Shared To-Do List App for Couples: Is There a Gap to Build?
A dead-simple shared to-do list app built specifically for two people to track daily tasks, recurring chores, and accountability in real time.
What are some good to-do list apps to share with your significant other?
My wife and I want to create our own daily to-do lists and share it with each other so we can keep track in real-time and keep each other accountable. I've always used Todoist but they lack this feature and there are no plans to improve this aspect. I found workarounds using the "Projects" section but it takes too long to prepare my tasks each day. Do you guys have any recommendations for to-do lists as simple to use as Todoist but one in which we can share our lists with each other and keep track real-time? Basically our criteria: • Create our own to-do list that we can share to keep track real-time • Able to create recurring tasks within these shared to-do lists • Compatible with Mac and iPhone & able to synchronize between the two • Simple and efficient EDIT: Found out you can create recurring daily tasks shared with someone else. It's less of a janky workaround. Here are the steps: Create a "Project" and name it whatever you want. Create a section by click "Add a section". I created two sections: one with my name and one with my wife's name. Now there are two ways: Either add tasks to your section then make it recurring for today (which will show up in your Today/Upcoming view OR... Add tasks to your Today/Upcoming view and assign them to your Section. 4. Now you have tasks that show up in both the shared list & in your own to-do list.
The problem, in the searcher’s words
I want to make my own daily to-do list and share it with my partner so we can see each other's tasks in real-time and hold each other accountable. Todoist doesn't really support this well — the closest workaround is hacking together Projects and Sections, but setting it up each day takes too long.
I just want something as simple as Todoist but built for two people: create your own list, share it, add recurring tasks, and have it sync across Mac and iPhone without a bunch of setup.
What the thread shows
The thread shows one person's genuine but solvable friction with an existing tool; multiple commenters immediately point to existing free solutions (Reminders, TickTick, Todoist workarounds) that satisfy the stated criteria, and no one else in the thread reports the same pain independently.
“I've always used Todoist but they lack this feature and there are no plans to improve this aspect.”
“I found workarounds using the "Projects" section but it takes too long to prepare my tasks each day.”
“What is the friction with projects in Todoist? ... I see no friction with doing that”
“We just use a list in the Reminders app. Already on an iPhone and meets all your criteria.”
Target customer
Who
Couples or partners who want to coordinate daily tasks and chores
Context
When one partner uses a single-user to-do app (like Todoist) and wants to extend it to shared, real-time, recurring task tracking with a significant other, without complex per-day setup.
What to build
- Create and share a single list between two accounts
- Real-time sync of task completion status
- Recurring task support (daily/weekly) without manual re-creation
- Per-person task assignment within a shared list
- Mac and iPhone sync
Build note — Core competitors (Apple Reminders, Todoist, TickTick) already offer shared lists and recurring tasks; any new entrant needs a clear UX differentiator (e.g., zero-setup daily recurring sharing) since feature parity alone won't win users away from free built-in tools.
Later, if it lands
Who’s already out there
Native iOS/Mac app supporting shared lists, recurring tasks, and real-time sync between devices.
Gap: Commenters state it already meets all of OP's stated criteria, leaving little room for a differentiated paid product for this exact use case.
Task manager with projects, sections, recurring tasks, and shared project collaboration.
Gap: Sharing works at the project level but requires manual setup (sections, recurring assignment) that OP found slow and 'janky' before finding a workaround.
Task manager similar to Todoist with list sharing and recurring tasks.
Gap: Mentioned as a direct alternative but thread gives no detail on whether it solves the daily-setup friction better than Todoist.
Mentioned by a commenter as used for grocery and to-do lists with a partner.
Gap: No detail given on features or how it compares; existence and feature set unverified.
Demand read
No one in the thread indicates willingness to pay or names a paid workaround; the fastest responses all point to free, already-installed tools (Reminders, Todoist, TickTick) as sufficient.
Worth digging into before you build
5 to considerNo idea is a sure thing at this stage — these are open questions worth checking yourself, not a verdict against building it.
Generic Idea
Shared/collaborative to-do list apps are a saturated category; this page is unlikely to differentiate or rank.
Already Solved
Commenters name Apple Reminders, Todoist, and TickTick as already meeting OP's stated criteria.
Single Voice
Only the OP expresses the pain point; commenters respond with solutions rather than corroborating the same frustration.
Weak Demand
No statements in the thread indicate willingness to pay; all suggested fixes are free tools.
Verify Competitors
Stak's existence and feature set are unverified beyond a single passing comment.