PalomaApple Reminders vs TickTick: which should you use?
Apple Reminders is free, built in, and covers lists, time reminders, and geofenced location alerts without you installing anything. TickTick is a much broader productivity app — habits, a Pomodoro timer, calendar views, cross-platform sync — with a free tier that's genuinely usable and a cheap Premium on top. Both do location reminders; the difference is what surrounds them.
| Feature | Apple Reminders | TickTick |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free tier, Premium $3.99/mo or $35.99/yr |
| Location reminders | Yes, on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch | Yes, but in the iOS and Android apps only — not desktop or web |
| Platforms | Apple only | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, web |
| Habit tracking | No | Yes |
| Pomodoro timer | No | Yes |
| Calendar views | No | Yes |
| Typed natural-language dates | Yes | Yes |
| Typed sentence sets the place too | No — separate step | No — separate menu |
| Works with no extra account | Uses your Apple account | Requires a TickTick account |
Where Apple Reminders wins
Zero cost, zero setup, no extra account, and no second company holding your location history. Its geofenced alerts work across every Apple device you own, including the Watch — and unlike TickTick's, they aren't limited to the phone. If your needs stop at "lists plus remind me somewhere," you're already done.
Where TickTick wins
TickTick does far more than reminders: habit streaks, a built-in Pomodoro timer, calendar views, and advanced filtering, all for less per year than most competitors charge. It's also cross-platform, so it survives a switch to Android or a Windows work machine — something Apple Reminders can't do at all.
If it's specifically location reminders you're after
Both apps make the place a separate field. Paloma takes the opposite approach — type "water the plants when I get home" and it pulls the task, the place, and the arrive-or-leave trigger from that one sentence, saving the place for reuse. It's iPhone-only and does far less than TickTick on purpose. If location reminders are the reason you're comparing apps at all, that's the tradeoff worth weighing.
Questions
Does TickTick have location reminders?
Yes, but only in its iOS and Android apps — per TickTick's own documentation the feature isn't available on desktop or the web. Apple Reminders has them on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
Is TickTick worth paying for if I already have Apple Reminders?
It depends what you want beyond reminders. TickTick Premium ($3.99/month or $35.99/year) adds habit tracking, a Pomodoro timer, calendar views, and advanced filters — none of which Apple Reminders offers at any price. For plain lists and location alerts, Reminders already covers it for free.
Which one syncs to Windows or Android?
TickTick. It runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and the web. Apple Reminders is Apple-only.
Can either one set a reminder's place from typed text?
No. Both parse typed dates, but in both apps the location is attached through a separate menu or field rather than read out of the sentence itself.
One sentence. Time and place.
Paloma reads both out of what you type. No separate location menu.
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