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Productivity · head to head

AnyList vs Habitica

AnyList logo

AnyList

Productivity

Grocery list and recipe app with fast list sorting and cross-household sharing, sold as a paid subscription

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Habitica logo

Habitica

Productivity

Open source task manager that runs your habits, dailies and to-dos as a role-playing game

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Habitica has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AnyList it requires a paid subscription for full functionality, competing directly against Bring and Samsung Food, which are free for a similar core task.; Habitica nothing verifies a completed task, so the entire reward economy runs on self-report, and the first time you tick a Daily you did not do, the health and gold mechanics stop meaning anything and the app becomes a checklist with a cartoon on it.
  • They diverge on capability: AnyList covers Real-time list sync, Habitica covers Three task types.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AnyList and Habitica actually diverge.

Attributes where AnyList and Habitica differ
AttributeAnyListHabitica
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer user per yearfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AnyList

  • Real-time list sync
  • Store-layout sorting
  • Recipe import
  • Meal planning calendar
  • Barcode scanning
  • Multiple list support

Only in Habitica

  • Three task types
  • Health and damage
  • Parties and quests
  • Classes and skills
  • Pets and mounts
  • Challenges
  • Custom rewards
  • Group plans

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AnyList

  • A household that grocery shops together and wants a list that instantly reflects what a partner already addednot Habitica
  • Someone who wants their shopping list automatically ordered to match their regular store layoutnot Habitica
  • A home cook who saves many recipes online and wants ingredients converted into a list automaticallynot Habitica
  • A family planning meals for the week who wants that plan linked directly to a shopping listnot Habitica

Habitica

  • You have abandoned every plain to-do list and need an external consequence for skipping a routine.not AnyList
  • A small group of friends or a study group wants mutual accountability without a project tracker.not AnyList
  • Building daily habits such as medication, exercise or practice, where the streak matters more than any deadline.not AnyList
  • You want a task tool you can export from and in principle self-host, rather than one that holds your data.not AnyList

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AnyList

  • It requires a paid subscription for full functionality, competing directly against Bring and Samsung Food, which are free for a similar core task.
  • Store-layout sorting has to be configured per store, which takes upfront setup time before it pays off.
  • Recipe import quality depends on how a source website is structured, similarly to other recipe-import tools.
  • It lacks the appliance integration that Samsung Food offers for households with Samsung smart kitchen hardware.
  • A household unwilling to pay may find a free competitor covers their needs adequately, making the subscription hard to justify.

Habitica

  • Nothing verifies a completed task, so the entire reward economy runs on self-report, and the first time you tick a Daily you did not do, the health and gold mechanics stop meaning anything and the app becomes a checklist with a cartoon on it.
  • Missed Dailies cost health whether you were ill, travelling or on holiday, so returning after a week away can mean death, a lost level and stripped gear, which is the point at which many users abandon the account rather than rebuild it.
  • The task features are thin next to conventional managers, with no subtask dependencies, no file attachments, no nested projects and limited recurrence rules, so anything more structured than a flat list has to be kept somewhere else.
  • Development is carried by a small core team with volunteer contributors, so mobile releases, sync fixes and platform updates arrive slowly and reported bugs can sit on the community boards for a long time.
  • There is no organisational layer at all, meaning no admin console, no single sign-on and no way to provision or remove members, so a company cannot adopt it centrally even where individual employees rely on it.

Pricing, plan by plan

AnyList

On request
  • AnyList Complete$9.99/year
    • Full recipe manager
    • Store-layout item sorting
    • Meal planning calendar

Habitica

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic habit and task tracking
    • Character creation
    • Community features
  • Membership$4.99/month
    • Premium items and gear
    • Extra experience
    • Pet and mount system

Which should you pick?

Choose AnyList if

  • You need real-time list sync.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want store-layout sorting.
AnyList review

Choose Habitica if

  • You need three task types.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want health and damage.
Habitica review

Questions people ask

Is AnyList or Habitica better?
Neither clearly leads. AnyList starts at On request and Habitica at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AnyList or Habitica?
Habitica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for AnyList and Free for Habitica.
Does AnyList or Habitica run on more platforms?
AnyList runs on iOS, Android, Web. Habitica runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Habitica for free?
Yes. Habitica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AnyList starts at On request.
What is AnyList best used for?
AnyList is most often used for a household that grocery shops together and wants a list that instantly reflects what a partner already added, someone who wants their shopping list automatically ordered to match their regular store layout, a home cook who saves many recipes online and wants ingredients converted into a list automatically, a family planning meals for the week who wants that plan linked directly to a shopping list. Of those, a household that grocery shops together and wants a list that instantly reflects what a partner already added and someone who wants their shopping list automatically ordered to match their regular store layout are not what Habitica is typically brought in for.
What can AnyList do that Habitica cannot?
AnyList covers Real-time list sync, Store-layout sorting, Recipe import, Meal planning calendar. Habitica covers Three task types, Health and damage, Parties and quests, Classes and skills.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AnyList: Is AnyList free?

There is a free trial, but full ongoing use requires a paid subscription.

Habitica: Is Habitica actually free?

Yes. Every task feature is free with no time limit. The subscription buys gems, monthly mystery items and higher drop rates, so not paying never costs you access to your own lists.

AnyList: How is it different from Bring?

AnyList charges a subscription for a more capable recipe manager and store-layout sorting; Bring is free with a simpler feature set.

Habitica: Can I get my data out?

Yes. Habitica exports your user data as JSON and your task history as CSV, and the code is open source, so the data is genuinely portable even though nothing else will import the game state.

AnyList: Does it support recipe import?

Yes, it can import recipes from websites and convert ingredients into shopping list items.

Habitica: Does it work offline?

Badly. The mobile apps queue some actions, but scoring, drops and party activity need a connection, and long offline stretches tend to produce sync conflicts.

Habitica: Can a team at work use it?

There are paid group plans for parties, but no admin console, no single sign-on and no company billing, so it suits a group of willing colleagues rather than a managed rollout.

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