just call, say the message, and when you get back to your desk, the e-mail is there waiting for you.  Very cool stuff, indeed.

My preferences

As I noted earlier, I’m generally biased toward simple applications that are easy to figure out, but this clearly isn’t always true, as I am a long-time Todoist user, and while Todoist is not that hard to figure out, it is a bit more complicated than TaDa List, for example.  (The other evidence of my internal inconsistency in such matters is my preference of Emacs over Pico, but we’ll not go there just now.)  Nevertheless, if there was one of the list managers above that would cause me to re-think my loyalty to Todoist, it is probably Remember the Milk.  It is powerful and relatively easy to learn.  The user interface is attractive and not difficult to navigate.  The integration with other applications is extremely cool and handy.

My recommendations

If you like simple and plain, try TaDa List or Orchestrate.  If you’re looking for a little more functionality and don’t mind tweaking a few “nerd-knobs,” try Todoist.  If you’re looking for a powerful, feature-rich application that can do a lot, definitely take a look at Remember the Milk.  (And if you try RTM, be sure to check out Jott, as well.)

Update

There is a really nice article about how to use a to-do list effectively at LifeHacker: The Art of the Doable To-Do List.

So what (if any) online to-do list manager do you use? Why do you like/hate it? I’d be interested in your comments.

If this article was helpful to you, I’d appreciate any Diggs or Stumbles!  Thanks!

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