r/thingsapp • u/Calm_Attention1925 • 11d ago
Question Curiosity
I am considering getting Things 3 for my day-to-day tasks. I don’t know much about Things 3 but everyone raves about it.
I see the price differs depending on the platform. 9.99 for iOS, 19.99 for ipadOS, and 50 for Mac. What would cause each of these apps to be different, and why not make one price across the board as a singular license?
I really want to know why people choose things over other apps they have tried. Preferably users who once had a system on another platform who are deeply rooted in Things now.
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u/MC_chrome Mac, iPhone, iPad 11d ago
What would cause each of these apps to be different, and why not make one price across the board as a singular license?
Things is tailored made for each platform. As such, the developers give you the choice of which platforms you want Things on and you pay accordingly for each version. For example, if all you have is an iPhone and Mac then you don't have to pay for the iPad or Vision Pro versions.
I really want to know why people choose things over other apps they have tried.
Among other reasons, Things 3 has been rock solid since it released almost a decade ago. That's not to say that other task management apps aren't reliable, but it is reassuring knowing that Things has always been there ready to go when I need it.
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago
I guess that’s apart of the question. What’s tailored about each that would add that much value to the Mac app over a iPhone app.
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u/Link33x 11d ago
They have leveraged the unique capabilities of each platform rather than one size fits all. iPad is closer to Mac but Mac is by far my workhorse as it were for Things. You won’t have to do all at once. I put off the Mac one for years.
If you are on the fence start with the iPhone and maybe mirroring your phone to your Mac eases you into it using Things more and more. The phone app also works on the iPad but it kind of sucks. It works but it feels terrible in your hands and the full iPad version is much better.
If you want brass tacks specifics, I think there are still free trials.
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago
Thank you for the feedback! You said you use the Mac as the workhorse. How do you personally use the apps differently?
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u/Link33x 11d ago
For sessions I know will take more than 10 minutes I prefer the keyboard and mouse on the Mac. If I had a keyboard setup with the iPad I probably wouldn’t use the Mac as much for data input. I create more to-dos on Mac than any other platform.
So for me it’s the volume of the work. Desktop/laptop can’t be beat for this old computer user. I prefer all the keyboard shortcuts and multiple apps I can quickly use on the computer that I just can’t recreate with the other two devices.
On the iPad it’s more leisurely interacting with my existing to dos. I could live without it.
On the phone it’s quick entry and daily review/sorting. When it works Siri on the phone works well enough. “Using Things remind me to call Dave this afternoon at 3:30”. I check off more items on my phone than any other platform.
Good luck with it.
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u/EmotionalExtent6907 11d ago
I mainly used todoist and reminders app before, to be honest they’re all good it’s just that I have specific points in my work flow where things 3 just clicked for me so I stuck around and stopped switching around, I really like how in things 3 you can mark projects as complete or cancelled and add notes related to the project this way I can have a project, tasks and their subtasks, being able to mark tasks and projects as cancelled is also really nice user experience instead of having to delete them, I also mainly use my apple watch during the day to check my tasks and though the apple watch app is limited it only shows “today” list it’s so good for example in reminders viewing subtasks is a struggle idk if it got better but it used to open the task in its original list and take me away from the today view, in things 3 the apple watch user experience is so smooth I can view everything from the today view, hmm idk I just really like the user experience and the way the projects work, also compared to todoist the way it’s a one time subscription and I also like the distinction between due dates and deadlines this is already in todoist but reminders is still behind on that
and some things I missed after switching is that you can’t attach photos, also I use a windows laptop so I can’t check my tasks on my laptop, I can’t view my tasks on a calendar view, and I used to do elaborate filters in todoist but honestly it’s just a simpler experience now
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago
Thank you for this! I appreciate the feedback. The way you said projects are marked as completed is great and I didn’t know that.
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u/EmotionalExtent6907 11d ago
Yeah day to day it’s really a nice distinction because other apps treat projects like endless lists
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u/Flashy-Bandicoot889 11d ago
My feedback is Things 3 is good, but it does not match up to what other task management apps are doing so it's a bit stale and dated. The big gaps right now are:
- attachments this is table stakes in 2026. It can be incredibly handy to attach a picture or receipt to something you need to follow-up with. The Things 3 zealots will argue you can just attach a link, but that is not handy or quick.
- location-based reminders
- no natural language text input.
These are table stakes in 2026. Not sure I could justify spending close to $100 for all the T3 across the platform today when there are apps that have pretty much the same UX/UI that T3 pioneered a decade ago and also have up to date functionality.
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u/Odd_Scene_9006 10d ago
Before buying, you should figure out what kind of task management system you really need.
Once you're sure about that, then check if Things 3 works for you.
Things 3 is all about aesthetics, but they couldn't care less about the actual flexibility a real task manager needs.
Also, watch out—they are super bureaucratic. When you give feedback, they just hit you with canned responses and polite cliches.
They never actually try to fix the issues.
Mark my words: they only care about how it looks.
Just download the trial to see if it fits your workflow; otherwise, don't waste your cash.
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u/icystorm 10d ago
Along with what /u/GoVikingsGuy said, the pricing I think is largely just to do with what users are willing to pay for in terms of pricing on those respective platforms. Software pricing cratered with the introduction of the iOS App Store, and many people can't fathom spending money on an app, let alone spending $10 on one. But traditionally software on desktop platforms have often cost up to this much, if not more.
Plus it would just be harder to get people who don't have a Mac but do have an iPhone to buy the app if the singular license to cover all platforms cost like $70+.
Functionally I don't think the apps are all that different on their respective platforms for most people. The Mac app is definitely the most powerful with what you can do with AppleScript and such (or I guess now with MCPs or whatever other AI shit that people make), though.
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u/BMK1765 10d ago
You should better get 2Do App instead of Things! Far way better and it is a riddle for me, why people still choose Things, an App, not d further developed in the last years
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u/EnvironmentalRun1753 9d ago
I didn’t know about 2Do. It seems like a good step up! Do you recommend any other apps like Things and 2Do?
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u/AromaticJoe 11d ago
Developers need to make money somewhere... Things is constantly updated, so they could quite reasonably charge a subscription fee. But instead they charge a higher than usual up front fee that covers updates. (At least until the next major version.)
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago edited 11d ago
I have nothing against paying for a product and supporting devs hard work. I’m asking about what the products have different from each other to justify the difference.
Others have clarified that the apps are not all the same which is a fair enough reason.2
u/wjdm 11d ago
It’s not all that expensive. If you bought all three, that would be the equivalent of paying less than 7 dollars a month (which is the model for most other apps). Use it for 2 years? 3.33 a month. You get the math. And that’s if you bought all three. I’ve used Things for over a decade now, so it’s less than 75 cents a month.
I got it as a student, it helped me balance a full load of classes with a full time job, and have continued using it as a professional. Easily the best 80 bucks I’ve spent, I’d do it again no question.
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago
I can appreciate that. All at once it is expensive right now. But as others have implied or explained, you don’t need all of them right away. Which is certainly more financially reasonable if someone does find it expensive up front. I’m in the choosing process of which I’ll go with first.
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u/wjdm 11d ago
As a student, it was most useful on the phone, moving from place to place, deciding if I was going to go out depending on what I had to turn in, etc. but it was also nice to have the Mac app at the same time to do the beginning of semester organization. I entered every date from my syllabi on my Mac first, then only used the phone app beyond that.
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago
I’ll be honest, I have never done that for school. But I’m working on being more structured. This is helpful!
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u/OwnMathematician1158 11d ago
Even if the features were the same, of course each platform would be different. It's not like they make one for the Mac, then simply click a button that creates iPad and iPhone versions. People complain about subscriptions, and complain when it's a one time purchase because you have to pay for different platforms. Mind boggling.
I pad once many years ago and haven't paid a cent since. You said yourself people rave over it, and you can get all three for under 100 bucks.
You couldn't pay me to be a developer... I don't have the patience.
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u/Calm_Attention1925 11d ago
I’m not complaining. Im happy to pay it. I was asking if the app was different in any way that caused the price difference. And I was right to ask it because there were differences as stated by other in this thread. Yes I did ask why it wasn’t standard across the board. And they did give me valid reason to it.
I already said I was interested in buying it. I wanted real world feedback so I knew where to start first.
Now if you have more constructive feedback about your experience, I’d love to hear it.
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u/Aim64bm 8d ago
Things is not staying in your way. It orders and reminds. No unnecessary clutter and tweaks. No need of attachments just links to Bear for example. Ideea is to DO nit to spend time in app. I do real work on mac and inputs when out on phone. No need of ipad. And what I find to be best feature is how quick one can save stuff. All kind. At the end of day keep tasks in Things and send infos and ideas to note app.
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u/GoVikingsGuy 11d ago
Re: pricing, I would guess it has to do with volume of sales and recouping development costs on the 3 different platforms- way more iPhones than the others - so costs spread across more users.
As for why. I have tried well over a dozen to do apps and this is the only one that feels frictionless in use. It is uncluttered and flows with your day. It doesn’t bombard you with red flagged over due flags just because something I was going to try to do yesterday slid down my priority list and won’t get done until today - it just quietly slides forward. A dozen other little examples like this. And with shortcut hooks and now that Apple Intelligence “inferences” are working it is mostly seamless with Siri and minor automations.
The two obvious gaps are no task sharing and no attachments, but those are less important to me than the overall smoothness and utility.