Things 3 is built by Cultured Code, a small studio founded by Christoph Rosenberger in Stuttgart, Germany. The first version launched in 2007, and Things 3 arrived in 2017 after years of secretive development. The company rarely speaks publicly, doesn’t have a blog, and lets the product do the talking.
The app follows a GTD-inspired structure with areas, projects, headings, to-dos, and checklists. But what really sets it apart is the interaction design. Every animation, every gesture, every transition has been painstakingly crafted. Dragging a task from the inbox into a project feels satisfying in a way that’s hard to describe but immediately noticeable.
Things uses a one-time purchase model instead of subscriptions: $9.99 for iPhone, $19.99 for iPad, and $49.99 for Mac. There are no recurring fees, which is increasingly rare in productivity software. This means you buy it once and own it.
The Quick Entry feature on Mac lets you capture tasks from anywhere with a keyboard shortcut. Magic Plus intelligently determines where to place new tasks based on what you’re currently viewing. The Today view, with its evening section, helps plan both work and personal tasks.
Things supports Markdown formatting in notes, tags for flexible organization, and repeating tasks with flexible recurrence patterns. It syncs instantly via Things Cloud across all Apple devices.
The main criticisms are the lack of collaboration features (it’s purely personal), no web or Android version, and limited integration options compared to Todoist. But for individuals who use Apple devices and value design quality, Things 3 is often considered the best task manager available.
Cultured Code is a small team — estimated under 20 people — and they take their time with updates, prioritizing quality over feature velocity.
