Whit vs Things 3
Whit vs Things 3: which Apple task app is right for you?
Two Apple-first apps, both one-time purchases, built for different minds. Here is an honest, side-by-side look so you can pick the one that fits the way you actually work.
Last updated July 2026
The short answer
Whit and Things 3 are both excellent, Apple-only, and paid once, but they are built for different people. Things 3 is a refined, award-winning task manager for people who love to organize: Areas, Projects, tags, and the Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday lists give everything a place. Whit is a calm brain dump and daily planner for people who feel overwhelmed and want to capture everything first, by voice or text, then sort it only when they are ready.
Pick Things 3 if a well-kept system feels good and you want the most polished way to organize on Apple devices. Pick Whit if open task apps make you anxious and you want somewhere soft to land, with voice capture, a single visual day, and private iCloud sync with no account.
At a glance
Whit and Things 3, side by side
| Feature | Whit | Things 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Overwhelm, brain dumping, calm daily planning | Structured personal task management and organizing |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro |
| Price | One-time $99, covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac | One-time, bought separately: Mac $49.99, iPad $19.99, iPhone and Watch $9.99 |
| Free option | 7-day free trial | 15-day free trial, Mac only, from Cultured Code's site |
| Capture | Brain Dump by text or voice, one line each | Magic Plus and Quick Entry, plus Siri through Shortcuts |
| Voice capture | Yes, speak straight into a brain dump | Through Siri and Shortcuts, no in-app voice recording |
| Daily planning view | Visual Day, a sunrise-to-night timeline | Today and Upcoming lists |
| Organizing model | Projects and Milestones, minimal on purpose | Areas, Projects, Headings, tags, Today, Anytime, Someday |
| Dates and deadlines | Gentle scheduling, no red overdue badges | When-dates, deadlines, natural-language parsing, repeats |
| Collaboration and teams | No, single-player by design | No, single-user by design |
| Integrations | Apple Calendar and Reminders, iCloud | Calendar, Shortcuts, Mail to Things |
| Sync and privacy | Private sync through your own iCloud, no account | Things Cloud, a Things account, encrypted in transit |
| Feel | Calm, capture first and sort later | Refined, structured, quietly powerful |
The honest version
Which one should you choose?
Choose Things 3 if…
- You love organizing with Areas, Projects, tags, and a place for everything.
- You want a proven system: Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday.
- You use Apple Watch or Vision Pro, or want the most refined Apple task-app design.
- You already think in structure and deadlines, and setup feels good, not heavy.
- You only need one device and want to start as low as $9.99 on iPhone.
Choose Whit if…
- Open task apps make you feel behind, and you want to capture first, sort later.
- You want to brain-dump by voice or text without building a system first.
- You would rather see one gentle visual day than lists to keep organized.
- You want private iCloud sync with no separate account to create.
- You would rather pay once ($99) for iPhone, iPad, and Mac together.
Philosophy: a system to keep vs somewhere to land
Things 3 is built around a place for everything. You file tasks into Areas and Projects, tag them, and move them through Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday. It is a careful, well-loved take on the Getting Things Done approach, and for people who feel calmer with a complete, organized system, it is genuinely lovely to use.
Whit is built for the opposite feeling. It asks for nothing when you capture, shows your day as a soft timeline instead of a wall of rows, and never turns red or nags you about a streak. If a tidy system settles your mind, Things 3 fits. If setup and structure tend to make you anxious, Whit is designed to feel like somewhere soft to land.
Capture: voice and text vs Magic Plus and Siri
Both apps make it quick to jot something down. Things 3 has Magic Plus and Quick Entry for fast typed capture, and you can add tasks by voice through Siri and Shortcuts. It is polished, and for typed input it is hard to beat.
Whit leans capture-first. You can record a thought by voice straight into a brain dump, or type one line at a time, and let it sit in a calm inbox until you are ready to sort. If your thoughts arrive faster than you can file them, speaking them into Whit and organizing later can feel lighter than shaping each one into a project up front.
Price, sync, and privacy
Neither app charges a subscription, which is rare and welcome. Things 3 is a one-time purchase bought separately per platform: about $49.99 on Mac, $19.99 on iPad, and $9.99 for iPhone and Apple Watch. If you only use one device, that can be cheaper than Whit; across all three it lands close. Whit is a single $99 purchase that covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac together.
The clearer difference is how your data syncs. Things 3 syncs through Things Cloud, which needs a Things account and encrypts your data in transit. Whit syncs privately through your own iCloud, with no account to create and no separate service in the middle. If iCloud-only, no-account privacy matters to you, that is where Whit and Things 3 part ways.
Whit vs Things 3: common questions
Is Whit a good Things 3 alternative?
Whit is a good Things 3 alternative if you are on iPhone, iPad, and Mac and want a calmer, capture-first app rather than a structured system to maintain. It is not a feature-for-feature replacement. Things 3 has deeper organizing, Apple Watch and Vision support, and a refined GTD workflow. Whit trades that structure for calm, voice-first brain dumping, a single visual day, and private iCloud sync.
What is the main difference between Whit and Things 3?
Things 3 is a refined personal task manager built around organizing: Areas, Projects, tags, and the Today, Upcoming, Anytime, and Someday lists. Whit is a calm brain dump and daily planner built to reduce overwhelm. Things 3 optimizes for structure and a place for everything, while Whit optimizes for capture-first simplicity and a gentle daily view.
Is Whit cheaper than Things 3?
It depends on how many devices you use. Things 3 is bought separately per platform: about $49.99 on Mac, $19.99 on iPad, and $9.99 for iPhone and Apple Watch. If you only need one device, Things 3 can cost less. Whit is one $99 purchase that covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac together. Neither app charges a subscription.
Does Whit have Areas, Projects, and tags like Things 3?
Not to the same depth, and that is intentional. Things 3 offers Areas, Projects, Headings, tags, and a full GTD structure. Whit keeps organizing deliberately minimal with Projects and Milestones, so capturing a thought never feels like work. You add structure only when you want it, rather than setting up a system before you can start.
Is Whit or Things 3 better for ADHD or feeling overwhelmed?
Both are used by people with ADHD, and the right choice is personal. Things 3 suits people who feel calmer with a complete, organized system. Whit suits people who feel overwhelmed by setup and structure, because it lets you capture first by voice or text, skips overdue pressure, and shows a single gentle day. Neither app is a medical treatment.
Does Whit sync privately without an account like Things 3?
Whit syncs privately through your own iCloud, with no separate account to create. Things 3 syncs through Things Cloud, which needs a Things account and encrypts your data in transit. Both keep your lists to yourself, but Whit stays entirely inside your iCloud with no extra service in the middle, which some people prefer for privacy and simplicity.
Want calm instead of another system to maintain?
If you are on iPhone, iPad, and Mac and tired of feeling behind, give Whit a week. Capture one thought by voice, see your day as a sky, and feel a little lighter.
Start your 7-day free trialiPhone, iPad + Mac · $99 once if you keep it · 30-day money-back guarantee
Love a refined, well-organized system and a place for everything? Things 3 is a great choice, and we mean that.