What are the best Android apps for location-based reminders?

Options
Considered

User
Recs.

Dec 25, 2023

Last
Updated

Google Keep vs Todoist vs LocationKit

vs Google vs Any.do vs Emacs Org-mode vs AUTO LOCATOR: FIND MY CAR FREE vs Samsung reminder vs NoxMemory vs Google Now Launcher vs Learnember

Specs

Platforms

Android / iOS / Chrome / Web / Desktop

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

Android / iOS / OSX / Windows / Web / Gmail / Outlook / Thunderbird / Kindle / Chrome / Firefox

API

Reminders

yes

Location-based reminders

yes

Multifactor

Mobile widget

yes

Karma system

yes

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

Windows, Mac, Android, Web, Chrome

API

Reminders

Yes

Location-based reminders

Yes

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Any

Collaborative

Yes (Share lists, assign tasks)

Search

Cross Platform

Yes

Dark Theme

Yes

Offline access

Yes

In App Purchase

Yes

Subtasks

Yes

Supported Calendars

Yes

Free plan

Yes

Projects

Yes

Realtime

Yes

Recurring

Yes

Daily Planner

Yes

Mobile widgets

Yes (Many)

Themes

Yes

Gmail Integration

Yes

Missed Calls

Yes

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

Linux / OSX / Windows

API

Yes

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

7.9MB

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Google Inc

Required Android Version

4.1 and up

In App Purchases

None

Platforms

API

Reminders

Location-based reminders

Multifactor

Mobile widget

Karma system

File Size

Collaborative

Search

Cross Platform

Dark Theme

Offline access

In App Purchase

Subtasks

Supported Calendars

Free plan

Projects

Realtime

Recurring

Daily Planner

Mobile widgets

Themes

Gmail Integration

Missed Calls

Publisher

Required Android Version

In App Purchases

Pros + Cons

Pro
Useful home screen widget

The Keep widget lets users quickly see existing notes and add new ones.

Comment

Pro
Both location- and time-based reminders

You can set reminders that bring certain notes to your attention when you arrive at a specified location or when it’s a specified time or date. Unfortunately you can only do one or the other for each note.

Comment

Pro
Unlimited and seamless sync across all Google connected devices, from mobile to desktop

When a mobile device isn't in use, Google Keep can be accessed as a Chrome app or as a website. Basically, no matter the device being used or the OS on it, there is always a way to access the app. There is also no limitation to how many devices this can be done with, freeing up the user to always have access.

Comment

Con
No subtasks

You cannot add subtasks to a list.

Comment

Con
Does not integrate with Google Calendar or Tasks

It does not integrate with Google Calendar or other Google Apps with the exception of "Google Now."

Comment

Pro
Works as a great bookmarking tool

Keep has a great feature that allows you to save sites you visit as a special note type with a link and a preview image.

Comment

Pro
Great integration with Google Drive

Everything you add to Google Keep is also added to Google Drive and synced across the web and all your devices.

Comment

Pro
Drag and drop sorting

You can move cards manually, which is great for prioritizing to-dos. Within a card, you can also drag and drop items.

Comment

Pro
Includes character recognition for text in images

Google Keep lets users take pictures of physical notes and makes the contents searchable within the app. This can be a convenient time saver for those that do not want to type out the necessary info, but rather take a quick snapshot of it.

Comment

Pro
Clean, minimal interface

Instead of having every possible feature, Google Keep is designed to be very simple and minimalist. It's really easy to quickly create notes and search for old notes. Google Keep enhances the app's organization by letting users color code notes.

Comment

Pro
Archives finished tasks

Any finished task is archived and can be searched at a later date.

Comment

Pro
Allows photo and audio attachments

Notes can include multimedia attachments in addition to text.

Comment

Pro
Can share and collaboratively edit any item including lists

Keep allows sharing any item with other contacts and editing them together at the same time. This way a team can work together in real time, no matter their location.

Comment

Pro
Supports drawing

Newer versions of Google Keep now supports drawing on either a blank page, existing notes or in an image attached to the note.

Comment

Pro
Really well implemented speech-to-text

Google has a lot of experience with speech-to-text functionality and they did a fantastic job with Keep. This means you can easily record spoken notes that can then be changed to a text based note.

Comment

Pro
Super fast to use

The focus on a minimal interface makes everything fast to use on both web and mobile. This comes in handy for when a note needs to be jotted down quickly as there is little to no load times or faffing about trying to get to a space where the note can finally be recorded.

Comment

Pro
Notes can be grouped via labels

In addition to the ability to color-code notes, they can be labeled and navigated and grouped that way. This allows for easy orginization, to then be found easily at a later date.

Comment

Pro
Allows color-coding

[add description]

Comment

Con
Significant delay in syncing shared notes

When someone else modifies a shared note it takes a lot of time to sync to my device

Comment

Con
Organization is limited to just multiple tags for notes

It makes the user interface more cluttered, and navigation gets more difficult.

Comment

Con
No notifications when tasks are added to shared lists

Although the ability to collaborate on lists is advanced, Keep will not let you know when another person adds an item to a list you share.

Comment

Con
No text formatting

No basic formatting like bold, italics. Makes it harder to do things like meeting notes. Keep is intended as a minimal and quick note taking app, but sadly for those that are looking for something more robust, the features are just not there.

Comment

Con
Single-level lists only

There’s no way to set a hierarchy for your lists.

Comment

Con
Cannot share groups of notes (e.g., labels)

Google's equivalent of groups are labels, which can't be shared. By comparison, Trello allows you to share boards with others. Trello also supports grouping through teams. Google Keep has no such concept.

Comment

Con
Delay between to-do entries

The keyboard closes and reloads between to-do list entries, so the first letters or words may be missed if you’re trying to quickly create a list.

Comment

Con
Google can access and mine your data

You have to be okay with Google analyzing and using your data in order to use Keep.

Comment

Con
Google account required

You're required to have a Google account in order to use the app.

Comment

Con
Reminder creation might not be as obvious at first

There's no explicit way to create a reminder. You first have to create a note, then you have to set a location on the note. Then, when your phone or tablet see's that you're near that location, an alert will be generated.

Comment

Con
Location-based reminders is a paid feature

Costs $29/year for location-based reminders.

Comment

Pro
Supports natural language input

Todoist supports phrases like "tomorrow", "next month", "in 3 weeks", or for recurring tasks "every week" or "every 3 days".

Comment

Pro
Integration with any app supporting web-calendar link

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Supports text formatting

You can make tasks stand out by setting them in bold and spice up your project names with emojis. Todoist also allows editing of hyperlinked text in the task comments. Hypertext, bold text, italic text, and emojis are supported in task names, project names, and task comments. Emojis are also supported in label names.

Comment

Pro
Quickly browse your list through smartwatch devices

The Todoist app supports Apple Watch and Android Wear for instant action and task viewing through smartwatches.

Comment

Pro
Extensive integration with a wide range of external apps

Todoist offers integration with a wide range of external apps, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Zapier, Toggl Button, TaskClone, CloudMagic, IFTTT, Sunrise, Calendar Sync, Google Now, Dispatch, Mailplane, Airmail, Drafts, Workflow, PomoDone, 1Password, Powr of You, Mailbird, Yoke, Taco, Ginger Keyboard, Time Doctor, and Rindle.

Comment

Pro
Great home screen and lock screen widgets

The native widget is fully functional and editable without needing to open the app. A premium feature allows you to add and edit the task list on your mobile device’s lock screen.

Comment

Pro
Integration with Sunrise Calendar

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Allows creating location-based reminders

Location-specific tasks can utilize the GPS in your mobile device to offer reminders when you are in the appropriate vicinity. For example, grocery lists that are linked to the location of your regular grocery store.

Comment

Pro
Allows creating task templates

Tasks can be saved as templates by going to "task actions" and selecting "export as a template." The template will be saved locally. Saved templates can then be imported by going to "task actions" button and clicking "import from template." This allows you to use past task items as a starting point for creating new tasks.

Comment

Pro
Can be set to send a daily digest email

You can easily program a digest email that will send you an up-do-date summary of your tasks and deadlines.

Comment

Pro
Visual scheduling

By clicking on a task and then selecting “schedule,” a dialog box will pop up with shortcuts like "today," "tomorrow," or "postpone until tomorrow." A date can still be entered manually.

Comment

Pro
Monitors productivity and rewards it with karma

Todoist monitors how many tasks are completed and gives karma points as rewards for accomplishing them. It can also display charts showing productivity trends, which are great for finding areas that need improvement and increasing your overall productivity. This feature is a great motivator and an effective way of tracking productivity.

Comment

Pro
No ads in free version

The unpaid version contains no ads or popups encouraging you to upgrade. The only time you will be asked to upgrade is if you attempt to use a premium feature.

Comment

Pro
Allows sharing and collaborating on tasks

Anyone can be invited to collaborate on tasks and projects. Users can work alongside five people for free and 25 via the paid version. Collaboration includes the ability to assign tasks, comment on tasks, and receive instant updates.

Comment

Pro
Supports natural language input

Todoist supports phrases like "tomorrow," "next month," "in 3 weeks," or for recurring tasks, "every week" or "every 3 days."

Comment

Pro
Multiple ways to organize tasks

Tasks can be structured in nested lists. They can be moved around by dragging and dropping them or via keyboard shortcuts. Tasks can be assigned labels, color codes, priorities, and can also be grouped into projects.

Comment

Pro
Powerful search and filtering functionality

Todoist allows you to perform advanced queries to find tasks that are overdue, have a certain priority level or label, are within a certain project, are assigned to a certain person, or have a deadline set within a certain date range. It also allows combining different queries, removing certain results from the queries, and creating either/or statements. These queries can be saved as filters for easy access. Filters can be color-coded.

Comment

Pro
Minimalist UI

Todoist's web and desktop interfaces have a 2-column layout. The right column has all tasks organized in nested lists with color codes and information such as what people are assigned to each task and which project the task is part of. The left column offers ways of accessing various groups of tasks – tasks that have to be completed within a certain timeframe, tasks that are a part of a certain project or have certain labels attached to them, etc. The left column also contains filters that allow even more advanced ways of finding a group of tasks. The mobile interface follows a similar design philosophy, but gives each column a separate view.

Comment

Con
Not much independence of customising the layout

This has been a consistent "con" with Todoist. You cannot decide what should be the size of the fonts. You cannot switch between one-column layout and 2-column layout. You cannot view completed tasks. It is a brilliant application of course, but the development team is stuck on its basic idea of the app and after that they just haven't been developing further.

Comment

Con
No way to add additional info to a task

[add description]

Comment

Con
Import feature is bad at handling non-English characters

[add description]

Comment

Con
Using "next" actions requires a messy workaround

Todoist was not designed for "next" actions. You can use a workaround by manually setting certain items as priority and then filtering them, but that process requires a lot more management than other tools.

Comment

Con
Recurring tasks are hard to set because the app only supports "natural language"

[add description]

Comment

Con
Very basic compared to alternatives

Compared to some other options, this is not a feature-rich app. The free version is not much better than keeping a text file of your to-dos.

Comment

Con
Mac Mail not supported

Even in the Pro version, Mac Mail is not supported for sending tasks as email attachments. There are some workarounds to send mail, but those attachments will still be impossible to forward.

Comment

Con
Free version has limited functionality

Without a subscription you won’t have access to reminders, comments, or labels and filters. These are features that many users find essential, but aren't included without a subscription.

Comment

Con
Makes it too hard to see all tasks assigned to you across the app

There is no default or easy-to-access view to simply see all your tasks from all your different projects. You have to use the filter (to:me) which seems like too much effort for something that should really be a default view.

Comment

Con
Latest iPhone app only available for iOS 8 and above

The latest iPhone app is only available for iOS 8 and above, which excludes users with iPhone 4 or older models. Older versions of the app that can be used with previous iOS versions can be found here.

Comment

Con
Labels (@contexts, etc.) only available with premium subscription

[add description]

Comment

Con
No manual sort capabilities

The fact that you cannot set sorting manually is especially frustrating in the "today" view, which only sorts by due date and priority and cannot be reorganized. The company has stated that this functionality is in the works.

Comment

Con
Does not listen to user suggestions

Todoist has been shown to be fairly unresponsive to requests from their user community. An example can be seen here.

Comment

Con
Awkward data entry

Several aspects of data entry are far more awkward than they should be: Adding notes, moving subtasks within the outline, and scheduling repeating tasks are all handled better by other apps. Adding notes cannot be done while creating the task, but must be done after. Moving items within the outline hierarchy is very clumsy and the use of keyboard shortcuts (such as holding down 2 or 3) requires knowledge of your current level in the hierarchy (which is not always clear). Finally, there is a natural language syntax for repeating tasks but it is very finicky and there is no good feedback mechanism to tell you whether or not it’s working.

Comment

Con
Heavy premium advertisement

There is a screaming red "Upgrade and get more done" badge fixed in the bottom of the view, and additional features free users cannot access.

Comment

Con
Annual subscription required for notifications and attachments

A yearly subscription costs $29.

Comment

Con
Location based reminders do not work

They just plain don't.

Comment

Pro
Great GPS

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Voice-generated location reminders

Add a google search widget to your home screen, tap the microphone or say "Ok, Google", and say things like "Remind me to buy a Banana Hammock at Banana Republic." The next time your phone is at Banana Republic, an alert will be generated.

Comment

Con
Some settings get automatically reset with updates

Settings such as support for "Ok, Google" from any screen default to on after every update.

Comment

Pro
Free version

Any.do has a free version and also offers a Premium plan that costs $3 a month.

Comment

Pro
"Any.do Moment" makes to-dos manageable

"Moment" is a reminder to check all tasks that are planned for the day. It simplifies scheduling your day and let’s you quickly check off items as they're completed. It can be set it to prompt you in the morning or afternoon to review your day’s tasks and update whether or not you’ve accomplished them. This is really useful for managing a long to-do list without feeling overwhelmed.

Comment

Pro
Clever auto-complete

As tasks are added, Any.do attempts to guess what is going to be written and offers suggestions. It will search through contacts for names and information, allowing you to add people to tasks and offering suggestions for meeting spots that are convenient for everyone.

Comment

Con
UI is great if you like it simple, but might also be misleading otherwise

I have some tasks with multiple labels (tags), but when viewing tasks list, the app only showed some of the labels and not all of them.

Comment

Con
Lack of power features like priority and labels

Any.do has only two levels of priority that can be assigned to tasks, namely Normal and High. There is no way to assign any sort of weights to tasks either. There is no feature to assign any sort of labels on them to be able to filter particular type of tasks. These features are very valuable to a power user.

Comment

Pro
Cross-platform support and sync

The app runs on iOS, Android, as a Chrome extension and in browsers.

Comment

Pro
Five simple widgets for Android

There are five widgets to choose from, all of which are simple and useful.

Comment

Pro
Rewards for completing tasks

The app integrates with Kiip, a reward platform that gives free, real-life rewards when a to-do list is completed.

Comment

Pro
Has a system that allows collaborating on tasks

Any.do allows creating "hubs" for groups of people, like colleagues, family, and friends, where tasks can be shared or assigned to each other.

Comment

Pro
Simple

Any.do includes the features that are needed and nothing more.

Comment

Pro
Folders for tasks

Users can create and edit folders for certain tasks, like “personal” and “work.”

Comment

Pro
Web interface for desktop access

The web interface can be used to add items.

Comment

Pro
Missed call reminder on Android

The mobile app reminds you of missed calls and helps manage them in the future.

Comment

Pro
Clean, intuitive design

Any.do splits all tasks up into groups. Tasks can be grouped either by date (today, tomorrow, upcoming, and someday) or in custom folders. Each group has a plus button next to it that allows adding new tasks to the group.

Comment

Con
Lackluster user interface

The UI is very dated on Android and hasn't changed much in the last few years.

Comment

Con
Invasive

Any.do is reported by many users to "take over" their phones, messing with telephone permissions for example.

Comment

Con
No Android Wear support

The Any.do app currently does not support Android Wear, in contrast to rival to-do list apps such as Todoist or Wunderlist. Currently Any.do does not have plans to support these devices.

Comment

Con
Incomplete keyboard control

There’s no clear way to select and mark tasks using keyboard.

Comment

Con
Limited Any.do moments in free version

The free version gives only five Any.do moments per month, limiting productivity.

Comment

Con
Spotty auto-complete and voice recognition

Though the auto-complete feature is very smart in that it can access contacts and create a variety of tasks, it also might auto-complete with something entirely wrong. The voice recognition also has some issues with correctly understanding what is being said.

Comment

Con
Offline access to lists is not available

Since the addition of the Premium plan, offline access to lists is not available for free Any.do users.

Comment

Pro
It´s fast

One button to keep the position of the car and one button to restore it.

Comment

Pro
Add events from your calendar

Support one-click import of mobile calendar, contacts(address book). Let your local calendar events be recorded together in the list without repeating the records.

Comment

Pro
Manage a variety of anniversaries

See all events count down in real time! Never forget every important day. Whether it's a friend's wedding, a child's birthday or a wedding anniversary, you can find and manage the plan on the NoxMemory screen list.

Comment

Pro
Personalized reminder

Your countdown units from years down to seconds！ NoxMemory can be personalized reminder based on your countdown plan, 100 days, 200 days, 30 days, etc.

Comment

Pro
Customize your countdowns

Count down to any special date and create as many countdowns as you want. It can be Christmas, New Year 2020 or your next vacation trip. Set a timer or see how many seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks ,months or years are left until an event that is important to you.

Comment

Pro
Share your events

Share an event with your friends/family so they can join in on the excitement too

Comment