A TickTick alternative for Apple people.
Let's start honest: TickTick might be the best deal in productivity software — tasks, a calendar, habit tracking, a Pomodoro timer, and an Eisenhower matrix for about $3 a month, on every platform. Nobody leaves because it's overpriced. People leave because the bundle is surface area they use a third of, because the achievement score rewards being busy rather than finishing, and because their tasks still live on someone else's servers. Here's the honest way out — including when staying is the right call.
The short answer
If you're on Apple devices and want a board that pushes you to finish — not a bundle that helps you collect — Zoro keeps the tasks and drops everything else: WIP limits, task aging, a weekly review, free with unlimited tasks and iCloud sync, Pro for $59.99 once. If you genuinely use the calendar and the habit tracker, an honest answer: stay on TickTick — at roughly $35.99 a year it's the best all-in-one value going. And if you're leaving Todoist looking for like-for-like, TickTick is that answer, not Zoro.
The math
Cheap rent is still rent.
This is the rare comparison where the subscription isn't the scandal — $3 a month is a fair price for what TickTick ships. The math is only half the argument. Run it anyway.
Why people leave
The best deal in the category — and people still leave.
- You pay for a bundle and use a third of it. Calendar, habits, Pomodoro, Eisenhower matrix — each one is somebody's favorite feature. If yours is just the task list, the other four tabs are weight you carry every time you open the app.
- The achievement score measures activity, not progress. Points for using the app, streaks for showing up. It's gently done, but none of it ever asks whether the thing that mattered got finished — it asks whether you came back.
- Nothing ever asks if you'll finish. Like Todoist, TickTick is a collect-everything model at heart. Lists grow without limit, and a task can sit untouched for a year without the product saying a word about it.
- It's the same app everywhere — including on your Mac. Cross-platform reach is TickTick's strength and its ceiling. An app built to run identically on Android, Windows, and the web can't lean into Apple-native polish, and on a Mac you feel the difference.
- Your tasks live on TickTick's servers. Sync-everywhere requires their cloud. However cheap the rent, your data is part of the arrangement.
The alternative
Keep the tasks. Drop the bundle.
Zoro is a single-player kanban for iPhone and Mac. It ships no calendar, no habit tracker, no timer — on purpose. What it adds is the thing the bundle never had: a method. WIP limits cap how much you can pull into In Progress, so starting a sixth thing means finishing one first. Tasks age visibly, so the card you've been avoiding stops hiding. Three priorities and S/M/L effort sizes keep planning to seconds, and a weekly review makes you cut what you're never going to do. There's no achievement score — completing a task is a quiet strikethrough, and the app never asks you to come back for a streak. Your data syncs through your own iCloud, and there's no rent: free with unlimited tasks and projects, Pro for $59.99 once if you want the deeper practice.
At a glance
TickTick vs Zoro, on philosophy.
| TickTick | Zoro | |
|---|---|---|
| The bet | Everything in one app | One job, done with a method |
| Scope | Tasks + calendar + habits + Pomodoro | Tasks only |
| Helps you finish | Pomodoro helps — but lists grow forever | WIP limits, task aging, weekly review |
| Gamification | Achievement score, streaks | None — a quiet strikethrough |
| Where your data lives | TickTick's servers | Your own iCloud |
| Platforms | Everywhere | iPhone + Mac (Apple-only) |
| Pricing model | Free + ~$35.99/yr subscription | Free · Pro $59.99 once (or $2.99/mo · $19.99/yr) |
Feature by feature
Side by side.
| Feature | Zoro | TickTick |
|---|---|---|
| Built for one person | Yes | Yes (individual-focused) |
| List + kanban views | Both | Both (+ calendar, timeline) |
| Three priorities (P1/P2/P3) | Native | Has priority levels |
| S/M/L effort sizing | Native | No effort sizing |
| Built-in calendar / habits / Pomodoro | No (by design) | Yes — all three |
| Natural-language input | Basic | Strong |
| iPhone + Mac native apps | Yes | Yes |
| Android / Windows / web | No (Apple-only) | Yes — everywhere |
| Sync between devices | iCloud | TickTick cloud |
| Where your data lives | Your iCloud | TickTick's servers |
| Works offline | Yes (local-first) | Limited |
| Pricing (1 user) | $0, $19.99/yr or $59.99 once | Free or ~$36/yr |
Honest picks
If Zoro isn't your answer.
If you want the bundle…
- Calendar, habits, and tasks in one app → honestly, stay on TickTick. Nothing matches it at that job for the price.
- Leaving Todoist and want like-for-like → TickTick is that answer too — same model, more features, lower price.
- Want free → Apple Reminders or Microsoft To Do cover the basics at $0.
If you want focus…
- A board with a method on Apple, pay once → Zoro.
- The best-designed lists on Apple, pay once → Things 3 — compared here.
- The full field, ranked honestly → best Todoist alternatives.
Switching
Leaving is lighter than it looks.
- Don't migrate everything — audit it. A task that's been sitting in TickTick for six months isn't a task, it's a guilt object. Bring over only what you'd genuinely start this month. (Our guide to a weekly review that kills tasks is the same muscle.)
- Give the extras a real home. The calendar goes back to Apple Calendar; habits go to a dedicated habit app if you actually tracked them. Zoro replaces the task list, not the bundle — that's the point.
- Rebuild as three columns and size on entry. Todo, In Progress, Done — with In Progress capped on purpose. Every task gets a priority (P1–P3) and an effort size (S/M/L) as it comes in. Thirty seconds now beats a planning session later.
FAQ
TickTick alternatives, answered.
What is the best TickTick alternative for Apple users?
For Apple users who want a board rather than a bundle, Zoro is built for exactly that: a single-player kanban for iPhone and Mac with WIP limits, three priorities, S/M/L effort sizes, task aging, and a weekly review — free with unlimited tasks and iCloud sync, or Pro for $59.99 once. Things 3 is the pick if you want the best-designed list app, also a one-time purchase. And if what you actually want is TickTick's calendar and habit tracking in one app, the honest answer is to stay on TickTick — nothing matches it at that job.
Is TickTick Premium worth it?
At about $35.99 a year as of mid-2026 — roughly $3 a month — TickTick Premium is the best-value bundle in the category: tasks, calendar views, habit tracking, a Pomodoro timer, and an Eisenhower matrix for less than most rivals charge for tasks alone. Whether it's worth it comes down to one question: do you use the bundle? If you live in the calendar and the habit tracker, yes, easily. If you only ever open the task list, you're paying for surface area you don't touch, and a narrower tool may fit better.
Is there a TickTick alternative without a subscription?
Yes. Zoro is free with unlimited tasks, unlimited projects, and iCloud sync, and Pro is $2.99/month, $19.99/year, or $59.99 once — the one-time purchase never renews. Things 3 is also subscription-free: a one-time purchase per platform, with iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps sold separately. Both are Apple-only. On Windows or Android, subscription-free options thin out fast, and free Microsoft To Do is the practical fallback.
Does TickTick help you finish tasks or just organize them?
TickTick organizes brilliantly, and to its credit it ships tools that push you to work — the Pomodoro timer, the Eisenhower matrix. But the core model is still collect-everything: lists grow without limit, a task can sit untouched for a year without the app ever mentioning it, and the achievement score rewards activity in the app rather than finishing what matters. Zoro is built around the opposite pressure — WIP limits cap what you can start, task aging surfaces what you keep avoiding, and a weekly review makes you cut. They're different philosophies; pick the one your backlog needs.
Less app. More finished.
Zoro is a single-player kanban for iPhone and Mac — WIP limits, three priorities, a weekly review, your data in your own iCloud. Free with unlimited tasks and sync; Pro is $2.99/mo, $19.99/yr, or $59.99 once. It is live on the App Store now. Download Zoro for iPhone and Mac — free with unlimited tasks and iCloud sync.
Download on the App Store →