Wunderlist Review

If you have trouble figuring out what to do next while you’re at work or planning your day, we can help. The first thing you should do is read this Wunderlist review. After that, you’ll hopefully have the tools at your disposal to determine the next steps yourself.

Wunderlist is a simple and easy task list application. It allows you to create tasks and tick them off as you finish them. You can use it to manage anything from your shopping to a major creative endeavor. You can share tasks with others and work together, too.

Wunderlist joined Microsoft in 2015. The Microsoft-related parts of the software are generally its biggest flaws. Read on to find out whether the app is worth using.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Alternatives for Wunderlist

Features

Wunderlist is available across many platforms. In addition to running in the browser, it has apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Chromebook and extensions for Google Chrome and Safari. If you’re trying to pick a browser to use it with, take a look at our Chrome review.

Wunderlist’s basic workflow is to create tasks, add them to lists and tick them off as you complete them. Its interface is bold, bright and clear, and performing those actions is straightforward.

Its buttons and menus include plenty of extra features, too. The account settings is worth checking out because it brings up a menu with lots of other options that you may find useful.

You can duplicate your lists and share them with other people. That makes Wunderlist a great way to assign tasks for an office project. If you want to organize a project in more detail, though, take a look at the best project management software.

If you’re working with other users you can start conversations with them and use the comments system to make notes if needed.

Wunderlist has a nice selection of backgrounds, with a handful of bright colors and several relaxing photos. You should be able to find one that appeals to you, but the option to upload your own would be nice.

You can set deadlines for tasks and set up notifications for specific times to remind you when you need to get things done. You can also add subtasks to each task, letting you break things down further.

Attaching Files with Wunderlist

Wunderlist supports file attachments and lets you have as many of them as you like. Its documentation isn’t clear about whether the old 5MB file limit still stands, but we were able to upload and view a 9MB file, which suggests that you get unlimited attachments and storage space.

You can add files from Dropbox, too, as well as make voice recordings. That said, if you do find yourself in need of a separate storage solution, take a look at our best cloud storage guide.

If you want to use your tasks with other platforms, Wunderlist has several integrations to help you do so. It works with Zapier, allowing you to share data with hundreds of apps. Other integrations include Slack, Microsoft Outlook and Trello, which you can read about in our Trello review. Our Trello beginner’s guide will help you get started with it, too.

Developers wanting to integrate Wunderlist with their own tools can do so using Wunderlist’s API. That’s useful if you want to create your own extension or add data stored on Wunderlist to your website or app.

If you want to export your data, there’s a page that lets you do that. When we tried it, we had to wait a couple of minutes, even when exporting our relatively small test project. It included a movie file though. Once it was done, we got a .json file with our data, as well as a mini HTML website that allowed us to browse our project.

Overall, Wunderlist has an excellent feature set. It does the basics well and has plenty of useful extras, too.

Wunderlist Features Overview

User-Friendliness

When we were signing up with our Microsoft account, we got a horrendous-looking error message full of technical data that we didn’t understand or feel the need to see.

Once we got past that, though, the app was much better. You’re welcomed with a screen asking you to pick a category for your first list, which gives it a title. You’re then free to add tasks.

You add them by typing the name of each one and clicking return. When tasks are complete, you tick them off using a box. There’s a satisfying ding when you do so. It’s a small touch, but ranks up there with Asana’s celebrations in terms of giving you a sense of accomplishment. Read our Asana review for more about that.

If you want to work faster, there’s a list of keyboard shortcuts hidden in the account settings. As mentioned, a lot of settings are there and they’re not all account-related, so check it out if you want to customize anything.

Wunderlist is simple, and you aren’t likely to have many problems using it. Its basic workflow is straightforward and it is well-designed.

It’s quick to use and responds to actions almost immediately. Even in the browser version, you don’t have to wait for a response when doing things. That makes it a great choice for those who like to add things quickly and don’t like to stare at the screen while waiting for the app to catch up.

Overall, it scores well on usability, with the error screen on our first login being the only real issue.

Cost

Wonderlist is free. It used to have a Pro version, but that was discontinued and its features were folded into the regular version. Microsoft announced it plans to replace Wunderlist at some point with its new application To-Do, but it’s still going for now and you can use it for free.

Security & Privacy

Wunderlist is a Microsoft product. The large tech companies have sketchy privacy records to say the least. Read our article on Edward Snowden and government surveillance to learn some of what they’ve been up to.

Wunderlist offers to let you sign in using your Microsoft account. We’re still sensitive about Skype telling everyone our age when Microsoft acquired it, so we created a bespoke account. We don’t want everyone in our contact list to be informed when we need to go to the supermarket to buy carrots, after all.

Wunderlist says on the sign-up screen that it’ll have access to all your info, so you’re adequately warned.

There’s a post in its community that claims Wunderlist uses SSL 256-bit for attachments and for data at rest and in transit. Read our description of encryption for more on that. The data is hosted in Ireland using Amazon Web Services. Wunderlist’s support confirmed that when we asked and also let us know there’s no two-factor authentication.

Aside from Microsoft’s involvement, we didn’t find problems with its security or privacy, but in an ideal world, two-factor authentication would be available.

Service & Support

You’re unlikely to get stuck using Wunderlist’s basic features, but if you do, or you need help with the more advanced things it does, you’ll need to contact support.

We didn’t see an obvious support link in the app, but there’s a link on its “about” page. That said if you look on Wunderlist’s website, there’s a “support” link there. In addition to a searchable knowledgebase, there’s a contact form if you want to get in touch. We fired off a question about encryption and two-factor authentication and got a detailed, accurate response 15 hours later.

Wunderlist supports 10 languages in its app and four on its support website, so is a good choice for international users.

It scores well in this category, with a decent knowledgebase and acceptable support response time. For seriously quick support responses, though, check out our Basecamp review and Wrike review.

Final Thoughts

Wunderlist is a nice application. It’s quick, easy, snappy and does what you’d expect of it. It integrates well with other platforms, and it’s free, too. 

Microsoft’s involvement might put off those with privacy concerns and having to use a Microsoft account to sign in isn’t a plus. We’re also unsure how long the application will be around, given that there are plans to replace it in the long term.

For now, though, it’s a great choice if you want to get more organized. 

If you’ve tried Wunderlist, or any other task management apps, please share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading.