Google Tasks vs Things 3 on iPhone

What each app is built for

Google Tasks is Google’s checklist. Lists, titles, notes, due dates and times, subtasks, and repeating tasks sync with the same account that powers Gmail and Google Calendar. On iPhone, the official app stays thin: basic overview, limited widgets, no Apple Watch app, and no ringing alarms.

Things 3 is a personal productivity app from Cultured Code. It is designed around Areas, Projects, Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday, with tags, headings, and checklists. The iPhone experience is polished and intentional. It does not sync with Google Tasks, and dated work does not appear as Google Tasks inside Gmail or Google Calendar.

If your search is really “beautiful planner versus Google inbox,” start there. Feature lists matter less than where unfinished work already lives.

Where Google Tasks wins

Stay with Google Tasks when:

• Tasks need to sit beside Gmail threads and Calendar days without retyping
• You want one free Google account checklist across phone, web, and desktop Google surfaces
• Collaboration means email and meetings, not a separate project workspace
• You prefer a small model: list, due date, notes, done

Stock Google Tasks is enough for capture and light review. It is weaker for daily planning on iPhone: one list at a time, weak glance surfaces, and notifications that are ordinary pushes, not AlarmKit-style rings. For a wider feature map against Apple Reminders and a native Google client, see the compare page.

Where Things 3 wins

Choose Things 3 when:

• Your planning system is personal and Apple-first, not Gmail-first
• You want Areas and Projects, Today and Upcoming, tags, and headings as first-class structure
• You value a calm, native interface more than Google Calendar task chips
• You are willing to pay for that design, and you accept Things Cloud (or local-only use) instead of Google Tasks sync

Things 3 is often the better solo planner. It is the wrong backbone if every morning already starts in Google Calendar and unfinished work keeps appearing as mail you meant to turn into a task.

The gap most people hit

There is no full two-way sync between Things 3 and Google Tasks. You cannot keep one checklist that is both a Things project and a Gmail task panel item.

That forces a choice:

1. Plan in Things, work in Google. You will copy titles, due dates, or both. Misses happen when a meeting moves and only one app updates.
2. Live in Google Tasks. You keep Gmail and Calendar proximity, then feel the thin iPhone client every time you want Today, widgets, Watch, or a louder alert.
3. Split by domain. Personal habits in Things, work follow-ups in Google Tasks. This works only if the split stays clean. Mixed errands and work threads usually collapse into duplicate entry.

If the pain is duplicate entry, fix the ecosystem first. If the pain is the Google Tasks iPhone app itself, fix the client.

A practical decision rule

Look at the last ten tasks you missed or delayed.

• If most failed because the task never left your email or calendar, stay on Google Tasks (or a Google-synced client).
• If most failed because your lists felt noisy, unstructured, or hard to review, Things 3’s Areas, Projects, and Today/Upcoming layout may be worth paying for.
• If most failed because iPhone surfaces were weak (no useful widget, no Watch check-off, quiet banners), keep Google as the data layer and upgrade the shell.

Do not pick Things hoping it will “also” become your Gmail task system. Do not pick stock Google Tasks hoping it will feel like Things on iPhone.

When a native Google Tasks app is the middle path

If Google is the source of truth but you want more of the native planning feel Things users like, a dedicated iPhone client can close the gap without abandoning Gmail and Calendar.

ETasks is a native Google Tasks app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It syncs two-way with Google Tasks, or works locally with no Google account. On top of that backbone it adds real alarms, location reminders, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, all-lists view, month/week/day/agenda planning, shared lists, and offline editing.

ETasks is not Things 3, and it does not import Things databases. It is for people who already chose Google (or want the option) and need the iPhone side to feel finished. For side-by-side Google Tasks, Reminders, and ETasks details, use compare.html.

Quick answers

Does Things 3 sync with Google Tasks? No. There is no official two-way Google Tasks sync.

Can dated Google Tasks show in Google Calendar? Yes, when the Tasks calendar is enabled. Those items are tasks, not full Calendar events.

Is Google Tasks free? Yes. Things 3 is a paid app with its own cloud option.

Should I migrate from Things to Google Tasks? Only if Gmail and Calendar proximity matter more than Things’ planning model. Expect manual recreation, not a one-tap import.

When is ETasks the fit? When tasks should stay in Google Tasks, but you want a fuller native iPhone experience than the stock Tasks app provides.