ETasks
Google Tasks vs. Apple Reminders vs. ETasks
Three ways to manage tasks on iPhone, compared honestly. The right answer depends on where your data lives and how loudly you need to be reminded.
The short version
- Google Tasks is where your tasks live if you use Gmail and Google Calendar, but on iPhone it's a thin web-style app with no alarms, minimal widgets, no Watch app, and no sharing.
- Apple Reminders is an excellent native app, but it can't touch your Google Tasks. Your Gmail and Calendar tasks stay invisible to it.
- ETasks keeps your data in Google Tasks and gives it the native iOS treatment: real alarms, eight widget types, an Apple Watch app, shared lists, and offline mode. It also works with no Google account at all.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Google Tasks (iOS app) | Apple Reminders | ETasks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syncs with Google Tasks (Gmail, Google Calendar) | Yes | No | Yes, two-way |
| Real alarms that ring like an alarm clock | No | No (notifications only) | Yes (AlarmKit) |
| Home Screen & Lock Screen widgets | Basic | Yes | Yes, eight types |
| Apple Watch app | No | Yes | Yes |
| Shared / collaborative lists | No | Yes (iCloud users) | Yes (invite link, over iCloud) |
| Calendar planner views (month, week, day, agenda) | No | Limited | Yes, four views with drag to reschedule |
| AI capture from links, photos, PDFs | No | No | Yes (Share sheet) |
| Works without any account | No (Google account required) | Apple ID for sync | Yes, fully local mode |
| Offline editing with sync queue | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free | Free | Free, ad-free |
Which one should you use?
Stay with Apple Reminders if your whole life is in iCloud and you never touch Gmail or Google Calendar. It's deeply integrated and free.
Stay with the Google Tasks app if a bare-bones checklist is genuinely all you need, and you don't mind missing all your lists in one view, sharing & collaborating, real alarms, prioritized favorites, linked files, and a wide range of widgets.
Choose ETasks if your tasks live in Google (or you want the option) but your devices are Apple. You keep the Google Tasks ecosystem (tasks appearing in Gmail and Google Calendar) and gain real alarms, widgets, an Apple Watch app, shared lists, and AI capture. And if you leave Google someday, ETasks keeps working locally.
One honest limitation: ETasks list sharing runs over iCloud, so sharing a Google-connected list moves it off Google. Details in the FAQ.
Keep exploring
More about ETasks
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