Every app on this page runs on Apple devices, and this page compares them on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch only. Windows, Android, and browser use are outside its scope, and Pinwork in particular serves none of them. Which Apple to-do apps can be bought outright, and what does the purchase actually cover?
A one-time price rarely stands alone. Three of the four paid apps below sell a lifetime or perpetual option beside an active subscription, and one of them sells a separate purchase for each device family. What matters is how many devices the payment covers, how many major versions it survives, and whether an account is still required afterwards.
What to check before paying once
- Major versions. A perpetual license usually covers the version on sale today. Omni states plainly that future major versions of OmniFocus are a separate purchase. Treat “lifetime” as “this version, indefinitely” until the vendor says otherwise in writing.
- Per-platform pricing. One price for a Mac app does not always include the iPhone or the iPad. Pinwork and OmniFocus cover every Apple device with one purchase. Things charges per platform.
- The sync account. Using an app without an account and syncing without an account are separate questions. Some apps below run locally with no signup and involve an account only for sync or for licensing.
- The lapsed state. Ask what a trial ending or a payment stopping actually does. Tasks that stay readable are a different outcome from tasks locked behind a wall.
- What the one-time price equals. A lifetime unlock may buy the same tier as the subscription, or it may sit at one of several tiers with very different prices.
The apps
Pinwork: $79.99 once, or $4.99 a month
Lifetime access costs $79.99 as a single purchase covering iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch signed in with the same Apple Account. The subscription alternative is $4.99 monthly or $34.99 yearly, and both subscription plans carry a free seven-day trial run by the App Store. The plans and lifetime access guide documents how each state is handled.
There is no free tier. When the trial ends with no plan active, Pinwork enters read-only recovery: every task, project, tag, and archived item stays visible and inspectable, while creating, editing, completing, rescheduling, and deleting are blocked until access is restored. Nothing is deleted, and no task, project, or tag can be changed.
Pinwork does not require an account of its own. Purchases run through the App Store, and task data syncs through the private iCloud database attached to the Apple Account already on the device. Recurring tasks, the separate When and Deadline dates, widgets, the Mac menu bar, and the Apple Watch app belong to the paid product, with no higher tier to buy. Typing a task in plain words can set its date, deadline, repeat, and project in one line. One purchase covers every supported Apple device.
Things 3: $9.99 to $79.97, depending on devices
Things sells a separate app for each device family. At list prices that is $49.99 on Mac, $9.99 on iPhone, which includes the Apple Watch app, and $19.99 on iPad. Buying all three costs $79.97. Someone who works only on an iPhone pays $9.99. There is no subscription and no permanent free tier, although the Mac app offers a trial.
The app runs without an account. Sync is a separate matter, because Things Cloud is a Things account and the Watch app depends on it. Reminders and repeating to-dos are included in the purchased app with no additional tier, and Things runs on Apple platforms only. A closer look at how the two apps handle capture and dates sits in Pinwork vs Things 3.
Structured: $99.99 lifetime, beside a subscription
Structured has a free tier. The timeline, the inbox, subtasks, and widgets work without paying. Pro costs $6.99 monthly, $29.99 yearly, or $99.99 once, and the lifetime price sits beside the subscription rather than replacing it.
Recurring tasks, calendar import, and the more advanced planning features are Pro. The app does not require an account, and iCloud sync is optional. Structured runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, with Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets.
OmniFocus 4: $74.99 or $149.99 for a perpetual license
Omni sells OmniFocus two ways. The subscription is $9.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly. The perpetual version 4 license is $74.99 for Standard and $149.99 for Pro, covers Apple platforms, and is the closest thing on this page to a traditional software purchase.
Future major versions are a separate purchase, so the license buys version 4 and nothing after it. And an Omni account is required for licensing and for the trial even when Omni’s own sync service goes unused. Reminders and repeating tasks are part of the base paid product, and there is a trial but no permanent free tier. Version 4.7 added a planned date beside the due date.
Apple Reminders: free, and already installed
Anyone weighing a $79.99 purchase should first check whether the app already on the device is enough. Apple Reminders costs nothing, has no subscription and no in-app purchase, and ships on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with an Apple Watch app and widgets. Reminders and repeating tasks are not paid features.
There is no separate vendor signup, although an Apple Account is involved as soon as lists sync through iCloud. Reminders is the baseline every paid app on this page has to justify itself against. If that baseline stops being enough, Pinwork can import Reminders lists one way, leaving the originals untouched.
The prices side by side
| App | Price model | One-time price | Free tier | Account | Apple platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinwork | Subscription or lifetime | $79.99, all devices | None, seven-day trial on subscription plans | No app account; Apple Account for iCloud sync | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
| Things 3 | One-time, per platform | $49.99 Mac, $9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad | None, Mac trial | None for local use; Things Cloud for sync | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
| Structured | Free tier, subscription or lifetime | $99.99 Pro | Yes, timeline and inbox | Not required for app use | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
| OmniFocus 4 | Subscription or perpetual license | $74.99 Standard, $149.99 Pro | None, trial | Omni account for licensing | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
| Apple Reminders | Free, built in | Not applicable | The whole app | Apple Account for iCloud sync | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
When paying once actually costs less
A one-time price beats a subscription only after enough time has passed. The $4.99 monthly plan passes Pinwork’s $79.99 lifetime price in month seventeen, and the $34.99 yearly plan passes it in year three. Structured’s $99.99 lifetime is not overtaken by its $29.99 yearly plan until year four. The $99.99 OmniFocus subscription passes the $74.99 Standard license inside the first year.
The crossing point moves with every price, so the arithmetic belongs before the purchase. The subscription cost calculator runs the totals over one, three, five, and ten years for any app next to Pinwork.
Which one fits which situation
Someone who works on an iPhone and nothing else has the cheapest options here: Things at $9.99, Reminders at nothing, or Structured’s limited free tier. Adding a Mac and an iPad to that Things purchase changes the comparison entirely.
Someone who wants one payment to cover four devices without per-device arithmetic has two options on this page: Pinwork at $79.99 and OmniFocus Standard at $74.99. The two prices sit five dollars apart, so the deciding factor is usually how much structure the work needs.
Someone who plans by the shape of the day rather than by list will find Structured’s timeline hard to replace, as long as either the free-tier limit on repeating tasks or the $99.99 lifetime price is acceptable.
Someone who already lives in Apple Reminders should name the single missing thing before paying for anything. If the answer is repeating tasks, most apps here cover it. If the answer is a separate planned day and due date, fewer do.
Someone who needs Windows, Android, a browser, or shared projects should check each vendor’s own platform list, because Pinwork serves none of those needs. That trade is examined from the other direction in the Todoist alternative for Mac and iPhone.