Fantastical vs Things 3
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
It's close: Fantastical edges it 8.9 to 8.9, so the right pick depends on what you need. Fantastical wins on 1 of the 5 scores, Things 3 on 4.
Busy Apple users juggling work and personal calendars
Apple users who want a calm, personal task manager without a subscription
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Fantastical | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #6 of 13 | #7 of 13 |
| Developer | Flexibits | Cultured Code |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Paid |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Fantastical better than Things 3?
It's close: Fantastical edges it 8.9 to 8.9, so the right pick depends on what you need. Fantastical wins on 1 of the 5 scores, Things 3 on 4.
Which is cheaper, Fantastical or Things 3?
Fantastical: Free basics; Flexibits Premium is $6.99 a month or $56.99 a year on the App Store. Things 3: One-time purchase: $9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad, $49.99 Mac. On value for money, Things 3 scores higher.
Do Fantastical and Things 3 work on the same devices?
Only Fantastical runs on Windows.
Which is more private, Fantastical or Things 3?
Things 3 scores higher on privacy (9.0/10). The App Store label links only your to-do content to you, plus anonymous diagnostics, with no tracking or ads. Things Cloud encrypts data in transit and at rest, but not end-to-end.
Strengths and weaknesses
Fantastical
- Add events by typing a normal sentence
- Polished apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows
- Works with Microsoft 365 and Google accounts
- Most power features need the subscription
- No Android phone or tablet app yet
- Microsoft 365 users must switch to Graph sync
Fantastical lets you add an event by typing a normal sentence with the who, what and when, and it fills in the rest. Around that you get the DayTicker, Calendar Sets, tasks from Todoist and Google Tasks, Openings and Proposals for scheduling, weather, and AI that turns forwarded emails and screenshots into events. Most of the best parts need Premium, and Android phones aren't supported yet.
Full Fantastical review
Things 3
- Calm, polished design that makes planning easy
- Fast, reliable sync across Apple devices
- One-time purchase with no subscription
- Apple devices only, with no web access
- No shared lists or team collaboration
- Buying for Mac, iPhone and iPad adds up
Things 3 is the most pleasant task manager on Apple devices. Every screen is calm and clear, and Today, This Evening, Areas and headings make planning feel easy rather than fiddly. This year's updates added Siri to-do creation, Spotlight search and smarter repeating to-dos, and Things Cloud sync is reliable. The catch: there are no Windows, Android or web apps, no shared lists, and you buy each platform separately.
Full Things 3 review
