todo mate vs WaterDo
We give todo mate a 3.2 GPA and WaterDo a 2.8, out of 4.0. todo mate grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
todo mate
To-do list with routines, a focus timer, a diary and a friend feed
WaterDo
Gamified to-do list where tasks become water balls to pop
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAtodo mateVery good | 2.8GPAWaterDoGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPremium is $1.99 a month or $7.49 a year on the US App Store, far under what to-do apps usually charge. So why not an A? The store listings don't say what premium adds to the free app, and there's no pricing page. Eight more purchases are named only by a number, at $0.99 to $8.99. | BMembership is $0.99 a month, $9.99 a year or $14.99 once for life, all far under what to-do apps usually charge. So why not an A? Neither store listing nor Seekrtech's site says what the membership adds, so there's nothing to weigh the price against. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree to download with lists, tasks, routines, the timer, the diary, reminders and the friend feed, with ads. That looks like plenty. But neither store listing says where the free version stops, so we can't promise you'd never hit a wall. | BFree to download, and the store listings say there are free features alongside the premium version. But they don't say which features need a membership, so we can't promise you'd stay free. There's a free trial of premium too, with no length stated. |
| Features | BColour-coded lists that carry over to a calendar, routines on a weekly, monthly or custom cycle, a timer that saves the time spent to each task, and a daily diary. Friends can react to what you finish. Solid, and a bit different. It's built around daily lists and routines, though, not projects. | BTasks as water balls, with one picked as the ball of the day. A calendar you drag tasks onto, reminders you can snooze, notes and a five-minute Daily Review. Chests and islands are the reward. Solid basics with a game on top. But both store listings show the last update as November 2025. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 1,500 App Store ratings. A lock screen widget lists your to-dos and marks one done with a tap, so you don't even need to open the app. | B4.5 from about 1,200 App Store ratings, which is a B on our scale. The whole list sits on one screen as water balls, and finishing a task means popping one. |
| Platforms and integrations | BiPhone, Android, a Mac app and a web app, plus Apple Watch and Wear OS. That covers a lot. But no integrations are on record, and the listings mention PC use without naming a Windows download. | CiPhone and Android phones, and that's it. The App Store marks it as only for iPhone, the site links to no web or desktop app, and no integrations are on record. |
| Best for | daily to-dos and routines with friends cheering | a to-do list that plays like a game |
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: todo mate and WaterDo. How we grade
Where they differ
- todo mate starts at $1.99 per month, or $7.49 per year (US App Store). WaterDo starts at $0.99 per month, $9.99 per year or $14.99 lifetime (US App Store).
- Only todo mate lists a web app.
- Only todo mate lists a macOS app.
- WaterDo can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- todo mate also covers daily notes, time tracking and habit tracking.
- WaterDo also covers notes.
At a glance
| todo mate | WaterDo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $1.99 per month, or $7.49 per year (US App Store) | $0.99 per month, $9.99 per year or $14.99 lifetime (US App Store) |
| Free plan | Free to download with lists, tasks, routines, the timer, the diary and reminders. Both store listings flag advertising in the app, and neither states a limit on the free version. | Free to download. The store listings say the app offers free features alongside a premium version, but do not state which features need a membership. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial of the premium version; the store listings do not state its length |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | todo mate | Seekrtech Co., Ltd. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
todo mate
- People who want tasks, routines and a diary in one app
- Friends who want to see and cheer each other's finished tasks
- Recording how long each task takes with a built-in timer
- Using one list across a phone, a watch, a Mac and a browser
WaterDo
- People who are motivated by game-style rewards for finishing tasks
- Users of Forest who want a to-do list from the same team
- Phone-first planning with a calendar and reminders
- Buyers who prefer a one-time lifetime purchase to a subscription
Worth knowing
todo mate
- The free app carries ads: Google Play marks it as containing ads and the App Store lists advertising among its contents.
- The vendor has no pricing page, and the store listings do not say what the premium plan adds. Prices here are from the US App Store.
- The listings mention PC use but name no Windows download; the vendor's site is the web app itself, and the Mac app is a separate listing.
- The App Store flags messaging, chat and user-generated content, which come with the social feed.
WaterDo
- Neither the store listings nor the vendor's site say which features need a membership. Prices here are from the US App Store.
- Phones only: the App Store marks it as only for iPhone, and the site links to the App Store, Google Play and Coolapk with no web or desktop app.
- Both store listings show the most recent update in November 2025, version 3.9.5.
- The free trial of the premium version is mentioned without a stated length.
Key features
todo mate
- Color-coded lists on a calendar
- Tasks are added to lists, and tasks can be color-coded so that the colors carry over to the app's calendar.
- Routines
- Recurring activities are kept as routines rather than one-off tasks, repeating weekly, monthly or on a cycle the user defines.
- Task timer
- A timer runs while a task is being worked on and the time spent is saved to that task. The feed's analytics page shows the accumulated timer duration.
- Diary
- A short diary entry can be written for each day, marked with an emoji for how the day felt. Stickers can be added to entries.
- Friends, likes and crews
- Users follow each other and react to completed tasks and diary entries with stickers. The release notes also describe crews with their own chat rooms.
- Widgets and watch apps
- A lock screen widget lists to-dos and marks them complete with a tap. The iOS app includes an Apple Watch app and complications, and the Android app supports Wear OS.
WaterDo
- Tasks as water balls
- Every to-do is drawn as a water ball on the main screen, so the whole list is visible at once, and a ball is popped when its task is completed.
- Quick add and calendar scheduling
- Tasks are added quickly and then dragged onto dates in a calendar to schedule them.
- Water ball of the day
- One task can be marked as the water ball of the day to single out the most important thing to finish.
- Daily Review
- A review of about five minutes a day walks through the list so that the status of every task is brought up to date.
- Reminders, snooze and notes
- Tasks can carry reminders that can be snoozed, and notes can be added at any time. On iOS 16 and later a widget can sit on the lock screen.
- Treasure chests and islands
- Completing tasks unlocks treasure chests, and there are themed islands to explore and develop. A picture of an island can be shared with friends.
Plans
todo mate
Free$0
Lists, tasks, routines, the task timer, the diary, reminders and the friend feed, with ads shown in the app.
Monthly premium plan$1.99
per month, US App Store in-app purchase
The premium subscription billed monthly. The store listings name the plan but do not say what it adds to the free app.
Yearly premium plan$7.49
per year, US App Store in-app purchase
The same premium subscription billed once a year.
100 to 900 (numbered items)$0.99 to $8.99
per item on the US App Store; what each buys is not described
Eight purchases named only by a number from 100 to 900. Google Play's US listing shows the same range of $0.99 to $8.99 per item.
WaterDo
Free$0
The free features of the iPhone and Android apps. The listings do not itemize what is held back for members.
WaterDo Monthly Membership$0.99
per month, US App Store in-app purchase
The premium version billed monthly. Neither store listing nor the vendor's site lists what the membership adds.
WaterDo Annual Membership$9.99
per year, US App Store in-app purchase
The same membership billed once a year.
WaterDo Lifetime Membership$14.99
one-time purchase, US App Store
A single payment for the membership with no renewal. Google Play's US listing shows in-app items from $0.99 to $14.99.
Ways to pay less
todo mate
- Annual discount
Yearly premium costs about 69% less than monthly
The US App Store lists the premium plan at $1.99 monthly and $7.49 yearly. Twelve monthly payments come to $23.88, so the yearly plan works out about 69% cheaper.
WaterDo
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Membership for $14.99
The US App Store lists a WaterDo Lifetime Membership at $14.99, a one-time purchase that costs about as much as 18 months of the annual plan.
- Annual discount
Annual membership is about 16% cheaper
The US App Store lists the membership at $0.99 monthly and $9.99 annually. Twelve monthly payments come to $11.88, so the annual plan costs about 16% less.
