When I go looking for an app to fill a need, I download every app I can find, then pick the best one by process of elimination. TickTick was the clear winner for my quest to find a to-do manager.
What put it over the top? Cross-platform compatibility and syncing; the one-click ease with which items can be moved to today, tomorrow, next week, next month; the MenuBar dropdown, and the fact that the Dock icon can be hidden; the at-a-glance clarity of what’s due today, what’s overdue, what’s high priority, what’s a checklist vs. just a one-off; the natural-language data entry; the copious keyboard shortcuts; the fact that there are both lists *and* tags *and* smart lists. The best thing TickTick has done for me though is giving me a place to put all those things that come up during the day that used to be a distraction and now become part of my list — I won’t forget about them if I don’t do them *right now.*
I don’t (yet) use the paid features, mostly because I think the subscription is a little overpriced. But as my work improves, I may change my mind.