Any.do alternative for families: a shared list inside WhatsApp
Stay with Any.do if you want a full task manager with a calendar and reminders on every device. Try Mato.do if your problem is getting your partner or kids to use a shared list at all. With Mato they send a WhatsApp message or a voice note, and never install an app or create an account.
Any.do and Mato.do at a glance
| Any.do | Mato.do | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Personal plan, $0, with calendar and reminders1 | Solo, free with no time limit |
| WhatsApp on the free plan | No. The bot needs Premium, Family or Workspace2, 5 | Yes. Mato works only through WhatsApp |
| Family plan price | $9.99/month, or $8.33/month billed annually (USD, from the pricing page)1 | €1.50/month or €10/year after a free trial |
| Family size | Up to 4 members, member count fixed1 | 2 to 4 members |
| What other family members need | An email invitation to the Family space3, and their own Any.do account to activate the WhatsApp bot2 | WhatsApp. No account to add and view items |
| Voice notes in WhatsApp | Do not create tasks; the help centre suggests keyboard dictation2 | Turned into list items |
| Photos in WhatsApp | Can be attached to board tasks; no photo-to-task extraction documented2 | AI reads the photo and adds the items it finds |
| Reminders | Set in chat and delivered in WhatsApp on paid plans2 | Coming soon: reminders set and delivered in WhatsApp |
| Calendar | Included in the free plan1 | None |
| Apps | Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, web, browser extensions, Apple Watch, Wear OS1 | No native app; the list is a web page |
| Grocery sorting | Smart grocery list sorts items into aisle categories4 | Gemini AI sorts items as they arrive |
Any.do values come from Any.do's official pricing page and help centre, checked on 25 September 2026. The numbers point to the Sources section below.
Any.do already works with WhatsApp. How is Mato different?
It does, and on a paid plan the bot covers a lot. With Premium, Family or Workspace you can add tasks by chatting with Any.do's WhatsApp bot and set reminders the same way. The reminders then arrive in WhatsApp. Forward a WhatsApp message to the bot and it becomes a task. Family and Workspace plans add a second bot that creates tasks on shared boards and assigns them to members. If you already pay for Any.do and mostly type your tasks, that bot may be all you need.
The same help article lists the limits. Free Personal users do not get the bot. Voice notes do not create tasks: the help centre answers "No" and suggests keyboard dictation instead. Photos can be attached to board tasks, but nothing in the documentation says the bot reads a photo and turns it into tasks. Each Family member activates the bot from their own Any.do account, with one WhatsApp number per account. The bot accepts messages in 16 languages, French included, but always replies in English. It is also unavailable in eleven countries, Algeria and Pakistan among them.
Mato is built the other way round. There is no app behind it: WhatsApp is the only way in, and the list lives on a web page anyone in the family can open. Each person sends a text, a voice note or a photo, and Gemini AI pulls out the items and sorts them into the shared list. A photo of a handwritten shopping list or a school letter becomes separate items. Family members do not need an account to add items or read the list. Only the person who manages the members creates one. Solo is free with no time limit, so you can use it on your own before asking anyone else to join.
Mato also does less. It has no calendar, its reminders are not out yet, and it is not built for work projects. If those are the reasons you use Any.do, Mato will not replace it.
When Any.do is the better choice
Pick Any.do if you want your tasks and your appointments in one place. The calendar and daily planner come with the free Personal plan, and paid plans add reminders you can set and receive in WhatsApp. Mato has no calendar, and its reminders are still coming.
Any.do also runs almost everywhere: Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows and the web, plus browser extensions, Apple Watch and Wear OS. If you like managing your day from a dedicated app on every screen, a single web page will feel thin.
It is the better fit for work too. The Teams plan costs $4.99 per member per month billed annually, or $7.99 billed monthly, and shared boards let you assign tasks to people. Mato has no project or work features.
And if everyone in your family already uses Any.do without complaint, there is nothing to fix.
When Mato.do is simpler
I built Mato for the family where one person keeps the lists and the others will not install anything. Your partner or your teenager adds items from the WhatsApp they already use, without creating an account or learning a new interface.
It suits people who talk more than they type. A voice note saying "milk, bin bags, and book the dentist for Emma" ends up as separate items on the list. So does a photo of the paper list on the fridge, or of a school notice with dates on it.
It costs less for a family (Mato's prices are in euros, Any.do's in US dollars). Solo costs nothing, WhatsApp included, while Any.do's bot starts with the paid Premium plan at $4.99 a month billed annually. Mato's Family plan for 2 to 4 members is €1.50 a month or €10 a year after a free trial. Any.do Family is $9.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually, on Any.do's US dollar pricing page.
All data is hosted in the European Union. Your task text is encrypted at rest using AES-128-GCM with a key specific to your family, so the database never stores your lists in plain text.
Switching from Any.do to Mato.do
You do not need to cancel Any.do first. You can keep it for the calendar and reminders and use Mato only for the list the whole family adds to.
- Send "Hello" to Mato on WhatsApp at +33 6 95 40 29 92. You get your own list right away.
- Open your Any.do list, take a screenshot and send it to Mato, or paste the items as text. Mato reads them and adds them to your list.
- When you want to share, send "invite" to get a family code. Each person sends that code to Mato from their own WhatsApp and starts adding to the same list.
Frequently asked questions
Does Any.do work with WhatsApp?
Yes, on paid plans. Any.do's WhatsApp bot comes with Premium, Family and Workspace, not with the free Personal plan. It adds tasks from chat, sets reminders, sends those reminders in WhatsApp and turns forwarded messages into tasks.
Can Any.do turn a WhatsApp voice note into a task?
No. Any.do's help centre says voice notes do not create tasks and suggests keyboard dictation instead. Mato turns voice notes into list items, and does the same with photos.
Does everyone in my family need an app or an account to use Mato?
No. Family members add items and view the list through WhatsApp and a web page, with nothing to install and no account. Only the person who manages the family members needs an account.
How much does Mato cost compared with Any.do?
Mato Solo is free with no time limit. The Family plan for 2 to 4 members costs €1.50 a month or €10 a year after a free trial. Any.do's pricing page lists Family at $9.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually, for up to 4 members.
Does Mato have a calendar or reminders?
Not yet. Mato has no calendar, and reminders set and delivered in WhatsApp are coming soon but not available today. If you need them now, Any.do includes a calendar in its free plan and sends reminders in WhatsApp on paid plans.
Where is Mato's data stored?
All data is hosted in the European Union. Your task text is encrypted at rest using AES-128-GCM with a key specific to your family, so the database never stores your lists in plain text.
Sources
- Any.do, Pricing, https://www.any.do/pricing, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Any.do help centre, WhatsApp reminders and tasks, https://support.any.do/en/articles/8616832-any-do-whatsapp-reminders-tasks, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Any.do help centre, Getting started with Family, https://support.any.do/en/articles/8761243-getting-started-with-family, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Any.do help centre, Using smart grocery lists in Any.do, https://support.any.do/en/articles/8635928-using-smart-grocery-lists-in-any-do, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Any.do help centre, Any.do subscription plans explained, https://support.any.do/en/articles/8635977-any-do-subscription-plans-explained, accessed 25 September 2026.
Mato.do is our product. Information about Any.do comes from Any.do's official website and help centre.