Memento vs Things 3
We give Memento a 2.4 GPA and Things 3 a 3.0, out of 4.0. Memento grades higher on value for money. Things 3 grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Memento
Alternative interface for Apple Reminders lists and alerts
From $5.99 one-time
Things 3
Personal task manager for Apple devices, sold as a one-time purchase
Free trial · from $9.99 one-time
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMementoFair | 3.0GPAThings 3Very good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$5.99 once covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision, with no in-app purchases listed. A typical to-do app charges $3.99 every month, so this pays for itself in two. | BNo subscription, and sync through Things Cloud costs nothing extra. The iPhone app is $9.99 once, which is cheap. But iPad is $19.99 and Mac is $49.99, with no bundle, and all four apps come to $109.96. That's a bit over two years of a typical to-do subscription. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free here. It's a paid download at $5.99 with no free version and no trial, so you buy it before you find out if you like it. | CNo free version. The Mac app has a 15-day trial with every feature, downloaded from Cultured Code's site. There's no trial on iPhone, iPad or Vision, so there you pay first and find out after. |
| Features | BTime and location alerts, notifications you can snooze or reschedule without opening the app, and reminders grouped into overdue, today, upcoming and someday. One quirk from its support page: two lists with the same name can get reordered. | AProjects split by headings, checklists inside a to-do, notes in Markdown, repeating items, deadlines and reminders. Today and Upcoming show your calendar events with your tasks. Type "in four days" and it gets the date. For one person's tasks, that's the whole job with depth. |
| Ease of use | B4.4 from about 310 App Store ratings. There's nothing to move over, because it reads the Reminders you already have. It does lean on Background App Refresh to notice new ones. | A4.8 from about 28,000 App Store ratings. Dates go in as plain words like "Tomorrow" or "Saturday", and on a Mac Quick Entry adds a to-do while you're in another app. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision, synced through iCloud, with Siri and an iMessage app. All Apple. There's no Android, Windows or web version. | CMac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, with Apple Calendar, Reminders, Shortcuts and Siri. All Apple. Cultured Code states it will not work on Windows, Android, Linux or in a web browser. |
| Best for | a different face on Apple Reminders | one person's tasks on Apple devices, paid for once |
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: Memento and Things 3. How we grade
Where they differ
- Memento starts at $5.99 one-time purchase. Things 3 starts at $9.99 one-time for iPhone; iPad $19.99 and Mac $49.99 are sold separately.
- Things 3 also covers Markdown, natural-language input and calendar.
In commoniOSmacOSOne-time purchaseTasks
At a glance
| Memento | Things 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5.99 one-time purchase | $9.99 one-time for iPhone; iPad $19.99 and Mac $49.99 are sold separately |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 15-day free trial of the Mac app with every feature. There is no trial on iPhone, iPad or Vision. |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Mark DiFranco | Cultured Code GmbH & Co. KG |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Memento
- Apple Reminders users who want a different interface
- Reminders that need both a time and a place
- Buyers who want one purchase across their Apple devices
Things 3
- People who work only on Apple devices
- Buyers who prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription
- One person planning their own tasks and projects
Worth knowing
Memento
- Apple platforms only: the listing covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision and Apple Watch.
- It is a paid download at $5.99 with no free version or trial.
- Lists are identified by their titles, so the support page warns that two lists with the same name can cause reminders to be reordered.
- The support page says iOS limits background updates, so the app relies on Background App Refresh to notice new reminders.
Things 3
- Apple devices only: the vendor states it will not work on Windows, Android, Linux or in a web browser.
- Mac, iPhone, iPad and Vision apps are separate purchases with no bundle; all four come to $109.96.
- Real-time sharing of to-dos or lists with other people is not supported.
- Only the Mac app has a free trial.
Key features
Memento
- Built on Apple Reminders
- Memento reads and writes the same database as Apple's Reminders, so there is nothing to migrate and reminders sync through iCloud and appear in both apps.
- Time and location alerts
- A reminder can alert at a set time, on arriving at or leaving a place, or both together.
- Notifications with actions
- Notifications offer quick actions to complete, snooze or reschedule a reminder without opening the app, including on Apple Watch.
- Grid and list layouts
- Reminders can be shown in a visual grid or a compact list, with a dark mode that uses true black for OLED displays.
- Grouping by time period
- Reminders are grouped into overdue, today, upcoming and someday, so the ones that matter now are separated from the rest.
- Share sheet, iMessage and widgets
- Reminders can be created from other apps through the share sheet and sent to friends from an iMessage app, and widgets show selected reminders at a glance.
Things 3
- Today and This Evening
- The Today list puts the day's calendar events at the top and to-dos underneath, with a separate This Evening section for tasks meant for later in the day.
- Upcoming
- A view of the days ahead with scheduled to-dos, repeating items, deadlines and calendar events. A to-do can be dragged to another day to reschedule it.
- Projects, headings and checklists
- Headings split a project into categories or milestones, and a single to-do can carry a checklist of smaller steps along with notes written in Markdown.
- Dates in plain words
- The Jump Start popover accepts dates typed as "Tomorrow", "Saturday" or "in four days", and a time-based reminder can be added to any to-do.
- Quick Entry and Quick Find
- Quick Entry on Mac creates a to-do while you are working in another app. Quick Find searches projects, to-dos and tags as you type.
- Things Cloud sync
- To-dos sync between your devices through the vendor's own Things Cloud service at no extra charge.
Plans
Memento
Memento$5.99
one-time purchase
A single App Store listing for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision and Apple Watch, with no in-app purchases listed.
Things 3
Things for iPhone & Watch$9.99
one-time purchase
The iPhone app, with the Apple Watch app included. Sold on the App Store.
Things for iPad$19.99
one-time purchase
The iPad app, bought separately from the iPhone and Mac apps.
Things for Vision$29.99
one-time purchase
The Apple Vision Pro app, bought separately from the other apps.
Things for Mac$49.99
one-time purchase
The Mac app, sold on the Mac App Store. A 15-day trial can be downloaded from the vendor's site.
Ways to pay less
Memento
No public discounts listed.
Things 3
- Other savings
Shareable through Apple Family Sharing
Cultured Code supports Apple's Family Sharing, so one purchase of an app can be shared with family members at no extra cost.
