My Superlist Review
Updated as of 22 December 2024
Superlist has now limited the free tier to just 5 lists. Not 5 groups, not 5 sections, but only 5 lists. For an app that does so much so well, this newly introduced artificial limitation is why I can no longer recommend them. And they had just started fixing all my previous gripes too… Oh well.
For everything that they do right, the original review is below.
Original Review
Are you a list person? Do you have a checklist, a to-do list, a shopping list and a bucket list? Have you tried to create a spreadsheet only to find that it becomes a glorified list? Do you have a list to list all your lists? If so, then I am about to make it on to your favourite person list! That is, of course, unless you have already heard of Superlist. In that case, I will probably be put onto your Superlist User list.
Superlist does lists. But it does lists differently. I mean just look at the handpicked marketing material chosen to show off its best side… You have to admit, it does look good!
But before we begin, some history… Back before lists were in vogue, a small upstart by the name of Wunderlist came out and showed the world just how cool lists could be. Lists were so hot right now, and everyone wanted in on the action. Wunderlist took the list-making world by storm with features we now take very much for granted. But remember, this is a history lesson, and back in 2013 features like real-time syncing between devices were seen as magic.
And then, in a move that shook the list community to their core, Microsoft bought Wunderlist for around $200 Million. And what does $200 million buy you? If you’re Microsoft, you then proceeded to make a brand-new list app. Behold, Microsoft To-Do was born. Where Wunderlist excelled, Microsoft To-Do lacked. It was a hollow shell of what made people love and use Wunderlist. In true Microsoft fashion, they then announced the death of Wunderlist. All while To-Do lacked (and still lacks) some of the most beloved features, such as:
- Comments: Wunderlist allowed users to add multiple comments to tasks, which could be useful for collaboration. Microsoft To-Do only has a “Notes” section.
- Top-of-List Addition: In Wunderlist, you could choose to add new items to the top of the list. Microsoft To-Do typically adds new items to the bottom, which can be inconvenient for prioritizing tasks.
- Reordering Steps: Wunderlist allowed steps within a task to be reordered automatically after completing a step. This feature is not present in Microsoft To-Do.
- Task Prioritization: Marking a task as a priority (with a star) in Wunderlist would move it to the top of the list. This automatic reordering is not available in Microsoft To-Do.
And so, the list-faithful had to go elsewhere… Todoist, Any.do, Google Keep – all offered something different but never quite grasped the magic of Wunderlist. It seemed the list makers in all of us were left to use the zombified corpse known as Microsoft To-Do. I mean, don’t get me wrong – To-Do is a fine list app. It can keep multiple lists, it has apps, it even integrates with Office. Yet it still doesn’t integrate with OneNote. Personal gripes aside…
That is until today. Or rather February. From the creator of Wunderlist comes Superlist – and as the name suggests, it’s an app for the List Power User. Lists within lists, notes, formatting, oh my! And with a wealth of features and some noticeable missing ones, let’s dive into the actual review.
The Good
Firstly, let’s focus on what Superlist does well.
- Tasks can get subtasks, and subtasks can get subtasks, and you get a subtask, and you get a subtask, and everyone gets a subtask! Thats right, tasks can have unlimited subtasks to infinity. While I wont use this feature a lot, its very handy when you have a big project to break it down into small steps and then small steps into smaller steps…
- Combining lists with notes. Why has it taken so long to get an app that allows you have a paragraph about the project, a cool photo, and then the tasks all on one page? Sure, OneNote does this, but no one’s using To-Dos in OneNote… Add in formatting and you could almost move some OneNote project pages into SuperList. And have them look fantastic.
- The animations and sounds are just 🤌. You know you’ve done a good job when the people using your app praise every part of the design. Seriously, the design team have knocked it out the park with probably the best-looking list app in the world.
Personally, I love the ability to combine notes and checklists, throw in a few pictures for visual stimulation and away you go. But alas, not every app is perfect, and I have to admit that it’s missing some really big tentpole features. To be fair to the development team, the app only launched in February this year, and they already have an extensive list of feedback to add to their roadmap.
The Bad
But there are a few missing features that are stopping me from completely moving to Superlist.
- No Windows app. Thats right folks, it’s a web app if you’re on Windows. If you’re on Mac, then you get a dedicated app. The iPad app is great, so I don’t see why they can’t just pick up the iPad app and drop it on Windows.
- No widgets. This wouldn’t be an issue, if I wasn’t accustomed to seeing a My Day widget from To-Do. When it comes to important tasks, I love to see, at a glance, things I have to do. It may seem minor, but once you’ve gotten used to the glance and go, you can’t seem to live without it.
- Limited Microsoft and Apple integration. Sure, Superlist has a sync with Microsoft To-Do, bringing all your lists into the app, but it seems to be a one-way sync only and doesn’t mark things off your list. I have even noticed that things I have marked as completed in To-Do still hang around in Superlist. Not ideal, but then who’s using more than one list app at a time? Crazy people, that’s who…
- No calendar view. Now I don’t normally use a to-do app in the calendar, but I feel like an app that’s called Super anything should at least offer some more integrations or smarts. I’d love to have the reminders or to-do’s pop up in my calendar, not only so I can see the events for the day, but the work or tasks I have to get done as well.
- The app doesn’t play nice with notifications. Adding an item to your day? There’s not even a red 1 on the icon. Have an overdue reminder? Don’t rely on a notification to remind you you’ve missed something yesterday.
To illustrate a few points, here are a few screenshots from my phone. You can see the chaos caused by syncing with Microsoft To-Do. Superlist doesn’t bring across list groups (folders) and doesn’t even try to alphabetize the list. Also, can you tell how many items I have due for today? Me neither…
Once they have these features sorted, then I can see this being my daily to-do app. Combining notes with to-dos is a great idea as its more in line with how people actually think.
But the devs better hurry – Apple Reminders is fast becoming a very good to-do app in its own right. Having the ability to have a reminder pop up about a person when you text or call them – that’s just expected now. Reminders that intelligently pop up when you arrive home, leave work or perform some action, that’s become invaluable. And while it doesn’t look nearly as nice as Superlist, the fact that it’s there, just works and plugs into all your devices…
Well, there’s something to be said for convenience.
