Let's be honest about Microsoft To Do: it's a well-designed, fast, and completely free task list. If you live inside Microsoft 365, the Outlook integration alone is genuinely useful — your flagged emails become tasks automatically. That's a real workflow win that TaskLoco doesn't replicate. And the My Day feature, where you hand-pick your daily focus list each morning, is a surprisingly thoughtful touch that a lot of people find calming.
So why are so many people searching for a Microsoft To Do alternative? Because it stops there. No reminders that fire as push notifications on your phone and desktop. No file attachments. No calendar view. No team sharing that goes beyond showing someone else a list. No place to keep the context — the photo, the PDF, the webpage — alongside the task itself. TaskLoco was built for exactly that gap: the space between a bare checklist and a bloated project management suite. Notes, tasks, reminders, files, calendar, and team sharing — all inside a sticky-note interface that anyone can learn in five minutes.
Where Microsoft To Do Genuinely Wins
Fairness first. Microsoft To Do has three real advantages worth acknowledging before anything else.
It's free — and already in your Microsoft 365 subscription. If your company pays for M365, To Do costs you nothing extra. That's a real argument, especially for individuals who just need a daily checklist and have no interest in a separate tool.
The Outlook flagged-email-to-task integration is excellent. Flag an email in Outlook and it appears automatically in To Do. For people whose work lives inside their inbox, this is a genuine productivity shortcut. TaskLoco doesn't have a comparable Outlook connector.
My Day is a clever daily planning feature. Every morning you pull tasks into a focused daily view. It's simple, intentional, and it works. TaskLoco's calendar view covers similar ground but the My Day ritual is distinctly To Do's own.
Where TaskLoco Pulls Ahead
The gap between Microsoft To Do and TaskLoco becomes obvious the moment you try to do anything more than write a list. Here's where it matters.
Reminders that actually reach you. TaskLoco reminders are delivered as push notifications directly to your phone and computer — and each notification deep-links straight back to the original note, so you land in context, not in a list you have to scroll through. Optional email notifications and an SMS add-on are available if you want more channels. Microsoft To Do's reminders exist, but they live inside the Microsoft notification ecosystem and don't carry you back to rich note context because there is no rich note context.
File attachments built in. Every TaskLoco Premium account includes 10GB of file storage. Attach a PDF, a photo, a contract, a spreadsheet — right to the note or task it belongs with. To Do has no file attachment capability. You're expected to link out to OneDrive separately, which means context is always split across two places.
A calendar view that shows your whole picture. TaskLoco Premium includes a calendar view so you can see your tasks and reminders laid out across days and weeks. To Do has no calendar view. You can see tasks sorted by due date in a list, but you cannot see them mapped to a calendar without leaving the app entirely and going to Outlook or Microsoft Calendar.
Team sharing that works like you'd expect. TaskLoco's team sharing works the way email works — you share a note, the recipient can clone it and make it their own. No permissions architecture to configure, no admin overhead, no access levels to manage. Real-time sync keeps everyone current. Microsoft To Do has shared lists, but they're locked to Microsoft accounts, which immediately excludes anyone outside your organization.
The Chrome Extension: Capture Anything from Anywhere
One of TaskLoco's most underrated features has nothing to do with task management in the traditional sense — it's about capture speed. The TaskLoco Chrome extension lets you grab any webpage in one click and turn it into a note. Reading an article you want to act on later? Clip it. Found a product you want to compare? Clip it. Researching something for a client? Clip it, attach files, set a reminder, share the note.
Microsoft To Do has no browser extension. The only way to get something from the web into To Do is to copy and paste manually, or flag an email in Outlook that happens to reference it. For people who spend their day in a browser — which is most people — that's a meaningful friction point.
TaskLoco Lite Plus+ is free and includes the Chrome extension, along with sync across all your devices and up to 30 notes. It's a legitimate free tier for light users. For everything beyond that — reminders, file attachments, unlimited notes, calendar, team sharing — TaskLoco Premium is where the full experience lives.
File Attachments and Storage: The Feature To Do Forgot
Here's a workflow that happens constantly: you have a task — review a contract, respond to a proposal, fix the thing in the attachment someone sent you. In Microsoft To Do, the task and the file live in completely different places. You write the task in To Do, the file lives in OneDrive or your email, and every time you come back to the task you're hunting for the file again.
TaskLoco Premium solves this at the architecture level. Every note is also a container. You drag in the PDF, the image, the spreadsheet — and it lives with the task, not somewhere else. When the reminder fires as a push notification and deep-links you back to the note, the file is right there. The context is intact. You do the work instead of hunting for it.
Premium includes 10GB of storage to start. If you need more, additional storage tiers — 50GB, 200GB, 1TB — are available as add-ons and are stackable. Microsoft To Do offers no file storage at all. You're fully dependent on OneDrive, which means a separate app, a separate organizational structure, and a separate mental overhead.
The Honest Comparison
| Feature | TaskLoco | Microsoft To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Two free tiers: Lite (20 notes, native app, no sign-in) and Lite Plus+ (30 notes, synced, web + Chrome extension) FREE | Free with Microsoft account — full feature set but no file attachments, no calendar view |
| Sync across devices | Lite Plus+ and Premium sync across all devices in real time via the web app | Syncs across devices for Microsoft account holders |
| Reminders | Push notifications to phone and computer; deep-links back to the original note; optional email and SMS add-on | Basic reminders inside the Microsoft notification system; no deep-link to rich note context |
| File attachments | 10GB included with Premium; additional storage tiers available | No file attachments — must use OneDrive separately |
| Calendar view | Full calendar view included with Premium | No calendar view — must use Outlook Calendar separately |
| Team sharing | Yes — included with Premium. Each team member requires a separate subscription — currently $9.99/month per person, but TaskLoco is offering a Charter Member special: 50% off for life, currently $4.99/month per person for the first 500 subscribers with code CHARTER50. | Shared lists — limited to Microsoft account holders only |
| Chrome extension | One-click webpage capture, free with Lite Plus+ FREE | No browser extension |
| Outlook / email integration | No Outlook connector | Flagged emails in Outlook automatically become tasks — a genuine workflow advantage |
| My Day / daily focus view | Calendar view covers scheduling; no dedicated daily ritual feature | My Day feature — intentional daily planning ritual built in |
| Note format | Sticky-note interface — notes carry full context including text, tasks, files, and reminders | Flat task lists — no rich note container |
| Unlimited notes and tasks | Unlimited with Premium | No stated cap on tasks |
| Native mobile app | Lite is native (iPhone + Android) — 20 notes, anonymous, no sign-in. Lite Plus+ and Premium run in the mobile browser. | Native iOS and Android apps with full feature access |
| Anonymous / no-account use | Lite is fully anonymous — no sign-in, no account, no data sent anywhere FREE | Requires Microsoft account |
| Cross-platform (non-Microsoft users) | Works for anyone with a browser or Google account — no ecosystem required | Best for Microsoft 365 / Outlook users; limited value outside the Microsoft ecosystem |
| Gantt charts / project timelines | Not available | Not available in To Do (requires Microsoft Project) |
| Free trial (Premium) | 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8, cancel anytime FREE | Free tier available indefinitely with Microsoft account |
Who Should Use Each
Use TaskLoco if…
- You need reminders delivered as push notifications that deep-link back to the note they belong to
- You want to keep files, tasks, and context in one place — not split across To Do and OneDrive
- You share work with people outside the Microsoft ecosystem
- You want a calendar view without leaving your task app
- You capture ideas and pages from the web and want a one-click Chrome extension to do it
- You want a real free tier that doesn't require a Microsoft account
Use Microsoft To Do if…
- You're deep in Microsoft 365 and want flagged Outlook emails to become tasks automatically
- You value the My Day daily planning ritual and want it built into your task app
- You need a full-featured native mobile app (iOS/Android) rather than a mobile browser experience
- You want a completely free tool and have no need for reminders, attachments, or team sharing
TaskLoco Premium is regularly $9.99/month per person. Right now, charter members can lock in 50% off the regular price — forever. That means $4.99/month per person today. And if our price ever goes up, you still pay half. Always.
Code CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout. First 500 spots only — once they're gone, this offer is gone permanently. Act fast while spots last.
Every Premium subscription includes unlimited notes, 10GB file storage, reminders, calendar, and team sharing. Each team member requires a separate subscription. 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8. Cancel anytime.
Free Options: TaskLoco vs Microsoft To Do
TaskLoco Lite
- Native iPhone & Android app
- Completely anonymous — no sign-in
- Data stays on your device
- Up to 20 notes
- Free forever
TaskLoco Lite Plus+
- Web app + Chrome extension
- Sign in with Google
- Wall syncs across all devices
- Up to 30 notes
- Free forever
Lock In 50% Off — Forever
7-day free trial. No charge until day 8. CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout.
🔒 Lock In My Charter SpotSee TaskLoco in Action
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TaskLoco actually free, or do I have to pay?
TaskLoco has two genuinely free tiers. Lite is a native iPhone and Android app — completely anonymous, no sign-in required, stores up to 20 notes on your device. Lite Plus+ is the web app and Chrome extension — sign in with Google, sync up to 30 notes across all your devices, and clip any webpage in one click. Neither tier includes reminders, file attachments, or team sharing — those are Premium features. $9.99/month per person (currently $4.99/month per person for first 500 charter members with code CHARTER50)
Does TaskLoco work if I'm not in the Microsoft ecosystem?
Yes — and that's one of the clearest reasons people switch from Microsoft To Do. TaskLoco requires no Microsoft account, no Microsoft 365 subscription, and no Outlook. You sign in with Google for Lite Plus+ and Premium. Team sharing works with anyone who has a Google account — collaborators outside your organization are welcome.
How do TaskLoco reminders work compared to Microsoft To Do?
TaskLoco reminders are delivered as push notifications to your phone and computer. The key differentiator: each notification deep-links directly back to the original note, so you land in full context — not in a flat task list you have to navigate. Optional email notifications and an SMS add-on are also available. Microsoft To Do has reminders, but they surface inside the Microsoft notification system without linking back to rich note content, because To Do notes don't carry file attachments or extended context.
Can I attach files to tasks in TaskLoco?
Yes — this is one of the features Microsoft To Do simply doesn't have. TaskLoco Premium includes 10GB of file storage, and you can attach files directly to any note or task. PDFs, images, spreadsheets, contracts — they live with the task, not in a separate OneDrive folder you have to hunt down every time. Additional storage tiers (50GB, 200GB, 1TB) are available as add-ons and are stackable.
Does TaskLoco have a Chrome extension?
Yes, and it's free. The TaskLoco Chrome extension lets you capture any webpage in a single click and turn it into a note. It's included with Lite Plus+ at no cost. From there, Premium subscribers can add a reminder, attach a file, or share the note with a teammate — all without leaving the context of what they were looking at.
What does TaskLoco Premium cost?
$9.99/month per person (currently $4.99/month per person for first 500 charter members with code CHARTER50)
Is there anything Microsoft To Do does that TaskLoco doesn't?
Yes — it's worth being honest here. Microsoft To Do has a genuinely useful Outlook integration: flagged emails in Outlook automatically appear as tasks in To Do. If your work lives in your inbox, that's a real workflow shortcut TaskLoco doesn't match. To Do also has native iOS and Android apps with full feature access, whereas TaskLoco Lite Plus+ and Premium run through the mobile browser. And the My Day feature — where you hand-pick your daily tasks each morning — is a deliberately simple planning ritual that some people love. TaskLoco's calendar view covers scheduling, but it's a different interaction. If those specific things are central to how you work, To Do deserves a fair look. For everyone else — especially those who need reminders, file attachments, calendar view, or team sharing outside the Microsoft ecosystem — TaskLoco covers the ground To Do leaves open.
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TaskLoco is available on iPhone, Android, Chrome, and every web browser.