- [ ] water the plants 🔁 every week 📅 2026-10-24
An Any.do alternative that keeps your list in files you own
Any.do keeps your tasks in its account and sells Premium by the month or the year. TaskForge keeps them as lines in markdown files on your device, with no account, and Premium can be bought once. Know the limits first: there are no shared or family lists, no WhatsApp or location reminders and no AI assistant, and every notification, reminders included, needs Premium. Nothing imports from Any.do, and the free trial exists only on the App Store and Google Play.
- No account, tasks in markdown files
- Recurring tasks are free
- Reminders and all notifications are Premium
What Any.do is, as of October 2026
Any.do is account-based: you sign up with an email, Google, Facebook or Apple, and your tasks sync through that account to its apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, the web, browser extensions, Apple Watch and Wear OS.
The free Personal plan has tasks, lists, reminders and the calendar. Premium adds recurring tasks, WhatsApp reminders, location reminders, AI features, color tags and themes, billed monthly or yearly. Family adds a shared space for up to four people, and Teams adds shared boards. Its pricing page lists no one-time purchase.
Checked against Any.do's own pages in October 2026:
One task is one line of text
The line at the top of this page is a whole task. 🔁 every week is the repeat rule and 📅 2026-10-24 the due date. When you tick it off, TaskForge marks the line done and writes the next one, a week later. That works on the free plan.
The line sits in a .md file in a folder you pick. Any text editor opens it, and so does Obsidian. If you stop using TaskForge, the list is still there, readable, with nothing to export.
Any.do and TaskForge, side by side
The Any.do column is as of October 2026, from the Any.do pages linked above.
| Feature | Any.do | TaskForge |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Required | None |
| Where tasks live | In your Any.do account | Markdown files in a folder you choose |
| Paying | Monthly or yearly | Monthly, yearly or a one-time lifetime purchase |
| Recurring tasks | Premium | Free |
| Reminders | Free, with WhatsApp and location reminders on Premium | Premium, at a date and time only |
| Shared lists | Family and Teams plans | No |
| Web app | Yes | No. Apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows |
What is free and what needs Premium
Free: the task list in every format, adding, editing and completing tasks, recurring tasks, quick add, the built-in spaces including a Kanban board, viewing your calendar events, and the Daily note widget.
Premium: reminders and every other notification, the Spaces and calendar widgets, your own spaces, creating and editing calendar events, manual drag order, and bulk edits.
Premium is a monthly or yearly subscription, or one lifetime purchase, priced by country. One App Store purchase covers iPhone, iPad and the Mac App Store version. Google Play and Windows are separate purchases, because a purchase stays in the store you made it in. The App Store and Google Play offer a free trial, once per customer; Windows and the direct Mac download have none.
When Any.do fits better
Any.do does several things TaskForge does not. If one of these is the reason you use it, stay.
A list you share
Any.do's Family plan gives up to four people a shared grocery list and shared projects. TaskForge has no shared lists at all.
Reminders on WhatsApp or at a place
Any.do Premium can remind you on WhatsApp or when you reach a place. TaskForge reminders are app notifications at a date and time, and they need Premium.
A free reminder that rings
Any.do's free plan includes reminders. TaskForge's free plan sends no notifications of any kind.
A browser tab or a watch
Any.do runs on the web, in browser extensions, and on Apple Watch and Wear OS. TaskForge has no web app and no watch app.
Moving your list over
TaskForge cannot read or import Any.do. Any.do's mobile app can export a list as text, which you paste into a markdown file and turn into one - [ ] line per task. Dates and repeat rules can go on the line, as below, or be added in the app.
Nothing in TaskForge touches your Any.do account, so you can keep both while you decide.
A heading per list in one file works, and so does one file per list.
Where it runs
- iPhone and iPad from the App Store, iOS 15.6 or later.
- Mac from the Mac App Store or as a direct download, macOS 13 or later.
- Android from Google Play, Android 11 or later.
- Windows as a signed installer from this site, Windows 10 version 1809 or later, x64 and ARM64. No widgets, and no calendar events yet.
TaskForge has no account and no sync server, so a sync app you choose moves the folder between devices. iCloud Drive works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. On Android and Windows, use Syncthing, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. Use one service per folder, because two services fighting over the same files can corrupt them.
Questions about switching from Any.do
Is there a free Any.do alternative?
TaskForge is free to download and its list is free, including recurring tasks, which Any.do puts in Premium. What you lose for free is notifications: TaskForge sends no reminders without Premium.
Can I buy TaskForge once instead of subscribing?
Yes. Premium comes as a monthly or yearly subscription or as one lifetime purchase. Any.do's pricing page shows monthly and yearly billing only.
Can I import my Any.do tasks?
No. There is no importer. Export a list as text from Any.do's mobile app, paste it into a markdown file, and put - [ ] in front of each task.
Can I share a list with my family?
No. TaskForge has no shared lists, family plan or comments.
Do I need an account?
No. TaskForge has no sign-up. Your tasks are files in a folder, and your own sync app moves that folder between devices.
Does TaskForge remind me on WhatsApp?
No. Reminders arrive as notifications from the TaskForge app, at the due time or a set time before it, and they need Premium.
Do I need Obsidian?
No. TaskForge works on any folder of markdown files, or makes a new one with a few sample tasks. If you already keep an Obsidian vault, it opens that too.
Keep your list in files you own
Free to download. Start with a few sample tasks, or open a folder you already have.