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Productivity · head to head

Microsoft 365 vs Things 3

Microsoft 365 logo

Microsoft 365

Productivity

Subscription bundle of the Office applications with mail, storage, meetings and organisational identity

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Things 3 logo

Things 3

Productivity

The award-winning personal task manager

From
$9.99/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft 365 business plans are capped at 300 seats, so an organisation that grows past that must move to Enterprise plans, which changes both the price per user and the feature mix at the moment it can least afford a migration project.; Things 3 no team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft 365 covers Office applications, Things 3 covers Today view.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft 365 and Things 3 actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft 365 and Things 3 differ
AttributeMicrosoft 365Things 3
Starting price$7/month$9.99/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWebmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS
FoundedUnknown2004

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Microsoft 365

  • Office applications
  • Hosted services
  • Teams
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • OneDrive storage
  • Device management and endpoint protection
  • Purview compliance
  • Copilot

Only in Things 3

  • Today view
  • Projects and areas
  • Quick entry
  • Tags
  • Calendar integration
  • Apple Calendar
  • Siri
  • Shortcuts

What people use each for

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

Microsoft 365

  • Any organisation that wants mail, documents, meetings and identity from one supplier on one bill.not Things 3
  • A company standardising on single sign-on, where Entra ID becomes the account other services authenticate against.not Things 3
  • Regulated work that needs retention, legal hold and eDiscovery across mail and documents, provided the tier that includes them is actually bought.not Things 3
  • A household that needs installed Office applications on several machines rather than browser-only editing.not Things 3

Things 3

  • Schedulingnot Microsoft 365
  • Appointment bookingnot Microsoft 365
  • Time trackingnot Microsoft 365
  • Resource managementnot Microsoft 365
  • Team coordinationnot Microsoft 365

Where each one falls short

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

Microsoft 365

  • Business plans are capped at 300 seats, so an organisation that grows past that must move to Enterprise plans, which changes both the price per user and the feature mix at the moment it can least afford a migration project.
  • The compliance capabilities most organisations eventually need, including retention, data loss prevention, advanced eDiscovery and insider risk, sit at the top tier or in add-ons, so the real cost surfaces after an audit or a customer questionnaire rather than at purchase.
  • Annual term subscriptions commit you for the year and month-to-month terms cost measurably more per seat, so the flexibility to reduce seats during a quiet period is bought at a permanently higher rate.
  • Entra ID becomes the identity for everything else the organisation uses, which is the hardest kind of lock-in to put a number on, because leaving means re-federating every connected application rather than simply replacing a word processor.
  • The licensing model is complicated enough that most organisations are either over-licensed or quietly non-compliant, and reconciling it usually requires a partner or a specialist, which is a recurring cost that never appears in the advertised per-user figure.

Things 3

  • No team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • Apple ecosystem only, with no Windows, Android, or web version
  • No third-party app integrations beyond Apple's ecosystem
  • Cannot attach files or images to tasks, only text notes
  • No time blocking or calendar integration for scheduling tasks into specific time slots

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft 365

$7/month
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7/month
    • Email and calendar with 50 GB mailbox
    • Web and mobile versions of Office apps
    • Microsoft Teams included
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard$14/month
    • Desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
    • Email and Teams
    • 1 TB cloud storage per user
  • Microsoft 365 E5$60/month
    • Comprehensive security and compliance
    • All productivity apps
    • Advanced analytics

Things 3

$9.99/one-time
  • iPhone/Watch$9.99/one-time
  • iPad$19.99/one-time
  • Mac$49.99/one-time

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft 365 if

  • You need office applications.
  • You also want hosted services.
Microsoft 365 review

Choose Things 3 if

  • You need today view.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
  • You also want projects and areas.
Things 3 review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft 365 or Things 3 better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft 365 starts at $7/month and Things 3 at $9.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft 365 or Things 3?
Microsoft 365 starts at $7/month and Things 3 at $9.99/one-time.
Does Microsoft 365 or Things 3 run on more platforms?
Microsoft 365 runs on Web. Things 3 runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
What is Microsoft 365 best used for?
Microsoft 365 is most often used for any organisation that wants mail, documents, meetings and identity from one supplier on one bill., a company standardising on single sign-on, where entra id becomes the account other services authenticate against., regulated work that needs retention, legal hold and ediscovery across mail and documents, provided the tier that includes them is actually bought., a household that needs installed office applications on several machines rather than browser-only editing.. Of those, any organisation that wants mail, documents, meetings and identity from one supplier on one bill. and a company standardising on single sign-on, where entra id becomes the account other services authenticate against. are not what Things 3 is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft 365 do that Things 3 cannot?
Microsoft 365 covers Office applications, Hosted services, Teams, Microsoft Entra ID. Things 3 covers Today view, Projects and areas, Quick entry, Tags.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft 365: What is the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office?

Office was a one-off licence for a specific version. Microsoft 365 is a subscription covering the applications and the hosted services together, and when payment stops the applications drop to a reduced state rather than continuing as they were.

Things 3: Does Things 3 support team collaboration?

No. Things 3 is designed for individual use only with no task sharing, team workspaces, task assignment, or commenting features.

Source
Microsoft 365: Is Teams included?

Not automatically for newer customers. Microsoft unbundled Teams and now sells it alongside the suite, so check what a given quotation actually covers.

Things 3: What platforms does Things 3 run on?

Things 3 is exclusive to Apple devices: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and visionOS. There is no Windows, Android, or web version.

Source
Microsoft 365: What happens to our files if we stop paying?

The documents remain yours and can be downloaded, but access to hosted mailboxes and sites ends after a retention window, so leaving requires a planned export rather than a cancellation.

Things 3: How much does Things 3 cost?

Things 3 uses a one-time purchase model: $9.99 for iPhone/Watch, $19.99 for iPad, and $49.99 for Mac. Total cost for all platforms is approximately $80 with no subscription required.

Source
Microsoft 365: Is Copilot part of the subscription?

No. It is a per-user add-on on top of the base licence, generally with its own term commitment, and it is priced per seat regardless of how much any individual uses it.

Things 3: Does Things 3 sync across devices?

Yes. Things Cloud keeps your to-dos in sync across all your Apple devices automatically. There is no extra cost for cloud synchronization.

Source
Things 3: Can you attach files or images to tasks in Things 3?

No. Things 3 does not support attachments. You can only add notes (text) to tasks.

Source
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Related pages

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