Productivity · alternatives
Alternatives to Things 3
22 productivity tools sit alongside Things 3 in this directory. Below is what separates each from Things 3 on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 22
- With a free tier
- 10
- Cheaper to start
- 7
- Things 3 starts at
- $9.99/one-time
Why people look past Things 3
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Things 3 entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Things 3 carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 10 of the 22 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The world's #1 task manager and to-do list app
- Can be used without paying; Things 3 cannot.
- Starts $4.99 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
Professional-grade task management for power users
- Starts $90 a year dearer, at $99.99/year.
Professional task management for complex workflows
- Starts $30 a year dearer, at $39.99/year.
- 2 tiers to Things 3's 3.
Open source document signing platform
- Can be used without paying; Things 3 cannot.
Productivity apps with built-in AI, security and cloud storage in one plan
- Can be used without paying; Things 3 cannot.
Music and sounds designed to enhance focus and productivity
- Can be used without paying; Things 3 cannot.
- Starts $5.04 a month cheaper, at $4.95/month.
Every Things 3 alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Things 3 (this page) | $9.99/one-time | - | 3 | |
| TodoistTask manager with GTD principles but cross-platform (web, iOS, Android, Windows) | Free, then $5/month | - | 3 | vs Things 3 |
| OmniFocusGTD-focused task manager for Apple devices with automation via Shortcuts | $99.99/year | - | 3 | vs Things 3 |
| OmniFocus 3Previous version of OmniFocus, still used by many for GTD workflows on iOS and Mac | $39.99/year | Subscription | 2 | vs Things 3 |
| DocuSeal | Free | Freemium | - | vs Things 3 |
| Microsoft 365 | Free | Freemium | - | vs Things 3 |
| Focus@Will | Free, then $4.95/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Things 3 |
| Lazy | Free, then $4/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Things 3 |
| DeskTime | Free, then $9/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Things 3 |
| Microsoft OneNote | Free | Free | 1 | vs Things 3 |
| Bear Notes | Free, then $1.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Things 3 |
| Granola | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs Things 3 |
| Capacities | Free, then $10/month | - | 3 | vs Things 3 |
| RowShare | On request | Subscription | - | vs Things 3 |
| Anvil | On request | Usage-based | - | vs Things 3 |
| SignWell | On request | Subscription | - | vs Things 3 |
| Rows | On request | Subscription | - | vs Things 3 |
| Memberstack | On request | Subscription | - | vs Things 3 |
| BoldSign | On request | Usage-based | - | vs Things 3 |
| Reflect | $10/month | - | - | vs Things 3 |
| Akiflow | $19/month | - | 2 | vs Things 3 |
| Brain.fm | $14.99/month | Subscription | - | vs Things 3 |
| Forest App | $1.99/one-time | Subscription | 2 | vs Things 3 |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Things 3 badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (10)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- DocuSeal , Free
- Microsoft 365 , Free
- Focus@Will , Free, then $4.95/month
- Lazy , Free, then $4/month
- DeskTime , Free, then $9/month
- Microsoft OneNote , Free
- Bear Notes , Free, then $1.99/month
Cheaper than Things 3 (7)
Entry price under Things 3's $9.99/one-time. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Focus@Will , Free, then $4.95/month
- Lazy , Free, then $4/month
- DeskTime , Free, then $9/month
- Microsoft OneNote , Free
- Bear Notes , Free, then $1.99/month
- Forest App , $1.99/one-time
What you would be giving up
Things 3 is most often brought in for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management, team coordination. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Things 3 is broadly right and the question is cost, the Things 3 pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Productivity category lists everything the directory holds, and best productivity tools ranks them.
Things 3 runs on macos, ios, ipados, watchos, visionos. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Things 3 alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Things 3?
- 22 other productivity tools are listed in this directory, led by Todoist, OmniFocus, OmniFocus 3, DocuSeal. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Things 3?
- 10 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Todoist, DocuSeal, Microsoft 365, Focus@Will, Lazy.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Things 3?
- Yes. 7 of the alternatives below start under Things 3's $9.99/one-time: Todoist at Free, then $5/month, Focus@Will at Free, then $4.95/month, Lazy at Free, then $4/month, DeskTime at Free, then $9/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Things 3?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Things 3?
- Things 3 is most often brought in for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management, team coordination. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Things 3?
- None of the productivity tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Things 3 alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Productivity, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored slot runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Things 3 against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Things 3 covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every productivity tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Productivity category, 22 tools beside Things 3. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.