Microsoft To Do vs ToDoList

Microsoft To Do

• People who already use Outlook or Microsoft 365
• Anyone who wants a to-do list with no paid tier
• Sharing simple lists with family or coworkers

ToDoList

• Windows users who want a free, detailed task outliner
• People who keep their tasks in local files instead of an online account
• Planners who want Gantt, kanban and workload views in one program
• Small teams sharing a tasklist on a network drive

Microsoft To Do

• Signing in requires a personal Microsoft account or a work or school account.
• Lists can be shared only between personal Microsoft accounts or between accounts in the same workplace or school.
• No Linux app is listed; the vendor names Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and the web.

ToDoList

• It is a Windows program. The vendor's install notes cover running it on Linux through Wine, not a native Linux build.
• Sharing works by check-out: only one person can edit a shared tasklist at any given time.
• The Evidence Board, Logged Time, Mind Map, Week Planner and Word Cloud views need the Visual C++ 2015 runtime and .NET Framework 4.6.2.
• There is no installer: it is unzipped by hand, and the vendor advises against placing it in Program Files (x86).

Microsoft To Do

My Day

A daily list that resets every night. Tasks left unfinished go back to the Tasks list and appear among the next day's suggestions.

Lists, steps and notes

Tasks sit in lists and can have due dates, reminders, notes, a breakdown into steps and up to 25MB of attached files.

Shared lists

A list is shared by sending an invitation link, and it stays in sync as members make changes. Access can later be limited to current members or switched off.

Outlook and Planner

Tasks are stored in Exchange Online, so they show up in both To Do and Outlook Tasks. Flagged email can be handled as tasks, and Planner tasks can be seen in To Do.

Sync across devices

Signing in with the same account on each device keeps lists in step; the vendor says the app updates every 5 seconds.

Tasks API

Microsoft points developers to the public Outlook Tasks REST API for reading and updating the tasks that To Do stores.

ToDoList

Nested tasks and subtasks

Any task can hold subtasks, which can hold subtasks of their own, so a large project breaks down into smaller steps. Dragging one task onto another makes it a subtask.

Detailed task attributes

Tasks carry priority, risk, time estimate and time spent, percent done, start and due dates, categories, status, version and the people they are allocated to.

Alternative task views

Besides the task tree there are kanban board, Gantt chart, calendar, workload and burndown views, plus plugin views such as Mind Map, Week Planner, Evidence Board and Word Cloud.

Comments and file links

Each task has plain or rich text comments, which can embed images, and a file link field for local or network files, web and email addresses, Outlook folders or other tasks.

Import and export

Tasks import from Microsoft Outlook, GanttProject, FreeMind, MyLifeOrganized or a plain outline, and export to the same applications as well as HTML, CSV and iCalendar.

Portable install and shared tasklists

It ships as a zip that runs from a hard drive, USB stick, network share or synced cloud folder. A check-out system lets a team share one tasklist, one editor at a time.

Microsoft To Do

• Free$0

  Every feature of the app, signed in with a personal Microsoft account or a work or school account.

ToDoList

• Free$0

  The full Windows program with every task view and plugin. The plugin source code carries the Eclipse Public License 1.0.