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Software · head to head

Sage 50 vs Things 3

Sage 50 logo

Sage 50

Software

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Things 3 logo

Things 3

Software

The award-winning personal task manager

From
$9.99/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Sage 50 sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams; Things 3 no team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • They diverge on capability: Sage 50 covers General ledger, Things 3 covers Today view.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sage 50 and Things 3 actually diverge.

Attributes where Sage 50 and Things 3 differ
AttributeSage 50Things 3
Starting price$29/month$9.99/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWindowsmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS
Founded19812004

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Sage 50

  • General ledger
  • Invoicing
  • Inventory management
  • Job costing
  • Budgeting
  • Microsoft 365
  • Salesforce
  • Local encryption

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.

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot Things 3
  • Job costingnot Things 3
  • Inventory trackingnot Things 3

Things 3

  • Schedulingnot Sage 50
  • Appointment bookingnot Sage 50
  • Time trackingnot Sage 50
  • Resource managementnot Sage 50
  • Team coordinationnot Sage 50

Where each one falls short

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

Sage 50

  • Sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams

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

Sage 50

$29/month
  • Pro Accounting$50/month
    • Core accounting
    • 1 user
    • Basic reports
  • Premium Accounting$85/month
    • 5 users
    • Job costing
    • Inventory

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 Sage 50 if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want invoicing.
Sage 50 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 Sage 50 or Things 3 better?
Neither clearly leads. Sage 50 starts at $29/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, Sage 50 or Things 3?
Sage 50 starts at $29/month and Things 3 at $9.99/one-time.
Does Sage 50 or Things 3 run on more platforms?
Sage 50 runs on Windows. Things 3 runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
What is Sage 50 best used for?
Sage 50 is most often used for desktop accounting, job costing, inventory tracking. Of those, desktop accounting and job costing are not what Things 3 is typically brought in for.
What can Sage 50 do that Things 3 cannot?
Sage 50 covers General ledger, Invoicing, Inventory management, Job costing. Things 3 covers Today view, Projects and areas, Quick entry, Tags.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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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