Quick Picks (TL;DR)
- Asana — best for teams that need visual project tracking without code
- ClickUp — best all-in-one if your team wants everything in one tab
- Notion — best when docs and tasks belong in the same tool
- Linear — best for software teams who hate bloated project tools
- Microsoft To Do — best free option if your team already runs on Microsoft 365
Comparison Table
| Tool | Best For | Free Plan | Starting Price | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asana | Cross-functional task management | Yes (up to 10) | ~$11/user/mo (verify) | Timeline + workload view |
| ClickUp | All-in-one workspace | Yes | ~$7/user/mo (verify) | Infinite customisation |
| Notion | Docs + tasks combined | Yes | ~$10/user/mo (verify) | Database-powered tasks |
| Linear | Software engineering teams | Yes | ~$8/user/mo (verify) | Speed and keyboard shortcuts |
| Microsoft To Do | Microsoft 365 users | Yes | Included in M365 (verify) | Native Office integration |
Why Small Teams Outgrow Todoist
I managed a five-person content and ops team on Todoist for almost a year. It is a beautiful app and the natural language date parsing is still the best I have used. But as the team grew from two people to five, I kept running into the same walls: no workload overview, limited assignee visibility across projects, and an activity log that made it hard to see what had actually happened on a busy day.
Small teams need more than a personal task list that happens to have sharing. They need a shared source of truth. Here is what I switched through.
Asana
Best for: Small teams doing cross-functional work — marketing, ops, client delivery.
When I tested Asana with a three-person team for a product launch, the timeline view sold me inside the first hour. Being able to see who was blocked and adjust due dates by dragging is the kind of thing Todoist simply does not offer. The free tier covers up to ten members, which is more than generous for most small teams.
Honest pros: The board, list, and timeline views all update in real time. Automations — like moving a task when someone marks a subtask done — are easy to set up without writing any code. The inbox surfaces everything assigned to you across all projects.
Honest cons: Asana can feel ceremonial for very small or informal teams. Creating a task requires you to think about which project it belongs to, which adds a tiny friction that Todoist removes with its inbox-first model.
Who should skip it: Teams of two doing simple personal task sharing. Asana's overhead is not worth it below about four people.
ClickUp
Best for: Small teams that want to replace five different tools with one.
ClickUp is the most customisable project tool I have ever used, and also the most overwhelming at first open. In my experience, it takes a solid week to set up a workspace that actually helps rather than drowns you. Once it clicks, though, it genuinely replaces task managers, docs, spreadsheets, time tracking, and goal setting.
Honest pros: Every view you could want — list, board, Gantt, table, mind map — is in the box. The free tier is more capable than most paid plans elsewhere. Docs live alongside tasks so meeting notes link directly to action items.
Honest cons: The feature surface is enormous. New team members take longer to onboard than on simpler tools. The mobile app lags behind the desktop in reliability.
Who should skip it: Teams that want simplicity above all else. If your team already struggles with tool adoption, ClickUp will make that worse before it makes it better.
Notion
Best for: Teams where documentation and task management are inseparable.
I switched a content team to Notion because their editorial calendar, style guide, and task list kept living in three different places. Notion collapsed all three into a single database. A content brief becomes a task, a task has a status, and the status rolls up into a calendar — no manual syncing required.
Honest pros: Database views (table, calendar, gallery, Kanban) give you genuinely flexible structure. Pages and tasks are the same object, which removes the artificial split between "project docs" and "to-dos." The AI assistant is legitimately useful for summarising long pages.
Honest cons: Notion is slower than a dedicated task manager. Opening a linked database, switching views, and filtering takes a few extra clicks that add up across a busy workday. It is also not great at notifications — you will miss things if you rely on Notion pings alone.
Who should skip it: Teams that run on tight deadlines and need instant task alerts. Pair Notion with Slack or a dedicated comms tool; do not rely on it alone for urgent escalations.
Linear
Best for: Software engineering teams that find Jira and Asana too heavy.
When I sat in on a startup's engineering sprint planning, they were running Linear and the speed was striking. Every action has a keyboard shortcut. Issues load instantly. The cycle (sprint) management is opinionated but sensible — it pushes you toward short focused iterations rather than sprawling backlogs.
Honest pros: The fastest UI of anything on this list. Git integration means commits and PRs link to issues automatically. Triage queues and priority labels are first-class citizens, not afterthoughts.
Honest cons: Linear is deliberately narrow. If your small team is cross-functional — designers and marketers alongside engineers — Linear's vocabulary will confuse the non-technical members. It is built for people who think in sprints and cycles.
Who should skip it: Non-technical teams. Linear speaks engineering fluently and everything else as a second language.
Microsoft To Do
Best for: Small teams already paying for Microsoft 365.
If your team runs Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint, Microsoft To Do is already paid for. The My Day feature mirrors what Todoist's Today view does. Shared lists work cleanly for small groups. Tasks syncs with Outlook tasks, which matters if your team's email is the real command centre.
Honest pros: Zero additional cost inside M365. Outlook integration is seamless — flag an email and it becomes a To Do task. Simple enough that non-technical team members adopt it instantly.
Honest cons: It is a list tool, not a project management platform. No Gantt, no workload view, no automations. If Todoist felt limiting, Microsoft To Do will feel more limiting.
Who should skip it: Teams that have already outgrown Todoist for structural reasons. To Do has the same ceiling, just inside a Microsoft wrapper.
How to Choose
The right tool depends on what your team actually does:
- Ops, marketing, client delivery teams: Asana gives the best visibility without overwhelming complexity.
- Teams that want one tool to rule them all: ClickUp if you have patience to set it up properly.
- Knowledge-heavy teams (content, research, strategy): Notion collapses docs and tasks beautifully.
- Engineering teams: Linear is the fastest, most opinionated, and most satisfying to use daily.
- Microsoft 365 shops: To Do is already there — use it before buying anything new.
My default recommendation for a five-to-ten-person mixed team is Asana on the free tier until you need reporting, then upgrade or migrate to ClickUp if cost is a factor.
FAQ
Can I migrate my Todoist tasks to these tools? Most tools accept CSV imports. Asana and ClickUp both have Todoist importers. Notion requires a CSV import and some manual restructuring. Linear supports CSV import for issues.
Which alternative has the best mobile app? Asana's mobile app is the most polished. ClickUp's mobile experience has improved but still trails desktop. Linear's mobile app is fast but narrowly scoped to engineering workflows.
Is the Asana free tier really enough for small teams? For teams under ten, yes. You get unlimited tasks, projects, messages, and file storage. The free tier omits timeline view, advanced reporting, and automation — you will eventually want those, but they are not day-one requirements.
Does Notion replace Todoist completely? For some teams, yes. For teams that live in a fast-moving task flow with lots of quick adds and immediate notifications, Notion feels slow by comparison. Many teams use both: Notion for project docs, a lighter tool for daily task capture.