Todoist vs TickTick for Reminders: Which One Actually Nags You?

For reminders specifically, TickTick wins against Todoist on the free plan — it includes reminders at no cost, while Todoist locks reminders behind a paid Pro plan. But both are primarily task managers with reminders bolted on, and neither delivers via SMS or WhatsApp. If what you actually need is reliable, hard-to-miss reminder delivery (not a task inbox), a dedicated reminder app like YouGot serves that purpose better.

Todoist Reminders: What You Get

Todoist is one of the most popular task managers on the planet — used by millions for managing projects, deadlines, and team collaboration. Reminders, however, are not a first-class feature.

Free plan

• No push reminders on the free tier. You see tasks, but Todoist won't proactively alert you at a set time.
• You can set due dates and times, which appear in your task list — but you have to actively check the app.

Pro plan ($4/month billed annually)

• Time-based reminders: Set a reminder at a specific time for any task.
• Location-based reminders: Trigger a reminder when you arrive at or leave a location.
• Push notification delivery: Reminders arrive as push notifications to your phone.
• No SMS, no WhatsApp, no email reminders.

Todoist reminder strengths

• Excellent natural language task parser: "Submit report every Friday at 4pm" works flawlessly.
• Deeply integrated with task metadata — reminders live alongside the task, subtasks, and comments.
• Strong integrations: calendar sync, Slack, Zapier, Gmail.

Todoist reminder weaknesses

• Push-only delivery — reminders silently disappear if your phone is on Do Not Disturb.
• Paid required — the free plan won't notify you at all.
• Not designed as a standalone reminder tool — best if you're already a Todoist task management user.

TickTick Reminders: What You Get

TickTick positions itself more aggressively as a reminder-capable app, and the free tier reflects this.

Free plan

• Push reminders included free — set a time on any task and TickTick notifies you.
• Basic recurring tasks (daily, weekly, monthly).
• One reminder per task on the free plan.

Premium plan ($2.79/month billed annually)

• Multiple reminders per task — set a reminder 1 hour before, 30 minutes before, and at the exact time.
• Calendar integration — see tasks and reminders in a unified calendar view.
• Habit tracking — streak-based reminders for daily habits.
• Pomodoro timer with reminder integration.
• No SMS, no WhatsApp.

TickTick reminder strengths

• Free push reminders — better than Todoist's free tier for basic notification needs.
• Multiple reminder times per task on Premium.
• Stronger calendar integration than Todoist.
• Habit tracking is best-in-class among task managers.

TickTick reminder weaknesses

• Still push-only delivery — same silent notification problem.
• Natural language parsing is weaker than Todoist's.
• The interface is more complex than a dedicated reminder app.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature	Todoist (Free)	Todoist (Pro)	TickTick (Free)	TickTick (Premium)
Push reminders	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
SMS reminders	No	No	No	No
WhatsApp reminders	No	No	No	No
Recurring reminders	Basic	Advanced	Basic	Advanced
Location reminders	No	Yes	No	No
Multiple reminders/task	No	Yes	No	Yes
Natural language input	Excellent	Excellent	Good	Good
Habit tracking	No	No	No	Yes
Price	Free	$4/mo	Free	$2.79/mo

The Gap Both Apps Share: No SMS Delivery

Both Todoist and TickTick deliver reminders via push notifications only. This is their shared limitation for reminder use cases:

1. Push notifications can be silenced — Do Not Disturb mode, silent mode, or notification fatigue means reminders get ignored.
2. Requires the app installed and active — if someone clears the app from memory or has low battery, reminders may not fire.
3. Can't remind other people — neither app lets you add someone else's phone number to receive a reminder.

If you need to remind yourself reliably — especially for high-stakes tasks like medications, bill payments, or appointments — SMS delivery is categorically more reliable than push.

When to Use Each App

Choose Todoist if:

• You're a power user who needs a full task management system with reminders layered on top.
• You collaborate on projects with a team and need comments, assignments, and project views.
• You already pay for Todoist Pro and want reminders as part of your workflow.

Choose TickTick if:

• You want push reminders without paying — TickTick's free plan includes them.
• You track habits alongside tasks and want streak tracking.
• You prefer a calendar-first view of your tasks and deadlines.

Choose YouGot if:

• Reminders are the primary job — you don't need a full task management system.
• You want SMS or WhatsApp delivery that works even when notifications are silenced.
• You need to remind other people (family members, clients) who may not have a specific app.
• You prefer natural language input and want setup to take 10 seconds.

TickTick and Todoist are task managers that include reminders. YouGot is a reminder tool that does nothing else — and that focus is its advantage.

Real Reminder Examples for All Three

Todoist (typed into task input):

• "Submit expense report every Friday at 4pm"
• "Pay credit card bill p1 due Nov 22"

TickTick (typed into task input):

• "Take vitamins daily 8am" (reminder set separately)
• "Call accountant Wed at 2pm"

YouGot (typed anywhere — web, mobile, or voice):

Text me 3 days before my mortgage payment is due on the 1st each month.

For people who need reminders that work regardless of notification settings — especially for medications, bills, or high-priority tasks — see yougot.ai/sign-up. Pricing is at yougot.ai/#pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Todoist have reminders on the free plan?

No — Todoist's free plan does not include push reminder notifications. You can set due dates and times, but the app won't proactively alert you at those times. Push reminders require upgrading to Todoist Pro, which costs approximately $4/month billed annually.

Does TickTick have reminders on the free plan?

Yes — TickTick includes basic push reminders on the free plan. You can set a time on any task and TickTick will notify you. The free plan is limited to one reminder per task; multiple reminders per task require the TickTick Premium upgrade.

Which is better for recurring reminders, Todoist or TickTick?

Both support recurring tasks well on their paid plans. TickTick has a slight edge because recurring tasks are available on the free tier. Todoist's natural language parser is more powerful ("every other Tuesday at 9am" works perfectly), but requires Pro for reminder notifications.

Can Todoist or TickTick send reminders via SMS?

No — neither Todoist nor TickTick sends SMS or WhatsApp reminders. Both are push notification only. If SMS delivery matters (for reliability, for reminding people without the app, or for basic phones), YouGot is the dedicated alternative.

What's a better alternative to Todoist and TickTick for reminders specifically?

YouGot is purpose-built for reminders — it accepts natural language input, supports SMS and WhatsApp delivery, handles recurring reminders, and can send alerts to other people's phone numbers. Unlike Todoist and TickTick, it's not a task manager with reminders added; it's a reminder tool that does one thing extremely well.