Free and simple, but no motivation to keep going
Microsoft To Do is free, syncs everywhere there's a Microsoft account, and integrates beautifully with Outlook flagged emails and Microsoft 365. It's also intentionally minimal — no projects, no gamification, no AI of its own. LemTask is a richer, faster app with motivation built in. Use Microsoft To Do if you live in Outlook. Use LemTask if you want more than a list.
Gamified task management with voice input, AI suggestions, and fun productivity features.
Microsoft 365 users wanting a free, simple task list
| Detail | 🍋 LemTask | Microsoft To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free, Pro $14.99/mo | 100% free |
| Free tier limits | 10 active tasks, full AI + voice + gamification | Unlimited tasks, lists, reminders |
| Supported platforms | Web, iOS, Android, PWA, Chrome extension | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Integrations | Google Calendar, Slack, Chrome, webhooks | Outlook, Microsoft 365, Teams, Planner |
| Languages | 9 (per-user) | 30+ (system locale) |
| Founded | 2024 | 2017 (replaced Wunderlist) |
| Best for | Gamified, AI-powered productivity outside Microsoft | Free task tracking inside Outlook + Microsoft 365 |
| Feature | 🍋 LemTask | Microsoft To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Per-User Language (9 languages) | Workspace-wide only | |
| Microsoft 365 Integration | Planned | |
| My Day (Today View) | Today View | |
| Suggested Tasks (Intelligent) | ||
| Outlook Tasks Sync | ||
| Teams Integration | ||
| Gamification & XP | ||
| Habit Tracking | ||
| Voice Brain Dump (AI) | ||
| Focus Timer (Pomodoro) | ||
| AI Suggestions | ||
| Sketch / Whiteboard in Notes | tldraw block | |
| PDF Embed in Notes | Inline (25 MB) | |
| Image OCR (extract text) | 1-click | |
| Voice Note with Live Waveform |
We loved Wunderlist. Like, really loved it. And then Microsoft bought it, killed it, and gave us Microsoft To Do — which is the productivity app equivalent of replacing a sports car with a reliable sedan. Sure, it works. It's free. It integrates with Outlook. But where's the joy? Where's the personality? Microsoft To Do is what happens when a committee designs a task app: nothing offends, nothing delights, nothing motivates. LemTask is what Wunderlist would have become if it had been allowed to evolve. It has the charm, the personality, and the 'I actually want to open this app' factor that Microsoft stripped out. Plus gamification, habit tracking, voice brain dump, and AI coaching in 7 personality modes. Microsoft To Do says 'task completed.' LemTask says 'BOOM! +25 XP! You're now a Level 12 Productivity Ninja!' Same result, wildly different energy.
We built LemTask, so we'd love to say it wins everywhere. It doesn't. Here's where Microsoft To Do is the better pick — honestly.
100% free with no premium tier — there's nothing to upsell.
Outlook flagged email → To Do task is the best email-to-task pipeline in the category.
Tight Microsoft 365 + Teams + Planner integration if your org runs on Microsoft.
My Day is a clean, gentle daily review prompt that many users love.
XP, levels, and achievements make tasks fun
Speak ideas — AI parses them into organized tasks
Track habits alongside tasks in one app
Smart suggestions, personalities, and task optimization
"Microsoft To Do was fine, but I never wanted to open it. LemTask's XP system makes me actually look forward to my tasks."
— Brian H., Software Developer
Switched from Microsoft To Do
Spin the wheel and see who wins each feature matchup!
A quick, no-data-loss migration in a few steps.
Microsoft To Do has no native export. Use the unofficial 'Export Microsoft To Do' tools on GitHub, or copy lists into Excel manually.
Save your list as CSV with Title, Notes, Due Date and Importance columns. Use Settings → Import → Generic CSV in LemTask.
In LemTask, use the email-to-task feature: forward any email to your private LemTask address and it becomes a task with the email body in the description.
My Day in Microsoft To Do is voluntary. LemTask's Focus Task system limits you to 3 priorities per day and tracks a streak — a stronger forcing function.
Sourced from public reviews — not curated by us.
"I miss Wunderlist every day. Microsoft To Do is fine but it's never been as joyful."
"It's free, it works with Outlook, it's enough. I'm not asking for more."
"If you don't use Outlook, there's almost no reason to pick this over a richer app."
Switch if you want gamification, voice brain dump, AI task parsing, habit tracking, a Pomodoro timer or journaling — Microsoft To Do has none of these by design. Stay on Microsoft To Do if you live in Outlook, depend on flagged email becoming a task, or work at a company standardised on Microsoft 365. The integration story with Outlook and Teams is hard to beat if you're already in that ecosystem.
Yes, with effort. Microsoft To Do has no native export, so the practical paths are: use one of the unofficial 'Export Microsoft To Do' tools on GitHub, copy lists into Excel manually, or use the Microsoft Graph API if you're technical. Save the result as CSV with Title, Notes, Due Date and Importance columns, then use LemTask's Settings → Import → Generic CSV.
Partially. LemTask supports email-to-task — forward any email (from Outlook or any other client) to your private LemTask address and it becomes a task with the email body in the description. We don't yet have a native Outlook flagged-email pipeline like Microsoft To Do does, which is the gold standard if Outlook is your inbox. Native Outlook is on the roadmap for 2026.
It has a free tier but isn't 100% free. Microsoft To Do is completely free with no premium tier — there's nothing to upsell. LemTask Free includes 10 active tasks, AI, voice brain dump, gamification and habit tracking. LemTask Pro is $14.99/month for unlimited tasks and advanced features. If 'never pay anything ever' is a hard requirement, Microsoft To Do is the safer pick.
Not as a native Teams app yet — Microsoft To Do has a built-in Teams tab and surface that LemTask cannot match in the Microsoft ecosystem. LemTask integrates with Slack natively (status sync, notifications, capture), and we support webhooks for custom Teams hooks. If your collaboration runs entirely on Teams, Microsoft To Do plus Planner is still the path of least resistance.
If you're still missing Wunderlist's joy — yes, that's a common reason people pick LemTask. Microsoft To Do is the official Wunderlist replacement but many former users describe it as functional rather than delightful. LemTask brings back collaborative lists, real-time sync, generous capture tools and adds gamification on top. The vibe is closer to early Wunderlist than to Microsoft's polished-but-quiet replacement.
We have something stronger: the Focus Task system. My Day is a voluntary daily review where you drag in whatever feels important. LemTask's Focus Tasks force you to pick exactly 3 priorities per day, tracks a daily streak, and celebrates milestones. The behavioural design is intentionally tighter — research suggests 3 daily priorities outperforms an open list for actually finishing work.
Both support time-based reminders, recurring reminders and notification on multiple devices. LemTask adds smart escalation (overdue alerts get more urgent if ignored), morning briefing emails summarising the day, weekly reports, and humorous safety-net nudges if you have an overdue Focus Task. Microsoft To Do's reminders are quieter and tied tightly to your Microsoft account — both work; the personality is different.
Join thousands who've made the switch to LemTask
Start Free TrialWe use both LemTask and the competing app daily across personal and team workflows. Pricing is taken directly from each vendor's public pricing page on the date listed below. Feature parity is checked by attempting the same job-to-be-done in both apps (capture, plan, execute, review). When a feature exists but is gated behind a higher tier, we say so explicitly. We also re-read the most recent G2, Reddit and Product Hunt threads about the competitor before publishing.