Best Task Management Apps for UK Sole Traders 2026
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this article may earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Why Most Task Management Advice Gets It Wrong for Sole Traders
If you’ve searched for help managing your workload as a sole trader, you’ve probably been pointed towards Asana, monday.com or ClickUp. These are project management platforms — built for teams, priced for teams, and genuinely overwhelming if you’re a one-person operation trying to remember to chase an invoice and book a van service in the same afternoon.
The honest truth: as a sole trader you almost certainly don’t need project management software. You need a solid task manager — something that captures what you need to do, reminds you when to do it, and gets out of your way.
This guide compares the best task managers available to UK sole traders in 2026, judged on what matters for a one-person business: speed of capture, natural-language input, recurring task handling, cross-device sync and cost. Where we’ve verified pricing directly we’ve said so; where we haven’t, we’ll tell you to check rather than repeat a figure we can’t stand behind.
Task Manager vs Project Management Tool
Worth being clear on this, because the software industry has a financial incentive to blur it.
Task managers help you capture, organise and act on individual to-dos. Built for speed and simplicity. “Email Sarah about the quote.” “File self-assessment.” “Order more packaging.”
Project management tools layer on timelines, Gantt charts, assignees, workload views and dependency tracking. Genuinely useful when coordinating several people across complex deliverables. For a sole trader, usually overkill.
And the price difference is real. Todoist Pro is £5 per user per month on annual billing. Asana Starter — the entry paid tier of a proper project management platform — is £9.49, nearly double, for capabilities a one-person business mostly won’t touch. If you’re a freelance designer, a plumber, a VA or any kind of solo service business, a task manager will serve you better and cost less. You can always upgrade later if you take on staff.
A Note on Currency Before You Compare Prices
One thing to check on any tool here before subscribing: which currency you’ll actually be billed in. Several task managers are widely reported as dollar-priced when they offer sterling billing, and a converted figure quoted in a comparison article can be 20% out from what you’ll actually pay.
Todoist bills in pounds — its pricing page has a currency selector. For the others below, check the toggle yourself.
The Best Task Management Apps for UK Sole Traders in 2026
1. Todoist — Best Overall for Sole Traders
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, web, browser extensions Free tier: Yes — 5 personal projects Paid: Pro £5/user/month billed yearly (£60 a year) or £7 monthly · Business £8 yearly (£96) or £10 monthly, plus local tax Billed in: Pounds
Todoist remains the strongest all-round pick for UK sole traders, and it earns it. Where it really shines is natural-language input: type “Chase invoice every last Friday of the month” and it sets up the recurrence correctly. Type “Call accountant tomorrow at 2pm” and it schedules it without you opening a calendar. For a sole trader moving quickly between jobs, that speed of capture is the whole value.
What the free Beginner tier actually includes: 5 personal projects, task reminders, Smart Quick Add, flexible list and board layouts, 3 filter views, 1 week of activity history, and email and calendar integrations.
Correcting something you’ll see widely: reminders are on the free plan. A lot of guidance says reminders require Pro, and that isn’t right — Pro adds custom reminders. If your reason for upgrading was to get reminders at all, check whether free already does what you need.
The two limits that actually bite are the 5-project cap and the 1-week activity history. Five projects sounds like plenty until you’re using one per client area — Admin, Client Work, Marketing, Finance, Personal is already five. And a week of history means you can’t review what you completed last month.
Pro adds: 300 projects, calendar layout, task duration, custom reminders, 150 filter views, full reporting history, Task Assist (the AI feature), Deadlines and unlimited Ramble.
Verdict: Start on the free plan. Upgrade when the project cap or the one-week history starts costing you, not because you were told reminders were paid.
2. Things 3 — Best for Apple Users Who Want Simplicity
Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, Mac only Free tier: No Pricing: One-time purchase, priced separately per platform — check current prices on Cultured Code’s site
Things 3 is arguably the most beautifully designed task manager available, and for sole traders embedded in Apple it’s a serious contender. The one-time pricing model is the real draw — no subscription, no monthly drain on your business account. Buy it once and it’s yours.
That structure is worth taking seriously against a subscription. Even at £5 a month, a subscription costs £60 a year every year; a one-off purchase doesn’t. Over three or four years the maths favours Things comfortably, provided you stay on Apple hardware.
The Areas and Projects structure suits a sole trader: Areas for ongoing responsibilities (Client Projects, Admin, Finance), Projects beneath them for defined pieces of work. Natural-language input is smooth, and Apple Shortcuts integration makes automation straightforward.
The trade-off is significant: no Android, no Windows, no web app. A Windows desktop at the office and an iPhone on the go simply won’t work. It also has no collaboration features, which for a sole trader is no loss.
Verdict: Excellent if you’re all-in on Apple, and the one-time price beats years of subscriptions. Not viable on mixed devices.
3. TickTick — Best Value Paid Option
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, web Free tier: Yes, with limits on recurring task rules and list count Pricing: Premium is the cheapest paid plan in this roundup — confirm the current figure and billing currency directly, as TickTick is quoted inconsistently across comparison sites
TickTick punches above its price point. Premium unlocks unlimited recurring tasks, location-based reminders, a built-in Pomodoro timer — surprisingly useful for sole traders prone to distraction — and a calendar view overlaying tasks on a weekly layout. There’s a habit tracker too, which sounds like a bonus feature but proves useful for weekly invoicing runs or monthly bookkeeping checks.
Natural-language input is good, though not quite as polished as Todoist’s. Cross-device sync is reliable, which matters when you’re switching between phone, tablet and laptop through the day.
Verdict: If budget is the priority and you need cross-platform access with solid recurring task handling, TickTick Premium is hard to beat — but get the current price from TickTick rather than a comparison table.
4. Microsoft To Do — Best Free Option for Windows Users
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, web Free tier: Yes, included with any Microsoft account Paid: Not applicable
If you already pay for Microsoft 365 — and many UK sole traders do, for Outlook and Word — To Do costs nothing extra. It’s included with a Microsoft account whether or not you subscribe to anything.
Worth knowing what that subscription costs if you don’t already have it: Microsoft 365 Business Basic is £5.40 per user per month ex-VAT on annual billing, or £4.20 without Teams. That’s business email on your own domain plus the web and mobile Office apps, with To Do included either way.
The My Day feature encourages a simple daily planning habit — each morning you pick tasks to focus on. Genuinely effective for sole traders who struggle with prioritisation. Integration with Outlook Tasks and Calendar is seamless if you’re in that ecosystem.
The limitations are real: natural-language input is basic, recurring task handling is less flexible than Todoist or TickTick, and it lacks depth for complex task structures.
Verdict: An excellent no-cost starting point, especially if you’re already a Microsoft 365 subscriber. Don’t buy anything for it — but do use it if it’s already on your device.
5. Google Tasks — Best for Gmail-Heavy Sole Traders
Platforms: iOS, Android, web, integrated into Gmail and Google Calendar Free tier: Yes, completely free Paid: Not applicable
Google Tasks is the simplest option here, almost aggressively so. No projects, no tags, no natural-language input. What it has is direct Gmail integration, letting you turn any email into a task in two clicks.
For a sole trader whose entire workflow runs through Gmail — client enquiries, supplier emails, HMRC correspondence — that’s genuinely useful. Seeing your task list in the inbox sidebar keeps everything in one window.
It won’t suit a complex workload or anyone needing serious recurring task management. But for a new sole trader who just needs somewhere to capture to-dos without learning a system, it’s respectable.
Verdict: Too limited for most growing businesses, but worth knowing if you live in Gmail and want zero learning curve.
6. Apple Reminders — Best for iPhone-Only Sole Traders on a Budget
Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, Mac Free tier: Yes, built in Paid: Not applicable
Apple Reminders has improved substantially. It supports tags, smart lists, sections within lists and reasonably competent natural-language input. Siri integration is the standout — “remind me to send that proposal when I get back to the office” works reliably.
For a sole trader working mainly from an iPhone or iPad who doesn’t want to install or pay for anything, it’s perfectly capable, and iCloud sync across Apple devices is flawless.
The ceiling is low. Recurring task handling is basic compared with Todoist or TickTick, there’s no cross-platform access, and the structure gets messy as your workload grows.
Verdict: A solid zero-cost option for iPhone-first sole traders. Expect to outgrow it if the business picks up.
FAQ
Do I really need a paid task management app as a sole trader?
Not straight away. Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks are genuinely free, Apple Reminders is built in, and Todoist’s free tier is capable — including task reminders, which many articles wrongly say are paid. Upgrade when the free version is actively holding you back. Todoist Pro at £5 a month billed yearly is a reasonable spend once you’re earning regularly.
How much does Todoist cost in the UK?
Pro is £5 per user per month billed yearly, which is £60 a year, or £7 billed monthly. Business is £8 per user per month yearly, £96 a year, or £10 monthly, both plus local tax. Todoist bills in pounds, so there’s no conversion to worry about.
Does Todoist’s free plan include reminders?
Yes. Task reminders are on the free Beginner tier. Pro adds custom reminders. This is the most commonly misreported fact about Todoist, and it matters because “I need reminders” is a bad reason to upgrade.
Is a task management app the same as accounting software?
No, and it’s important not to confuse them. A task manager handles your to-do list and schedule. Accounting software — FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero — handles invoicing, expenses and HMRC submissions including Making Tax Digital. You’ll likely need both; they do entirely different jobs.
Which task manager works best on Android in the UK?
Todoist and TickTick both have excellent Android apps and are the strongest choices. Things 3 is Apple-only. Microsoft To Do and Google Tasks work but are less feature-rich. TickTick’s Android app is particularly well regarded.
Can I use these apps to manage client deadlines and HMRC dates?
Yes, and you should. Most handle recurring tasks well enough for monthly bookkeeping, quarterly VAT returns or annual self-assessment (31 January for online submission). Todoist and TickTick are strongest for complex recurring schedules. Set your key HMRC dates at the start of each tax year and you won’t be caught out.
Conclusion: Which Task Manager Should UK Sole Traders Choose?
For most UK sole traders, Todoist is the right answer. The free tier handles the basics genuinely well — five projects, task reminders and calendar integration cost nothing — the natural-language input is best in class, and Pro at £5 a month billed in pounds is priced fairly if you outgrow it. It works on every platform and has a shallow enough learning curve to actually get used.
If you’re firmly in Apple and prefer a one-off purchase to a subscription, Things 3 is worth the upfront cost. Over three or four years, buying once beats £60 a year indefinitely.
On a tight budget and need cross-platform access? TickTick Premium is the cheapest paid option here — check the current price directly.
Already using Microsoft 365 or living in Gmail? Microsoft To Do or Google Tasks are free and already in your toolkit.
The most important takeaway: don’t let anyone sell you a full project management platform when a task manager will do. Todoist Pro at £5 against Asana Starter at £9.49 is the whole argument in two numbers. Keep it simple, keep costs down, and focus on running your business rather than learning software.
Pricing and features correct at time of writing. Plans and capabilities are subject to change — always confirm current details on the provider’s website before purchasing.