Apple Reminders vs Todoist for client work: check the actions, not just the devices

Keep Apple Reminders if it supports the capture, changes and review you actually need. Consider Todoist when its apps or task workflow solve a specific gap in your current setup. “I use a Mac” is a starting point, not the whole decision. Neither is the number of tasks on your list.

Freelancers, agency owners and teams, fractional CXOs, consultants, and client-facing roles like account managers often capture work on one device and act on it somewhere else. The important question is whether the same commitment remains accessible and current through that handoff.

This guide uses official documentation checked on 11 November 2026. The examples below are fictional; the device checks are for you to run, not a claim that we tested these apps on your hardware.

What both products already offer

Apple Reminders supports creating reminders with Siri, organizing work with tags and Smart Lists, and creating, editing and completing scheduled reminders in Calendar. Shared lists can support assigning reminders. It deserves consideration as a work list, rather than being dismissed as a grocery app. Apple's Reminders listing.

Todoist offers apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android, among other devices. Its download list helps establish availability, but availability alone does not prove that a particular input or sharing workflow meets your needs. Todoist downloads.

Apple also documents access to iCloud reminders through a web browser on a phone, tablet or computer. A Windows computer therefore does not automatically rule Reminders out. Check the browser workflow you need rather than assuming it is identical to the native app. Apple's iCloud setup guide.

Write down the actions you need on each device

Before comparing feature counts, complete a short table. The following example describes a hypothetical person's requirements, not measured product results.

For each row, mark Reminders and Todoist as “works for me,” “does not meet requirement,” or “not checked.” Do not silently turn “not checked” into a recommendation.

This also reveals which features are optional. If you only review work on your own Mac and iPhone, a native Windows app may provide no benefit. If a browser is unavailable on a managed work computer, browser access may provide no benefit either.

Spoken capture and an existing-task update are different checks

Both products deserve a fair voice-input comparison. Siri can create Apple reminders. Todoist's Ramble captures spoken tasks in a preview and allows corrections to those suggested tasks before adding them. For example, its documentation describes changing a suggestion while speaking. That is useful task capture. Todoist's Ramble guide.

It is a separate question whether speaking a day later will find and update an already saved commitment. Do not infer that behavior from a demonstration that only creates new tasks, or from an edit within the creation preview.

Use two checks:

1. Say a new, harmless task and review its title, date and destination before saving.
2. Later, change the commitment. Use the product's documented update method and confirm that the saved task changes once, with no unwanted duplicate.

If voice capture is your only missing feature, test the current setup's supported route before replacing the list. If existing-task maintenance is the problem, compare that explicitly.

Follow a changed commitment across devices

Imagine you capture “Send outline Thursday” on your phone. At your computer, the client agrees to Friday. Later, you open your list on a second device.

The outcome you need is straightforward: the outline task is open, dated Friday, and visible where you review work. The old Thursday commitment should not survive as a separate active copy. After sending the outline, completion should be reflected in the places you rely on.

Record the outcome in plain language:

Required devices:
App or browser used on each:
Where the task was created:
Where the existing task was changed:
Where the new date was confirmed:
Where completion was confirmed:
Any duplicate, missing access or extra step:
Choice and reason:

Run this with a non-sensitive example. If you share a list, include the other person's actual access requirement in the check. Do not migrate client work merely because the personal example worked.

Choose around a requirement you can name

There is no useful universal threshold at which a list becomes “too big for Reminders.” Your required actions, account permissions and review habits provide a better reason to stay or switch.

If updating the list has become the work

Qubit is a to-do list that auto-updates, instead of you updating it. It updates from your calls, Gmail and Slack. For everything else, just tell it. Its comparison with Apple Reminders addresses that upkeep need. It does not establish that you should abandon a Reminders or Todoist setup that already works for you.