The short answer
If you love RPGs and friends, use Habitica. If you want an RPG you can tweak forever on Android, LifeUp. If you want a kind pet that never judges you, Finch. If you only want a light score on top of a normal list, Todoist Karma. If rewards stopped working for you long ago and you need something to lose, try OGARNIAK, the app we make: miss a deadline and your pixel pet loses a heart.
Disclosure: Świt Studio makes OGARNIAK and it is marked as ours. Nobody paid to be included. Prices change by country and over time, so check the store before you pay.
OGARNIAK is free to try: App Store · Google Play.
Why most gamified lists stop working
Points, badges and levels are rewards. Rewards lose their pull once they are familiar: by the third week, +10 XP is a number you scroll past. Losses keep their pull much longer, because people work harder to avoid losing something than to win something of the same size. The apps that last tend to mix both: small wins every day and something real you could lose.
The second trap is setup. RPG apps let you design quests, rewards and shops, and designing your system can quietly become the new way to avoid the actual task.
Compared at a glance
| App | Kind of game | What you can lose | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Habitica | full RPG with parties and quests | health; in boss quests, your party takes damage too | web, iOS, Android | Free; optional subscription |
| LifeUp | RPG you build yourself: skills, coins, your own shop | coins, if you set penalties | Android (iOS version called ulives) | Paid app on Android |
| Do It Now | RPG with characteristics and skills | little | Android | Free; Premium optional |
| Finch | self-care pet | nothing, by design | iOS, Android | Free core; Finch Plus optional |
| Todoist Karma | points and levels on a normal list | Karma points for overdue tasks | all platforms | Included in Todoist |
| OGARNIAK (ours) | pixel pet tied to deadlines | a heart per missed day; lose all three and the pet is gone | iOS, Android | Free trial, then a subscription |
RPG apps
Habitica: the classic
Your tasks are quests, and your character gains gold and levels when you finish them. Skip a daily and you lose health. Its best trick is social: during a boss quest, your missed dailies hurt your whole party, which is a strong reason to show up. It needs an account and runs on the web, iPhone and Android.
LifeUp: build your own game
LifeUp gives you the parts: skills that level up, coins, achievements, and a shop where you set the price of your own rewards ("an episode of a series: 50 coins"). People who enjoy tuning a system love it. It is a paid app on Android; the same team publishes the iOS version under the name ulives.
Do It Now: RPG stats for real life
Tasks raise characteristics like strength or intelligence, and you pick which skills each task trains. Lighter on story than Habitica, closer to a character sheet for your life. Look for the Android app by Taras Lozovyi: an unrelated iPhone app uses the same name.
Pet apps
Finch: the gentle one
You look after a little bird by finishing small self-care goals, and it goes on adventures. Nothing bad happens when you skip. That kindness is why so many people stay, and also why some find it easy to ignore when life gets busy.
Points on a normal list
Todoist Karma
Todoist gives you Karma points for finished tasks and streaks, and takes some away for tasks left overdue. It is a light layer on a serious to-do app, good if you want a nudge, not a game.
OGARNIAK: a pet with real stakes
We built OGARNIAK for people who have tried the reward-only apps and drifted away. It is a to-do list where every task has an hour. Miss it and your pixel pet loses a heart, never more than one a day. Three clean days and it grows; lose all three hearts and it is gone, and you start again with a new egg.
- Small wins every day: hearts come back for every clean day and for every hour in the built-in Pomodoro timer.
- No setup to hide in: type or say a task, give it an hour, done.
- Today's tasks on the iPhone lock screen and in a widget, with a reminder an hour before each deadline.
- Habits with a history grid, a bucket list, and a collection of every pet you have raised.
- No account needed: everything stays on your phone.
The honest drawbacks: after the free trial OGARNIAK needs a subscription, and it runs on phones only, with no web or desktop app. If deadlines stress you out, losing hearts can feel like pressure; Finch is the kinder choice then.
More comparisons: Habitica alternatives, to-do list apps with a virtual pet and the best to-do list apps for ADHD.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best gamified to-do list app?
For a full RPG with friends and parties, Habitica. For an RPG you can customise endlessly on Android, LifeUp. For a gentle pet, Finch. For a pet that loses hearts when you miss a deadline, OGARNIAK. The best one is the one whose game you still care about after a month.
Is there a free gamified to-do list app?
Habitica is free on the web, iPhone and Android, with an optional subscription. Finch is free at its core. Todoist Karma comes with Todoist's free plan.
Why do gamified to-do apps stop working?
Points and levels feel new for a few weeks, then turn into numbers you ignore. Apps where something small can be lost, like a pet's hearts or a character's health, tend to hold attention longer, because people work harder to avoid a loss than to earn a reward.
Is there a gamified to-do list for ADHD?
Many people with ADHD like quick, frequent rewards and a visible consequence. Finch is the gentle option, Habitica and OGARNIAK add stakes. See our guide to to-do list apps for ADHD for more.