A Things 3 alternative that runs everywhere
Things 3 is the best-looking task manager anyone has shipped, and people rarely leave because they stopped liking it. They leave because they picked up an Android phone, or a work laptop running Windows, and their list did not come with them.
The short version
Things is a planning tool for the Apple ecosystem, bought once per device. Nearer is a doing tool that runs in a browser on anything. If every screen you own has an Apple logo and you enjoy planning your week, Things is the finer app. Nearer suits mixed hardware and the moment when planning is done.
Planning and doing are different jobs
Things is built around Today, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday. It is a superb way to decide what your week looks like, and every one of those views answers the question of what you could be doing. That is the planning half.
The doing half is a smaller problem with a different answer. You already decided last night. What you need at nine in the morning is the first thing, without the four buckets around it reopening the question.
Nearer only does the second half. One card, and the next one when you finish. It is a worse planner than Things by some distance and a more single-minded way to work through what you already planned.
The gap between those two jobs is what a to-do list that feels overwhelming is usually describing.
Things 3 vs Nearer, dimension by dimension
Where it runs
- Things 3
- Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Nothing else, by design.
- Nearer
- Any browser on phone or desktop, with your place synced between them. Windows, Android and Linux included.
This is the row that sends most people looking. Things has no answer for a Windows work machine or an Android phone, and it is not going to get one.
What you see
- Things 3
- Today, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday, with projects and areas beneath them.
- Nearer
- One card at a time. No buckets, no bird’s-eye view of what is outstanding.
Things gives you four ways to survey the work. Nearer removes the survey, which is a downgrade for planning and the whole point for starting.
Repeating work
- Things 3
- Repeating to-dos that reappear on schedule inside the same views as everything else.
- Nearer
- Routines are their own list type, resetting daily, weekly, monthly, on completion or by hand.
Keeping habits out of the task list is what lets the task list reach empty, instead of always showing something that regenerates tomorrow.
Studying
- Things 3
- Not a use case.
- Nearer
- Flashcards are a third list type with spaced repetition built in, on the same one-card flow.
One fewer app to run if you are revising for anything, which Things was never trying to solve.
Craft and offline
- Things 3
- Native, fast, beautiful, works with no connection, and a genuine pleasure to use.
- Nearer
- A web app. Clean, but it is a browser tab and it needs a connection.
Things wins this comfortably. If the feel of the app is what keeps you using it, that is a real reason and not a superficial one.
How you pay
- Things 3
- Bought once per platform, with no subscription. Buying Mac and iPhone separately is the usual route.
- Nearer
- $49.99 per year, or $5.99 per month, after a 7-day trial with no card, covering every device you open it on.
A one-time purchase beats a subscription on a long enough timeline. Weigh that against buying each platform separately and never getting the one you actually needed.
We describe Things 3’s features and pricing in general terms because the specifics change. Check their site for current details.
Who should try Nearer
- · You use a Windows or Linux machine, or carry an Android phone.
- · You already know what to do today and want help doing it, not reviewing it.
- · You want habits kept out of the task list so the list can end.
- · You study something and would rather keep it in the same place.
- · You bought Things for Mac and stalled at buying it again for the phone.
Who should stay with Things 3
- · Every device you own is Apple and you want native speed and offline access.
- · You genuinely use Upcoming and Someday to plan ahead.
- · You prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription.
Starting out
Open Nearer on the device Things does not run on, since that is where the gap actually hurts. Put tomorrow in it, nothing more, and see whether one card at a time carries you further than four views did. The trial runs 7 days without a card, with no card, so nothing is at stake while you compare.
Try Nearer free for 7 daysNo credit card required.
Common questions
- What is the best Things 3 alternative for Windows or Android?
- Anything web-based, since that is the constraint Things cannot solve. Nearer runs in a browser on every platform and syncs your place between them, though it is a tool for working through a list rather than planning one.
- Does Nearer have Today and Upcoming views?
- No. There are no date-based views at all. Nearer shows one card from the list you are in, which is a deliberate trade rather than a missing feature.
- Is Nearer as polished as Things 3?
- Things is a native app with years of craft in it and Nearer is a web app. Nearer is quiet and unadorned and there is far less of it to polish, but if interface quality is what you value most, Things is the higher bar.
- Is Nearer a one-time purchase like Things?
- No. Things is bought once per platform and Nearer is a subscription. $49.99 per year, or $5.99 per month, after a 7-day trial with no card, and it covers every device rather than one.