Organisation apps fail for one boring reason: people install three of them and use none. The price is rarely the problem, because the good ones have free plans. The limits are.
So this guide covers seven free organisation apps (called “organization apps” in the US), sorts them by the job they do, and tells you what each free plan stops you doing. We read the official pages on 18 October 2026.
Quick answer: For tasks, Microsoft To Do is free and has a daily “My Day” list, and Todoist’s free plan allows 5 personal projects. For notes, try Notion’s free plan, or Apple Notes if you use Apple devices. For boards, Trello is free for up to 10 boards per workspace. Pick one task app and one notes app, not seven.
Which kind of app do you need?
| Your problem | Type of app | Examples here |
|---|---|---|
| “I keep forgetting things” | Task list | Microsoft To Do, Todoist, Any.do |
| “My notes are everywhere” | Notes | Notion, Apple Notes, Evernote |
| “I’m juggling a project with stages” | Board | Trello |
The free plans compared
| App | What the free plan gives you | Where it stops | Paid price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft To Do | Free on web, iOS, Android and Windows | No paid To Do tier mentioned | n/a |
| Todoist | 5 personal projects, 3 filter views | No calendar or board layout; 1 week of activity history | Pro adds 300 projects; price not shown on the text we read |
| Any.do | Tasks, lists, reminders, calendar and daily planner | Page lists no other caps | Premium $4.99 per month billed yearly ($7.99 monthly) |
| Notion | Unlimited blocks for individuals, 7 days of page history, 10 guests | Block count is limited for teams of 2+ | Plus $10 per member per month; billing period not stated |
| Apple Notes | Notes, checklists, tables, folders, tags, shared notes | Apple devices | Apple’s guide mentions no price |
| Evernote | 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 device | Those limits | Prices not shown on the page we read |
| Trello | Up to 10 boards and 10 collaborators per workspace | Those limits | Standard $5 per user per month billed yearly ($6 monthly) |
Task apps
Microsoft To Do. Microsoft says you can use it for free and sync your lists across the web, iOS, Android and Windows. Its main features are My Day, a daily planner that suggests items for your list, plus lists, steps to break tasks down, reminders and sharing. It also integrates with Outlook tasks. If you want one simple free list, start here.
Todoist. The free Beginner plan allows 5 personal projects and 3 filter views, with 1 week of activity history and 5 MB file uploads. The five-project cap is the one to watch. If you run more areas of life and work than that, you’ll hit it. Pro raises it to 300 projects.
Any.do. Its pricing page says free forever, including tasks and lists, reminders, a calendar, a daily planner and sync across devices. It also offers unlimited tasks, subtasks and grocery lists. Premium is $4.99 a month billed annually or $7.99 monthly.
Notes apps
Notion. The free plan has unlimited blocks for individuals, 7 days of page history and 10 external guests. It’s flexible, which is also its risk: you can spend a weekend building the perfect system instead of using it.
Apple Notes. Apple’s guide lists checklists, tables, folders, tags, smart folders, shared notes, scanned documents and audio recording with live transcripts. It covers Mac, iPhone and iPad. The guide doesn’t mention a price.
Evernote. Its free plan is the tightest here: 50 notes, 1 notebook and sync across 1 device. That’s fine for a trial, and not enough for a real note archive.
Boards
Trello. Free covers up to 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace. Standard is $5 per user a month billed annually, or $6 if billed monthly. It suits visual, stage-by-stage work like a content pipeline. For heavier use, see our guide to tools for managing multiple projects.
How to choose
- Start with the job. Tasks, notes or a board. One app per job.
- Check the free limit that matters to you. Todoist’s 5 projects, Evernote’s 50 notes and Trello’s 10 boards are the limits that bite first.
- Consider your devices. Apple Notes is only for Apple devices. Microsoft To Do covers web, iOS, Android and Windows.
- Give it a month. Move everything into one app and use it daily. If you keep going back to paper, the app is wrong or the system is too complicated.
Set it up in 20 minutes
These steps are our suggestions, not research findings.
- Capture. Dump every open task into one list.
- Sort. Mark what must happen this week.
- Schedule. Put the top few into your calendar. Our guide to calendar apps for time blocking can help.
- Review weekly. Five minutes to clear done items and pick next week’s.
If you track hours as well, see best time tracking apps. For a wider view, read our time management tools guide and how to use task management apps.
What we left out
We couldn’t read the official pages for Google Keep (sign-in required), Google Tasks and TickTick (blocked to our fetcher), so they aren’t listed. Our earlier list also included Clockify, which now sits in our time tracking guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free organisation app? It depends on the job. Microsoft To Do is free for tasks, and Notion’s free plan covers notes for individuals.
What is the best 100% free organisation app? Microsoft’s page describes To Do as free, with no paid To Do tier mentioned. Apple’s guide for Notes mentions no price.
What is the difference between a task app and an organisation app? A task app manages to-dos. “Organisation app” is a broader label that can include notes, boards and calendars. We sort them by job in this guide.
Do I need more than one app? Usually two is enough: one for tasks and one for notes.
Are free plans good enough? For most people, yes. The limits that bite are listed above.
Updated 18 October 2026: this guide replaces our older post on free productivity apps. We cut the list from 12 apps to seven, checked every free-plan limit and price on official pages, and removed apps we couldn’t verify.
Sources
- Microsoft To Do
- Todoist pricing
- Any.do pricing
- Notion pricing
- Apple Notes user guide
- Evernote plans
- Trello pricing