What users complain about in to-do list apps

The complaints that repeat

Each heading sums up what reviewers wrote; the quotes under it are their own words.

1. 01

   Aggressive monetization, paywalls, and incessant ad popups right at launch make apps unusable (Daily Planner, Planwoo, MinimaList)

   Many users

   “What a freaking joke, I'm not paying $3.99 right off the bat for an app I know nothing about and didn't even get to see or try it”

   “everything you try to do, routes you immediately to expensive paid options. I mean nearly every single button you click.”

2. 02

   Unreliable, delayed, or missing notification alerts and alarms (Google Tasks)

   Many users

   “now my tasks/event reminders barely ever come up anymore. If they do, it's no sooner than the next day.”

   “Nowadays, Tasks app isn't working properly. I encountered many times that it is not showing notifications on the time set on a particular time or date.”

3. 03

   Cross-device and background syncing failures (Google Tasks, Structured)

   Several users

   “If a task is marked complete from a push notification, it doesn’t sync & show as having been completed across other devices or on Google Calendar”

   “It has now stopped synching not only to the watch, but to my three iPads as well. It works just fine on my phone and MacBook.”

4. 04

   Subtasks are broken, limited to one level, or lack proper completion interactions (Google Tasks, Structured)

   Several users

   “Sadly, the very feature that I fell in love with in the app has become very glitchy. The feature that I’m referring to are the subtasks that you can add”

   “Google still hasn't solved the issue (or is unwilling to address it) of allowing more than one level of sub tasks.”

5. 05

   Overly rigid routine structures that delete user routines or fail to adapt to unpredictable schedules (Routine Planner, Planwoo)

   Several users

   “Instead, after using Routinery, I found myself more bound to the unnatural rigidness of tech than I ever thought I’d be.”

   “This most recent update destroyed it. Nothing is where it used to be, and it completely deleted a routine that I use every single day”

What users ask for

• In-app search capability to find specific tasks quickly

  Asked for a few times

  “I am completely shocked, however, that there is no search feature. This is essential and it seems pretty obviously from an end user work flow standpoint”

• Task completion statistics and visual streak dots on the calendar

  Asked for once or twice

  “For me, it lacks at least some statistics about completed tasks. Can you tell me if there will ever be statistics in this application?”

• Audio alarms that pause background music instead of completely terminating playback

  Asked for once or twice

  “It would be great if the alarm just paused other sounds (like other apps i use) rather than stop them.”

What these apps get right

What users praise, and would expect from anything new.

• Clean, uncluttered, and visually calm UI that appeals strongly to neurodivergent and ADHD users (MinimaList, Structured, Microsoft To Do)
• Visual time-blocking integrated directly into a daily timeline (Structured)
• Seamless cross-platform sync and rich free functionality across desktop and mobile (Microsoft To Do)
• Flexible subtasks, sublists, and multi-tier categorization (Tasks: To Do List & Reminders)

Apps we read

• Google TasksGoogle Play
• Microsoft To Do: Lists & TasksGoogle Play
• To Do List MinimaList & WidgetApp Store
• Tasks: To Do List & RemindersGoogle Play
• Google Tasks: Get Things DoneApp Store
• ADHD Planner Organizer PlanwooApp Store
• Structured: Daily Planner TodoApp Store
• Daily Planner, To Do ListGoogle Play
• Structured - Daily PlannerGoogle Play
• Routine Planner, Habit TrackerApp Store

App names belong to their owners. Quotes are from public store reviews, and the summaries describe what those reviewers experienced; they are not claims we have verified.