You have a to-do list. You have goals. You have habits you want to track. And somewhere you lose overview. TickTick and Griply both promise a solution, but approach it completely differently. I used both for weeks. This is what I noticed.
TickTick in brief
TickTick is a task manager with ambitions. It started as a simple to-do app, but grew into a productivity Swiss Army knife. You get tasks, subtasks, calendars, a Pomodoro timer, habit tracking and even white noise. It targets people who have many tasks and want to capture them quickly. Type “tomorrow 2:00 PM meeting John” and the app understands it. That natural language processing works surprisingly well. Available on every platform you can think of, including Linux.
Griply in brief
Griply chooses a different philosophy. It doesn’t start with your task list, but with your life vision. What do you actually want to achieve? Which areas in your life are important? From there you work downward: goals, habits, and only then tasks. It combines a vision board with daily planning. Recently it received a major interface update with the “Liquid Glass” design. Less polished than TickTick, but with a clear vision on how productivity should work.
TickTick vs Griply: the differences
The biggest difference is in the approach. TickTick is built for people who think in tasks. You have an inbox, you process your tasks, you schedule them. It’s bottom-up: from small tasks to larger projects. Griply flips it around. You start with your life vision and life areas (health, career, relationships). Goals hang underneath that. Habits underneath that. And only at the very bottom: tasks.
Sounds abstract? I noticed the difference especially in how I used the apps. In TickTick I constantly added tasks. Quick, efficient, check off. But after a week I looked at my list and thought: why am I actually doing all this? In Griply that happened less. Every task is attached to a goal, every goal to a life area. You literally see why you’re doing something.
But that structure has a price. Griply feels heavier. You have to set up your entire system first before you can really begin. TickTick you open up, type a task, done. For quick capture TickTick is superior. The natural language processing understands dates, times, priorities. Griply doesn’t have that.
Then the platforms. TickTick runs everywhere: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, web. Griply is missing Android. That’s a dealbreaker for many people. No Android means your teammates or partner might not be able to join. Or that you can’t access your system on your work phone.
Habit tracking is present in both apps, but works differently. In TickTick it’s a separate section. You have your tasks, and you have your habits. Two separate worlds. In Griply habits are integrated into your daily planning. You see them among your tasks in your calendar. That works better if you really want to build habits into your day, not as a separate checklist.
Calendar integration is a thing with both. TickTick has now rolled out full 2-way sync with Google Calendar. That worked well for me, but some users report slow sync. Griply added calendar integration in version 3, but it’s not yet fully 2-way. You can see your tasks in your calendar, but external appointments don’t always sync back smoothly.
Visually they’re totally different. TickTick has a functional, somewhat dated design. It does what it needs to do, but doesn’t win design awards. Griply invested significantly in the new Liquid Glass design. Transparent elements, more modern look. Whether you find that beautiful is personal, but it at least looks more current.
Collaboration is not a strength with either. TickTick has basic sharing features for lists, but it’s no Asana. Griply focuses entirely on personal use. Looking for a tool for teamwork? Then you need to look elsewhere for both.
The prices compared
Both apps have a free plan, but with clear limitations. TickTick gives you a maximum of 9 lists and 99 tasks per list. That sounds generous, but you miss calendar views and you can only add 1 attachment per day. For simple task management it’s fine. For serious use you quickly run into limits.
Griply’s free plan is tighter: 2 goals, 2 habits, no calendar, no time-blocking. It’s more a trial version than a full-fledged free plan. You can get to know the app, but for real use you need to pay.
Premium costs $ 3,99 per month or $ 35,99 per year at TickTick. Griply charges $ 4,99 per month or $ 29,99 per year ($ 2,49/month with annual subscription). On an annual basis, Griply is therefore cheaper.
Honestly? I find both prices reasonable for what you get. Not $ 1+ per month like some competitors. The question is more: which approach fits you? Because you’re not just paying for features, but for a way of working.
Conclusion
Choose TickTick if you’re looking for a reliable task manager that works everywhere. It’s faster, more stable, and that natural language processing is really handy. Do you have an Android? Then the choice is made anyway. TickTick is perfect for people who have lots of small tasks and want to capture them quickly without thinking about “life areas” and “visions”.
Choose Griply if you feel like you’re busy but not productive. If you’re checking off tasks but not making progress. Griply forces you to think about the why. That connection between vision, goals and daily tasks really works. But you do need to use iOS or desktop, and you need to be willing to invest time in setting up your system.
