Pinwork is a to-do app for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Anyone who needs Windows, Android, or a browser tab is better served by staying with Todoist, which runs on all of them. This page is for people whose devices are all Apple devices and who are looking at the next Todoist renewal.
Pinwork also has no free tier. The monthly and yearly plans start with a 7-day free trial through the App Store, and lifetime access is a one-time purchase. Todoist has a free plan with limits and a paid Pro plan above it.
What Pinwork does differently
Pinwork does not require an account of its own. Task data sits in a local database on each device, and when iCloud is available the same data syncs through the private iCloud database attached to the Apple Account already on the device. No Pinwork server receives the task database, which the sync and privacy guide sets out in full.
One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch when those devices use the same App Store Apple Account. Monthly access costs $4.99, yearly access costs $34.99, and lifetime access costs $79.99 as a one-time purchase. Lifetime access unlocks the app without a subscription expiration, and Restore Purchases recovers it on a new device. The plans and lifetime guide describes the states.
Paid access is a single level. No higher tier unlocks scheduling fields, repeats, or reminders. When access lapses, Pinwork enters read-only recovery. Tasks, projects, tags, and the archive stay visible while editing is blocked, and nothing is deleted, as the read-only recovery guide explains.
Capture is the other difference. One typed sentence can set the title, the
planned date and time, a separate deadline, a repeat, an estimate, tags, and a
project, and it can ask Pinwork to create a linked Apple Calendar event.
Entering Prepare slides tomorrow at 10am ~1h by next Monday at 5pm #work
leaves a clean title and fills the fields behind it. The typed capture
guide lists the supported phrases and the paths that
parse them.
Two date fields come with every plan. When is the day or time the work is planned for. Deadline is the real cutoff. A task can carry one, both, or neither. In Todoist, the equivalent Deadline field belongs to the paid plans. The When and Deadline guide covers how the two interact.
Pinwork and Todoist at a glance
| Pinwork | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| Account | None required; an Apple Account handles purchases and iCloud | A Todoist account is required |
| Free tier | None. A 7-day trial on the subscription plans | Yes, capped at 5 personal projects, 3 filters, and one week of history |
| Price | $4.99 monthly or $34.99 yearly | Pro at $7 monthly or $60 yearly |
| Lifetime option | $79.99 once, covering supported Apple devices | None listed |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | Apple devices plus Windows, Android, and the web |
| Reminders and repeats | Task Reminders and recurrence inside the one paid level | Basic reminders and recurring due dates on the free plan; custom reminder setups are paid |
| Typed capture | One sentence sets When, Deadline, repeat, estimate, tags, project, and a Calendar command | The task name sets due date, repeat, project, label, priority, and section; a typed deadline and duration need Pro |
| Apple Calendar | Creates a linked event from a task and syncs edits both ways, with Calendar access | One-way calendar feed into Apple Calendar; the two-way integration connects Google or Outlook |
| Focus | Focus sessions from a task, with Live Activity controls on the iPhone Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island; Focus Filters pick the view per Focus mode on iPhone and iPad | Pomodoro timing through the Toggl Track integration |
| Where tasks live | A local database on each device | With the Todoist service |
| Sync | The private iCloud database for the Apple Account on the device | Through the Todoist account |
Who should move
Move if the yearly renewal is the thing that keeps coming back. Lifetime access at $79.99 costs less than two years of Todoist Pro at $60 a year, and it does not renew.
Move if the second login is the friction. Pinwork asks for no separate credentials, so there is no password to recover and no account to delete later.
Move if the planned day and the due date keep fighting over one field, or if a typed sentence should set the planned day, the deadline, a repeat, and a tag in one go.
Who should stay with Todoist
Stay if any device in the picture runs Windows or Android, or if the list has to open in a browser. Pinwork serves none of those surfaces.
Stay if projects are shared with other people. Pinwork syncs through one person’s private iCloud database and has no shared workspaces, so it cannot stand in for a team tool.
Moving the tasks over
Pinwork imports selected Apple Reminders lists. Each list becomes a project of the same name, reminders become tasks, the start date becomes When, and the due date becomes Deadline. The import runs one way and leaves Apple Reminders untouched, and running it again skips what already arrived. The Apple Reminders import guide has the steps.
The account question on its own, with Todoist out of the frame, is covered in a to-do app without another account.