Donetick vs Recurrence
We give Donetick a 3.4 GPA and Recurrence a 3.2, out of 4.0. Donetick grades higher on features and platforms. Recurrence grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Donetick
Open-source task and chore manager for households and groups
Recurrence
Repeating-task tracker for iPhone, iPad and Mac with history
How we grade them
| 3.4GPADonetickVery good | 3.2GPARecurrenceVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPlus is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year on the US App Store, which is about typical for a to-do app. Running it yourself costs nothing. The site has no public pricing page, and the web upgrade dialog shows $39.00 a year. | APremium is $7.99 a year, a fraction of the $3.99 a month a typical to-do app charges. Or pay $19.99 once for the Lifetime Unlock and you're done. Either way it's cheap. |
| Free plan and trial | BDonetick Cloud has a free Basic plan with no ads. But the app lists notifications, real-time updates, API tokens, webhooks and file uploads as Plus only. A chore list that can't remind you is a tight free plan. Self-hosting is free in full. | BIt's a free download with no ads, but it stops at five tasks. Bins, rent, filter, car tax, haircut. That's your five. Anything more needs Premium or the lifetime unlock. |
| Features | AType "take the trash out every Monday at 6:15 pm" and it fills in the schedule. The next person is picked at random or by who's done least. There's a points leaderboard, admin approval, a history of who did what, and NFC tags that mark a task done. | BIt does one job, repeating tasks, and does it fully. Tasks repeat on a schedule or from when you last did them, each keeps a history with notes, and you can share them over iCloud. But it's a tracker for things that come round again, not a home for projects. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. The cloud version is sign up and go. Hosting it yourself means Docker or a binary, and backups and updates are on you. | A4.7 from about 330 App Store ratings. It's a list of things that come round again, with widgets for your Home and Lock Screen. Not much to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone and Android, with a REST API, webhooks and a Home Assistant add-on. Reminders can go out through Telegram, Discord or Pushover. The README does say offline support is very limited. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision, with Siri Shortcuts. No Android, Windows or web version. Sync and sharing both run through iCloud, so everyone you share with needs an Apple device too. |
| Best for | sharing chores fairly around a household | chores and bills that keep coming round |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Donetick and Recurrence. How we grade
Where they differ
- Donetick starts at $4.99 per month, or $39.99 per year (Donetick Plus, US App Store). Recurrence starts at $7.99 per year.
- Only Donetick lists a web app.
- Only Donetick lists an Android app.
- Only Recurrence lists a macOS app.
- Donetick is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Recurrence can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Donetick also covers natural-language input, calendar and time tracking.
- Recurrence also covers habit tracking.
At a glance
| Donetick | Recurrence | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 per month, or $39.99 per year (Donetick Plus, US App Store) | $7.99 per year |
| Free plan | Donetick Cloud has a free Basic plan without ads, and the self-hosted software is free under the AGPLv3. The app lists notifications, real-time updates, API tokens, webhooks and file uploads as Plus features. | Free download limited to five tasks. Premium removes the limit. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free for 1 week before the $7.99 yearly subscription starts |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Favoro LLC | Shayes Apps LLC |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Donetick
- Families and roommates sharing a chore list with fair rotation
- Recurring home maintenance tasks on flexible schedules
- Home Assistant users who want chores to show up as to-do lists
- Self-hosters who want an open-source task server
Recurrence
- Chores, bills and renewals that come around on a schedule
- Keeping a record of when something was last done
- Couples or families sharing recurring tasks on Apple devices
Worth knowing
Donetick
- On Donetick Cloud, the app lists notifications and reminders, real-time updates, API tokens, webhooks, file uploads and thing-based triggers as Plus-only.
- The site has no public pricing page. Plus prices here are from the US App Store; Google Play's US listing shows $5.99 to $39.99 per item.
- Self-hosting is free, but the terms leave hosting, security, backups and updates to you, with no support guarantee.
- The project's README describes offline support as very limited.
Recurrence
- The free version stops at five tasks; more needs Premium or the $19.99 Lifetime Unlock.
- Apple devices only: the App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision, with no Android, Windows or web version.
- Sync and sharing run through iCloud; the support page says devices must use the same Apple ID and have free iCloud storage.
- The App Store listing gives English as the app's only language.
Key features
Donetick
- Shared groups and assignee rotation
- Tasks are shared with a group of family, friends or teammates and assigned to one person, with the next assignee picked at random, by fewest assigned or completed, or kept the same.
- Plain-language task entry
- Typing a phrase such as "Take the trash out every Monday and Tuesday at 6:15 pm" creates the task with its dates, times and recurrence filled in.
- Flexible and adaptive recurrence
- Tasks repeat daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or on custom days, counted from the due date or the completion date. Adaptive scheduling sets the next date from past completions.
- Points, approval and history
- Completed tasks earn points for a leaderboard, and an admin can be required to approve them. A history records due dates, completion dates, notes and who did each task.
- Things, NFC tags and automation
- A Thing stores a number, a true or false value or text, and a change in it can trigger or complete a task. NFC tags mark tasks done when scanned, and a REST API and webhooks connect other tools.
- Notifications on several channels
- Reminders can be set before, on or after a due date and delivered through the mobile app, Telegram, Discord, Pushover or webhooks. On Donetick Cloud, the upgrade dialog lists task notifications under Plus.
Recurrence
- Custom repeat schedules
- Tasks repeat on a schedule or from their last completion, and a lock can stop a task from being checked off before it is due. One-time tasks and pausing a task are also supported.
- Completion history and notes
- Every item lists its past completions, and notes can be attached to the item or to a single completion for later reference.
- Sharing through iCloud
- Items can be shared with a spouse, friend or family member so that either person can complete them.
- Widgets and notifications
- Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show upcoming items, and notifications can be set to arrive before and after a due date.
- Categories, filters and search
- Items are sorted into custom categories with their own colors, an item can belong to several categories, and the list can be filtered and searched.
- Siri Shortcuts
- Shortcuts mark a task as completed by voice, and a shortcut added in version 10 returns the list of due and overdue items.
Plans
Donetick
Self-hosted$0
The open-source server under the AGPLv3, run from Docker, a binary or a Home Assistant add-on. Hosting, security, backups and updates are yours.
Basic$0
Free plan on Donetick Cloud with one sub account. The app lists notifications, real-time updates, API tokens, webhooks and file uploads as Plus features.
Plus$4.99
per month, or $39.99 per year (US App Store)
Task notifications and reminders, rich text with image uploads, thing-based triggers, API tokens and up to 5 sub accounts. The web upgrade dialog shows $39.00 a year.
Recurrence
Free$0
The app with a limit of five tasks. Version 9.0 removed ads for free users.
Recurrence Premium (monthly)$0.99
per month, inferred; the App Store shows the amount unlabelled
Unlimited tasks. The App Store lists this amount without a period next to the $7.99 yearly subscription.
Recurrence Premium (yearly)$7.99
per year
Unlimited tasks, billed yearly after a 1-week free trial. It renews automatically until canceled.
Lifetime Unlock$19.99
one-time purchase
Unlimited tasks with a single payment and no subscription.
Ways to pay less
Donetick
- Annual discount
About 33% less on the yearly Plus plan
The US App Store lists Donetick Plus at $4.99 monthly and $39.99 yearly. Twelve monthly payments come to $59.88, so the yearly plan costs about 33% less.
Recurrence
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Unlock for $19.99
The App Store listing offers a one-time Lifetime Unlock at $19.99 as an alternative to the monthly or yearly Premium subscription.
