Things 3 is a one-time purchase, but you buy it separately for each Apple platform: $49.99 for Mac, $19.99 for iPad, and $9.99 for iPhone (which includes the Apple Watch app). Using it on a Mac plus an iPhone and iPad costs $79.97 total. There is no subscription, and no Windows or Android version at any price.
The good news about Things 3 pricing is that it is honest: pay once, own it, and sync through Things Cloud at no extra cost. The less obvious news is how the per-platform model adds up, and what you still cannot buy at any price. If you are on Windows or Android, note upfront that the answer is "nothing", and a free alternative that runs on your devices exists.
The full price list
| Platform | Price (one-time) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mac | $49.99 | Only version with a free trial (15 days) |
| iPad | $19.99 | Separate purchase, not universal with iPhone |
| iPhone | $9.99 | Includes the Apple Watch app |
| Apple Vision Pro | $29.99 | Separate purchase |
| Windows | No | Not available at any price |
| Android | No | Not available at any price |
Prices are US App Store and Mac App Store list prices as of August 2026. Cultured Code does occasionally discount, but there is no bundle that covers all platforms in one purchase.
What the totals look like
- iPhone only: $9.99
- Mac + iPhone (the most common setup): $59.98
- Mac + iPhone + iPad: $79.97
- Everything including Vision Pro: $109.96
To be fair to Cultured Code: $60 to $80 once is cheaper over a few years than a $4 to $5 monthly subscription. If you live entirely inside Apple hardware and plan to stay there, the pricing is defensible. Things 3 is a well-made app and its owners tend to keep it for years.
What you are actually paying for
It is worth naming what justifies these prices, because Things 3 is not expensive by accident. Cultured Code spent years polishing one of the most coherent interfaces in productivity software: the Inbox, Today, Upcoming, and Someday structure that made GTD feel effortless instead of bureaucratic, animations that communicate state instead of decorating it, and a sync service that simply never comes up in conversation because it never fails visibly. Updates within a major version have been free and steady. You are paying for craft, and the craft is real.
That is exactly why the pricing stings for mixed-device people. The thing being sold is genuinely good; the problem is the door policy, not the product.
The costs that do not show up on the receipt
The upgrade question
Things 3 shipped in 2017, and buying Things 3 did not entitle Things 2 owners to a free upgrade; Things 3 was a new purchase. It is reasonable to expect that a future Things 4 would work the same way. "One-time purchase" means one time per major version, per platform.
The hardware lock-in
The real price of Things 3 is not $79.97. It is the constraint that every device in your life must be made by Apple. The moment your workplace hands you a Windows laptop, or you switch to an Android phone, your task system stops traveling with you. As we covered in Does Things 3 work on Windows?, the only official bridge is a one-way email address for capture.
Paying per platform punishes the multi-device setup
GTD works best when capture is available everywhere. The pricing model charges you again for each screen you want your system on, which quietly discourages exactly the ubiquity the method needs.
One-time purchase vs subscriptions: the three-year math
Things 3's strongest pricing argument is against subscription apps, so it is worth running the numbers honestly. Take a common setup of a computer plus a phone, over three years, at August 2026 prices:
| App | Pricing model | 3-year cost |
|---|---|---|
| Things 3 (Mac + iPhone) | One-time, per platform | $59.98 |
| Todoist Pro | $5/mo billed annually | $180 |
| TickTick Premium | $35.99/yr (current site price) | $107.97 |
| Organized3 | Free, no subscription | $0 |
Against subscriptions, Things 3 wins clearly by year two. Both Todoist and TickTick have usable free tiers, so the subscription rows only apply if you need paid features, but for GTD-style use the caps on free plans (5 active projects on Todoist, 9 lists on TickTick) tend to force the decision. The catch in Things 3's column is the assumption hiding inside it: that both of your devices are made by Apple, and stay that way for three years.
Who should still buy Things 3
Credit where it is due. If you use a Mac and an iPhone, have no Windows or Android device anywhere in your life, and prefer paying once over subscribing, Things 3 is one of the best-value purchases in productivity software. The design is superb, updates within a major version are free, and $59.98 spread over years of daily use is cheap. This site exists for everyone the previous sentence excluded.
How the free options compare
"Free task manager" covers a wide range, so it is worth being specific about what free gets you:
- Organized3 is free on Windows, Android, and iOS with no subscription, and it implements the same GTD structure Things 3 is loved for: Inbox, Today, Upcoming, Someday, Projects, and a Logbook, with cross-platform sync included.
- Todoist's free plan is genuinely usable but capped (5 active personal projects as of August 2026), and the features most GTD users want push toward the paid Pro plan.
- Microsoft To Do is free and fine for simple lists, but it has no Someday list and no GTD processing flow.
The honest comparison is not "free versus $79.97". It is "which app runs on the devices you actually own". Things 3 is a great answer to a question only Apple-exclusive users get to ask.
On Windows? See how Organized3 compares feature by feature: Things 3 alternative for Windows. On Android, where Things has never existed, start with the Things 3 alternative for Android.
FAQ
How much does Things 3 cost in total?
Things 3 costs $49.99 on Mac, $19.99 on iPad, $9.99 on iPhone, and $29.99 on Apple Vision Pro, each as a separate one-time purchase. Mac, iPhone, and iPad together cost $79.97; all four platforms cost $109.96.
Is Things 3 a subscription?
No. Things 3 is a one-time purchase per platform, and Things Cloud sync is included at no extra cost. Note that major version upgrades have historically been new purchases.
Is there a free trial of Things 3?
Only on Mac, which offers a 15-day free trial. The iPhone and iPad versions have no trial; you buy before you try.
Do I have to pay extra for Things Cloud sync?
No. Things Cloud, the service that syncs your tasks between Apple devices, is included with any Things 3 purchase at no additional cost, and there is no subscription component anywhere in the product. The limitation is not the price of sync; it is that sync only connects Apple hardware.
Is Things 3 worth the price?
If every device you use is made by Apple, and you value polish, it can be. If any device in your life runs Windows or Android, no price buys you access, and a free cross-platform GTD app like Organized3 covers the same workflow.