project management tool · head to head
Taskade vs Todoist
Comparison Summary
Todoist scored 5.5 and Taskade scored 5.3 on our project management tool test script.
Todoist: Todoist is the quickest way we found to type a project in: one paste turned 40 lines into dated, prioritised tasks, repeating tasks are effortless, and the Windows app is light and starts in under two seconds. But it is a task list, not a project tool. The free plan stops at 5 projects and 300 tasks per project, our ordinary CSV was rejected, there is no automation, Gantt or dependencies, the calendar layout and AI are paid, and every free-team invitee becomes an admin.
Taskade: Taskade's free plan does more than you might expect: a pasted Markdown checklist built our phases in one go, repeating tasks and a fast automation worked without paying, and CSV import took seconds. But the Windows app was the heaviest we have tested, froze once, and added itself to startup without asking. Imported dates become plain text, the project's own CSV export dropped every due date, Gantt and dependencies are paid, and the free plan has no AI credits at all.
Editor's Verdict
Choose Todoist if…
Best for: Individuals and very small teams who want a fast, tidy task list with dates and repeats.
- One paste turned 40 lines into tasks with the right dates and priorities
- Natural-language dates and repeats, such as “every monday”
- Light, fast desktop app: window in 1.6 s, under 1 GB of memory
Choose Taskade if…
Best for: Individuals and pairs who want lists, boards and simple automation for free and are happy in the browser.
- A pasted Markdown checklist becomes phase blocks with tasks in one step
- Repeating tasks and a working automation on the free plan
- The automation fired within about a second
Head to Head
Why Todoist wins overall while Taskade leads on more axes: the axes are not weighted equally. Todoist’s 2.0-point lead on Ease of use (7.5 against 5.5, counted 3×) outweighs Taskade’s smaller leads on Views & flexibility, Automation & AI, and Integrations. The weights are the same for every project management tool and published on How we test.
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, Taskade completed 1 and Todoist completed 1.
| Task | Taskade | Todoist |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Partial≈ 15–20 min | Pass≈ 8 min |
| P2 · Views | Partial≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P3 · Rules | Partial≈ 10 min | Partial≈ 5 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Partial≈ 2 min | Fail≈ 5 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass≈ 2 min | Fail≈ 3 min |
| P6 · Permissions | Partial≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 6 min |
| P7 · AI | Fail– | Fail– |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 5 min |
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | Taskade | Todoist |
|---|---|---|
| Installer | 218 MB | 224 MB |
| Admin rights | No | No |
| On disk | 597 MB | 636 MB |
| Starts with Windows | Yes | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 15–20 min | ≈ 8 min |
| Views on the free plan | 3 / 4 | 2 / 4 |
| 200-row import | 200 / 200 | Rejected |
| 500-row import | 500 / 500 | 0 / 500 |
| Cold start | ≈ 15–50 s | 1.6 s |
| Memory | 1.3 – 2.4 GB | 0.8 – 0.9 GB |
| Automation rule | ≈ 1 s | None |
| AI | 0 credits | Paid |
| CSV export | Dates lost | 200 / 200 |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 275 MB | ≈ 214 MB |
Pros and cons
Taskade
+ What works
- A pasted Markdown checklist becomes phase blocks with tasks in one step
- Repeating tasks and a working automation on the free plan
- The automation fired within about a second
- CSV import of 500 rows in about a second, every value kept
- Starter plan from $6 a month for three people
− What falls short
- Added itself to Windows startup without asking, and the entry stays after uninstalling
- Up to 2.4 GB of memory, a slow cold start, and the app froze once until restarted
- The project's CSV export dropped every due date and shuffled the rows
- Imported dates and statuses become plain text, not dates or fields
- Gantt chart and dependencies need a paid plan
- No AI credits on the free plan, and only 10 automation runs a month
Todoist
+ What works
- One paste turned 40 lines into tasks with the right dates and priorities
- Natural-language dates and repeats, such as “every monday”
- Light, fast desktop app: window in 1.6 s, under 1 GB of memory
- Did not add itself to startup or the firewall
- Pro is cheap at $5 a month billed yearly
− What falls short
- The CSV import only accepts Todoist's own template; our spreadsheet was rejected
- Free plan: 5 projects and 300 tasks per project; a 500-row import brought in nothing
- No automation rules, no dependencies and no Gantt or timeline view
- Calendar layout, AI (Task Assist) and backups are paid
- On a free team every invitee becomes an admin; the Member role is paid
- CSV exports use relative dates by default
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
Taskade
Signed installer
Signed by Taskcade Inc. through Microsoft's signing service.
Starts with Windows
Added a startup entry without asking; it remains after uninstalling.
Firewall prompt
First launch asked to accept network connections; declining did not affect the app.
Share link on by default
A workspace link giving editor access is enabled until you turn it off.
Todoist
Signed installer
Signed by Doist Inc. with a DigiCert certificate.
No startup entry or firewall rules
“Launch at startup” is off by default, and no firewall prompt appeared.
Admins by default
On a free team every invitee is an admin, and a team join link is on by default.
Extension permissions
Task Assist asked for access to read and update all tasks, projects, labels and filters.
Features & Pricing
| Taskade | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | ✓ |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $6/mo | $5/mo |
Taskade plans
- Free$0
- Starter$6/mo
- Pro$10/mo
- Business$25/mo
- Max$100/mo
- EnterpriseContact sales
From Taskade's pricing page, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Todoist plans
- Beginner$0
- Pro$5/mo
- Business$8/user/mo
From Todoist's pricing page, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- Taskade:Taskcade Inc. (Taskade)
- Todoist:Doist Inc. (Todoist)
- Headquarters
- Taskade:San Francisco, California, USA
- Todoist:Remote-first company, incorporated in Delaware, USA
- Founded
- Taskade:2017
- Todoist:2007
- Funding
- Taskade:Venture-backed private company; Y Combinator alumnus.
- Todoist:Developed without formal venture funding.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: Taskade · Todoist.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
Taskade reviewSituational 5.3 Taskade's free plan does more than you might expect: a pasted Markdown checklist built our phases in one go, repeating tasks and a fast automation worked without paying, and CSV import took seconds. But the Windows app was the heaviest we have tested, froze once, and added itself to startup without asking. Imported dates become plain text, the project's own CSV export dropped every due date, Gantt and dependencies are paid, and the free plan has no AI credits at all. Read the full review → Todoist reviewSituational 5.5 Todoist is the quickest way we found to type a project in: one paste turned 40 lines into dated, prioritised tasks, repeating tasks are effortless, and the Windows app is light and starts in under two seconds. But it is a task list, not a project tool. The free plan stops at 5 projects and 300 tasks per project, our ordinary CSV was rejected, there is no automation, Gantt or dependencies, the calendar layout and AI are paid, and every free-team invitee becomes an admin. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
ClickUp Recommended Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app 7.4 Read reviewReview 
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
