I moved from Todoist to Google Tasks, and it didn’t go as planned

I’ve been a Todoist user for years but I’m looking for an alternative as I don’t like the recent price increase. TickTick is at the top of my list, but I really wanted to give Google Tasks another go, so I did.

I always felt that Tasks was one of the worst Google apps. It’s bare bones compared to the competition and lacks basic features. But since I’m about to go back to simple and small apps like iA Writer and Google Keep, I thought that Tasks might not be as bad as I first thought. Well, it turns out I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

I started the experiment by trying to replicate my basic Todoist workflow in Tasks. I have two projects set up – Work and Personal – and I use labels to sort tasks within those projects. For example, if I create a task that should remind me to call a friend on his birthday (I’m sensitive to dates), I can add that task to a personal project and add the label “Birthdays” to it.

Thanks to these labels, I can now set up custom filters. With just a few taps, I can see all the birthday-related entries on one screen, as well as all my work-related activities here Android Authority or various personal projects. I also have a filter set that shows all my tasks in progress and those that don’t have a due date. It’s a simple system that I remember, and it works very well for me.

Despite its simplicity, I couldn’t replicate it in Jobs. The app doesn’t support labels, and because of that, I can’t set any filters. But you know what, that’s okay. A new operating system means a fresh start, so I decided to ditch my old system and start a new one that will work within the confines of Jobs. However, I am sad to report that Me and Jobs could not find a common language.

I started by adding in a few different lists – Work, Fitness, Personal – and after adding several tasks, I quickly ran into limitations and other problems. For example, the app doesn’t support natural language processing like I’m used to in Todoist. I can’t write something like, “Make pizza tomorrow at 6 pm” and have an app automatically set the date and time. No, I have to select those manually, which is a feature I would expect an app like Google Tasks to have.

I also didn’t like the app’s understanding of how it displays tasks. Instead of just showing me a list of tasks that need to be done today or tomorrow on one consolidated page, each list I’ve created (Personal, Work, etc.) has its own tab on mobile. To see everything that’s relevant today, I have to swipe through all the lists I have. If you have a dozen lists, that’s a problem.

I know many people rely on Google Calendar to see their activities around their schedule, but I don’t use Calendar for task management. I want my app to stand alone, and without an integrated “Today” view in the app itself, Tasks feels disjointed.

There is also no dedicated Inbox workflow. While Tasks automatically populate a list if you don’t select one, it doesn’t have the “shoot now, edit later” friction I’m used to in Todoist. Functions often force me to think about where the function belongs while I’m creating it, rather than letting me drop it into the host.

Another thing I really didn’t like was that each list kept showing me the total amount of all the tasks I had already completed. I can see myself expanding that section, but there is no way to remove this permanently. I would like to do that as it just clutters the screen and doesn’t really add any benefit. I can remove these tasks from the view, but as soon as I mark another completed, that section appears again.

Actually, not much. If simplicity is what you want, Jobs delivers. I’m all about simplicity these days, but this thing is too small for me to use. Your mileage may vary, however.

I have to talk about ecosystem integration. If you live in Gmail or Google Docs on the desktop, having the Tasks sidebar right there is admittedly convenient. Being able to drag an email from the sidebar to create a task is a great feature for heavy Gmail users, but it’s not something I use often.

My favorite is the integration with Gemini, which is my favorite AI chatbot. I can quickly add tasks with a voice command and display all my tasks that are overdue or due today.

It’s fair to say that the integration isn’t flawless – I couldn’t get the Gemini to add functionality to the list for some reason – but it’s still generally better than what the competition currently offers.

I can also add a star to any activity and find it through the starred option in the app. That’s better than nothing, I guess, but it’s not a feature to brag about.

One thing I can give Tasks credit for is that it doesn’t use any kind of gamification in the app – a feature designed to keep you engaged. For example, Todoist has its own Karma system that boosts your levels the more you use it, and people tend to wear those as a badge of honor. I get a complaint; It’s not just something that will help me get things done.

I still have a few months left before my Todoist subscription expires, so I’m ditching Tasks and going back to it until I find something better.

I was honestly happy to give it another chance, I hope my previous opinion was too harsh, but my first assessment proved to be accurate. Jobs and I don’t get along, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.

You may be in a different boat. If you value the integration of Tasks with Gemini and other Google products and don’t mind all the shortcomings I’ve pointed out, Tasks is still a great solution. The truth is that no task management app is perfect, and you often have to make a compromise or two. So, while it may not be right for me, your experience may be different.