Quick verdict
Things is a polished personal planner with a focused opinion. Tasks is the better fit when your projects need custom stages, Kanban, collaboration or extensible fields.
Things is deliberately opinionated around personal planning. Its Today view, areas, projects and headings give people a calm system with fewer structural decisions.
Tasks keeps simple capture fast but allows a project to grow into custom statuses, fields, Kanban and collaboration. That flexibility is useful when different projects genuinely move in different ways.
AI is another difference. Cultured Code says Things does not currently offer direct integration with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Tasks connects to them through MCP, and an assistant can join a project as a collaborator you assign tasks to. Here is how it works.
The choice is between a focused planning method and a task manager you can shape per project.
Sources checked: Things official site, Things support and Tasks on the App Store.
Feature by feature
The questions that usually decide which app fits. For more detail, browse all 201 Tasks features.
Scroll sideways to compare both apps
| Question | Tasks | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | ||
| Quick task capture | App, widgets, Siri and extensions | Quick Entry and share extension |
| Natural-language dates | Recognised while typing | Natural-language date entry |
| Structure | ||
| Projects and subtasks | Folders, projects and nested tasks | Areas, projects, headings and checklists |
| Custom workflow statuses | Defined per project | Uses its fixed planning model |
| Project-specific custom fields | Field layout varies by project | No custom-field system |
| Views | ||
| Kanban board | Optional project view | No board view |
| Today and upcoming planning | Date filters and Smart Lists | Core Today and Upcoming views |
| Tags and search | Reusable tags and global search | Tags, tag search and quick find |
| Reminders | ||
| Fixed recurring schedules | Calendar-based rules | Repeating to-dos |
| Repeat after completion | Completion-based recurrence | Repeat after completion |
| Location reminders | Arrival and departure | Not supported |
| Task detail | ||
| Notes and links | Notes and tappable links | Notes and links |
| File attachments | Images, PDFs and files | No file attachments |
| Collaboration | ||
| Shared projects, assignments and comments | Built-in collaboration | Personal task manager |
| Focus | ||
| Task time tracking | Built-in timer and sessions | No built-in timer |
| Automation | ||
| Siri and Shortcuts | More than 50 App Intents | Siri and Shortcuts support |
| URL scheme and deep links | Tasks, projects, filters and actions | Documented Things URLs |
| AI assistants as collaborators | Invite, assign and revoke per project | No official AI integration |
| Official MCP connector | Hosted server for ChatGPT and Claude | Community servers only |
| Platforms | ||
| Apple devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch and Vision Pro | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch and Vision Pro |
| Web, Windows and Android | Apple platforms only | Apple platforms only |
| Price | ||
| Purchase model | Free, subscription or lifetime Plus | Separate purchase for each platform |
Which should you choose?
Choose Tasks if…
- You want an AI assistant working in a project as its own teammate
- You want Kanban or custom statuses
- You share and assign project work
- Projects need different fields and task types
- You want a free entry point before upgrading
Choose Things 3 if…
- You want a highly opinionated personal planning flow
- Headings, areas and Today are already the system you want
- You prefer separate one-time purchases for each platform
- You do not need collaboration or project-specific fields
Limitations worth knowing
Tasks exposes more workflow choices, which can be more than someone seeking a tightly constrained personal planner wants.
Switching over
Move one active area first. Recreate only the tags and structure you still use instead of carrying every old organisational choice into Tasks.