Todoist Review for SMBs

productivity tool · Free / $4-$6/user/mo

Todoist is a task-management tool built around AI-powered task breakdown, positioned as a lightweight alternative to project-management platforms for solo professionals and small teams. You get a free tier, paid plans start at $4/month per user, and the differentiation is in its focus on individual productivity rather than team collaboration infrastructure. The question isn't whether Todoist works—it does—but whether its strengths justify the cost when you could use Trello or Notion for less.

What it does

Todoist manages to-do lists, projects, and recurring tasks with a primary hook: AI that breaks down large tasks into subtasks automatically. You create a task, the AI suggests a breakdown, and you accept or edit it. It syncs across devices, integrates with common tools like Slack and Gmail, and offers views like calendar, board, and list. The app is fast and the UI is cleaner than some competitors. It doesn't include team messaging, time tracking, document storage, or resource planning—it's purely task-focused.

Who it's for

✓ Ideal user

Solo professionals, freelancers, and owners of teams under 8 people who need task breakdown help and want a mobile-first, distraction-free tool. If you're managing your own workload or lightly coordinating with a small group, Todoist's AI and speed are meaningful.

✗ Not for

Teams over 10 people, projects requiring shared documents or workload visualization, or organizations that already use Asana, Monday, or ClickUp. If you need visibility into what everyone is working on across timelines, Todoist's lack of resource planning and team views is a hard miss.

Typical team size

1–8 people (solo to small team)

Typical industries

Freelance services (copywriting, design, consulting)SaaS and software startupsReal estate and small agency operationsCoaching and personal services

Pros

✓ AI task breakdown actually saves time: instead of spending 10 minutes breaking down 'rebuild website' into steps, the AI suggests subtasks you can refine in 30 seconds. For knowledge workers juggling multiple projects, this is the real differentiator.

✓ Genuinely fast and lightweight—no unnecessary features or slow dashboards. Opening Todoist and adding a task takes 3 clicks; doing the same in Asana or Monday takes twice as long.

✓ Free tier is functional for solo users: you get unlimited projects and tasks, just lose automation, advanced recurring patterns, and priority levels. That's a real free product, not a crippled demo.

✓ Mobile app is excellent and keeps pace with desktop. If you capture tasks on your phone more than your laptop, Todoist's mobile experience beats most competitors including ClickUp and Asana.

Cons

✗ No team visibility dashboard—you cannot see at a glance what your team is working on, when tasks are due, or who is overloaded. If you have more than 3 people, you lose oversight.

✗ AI task breakdown is useful but inconsistent: sometimes it nails the breakdown; other times the suggestions are generic or miss your actual workflow. It's not a substitute for thinking through your process.

✗ Lacks native time tracking, workload balancing, and timeline/Gantt views. If you need to say 'we have 40 hours of capacity this week and these tasks take 60,' Todoist cannot help you. You'll hire another tool or use a spreadsheet.

Pricing breakdown

Free tier unlimited; Pro at $4/user/month (billed annually)

Todoist uses a per-user, per-month model with one free tier and two paid tiers. The free tier is genuinely useful for solo users; Pro ($4/month per seat) adds automation and AI features; Business ($6/month per seat) adds team admin controls. Pricing is transparent with no surprise seat minimums.

Where it gets expensive

Cost scales linearly with team size. A 5-person team on Pro costs $240/year; a 10-person team is $480/year. If you add multiple teams or projects across departments, you need multiple seat subscriptions, making it expensive relative to flat-rate tools like Monday or ClickUp.

Free tier

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Alternatives worth considering

ClickUp
project mgmt
Work-management app that combines tasks, docs, and lightweight project views in one workspace.
ClickUp is more expensive ($5–$9/user/month) but includes team dashboards, time tracking, and Gantt charts in every paid tier. If your team needs visibility into workload and timelines, ClickUp scales better than Todoist for 5–15 people.
Notion
project mgmt
Note and wiki workspace used for ops playbooks, light knowledge bases, and team task tracking.
Notion costs $8–$10/month per seat and doubles as a document store, database, and wiki alongside task management. If your team needs to centralize tasks, processes, and knowledge in one place, Notion is more flexible than Todoist's single-purpose focus.
Asana
project mgmt
Task tracker with timelines and portfolios suited to teams juggling many projects.
Asana starts at $10.99/user/month but excels at project timelines, dependencies, and team communication. For teams coordinating across multiple projects, Asana's structure and visibility beat Todoist's lightweight approach.

Verdict

Todoist is a legitimate productivity tool with a clear strength: AI task breakdown and speed. For solo professionals and very small teams (under 5 people), it delivers value that justifies the $4/month cost. For teams larger than 8 or projects requiring team visibility, it's underpowered and becomes a cost drag when you add a second tool for dashboards or planning.

Worth it when

You work alone or with 1–3 others and struggle with task paralysis or breaking down big projects. The AI and mobile experience combine to save you 5–10 hours per month in setup and capture friction.

Skip when

Your team is over 8 people, you need to see who is working on what across projects, or you already pay for ClickUp, Asana, or Monday. Todoist adds cost without solving the visibility problem that grows with team size.

FAQ

Does Todoist work for managing client projects?▼

Yes, if you're the only one managing the projects. You can create a project per client, set up recurring tasks, and use automation to flag overdue items. If your clients or team members need to see progress or mark tasks complete themselves, Todoist's sharing and team features are too bare—use ClickUp or Asana instead.

Can I use Todoist with my existing tools like Slack or email?▼

Yes. Todoist integrates with Slack for reminders and task creation, Gmail for email-to-task capture, and Zapier for connecting to hundreds of other apps. These integrations work well, though they're available on most competitors too, so it's not a differentiator.

Is the AI task breakdown worth paying for, or can I do it myself?▼

It saves time on routine breakdowns—if you're splitting 'Q4 marketing plan' into 15 subtasks, the AI suggests 80% of what you need and you edit. For one-off or highly specialized projects, manual breakdown is just as fast. The real value is capturing tasks faster on your phone without losing context.

How does Todoist compare to using a shared spreadsheet or Trello?▼

Trello is $5–$12/month per user and offers kanban boards that some teams prefer for visibility; Todoist is faster and lighter but has no board view by default. A spreadsheet is free but requires manual updates and gives you no mobile app or automation. For solo work or very small teams, Todoist's speed and AI justify the $4/month; for anything larger, Trello's visual layout or ClickUp's features are worth the extra cost.

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