Written by Jackson Pearce Student engineer and creator of TalonTodo
Todoist is a clear task list, and a lot of students already know how to type a due date into it. The free Beginner plan is where a semester stops fitting. Each course wants its own project, a group project wants more than a few people, and last month's finished work disappears from the activity history.
TalonTodo is the list I built after running into those edges. The free plan is 10 active classes, reminders included, and no cutoff on tasks you have completed. You can try it at app.talontodo.com/register.
What Beginner includes
Checked on 10 October 2026 from Todoist pricing, the plans FAQ, and usage limits:
- 5 active personal projects
- 5 people per personal project
- 7 days of activity history
- Automatic reminders for tasks that have a date and time
- Custom, time-based, location, and recurring reminders are paid
Five projects is a real constraint if you keep one project per class and still want a project for work or a club. Seven days of history means a paper you finished last month is no longer in that log.
The same rows on TalonTodo's free plan
| Limit | Todoist Beginner | TalonTodo free |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $0 |
| Separate lists | 5 personal projects | 10 active classes |
| People on shared work | 5 per project | No member cap on a group |
| Reminders | Automatic only, when the task has a date and time | Included, including the 1-hour and 1-day windows |
| History | 7 days | No cutoff on tasks in the app |
TalonTodo is not a copy of Todoist's inbox. Classes are the unit, not a generic project. Study sets live in the same account, which Todoist does not do. Plain-language entry ("essay Friday at 5") is covered in Add Homework in Plain English.
When to stay on Todoist
Stay if your list is personal tasks plus one or two courses, you never look back more than a week, and you do not share projects with a whole group. Beginner is honest about those limits, and the app is fast.
Switch if you are mapping the free plan onto a full course load, a group larger than five, or a history you still want after the week ends. The class-by-class setup is in A Free Assignment Tracker for Students. A wider comparison is in The Best Free Student Planner Apps in 2026.
About the author Jackson Pearce is a student engineer and the creator of TalonTodo, a productivity app designed to help students manage projects, deadlines, and daily tasks more effectively.