Microsoft To-Do and Any.Do: Which Task List App Makes It Better?

The sheer number of to-do list app options available in the App Store and Play Store can confuse you. That said, Microsoft To-Do has quickly made a name for itself. I believe getting Wunderlist should help to some extent. Any.do is another to-do app that is occupying a higher position on popularity charts despite increasing competition. So we will compare these two and understand their pros and cons in a better light.

While the core functionality of any to-do app is obvious, there’s a lot going on under the hood that can go wrong. We will try to bring out aspects that are rarely talked about.

Let’s start.

1. User Interface

Both Any.do and Microsoft To-Do apps carry a sleek and beautiful interface. Microsoft To-Do comes without a footer or sidebar. Just a bunch of smart lists are the lists and groups you create at the top and bottom. You will need to tap your profile picture to access Settings.

There’s the familiar ‘+’ icon at the bottom left to create a new list. To its right is a box icon for adding a list. Enter a list to find more options about what you can do with it and the tasks it contains. Like to-do lists, you have to scroll back and forth to switch between lists.

Any.do follows a grid layout with a bottom bar where you can access Tasks, Calendar, and Settings. At the top there is a separate tab to access the tags. Hopefully Microsoft To-Do adds hashtag support soon.

2. Creating Tasks and Lists

Tap the ‘+’ icon in the lower left corner to create a list in the Microsoft To-Do app. You can type a name, but more importantly you can choose a color and a photo. There is no way to upload a new photo yet and the options are limited. Did you notice the smiley icon at the bottom of the new list window? This is to choose an emoji.

You can add tasks within the list and add due dates, reminders and set them to repeat.

Tap the newly created task to further customize it. Marking any task by pressing the star icon will add it to the Important smart list. You can add additional notes and add files at the bottom for further reference. Surprisingly, you cannot add files from cloud storage. No supported OneDrive either.

An interesting option is the ability to add Steps. A secret trick is hashtags (#keyword). Tapping a label inside any task lists all tasks that may belong to another list or group.

Any.do comes with far fewer smart lists than To-Do. There are no Important, Completed, or All lists. Only four time-based lists: Today, Tomorrow, Upcoming, and Someday. All of them are under the All Tasks list. Tap the ‘+’ icon again to create lists and tasks.

The grocery list loads by default and suggests some common household items for you to add. While creating a task, you can add people, hashtags, reminders and assign lists using the bottom bar. Any.do took a thing or two from the GTD system pioneered by David Allen. You can quickly assign the task to smart lists such as Today or Someday.

A great trick is the ability to add location-based reminders. You will never forget to buy something on the way home. I miss this feature in Microsoft’s To-Do app. So you can add notes, subtasks (Microsoft calls it Steps), and share lists with others.

You can also record an audio or video within Any.do and add it directly without opening or using any third-party apps. This saves time for people who like to record voice memos.

There is a special button for adding labels that are quite colorful in nature and indicate importance or progress.

3. Calendar and Application Integrations

Any.do comes with a dedicated calendar tab that will sync with your phone’s default calendar app. I use Google Calendar and everything syncs nicely. Here you can create a Task or Event. A Calendar task is the same as any other Any.do list task. The event is for listing events such as birthdays.

Microsoft has Outlook, a powerful email and calendar management application used by users and companies worldwide. Things to do; It integrates with other Microsoft apps like Outlook, Launcher (Android), Cortana, Planner, and even OneNote. It becomes indispensable if you are using the Office 365 application suite.

Both Any.do and Microsoft To-Do work with Zapier, which allows for multiple app integrations.

4. Platform and Pricing

The Microsoft To-Do app requires a Microsoft account, which most of us have, thanks to Windows and Outlook. The app is available on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and the web. The consumer version of the app is completely free with no ads. A tall order to beat.

Any.do is available on all popular desktop and mobile platforms. For the web, I offer browser extensions/plugins and smartwatch access for Apple Watch and Wear OS. The free version is very limited even with basic features like missing recurring tasks. Pricing starts at $5.99 per month and unlocks features like tags, location-based reminders, color coding, and recurring tasks.

For Those Who Do

Microsoft To-Do seems like a better alternative. It’s free, has better smart lists, offers lots of features, and syncs across devices and apps. The only thing missing are location-based reminders. Any.do offers this followed by some additional features. This calendar integration looks great, but smart lists would be great. Outlook users receive both calendar and email. Still, Any.do is a solid to-do app and offers great value for money for power users. First of all, I suggest you take full advantage of the 7-day free trial.

Next: Click the link below to learn how Todoist has acquired a loyal fan base with enterprise-grade features that compete with Microsoft To-Do.