TickTick vs Microsoft OneNote
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
TickTick is the better app overall, scoring 8.7 to 8.1. TickTick wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Microsoft OneNote on 2.
Students and planners who want tasks, calendar, habits and focus in one app
Students and tablet users who take handwritten or mixed-media notes
Score by score
The details
| Feature | TickTick | Microsoft OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #6 of 10 | #9 of 10 |
| Developer | Appest Limited | Microsoft |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
TickTick
- Huge feature set for the price
- Useful free plan with habits and focus timer
- Apps for every major platform, including Linux
- Interface feels busy with so many features
- Fewer third-party integrations than Todoist
TickTick packs more into one app than almost any task manager. Alongside lists and natural language input, you get a calendar view, habit tracker, Pomodoro focus timer and Eisenhower matrix, on every major platform. The free plan is unusually useful, and Premium is good value. The trade-off is a busier interface than Things or Todoist, and fewer integrations. Great if you want tasks, time and habits in one place.
Full TickTick review
Microsoft OneNote
- Free on every major platform
- Excellent handwriting and stylus support
- Works well with Microsoft 365 and Teams
- Sync can be slow and occasionally conflicts
- Interface and organization feel dated
Microsoft OneNote works like a digital binder: notebooks, sections and pages where you can type, draw, paste and handwrite anywhere on the canvas. Pen support is excellent, it can search text inside images, and it is free on every major platform. Copilot features come with Microsoft 365. The downsides are a dated feel, occasional sync conflicts, and freeform pages that get messy. Ideal for students and pen-and-tablet users.
Full Microsoft OneNote review
