Superlist Is a Comprehensive Application for Running on Windows and Mac
I’ve used goal-driven apps (GTD) for almost my entire journalism career. These apps go beyond your typical to-do list—if you’ve ever used Trello , this is a good example. I used to constantly switch between tools until I bought Things 3 in 2017. Since then, Things has lived up to my expectations and helped me manage my work and personal tasks. While the developer, Cultured Code, has done some great work on Things, it’s an Apple-only app and lacks collaboration tools. These two issues led me to consider other options, and Superlist is one of the best I’ve ever come across.
Superlist is available on iPhone, Mac, Android and the web. The free tier allows you to access many of its best features, and as long as you only need to collaborate occasionally, you won’t have to pay. I love the design of the Superlist app (not surprising considering it’s from the creators of Wunderlist ) and I think it could finally replace Things for me, even on my Mac.
Initial setup is simple
Superlist uses a passwordless login system. Enter your email address and the app will send you a login link. Although this is convenient, I would really like the developers to allow the use of other login systems. I’m a little old school in that I prefer to use my password manager and set up two-factor authentication for logging in. That being said, Superlist’s login system is easy to use, and most people would prefer it over setting another password. Once you’re logged in, you’re ready to go. I installed it on all my devices and the process went pretty quickly on all of them.
I really like Superlist’s user interface. The app looks beautiful and allows you to quickly complete tasks (it is a GTD app after all!). I like my Mac apps to have useful keyboard shortcuts, and Superlist has a ton of them . Setting up tasks and setting deadlines is very easy, but I feel like Superlist should make it easier to set up recurring tasks. Things have a keyboard shortcut to turn any task into a recurring task, but Superlist doesn’t have that option.
I’m also glad to see collaboration tools that allow you to delegate tasks to others. Superlist was largely designed with the enterprise market in mind, but it still works quite well for personal use. When you create a new task, it has the ability to create subtasks to divide a larger project into smaller parts. You can even assign subtasks to other people, and there’s a separate comments section for discussing tasks with colleagues. I would have loved to have used this app at my previous job where I led a small team working remotely.
The app sharing extensions work quite well, and users can also email each other tasks to add to the Superlist.
Superlist is under development
While there’s a lot to like about Superlist, it’s clear that it’s a new app and has a few rough edges. The most annoying thing is that you can’t select multiple items to move them to new lists. You’ll have to drag one task at a time, and that’s fine when you’re just starting out, but this will be a big problem if someone has gotten to the point where they have more than a few uncategorized tasks. The application allows you to create sections and lists, which are useful for grouping projects. It’s a good start, and I’ll probably use it a lot more in the future when the app allows you to select multiple items.
I would also like to see a dedicated Windows app for Superlist. Although the web app gets the job done, it is forced to use non-standard keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can use Command-N to create a new task in a Mac app, but to do so you’ll have to use Ctrl-N in a web app on Mac and Alt-N on Windows.
The free level is sufficient
Superlist’s free tier allows you to create as many tasks and lists as you need, but it limits you to 10 MB per upload and 500 MB total storage. It has an AI feature that summarizes the items you email to Superlist, but that feature is of no use to me. The free tier integrates with Gmail, Google Calendar, Microsoft To-Do, and also supports email forwarding. Finally, you can also create up to five shared lists and add up to five collaborators to those lists. This is all quite generous for the free tier.
When you upgrade to the Pro tier, you’ll have to shell out $10 per month for up to 25GB of storage, unlimited shared lists for up to 25 people, additional integrations, and AI list creation.
Since this is an enterprise app, there are multiple plans for it too. The free tier allows you to add up to five team members with a limit of 15 shared lists, while the paid tier ($10 per user per month, billed annually) removes those limits.