Todoist alternatives for freelancers with clients

By Darko Bačić, founder of App Tube · 9 October 2026 · Facts checked 9 October 2026

Todoist is a good to-do list, but when client work needs a board and a timer on each task, pick devBoard. Pick Trello for a simple board you can share, or Asana if your client wants a timeline. Pick Basecamp for messages and files with the client in one place. We make devBoard. It is first on the list. We say where the others are better.

Why freelancers leave Todoist

Todoist is well liked, and for good reason. Adding a task is fast, and it runs on almost every device you own. It has projects, sub-tasks and a board layout.

The one real reason to leave is time. Todoist has no built-in time tracking. A task can have a duration, but Todoist's help page treats it as a plan, not a record. To track hours, you add another app, such as Toggl Track or Clockify. Todoist's own help says the Toggl Track link works in the web app only.

With one client, a list and a separate timer are fine. With three, you want the time on the task and a place for each client.

The short list

devBoard

Pick it if

• You bill by the hour. Press Start on the task you are doing. If you forgot, log the minutes by hand, and they count for today. More on time tracking.
• You want one workspace per client. Ana is a freelancer with three clients: a bakery app, a hotel site and a clinic booking app. Each gets its own workspace. The workspace per client guide shows the setup.
• You want the client to see progress. Invite them as a guest. A guest can see the workspace but cannot change anything or comment.
• You want a timesheet at the end of the week. Ask your AI assistant for one per workspace.

Skip it if

• Your client wants to open a link in a browser. There is no web version. A shared link opens the app for people in the workspace.
• You want to bring your Todoist projects over in one go. There is no importer.
• You need docs or chat with the client. devBoard has neither.
• You rely on tasks that repeat, or on automations. devBoard has neither.
• You want invoices. devBoard does not make them.
• You work on Windows or Linux. Those apps are not out yet.

Trello

Pick it if

• You want the simplest board there is. One board per client works well.
• You want to share for free. Clients can join your Workspace on the free plan, up to its limit.
• You want rules that run on their own. Trello's Butler is on every plan.

Skip it if

• You want a timer without add-ons. Time tracking comes from add-ons such as Everhour, Harvest or Toggl.
• You need subtasks, the small steps inside a task. A card holds a checklist, and that is as deep as it goes.

See devBoard vs Trello for the two side by side.

Asana

Pick it if

• Your client wants a plan they can read. Timeline and Gantt views come with Starter. A Gantt chart shows tasks as bars across dates.
• You want list, board and calendar views on the free plan.

Skip it if

• You want time tracking on a small plan. It starts on Advanced. Timesheets for billable hours are a paid add-on.
• You share with more than one other person for free. The free plan stops at two users.
• You want a calm phone app. Capterra reviewers say it can be slow, and the screens can feel like too much at first.

Our devBoard vs Asana page goes into more detail.

Basecamp

Pick it if

• You want the client in the loop. A project has a message board, to-dos, docs and files, and a group chat called Campfire.
• You pay per account, not per person. Inviting the client's team adds no fee per head, up to your plan's limit.
• You want a board. Its Card Table is a kanban board. Kanban is a way to track work as cards that move across columns.

Skip it if

• You need time tracking on a small plan. It is only on Pro and Unlimited. The Freelancer and Studio plans do not have it.
• You want a running timer. You type the hours in. We found no stopwatch.
• You work on a Mac. A one-star App Store review from June 2026 says the Mac app got slow after Basecamp 5.

We also keep a list of Basecamp alternatives.

Who should stay on Todoist

• Your list is mostly personal to-dos and chores that repeat.
• You already track time in another app, and it works.
• Your clients never need to see your tasks.
• You want an app on Linux or on your watch today. Todoist has both.

How we chose

We make devBoard, so we put it first. That is a bias. We pictured a freelancer like Ana and looked for three things: a place per client, time tracking, and a way to show the client progress. We read each pricing page on 9 October 2026. For a longer list, see the best tools for freelancers. Every page in our alternatives section works this way.

Moving off Todoist

devBoard has no importer, so you move open tasks by hand. Start with one client. An epic is a big piece of work split into smaller tasks. Make an epic for each big piece, then add its tasks. The guide to epics, tasks and subtasks shows how.

Your errands do not need a new home. devBoard has a private to-do list with reminders, and it follows you across workspaces. It sits on My Work.

Of the others, Asana takes CSV files on every plan. Todoist has a help page on CSV files. It covers import. We could not confirm that it covers export, so check that first. We found no built-in importer in Trello or Basecamp.