Due vs Reminders MenuBar
We give Due a 2.6 GPA and Reminders MenuBar a 3.0, out of 4.0. Due grades higher on ease of use and platforms. Reminders MenuBar grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Due
Reminder app for Apple devices that nags until a task is done
From $7.99 one-time
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADueGood | 3.0GPAReminders MenuBarVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$7.99 once covers iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and the Mac app is another $14.99. Both together cost about what six months of a typical to-do subscription does. Features released after your first year need an optional Upgrade Pass, $4.99 a year on iOS, and anything unlocked stays if you stop. | AFree and open source under the GPL v3, with no paid version at all. The developer takes sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors and Ko-fi if you want to say thanks. Nothing in the category costs less. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free. Due is a paid download with no free version and no trial, so the $7.99 comes before you've set a single reminder. | AThe whole app is free. There's no paid tier, so nothing is held back for one. Install it with Homebrew, or grab the disk image or zip from the GitHub releases page. |
| Features | BIt does one job, reminders, and does it fully. Auto Snooze re-notifies you every 1 to 60 minutes, 5 times by default and up to 10. Preset buttons postpone in a tap, repeats get as fussy as the third Wednesday of each month, and timers are reusable. But it's reminders and timers, not lists or projects. | BIt does one small job and does it fully. Type a reminder in plain words and it picks out the due date, list and tags. You can edit recurrence and priority, search everything and filter by list or tag. But it's a front end: the tasks themselves live in Apple Reminders. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 2,800 App Store ratings. Type or dictate "at 9am tomorrow" and it offers that as the due date. There's no Due account to set up, and reminders fire without an internet connection. | BA global shortcut opens it from anywhere, and you grant access to your reminders once. There's no rating on record to go by, and the install is Homebrew or a download from GitHub, since the README mentions no Mac App Store listing. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, synced through your own iCloud or Dropbox, plus Siri. All Apple. The Watch app is a companion that needs the paired iPhone, and the Mac app is a separate purchase. | DMac only, on macOS Monterey 12 or later. There's no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version. Your reminders still show up on your phone, but that's Apple Reminders and iCloud doing the work, not this app. |
| Best for | reminders that nag until you act | Apple Reminders from your Mac's menu bar |
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: Due and Reminders MenuBar. How we grade
Where they differ
- Due starts at $7.99 one-time for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch; Mac is $14.99, sold separately. Reminders MenuBar is free.
- Reminders MenuBar has a free plan. Due does not.
- Only Due lists an iOS app.
- Due can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Reminders MenuBar is open source, according to its own site.
In commonmacOSTasksNatural-language inputMenu bar app
At a glance
| Due | Reminders MenuBar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| Starts at | $7.99 one-time for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch; Mac is $14.99, sold separately | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free and open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0, with no paid version. The developer accepts sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors and Ko-fi. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Due Pte. Ltd. | Rafael Damasceno |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Due
- People who dismiss a notification and then forget the task
- Time-bound reminders such as medication, bills and chores
- Buyers who prefer a one-time purchase on Apple devices
Reminders MenuBar
- Mac users who keep their tasks in Apple Reminders
- Adding or checking off reminders without opening the Reminders app
- Keyboard users who want a global shortcut for quick capture
Worth knowing
Due
- Apple devices only: Due is sold for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.
- Due for macOS ($14.99) and Due for iOS ($7.99) are separate purchases.
- Features released more than a year after purchase need the optional Upgrade Pass: $4.99 a year on iOS, $9.99 on Mac.
- The Apple Watch app is a companion that requires the paired iPhone to work.
Reminders MenuBar
- macOS only, and it requires macOS Monterey 12 or later; there is no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version.
- It is a front end to Apple Reminders, not a separate task store: it needs permission to access reminders and relies on Apple's own sync.
- The README lists Homebrew and a direct download from GitHub as the install routes and mentions no Mac App Store listing.
Key features
Due
- Auto Snooze
- An overdue reminder keeps notifying you until it is marked done or rescheduled, at intervals from 1 to 60 minutes. It repeats 5 times by default and up to 10 if configured.
- Quick access times
- A time picker with 12 customizable preset buttons sets or postpones a due date in one tap, and can add or subtract time from the current date.
- Natural date parsing
- Dates and times that you type or dictate are recognized and offered as the due date, for example "at 9am tomorrow".
- Recurring reminders
- Repeats range from daily and weekly to patterns such as the third Wednesday of each month or every 3 months after completion.
- Reusable countdown timers
- Timers are precise to the second, several can run at once, and a timer set up once is kept for reuse.
- iCloud or Dropbox sync
- Reminders and timers sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac through your own iCloud or Dropbox account. There is no Due account, and reminders fire without an internet connection.
Reminders MenuBar
- Reminders in the menu bar
- Every interaction happens in a popover opened from the macOS menu bar, which can show an icon, a counter or the title of the next upcoming reminder.
- Natural-language entry
- New reminders are typed in natural language that sets the due date, list and tags. Version 2.2.0 added typing shortcuts for flagged (!f) and urgent (!u) reminders.
- Edit and complete reminders
- Reminders can be marked as completed or edited in place, including their due dates, priorities, recurrence rules, lists and tags.
- Upcoming view, search and filters
- An upcoming section shows reminders within a time interval you configure, a search covers all reminders, and lists and tags filter what is displayed.
- Sync through Apple Reminders
- The app uses Apple's EventKit store to access the reminders on the Mac, the same ones shown in Apple Reminders and synced through iCloud, after a one-time permission request.
- Global shortcut and in-app updates
- A global keyboard shortcut toggles the app from anywhere, and since version 2.0.0 updates are delivered inside the app through Sparkle.
Plans
Due
Due for iOS$7.99
one-time purchase
One app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with every current feature plus new features released in the year after purchase.
Due for macOS$14.99
one-time purchase
The Mac app, sold separately on the Mac App Store, with new features released in the year after purchase.
Annual Upgrade Pass (Mobile)$4.99
per year, optional
Optional subscription for iOS features released more than a year after purchase. Unlocked features stay after you stop.
Annual Upgrade Pass (Computer)$9.99
per year, optional
Optional subscription for Mac features released more than a year after purchase. Unlocked features stay after you stop.
Reminders MenuBar
Free$0
The complete app, installed with Homebrew or as a disk image or zip archive from the GitHub releases page.
