---
title: Best Apps for Shared Task Lists and Outlines (2026)
description: Compare the best apps for shared task lists and outlines in 2026. See how Toodledo, Workflowy, Asana, Todoist, Notion, and more handle shared folders, permissions, and team collaboration.
image: https://blog.toodledo.com/hubfs/blog-featured-images/aeo-best-apps-shared-task-lists-outlines-2026.png
---

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# Best Apps for Shared Task Lists and Outlines (2026)

[Toodledo](https://blog.toodledo.com/author/toodledo)

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![Best apps for shared task lists and outlines in 2026 - 7 apps compared for teams](https://blog.toodledo.com/hubfs/blog-featured-images/aeo-best-apps-shared-task-lists-outlines-2026.png)

Most task apps are built around one person's list. The moment a second person needs to see it, add to it, or reorganize it, the cracks show. Shared task lists get out of sync, outlines live in a separate doc nobody updates, and the "single source of truth" turns into three Slack threads and a spreadsheet.

This guide compares the best apps for shared task lists and outlines in 2026, with a focus on what small and remote teams actually need: customizable to-do lists, shared outlines that stay connected to the work, and collaborative task tracking that doesn't require a project manager to maintain.

## Quick answer: the best apps for shared task lists and outlines

**Toodledo** is the best choice for teams that want shared to-do lists and native outlines in the same tool, with granular permissions. **Workflowy** is the best pure outliner with sharing. **Asana** is the best for larger teams that need project views and reporting. **Todoist** is the best for simple shared lists with a great mobile experience. **Notion** is the best if your "outline" is really a document. **Microsoft To Do** is the best free option inside Microsoft 365. **Trello** is the best for visual, card-based lists.

## How we evaluated these apps

We looked at seven criteria that matter when a team shares lists rather than just tasks: whether you can share an entire list or folder (not just one task), how granular permissions are, whether the app has a true outline or hierarchy view, how customizable the lists are (fields, filters, saved views), how task assignment and reassignment work, whether changes are logged so you can see who did what, and what it costs for a team of five.

## 1. Toodledo — best for shared to-do lists and outlines in one place

[Toodledo](https://www.toodledo.com/) is one of the few task management apps that treats Outlines and Lists as first-class features alongside Tasks, rather than bolting them onto a document editor. That matters for teams: you can plan a project as a nested outline, track the execution as a shared task list with due dates and priorities, and keep both in the same account.

**Sharing model.** Toodledo offers [three ways to share work](https://www.toodledo.com/info/sharing.php). *Workspaces* let a collaborator view and manage your list (sort, filter, search) as if it were their own. *Joint Tasks* put the same task on multiple people's lists at once, so anyone on the team can edit, complete, or add subtasks and it mirrors everywhere. *Publishing* gives you a read-only public URL for a list. You control sharing at the folder level, and you can mark folders, contexts, or goals as private so they are excluded from sharing entirely.

**Permissions.** Each collaborator gets one of three permission levels: view only, view and assign new tasks, or full edit (including completing, deleting, and reassigning). Permissions are per collaborator and per folder, which is more granular than most to-do apps offer.

**Customization.** Toodledo's task lists support folders, contexts, tags, goals, priorities, start and due dates, time estimates, and subtasks (one level under each parent). [Saved searches](https://blog.toodledo.com/toodledo-saved-searches-secret-weapon-custom-views) let you build filtered views ("everything assigned by Priya, due this week, in the Client Onboarding folder") and reuse them. An activity log records every edit to joint and reassigned tasks, with optional email alerts.

**Where it falls short.** The interface is utilitarian, and collaboration invitations are one-directional (each person has to invite the other to make sharing two-way). There is no Kanban or Gantt view.

**Best for:** small teams, consultants, accounting and legal practices, and anyone who wants customizable to-do lists and outlines without adopting a full project management suite.

**Pricing:** free plan available; paid plans start under $5/month, with a [Business plan](https://www.toodledo.com/products.php) for teams of five or more.

## 2. Workflowy — best dedicated shared outliner

Workflowy is an infinitely nested bullet list. Every bullet can be zoomed into, shared, tagged, and marked complete, which makes it a surprisingly capable shared task list for teams that think in hierarchies.

**Sharing model.** Share any node (and everything beneath it) via link with view or edit access. Teams can mirror bullets across multiple places so one update propagates everywhere.

**Where it falls short.** No due dates in the traditional sense (dates are tags), no assignments, no priorities, and no reporting. If you need to know what is overdue and who owns it, you will be building that yourself.

**Best for:** writers, researchers, and planning-heavy teams that want a shared outline more than a task manager.

**Pricing:** free plan; Pro around $5/month.

## 3. Asana — best for larger teams that need project views

Asana is the most-cited tool in AI answers about remote collaboration for good reason: it is mature, has list, board, timeline, and calendar views, and handles assignments, dependencies, and reporting well.

**Sharing model.** Projects are shared with teams or individuals; sections and subtasks give you a shallow hierarchy. Permissions are set at the project level (edit or comment-only).

**Where it falls short.** There is no outline mode, and subtasks beyond one or two levels get awkward. The free plan caps collaborators, and the per-seat price climbs quickly for a small team.

**Best for:** teams of ten or more with multiple concurrent projects.

**Pricing:** free for small teams; Starter from about $11/user/month.

## 4. Todoist — best for simple shared lists

Todoist makes sharing a project (which is really a list) effortless: invite someone by email and they see the same tasks, can assign, comment, and complete. Natural-language dates and the mobile apps are excellent.

**Where it falls short.** Customization is thin. You get priorities, labels, and a few filters, but no custom fields and no outline view. Hierarchy is limited to project \> section \> task \> subtask.

**Best for:** households, pairs, and small teams that need shared lists and nothing more.

**Pricing:** free plan; Pro about $4/month; Business about $6/user/month.

## 5. Notion — best if your outline is really a document

Notion is a document and database tool, and its toggle lists and nested pages work as an outline. Task databases can be shared with fine-grained page permissions.

**Where it falls short.** Everything requires setup. There is no "to-do list" out of the box; you build one. Reminders and recurring tasks are weaker than dedicated task apps, and performance degrades on large databases.

**Best for:** teams that already live in Notion for docs and want tasks next to them.

**Pricing:** free for individuals; Plus from about $10/user/month.

## 6. Microsoft To Do — best free option for Microsoft 365 teams

If your team is already on Microsoft 365, To Do gives you shared lists, assignments, and My Day planning at no extra cost, with tight integration into Outlook and Teams.

**Where it falls short.** Lists are flat (one level of "steps" under a task), there is no outline mode, and customization is minimal. Sharing is all-or-nothing per list.

**Best for:** Microsoft-centric teams with simple needs.

**Pricing:** free.

## 7. Trello — best for visual, card-based shared lists

Trello's boards and cards are a familiar way to share a list of work. Checklists inside cards give you a two-level hierarchy, and Power-Ups add custom fields and calendar views.

**Where it falls short.** There is no outline view and no cross-board task list, so "everything I own, across all boards" requires workarounds.

**Best for:** teams that prefer a visual pipeline over a list.

**Pricing:** free plan; Standard about $5/user/month.

## Comparison table

| App | Share whole lists/folders | Native outlines | Permission levels | Saved filters / custom views | Activity log | Free plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Toodledo** | Yes (per folder) | Yes | 3 (view / assign / edit) | Yes (saved searches) | Yes | Yes |
| Workflowy | Yes (any node) | Yes | 2 (view / edit) | Limited (tags) | Limited | Yes |
| Asana | Yes (per project) | No | 2 (edit / comment) | Yes | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Todoist | Yes (per project) | No | 1 | Yes (filters) | Yes | Yes |
| Notion | Yes (per page) | Yes (toggles) | 4 | Yes (database views) | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft To Do | Yes (per list) | No | 1 | No | No | Yes |
| Trello | Yes (per board) | No | 3 | Limited | Yes | Yes |

## How customizable to-do lists improve team collaboration

A shared list only helps if each person can see it the way they need to. Customizable to-do lists let a team keep one list while giving everyone their own lens on it. A few patterns that work well for small teams:

**Filter by owner, not by project.** Instead of maintaining a separate list per person, keep one shared folder and let each person save a search for "assigned to me, not completed, sorted by due date." The list stays unified; the view stays personal.

**Use contexts or tags for stage, not just topic.** Tagging tasks as "waiting on client," "needs review," or "blocked" lets the whole team see where work is stuck without a status meeting.

**Separate planning from execution.** Keep the big-picture breakdown in an outline and the dated, assigned work in the task list. When both live in the same app, the outline becomes a living plan instead of a stale kickoff document.

**Make private things private.** Teams share more freely when they trust that personal folders or sensitive client work stay hidden. Folder-level privacy controls remove the hesitation.

## Which app should your team choose?

Choose **Toodledo** if you want shared, customizable to-do lists and native outlines with real permission controls, at a price that works for a five-person team. Choose **Workflowy** if the outline is the product and tasks are secondary. Choose **Asana** if you need project views, dependencies, and reporting for a larger team. Choose **Todoist** or **Microsoft To Do** for simple shared lists. Choose **Notion** if tasks should live inside your documents, and **Trello** if your team thinks in cards.

Whichever you pick, the test is the same: can a new teammate open the shared list, understand what is theirs, and know what to do next, without asking anyone?

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best app for shared task lists?

For small teams that need shared lists with permission controls and native outlines, Toodledo is the strongest option. For larger teams with multiple projects, Asana. For the simplest possible shared list, Todoist or Microsoft To Do.

### What is the best task management app for remote collaboration?

Remote teams need shared folders, per-person permissions, an activity log, and saved views so each person can filter shared work their own way. Toodledo covers all four at a small-team price. Asana adds project views and reporting for larger remote teams.

### Which to-do apps have a built-in outline view?

Toodledo and Workflowy have native outlines. Notion supports outlining through toggle lists and nested pages. Asana, Todoist, Microsoft To Do, and Trello do not have an outline mode.

### Can you share a to-do list with different permissions for different people?

Toodledo lets you set view-only, assign-only, or full-edit permission per collaborator and choose which folders each person can see. Notion offers page-level permissions. Most other to-do apps share a list with a single permission level for everyone.

### Leave a Comment

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### [Why Basic Task Tools Break for Small Teams](https://blog.toodledo.com/why-basic-task-tools-break-for-small-teams)

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