Introduction
Things 3 is legendary in the productivity space. Cultcode's beautifully designed task manager has won multiple Apple Design Awards and earned a devoted following among Mac and iOS users who value elegant simplicity.
SayNo takes a completely different approach. Instead of being a beautiful place to store tasks, it's an AI-powered system that actively helps you decide which tasks deserve your time at all.
Let's explore how these fundamentally different philosophies compare.
The Core Philosophy Difference
Things 3: Elegant Task Storage
Things is a masterpiece of design. Every pixel is considered. Every interaction is smooth. It's a joy to use — and that matters for a tool you'll use daily.
The philosophy: Give users a beautiful, reliable place to capture and organize tasks. Trust them to decide what's important.
SayNo: Strategic Task Filtering
SayNo assumes you have too many tasks, not too few. Before organizing anything, it asks: Should this task exist? Does it advance your goals, or is it noise that should be delegated?
The philosophy: The problem isn't organizing tasks. It's having too many tasks that don't matter.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | SayNo | Things 3 | |---------|-------|----------| | AI Task Classification | Yes | No | | Auto-scheduling | Yes | No | | Goal Alignment | Quarterly goals | No | | Delegation Tracking | Built-in | No | | Calendar Integration | Bi-directional | View only | | Voice Capture | Telegram AI | Siri (basic) | | Analytics | Signal Ratio | No | | Apple Watch | No | Yes | | Offline Support | No | Full | | Price | $180/year | $50 one-time (Mac) |
Where Things 3 Excels
Design Excellence
Things 3 is simply beautiful. The typography, spacing, animations, and interactions are all best-in-class. If you appreciate great design, Things delivers an experience that makes task management feel less like work.
Apple Ecosystem Integration
Things works seamlessly across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Quick Entry with keyboard shortcuts, widget support, Shortcuts integration — it's deeply integrated with Apple's ecosystem.
Simplicity
Things doesn't try to do everything. No complex views, no overwhelming features. Just tasks, projects, areas, and a Today view. This simplicity is a feature, not a limitation.
One-Time Purchase
At $50 for Mac (plus separate iOS purchases), Things is a one-time cost. No subscriptions. Buy it once, use it forever. For budget-conscious users, this is significant.
Offline Reliability
Things works completely offline with seamless sync when you're connected. Your tasks are always accessible, regardless of internet connectivity.
Where SayNo Excels
AI-Powered Classification
SayNo's Signal/Noise framework automatically classifies tasks based on your goals. Signal tasks advance your quarterly objectives. Noise tasks should be delegated or minimized.
This classification changes how you think about work. You stop asking "When should I do this?" and start asking "Should I do this at all?"
Goal Connection
Every Signal task in SayNo connects to a quarterly goal. This creates clarity and accountability:
- Why am I doing this task? → It advances my Q1 goal of X
- Should I take on this new request? → Does it serve my current goals?
- Am I making progress? → Look at goal completion, not task completion
Things organizes tasks. SayNo ensures tasks serve your actual objectives.
Auto-Scheduling
SayNo automatically schedules tasks into your calendar based on deadlines, time estimates, and your available hours. Things requires manual planning — you decide what to do and when.
For busy professionals, auto-scheduling removes the daily decision fatigue of "what should I work on now?"
Delegation as Core Feature
When SayNo identifies a Noise task, it prompts: "Who could do this instead?" Track delegated tasks, follow up when needed, and measure how much work you're successfully getting off your plate.
Things has no concept of delegation. Every task is yours to complete.
Voice-First Capture
Send a voice message to SayNo's Telegram bot. AI extracts task details, estimates time, classifies Signal vs Noise, and suggests delegation. No typing required.
Things has Siri integration, but it's basic. SayNo's AI actually understands context and makes intelligent suggestions.
Signal Ratio Analytics
Your Signal Ratio — percentage of time on goal-aligned work — is your key productivity metric. Watch it improve as you get better at saying no and delegating.
Things has no analytics. You can't measure what you don't track.
Pricing Comparison
Things 3: $50 Mac + $10 iPhone + $20 iPad = $80 one-time
SayNo: $15/month or $180/year
Things is dramatically cheaper if you plan to use it for years. But the tools solve different problems — Things organizes tasks you've already decided to do, while SayNo helps you decide what to do in the first place.
Who Should Choose Things 3?
Things 3 is ideal if you:
- Value beautiful, thoughtful design
- Are deep in the Apple ecosystem
- Want a simple, focused task manager
- Already have clarity on priorities
- Prefer one-time purchases over subscriptions
- Don't need AI features or auto-scheduling
Who Should Choose SayNo?
SayNo is ideal if you:
- Feel overwhelmed by too many commitments
- Need help deciding what actually matters
- Want AI to classify and schedule tasks
- Manage others and need delegation tracking
- Think in terms of quarterly goals
- Want to measure productivity, not just track tasks
The Fundamental Question
Things 3 and SayNo solve different problems:
Things asks: "How can I beautifully organize my tasks?"
SayNo asks: "Which tasks should I even be doing?"
If your challenge is keeping track of tasks you've already decided matter, Things is excellent.
If your challenge is having too many tasks and unclear priorities, Things will just give you a prettier view of the overwhelm. SayNo addresses the root cause.
Can You Use Both?
Some users combine simple task managers with strategic tools. You could use Things for personal tasks and quick capture, while using SayNo for work priorities and goal tracking.
But for most people, using one system well beats using two systems partially. Choose based on your core challenge.
Ready to focus on what matters? Try SayNo free and discover your Signal Ratio.
Written by
Nicola Gastaldello
Founder
Helping founders and teams achieve sustainable growth through focus and strategic prioritization.