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

8

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Here’s the Deal

7 Options Considered

Best Android apps for location-based reminders	Price	Platforms	API
-- Google Keep	-	Android / iOS / Chrome / Web / Desktop	No
-- Todoist	-	Android / iOS / OSX / Windows / Web / Gmail / Outlook / Thunderbird / Kindle / Chrome / Firefox	yes
-- Google	-	-	-
-- AUTO LOCATOR: FIND MY CAR FREE	FREE	-	-
-- Emacs Org-mode	-	Linux / OSX / Windows	Yes

Google Keep

Top 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. See More

Top Con

No subtasks

You cannot add subtasks to a list. See More

Specs

Platforms:Android / iOS / Chrome / Web / Desktop

Collaborative:Yes

Top Pro

Archives finished tasks

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

Top 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." See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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 See More

Top Pro

Allows photo and audio attachments

Notes can include multimedia attachments in addition to text. See More

Top Con

Organization is limited to just multiple tags for notes

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Con

Single-level lists only

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

Top Pro

Useful home screen widget

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Con

Google account required

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Allows color-coding

Todoist

Add Video or Image

Top Con

Location-based reminders is a paid feature

Costs $29/year for location-based reminders. See More

Top 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". See More

Specs

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

Collaborative:yes

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Integration with any app supporting web-calendar link

Top Con

No way to add additional info to a task

Top 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. See More

Top Con

Import feature is bad at handling non-English characters

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Con

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Integration with Sunrise Calendar

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Con

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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." See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Con

Annual subscription required for notifications and attachments

A yearly subscription costs $29. See More

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

AUTO LOCATOR: FIND MY CAR FREE

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

It´s fast

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

Emacs Org-mode

Specs

Platforms:Linux / OSX / Windows

Collaborative:no

LocationKit

Add Video or Image

Any.do

Top Pro

Cross-platform support and sync

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

Top 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. See More

Specs

Platforms:Android / iOS / OSX / Web / Chrome

Collaborative:Yes (Share lists, assign tasks)

Top Pro

Five simple widgets for Android

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

Top Con

Lackluster user interface

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

Top 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. See More

Top Con

Invasive

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Simple

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

Top Con

Incomplete keyboard control

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

Top 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. See More

Top Con

Limited Any.do moments in free version

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

Top Pro

Folders for tasks

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

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Web interface for desktop access

The web interface can be used to add items. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Missed call reminder on Android

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

Top 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. See More

Top 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. See More

Top Pro

Free version

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

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