Best Daily Planner Apps for iOS in 2025

Complete guide to iPhone and iPad planner apps. Compare features, pricing, and find your perfect match.

Top Daily Planner Apps for iOS

1. Funtasking - Best for Life Balance

Free (No subscription)

The only iOS planner app that tracks if you're living well, not just being productive. Purpose Wheel shows balance across 8 life areas.

✅ Pros

  • Completely free, no subscription
  • Life balance tracking (Purpose Wheel)
  • Burnout prevention built-in
  • Gamification with customizable rewards
  • Visual daily timeline
  • Google Calendar sync

❌ Cons

  • No Android version yet
  • Smaller community vs established apps
  • No API/integrations yet

Best for: Remote workers, people recovering from burnout, ADHD users, anyone prioritizing wellbeing over productivity.

2. Things 3 - Best for Apple Ecosystem

Beautiful, native iOS design. Simple task management with projects, areas, and checklists.

✅ Pros

  • Gorgeous iOS-native design
  • Quick entry and shortcuts
  • No subscription (one-time fee)
  • Offline-first
  • Apple Watch and Widgets

❌ Cons

  • $49.99 upfront cost
  • Apple-only (no Android/Windows)
  • No collaboration features
  • No life balance tracking

Best for: Apple users who want a beautiful, simple task manager and don't need collaboration.

3. Todoist - Best for Cross-Platform

Popular cross-platform task manager. Works on iOS, Android, web, desktop. Strong collaboration features.

✅ Pros

  • Works everywhere (iOS, Android, web, desktop)
  • Natural language input ("tomorrow at 3pm")
  • Good free tier
  • Team collaboration
  • Many integrations

❌ Cons

  • Best features require Premium ($5/mo)
  • No daily timeline view
  • Generic design
  • No life balance features

Best for: People who switch between iOS, Android, and desktop frequently. Teams needing collaboration.

4. Notion - Best for Customization

Free tier available, Plus $10/month

All-in-one workspace. Build your own planner system with databases, templates, and pages.

✅ Pros

  • Infinitely customizable
  • Combines notes, tasks, databases, wiki
  • Great for teams
  • Template marketplace

❌ Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Setup paralysis (blank canvas problem)
  • iOS app slower than native apps
  • Requires constant tweaking

Best for: People who enjoy building systems and customizing workflows. Teams needing wiki + tasks in one place.

5. Sunsama - Best for Intentional Planning

Daily planning ritual with time blocking. Imports tasks from other apps. Prevents over-scheduling.

✅ Pros

  • Daily planning ritual
  • Time blocking and scheduling
  • Integrates with Asana, Trello, GitHub, Gmail
  • Weekly review prompts

❌ Cons

  • $20/month (expensive)
  • Desktop-first (iOS app is secondary)
  • Requires daily commitment

Best for: Knowledge workers with flexible schedules willing to pay premium for guided planning.

Quick Comparison Table

App Price Life Balance Timeline View Best For
Funtasking Free ✓ Purpose Wheel ✓ Wellbeing-focused users
Things 3 $49.99 ✗ ✗ Apple purists
Todoist Free/$5/mo ✗ ✗ Cross-platform users
Notion Free/$10/mo ✗ ✗ Customization lovers
Sunsama $20/mo ✗ ✓ Intentional planners

How to Choose the Best iOS Planner App

1. Define your goal: Productivity maximization? Life balance? Simple task tracking? Your goal determines the right app.

2. Consider your budget: Free apps (Funtasking, Todoist free tier), one-time purchases (Things 3 $49.99), or subscriptions ($5-20/month)?

3. Ecosystem lock-in: Apple-only (Things 3, Apple Reminders) vs cross-platform (Todoist, Notion)?

4. Complexity preference: Simple (Things 3, Funtasking) vs customizable (Notion, Sunsama)?

Try Funtasking - The Best Free iOS Planner for Life Balance

No subscription. No paywall. Purpose Wheel included. Start planning with balance today.

Download for iOS Free →