A Free Todoist Alternative Without the 5-Project Limit
7 min read
Todoist's free plan gives you five active projects. That is a strange number to run into, because it does not feel like a limit until suddenly it is one: work, personal, house, that side project, the trip you are planning — and the sixth thing you want to track has nowhere to go.
There are two honest responses to hitting that wall, and most articles only give you one of them. The first is to pay, which is often correct. The second is to notice that the cap was a symptom, not the problem.
What the free plan actually caps
Todoist free plan
Limit
Active personal projects
5
Filter views
3
Collaborators per project
5
Tasks
Unlimited
Worth knowing before you upgrade: completed and archived projects do not count toward the five. A good number of people who hit the cap are not power users at all — they simply have four dead projects they never archived. Clear those out and the wall disappears.
If you archive three stale projects and the problem goes away, the problem was never the plan. If you archive them and still want more, Pro is genuinely worth $5.
The question worth asking instead
Here is the more uncomfortable diagnostic. Open Todoist right now and look at your overdue count.
If it is large, more projects will not help. A task manager that you have to remember to open has a structural flaw that no amount of features fixes: the list is behind a door, and the moment you are busy enough to need it is the moment you stop opening doors. People in this position usually respond by reorganising — new projects, new labels, a fresh system — which feels productive and changes nothing.
If your overdue count is small and you genuinely run five parallel projects, ignore all of this and buy Pro. You are the user it was built for.
Why hidden lists get abandoned
Peter Gollwitzer's research on implementation intentions found that people who tied an action to a specific recurring cue followed through far more often than people who simply intended to act. The cue does the work, not the resolve.
A to-do app has no cue. It sits behind an icon and waits to be remembered, which is precisely the thing a busy brain will not do. This is why the same person can abandon four excellent task managers in a row and conclude they are bad at productivity.
The honest rundown
Microsoft To DoThe best fully free task manager
Completely free with no paid tier: unlimited lists, steps within tasks, due dates, reminders, recurring tasks, shared lists, and native apps on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. It integrates with Outlook tasks, which is a large advantage inside a Microsoft workplace. Less polished than Todoist and its natural-language parsing is weaker, but on pure value for zero pounds it is the strongest entry here.
Best for: Anyone who wants unlimited lists, real apps on every platform, and no upsell ever
TickTickMore generous free tier, extras built in
The closest competitor to Todoist in feel and quality, with a free plan that goes further, plus a built-in Pomodoro timer and habit tracker that Todoist does not have. Its own limits apply — the calendar view and some advanced features are paid — but if you liked Todoist and simply want more headroom without paying, this is the natural first stop.
Best for: People who want a Todoist-class app plus a Pomodoro timer and habit tracking
Google TasksFree, minimal, already in your account
Free, unlimited lists, and already sitting in the sidebar of Gmail and Google Calendar, which gives it a real cue advantage over most apps. It is deliberately bare: no labels, no priorities worth the name, thin mobile experience. Fine as a list, not a system.
Best for: Gmail and Google Calendar users who want the simplest possible list
Slaet ✦Unlimited lists, on the tab you already open
Slaet takes the other approach: instead of a better app to remember, the list lives on your browser's new tab, so it is in front of you dozens of times a day without a single deliberate action. Unlimited lists and tasks, notes attached to the task they belong to, reminders you set by typing “call the bank tomorrow at 3pm”, priority flags, and shared lists with live collaboration. Free with no paid tier, works offline with no account. It is not as deep as Todoist — no recurring tasks, no labels or saved filters, no mobile app — and if you need those, Todoist Pro is the better purchase.
Best for: People whose real problem is forgetting to open the app, not running out of projects
Side by side
Tool
Unlimited lists free
Notes on tasks
Always visible
Offline
No paid tier
Todoist free
5 projects
Comments
✕
✓
✕
Microsoft To Do
✓
Notes field
✕
✓
✓
TickTick
✓
✓
✕
✓
✕
Google Tasks
✓
Details field
In Gmail
✕
✓
Slaet
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
“Always visible” is the column that decides this for most people, and it is the one no feature comparison usually includes.
The short version
Archive your dead projects first. Free and instant, and it resolves the problem for a surprising share of people who think they need to upgrade.
Genuinely running five parallel projects: pay for Todoist Pro and stop reading comparison articles. It is a good tool and $5 is a fair price.
Frequently asked questions
What are the limits on Todoist's free plan?
Todoist's free plan allows 5 active personal projects, 3 filter views, and 5 collaborators per project. Completed and archived projects do not count toward the 5, so the cap is on how many you can have running at once. Todoist Pro starts at around $5 a month at the time of writing and raises those limits substantially, adding more projects, filters, reminders on tasks, and longer activity history.
What is the best free Todoist alternative with unlimited lists?
Microsoft To Do is the most complete genuinely free option — unlimited lists, real mobile and desktop apps, shared lists, and no paid tier at all. TickTick has a more generous free plan than Todoist and adds a built-in Pomodoro timer and habit tracking, though its calendar view is paid. Slaet is free with no paid tier and puts unlimited lists on your browser's new tab, which is the difference that matters if your real problem is forgetting to open the app rather than running out of projects.
Is Todoist worth paying for?
For a lot of people, yes. Todoist's natural-language parsing, recurring tasks, labels and filters, karma system, mobile and desktop apps, and integrations with calendars and dozens of other tools are genuinely best in class, and $5 a month is not much for something you open every day. It is worth paying for if you actively use projects, filters, and recurring tasks. It is not worth paying for if you hit the 5-project cap simply because you never archive anything.
Does Slaet do everything Todoist does?
No. Todoist is a more capable task manager and it is fair to say so: Slaet has no recurring tasks, no labels or saved filters, no native mobile app, and no third-party integrations. What Slaet does instead is remove the step where you have to remember to open your task list, by putting tasks, notes, and reminders on the new tab you already open dozens of times a day — and it is free with no paid tier.
Slaet is a free Chrome extension and web app
Unlimited lists, notes, and reminders on your new tab — free, no project cap.