The short version
Microsoft To Do does one thing well: lists. You write items down, you tick them off, and My Day clears itself out overnight. It costs nothing, it syncs reliably, and it pulls flagged mail out of Outlook.
What it does not do: projects with structure, notes with substance, a day plan that counts hours. People who need those end up spreading their work across To Do, OneNote, Outlook and, sooner or later, a spreadsheet. Aevo is an attempt to have one surface instead.
Where they differ
| Aevo | Microsoft To Do | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic shape | board of tiles | lists of items |
| Subtasks | yes, in groups, with progress | steps, one level |
| Notes | a first-class item type with formatting | a note field on the item |
| Projects | their own type, tasks assigned to them | lists and list groups |
| Day planning | counts free time from your calendar | My Day, no time arithmetic |
| Postponed work | attention score, the tile takes on colour | unchanged in the list |
| AI | none | Copilot across the Microsoft estate |
| Outlook | mailbox and calendar via Microsoft 365 | native, same house |
| CalDAV | yes | no |
| Provider | abacado IT Services, Germany | Microsoft |
| Data location | EU (Ireland), server in Germany | depends on your tenant |
| Price | free plan forever, Pro 5.00 euro a month | free |
| Export | JSON, Markdown, CSV | via Microsoft Graph tooling |
As of September 2026. Statements about Microsoft To Do come from publicly available vendor information and can change.
What Microsoft To Do does better
- It is free and included with every Microsoft 365 account.
- It sits inside Outlook. A flagged mail becomes a task with no detour, and shared lists work across a team.
- It is everywhere. Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, web, all from one vendor.
If your working day happens in Outlook and your tasks are short phrases, there is little reason to move.
What Aevo does differently
Tasks with substance. A tile carries a description, subtasks in groups, an effort estimate, a priority, a project and comments. In To Do you get a title, a few steps and a note field.
Notes as their own items. Formatted text that sits beside the task instead of in OneNote, so the trip to a second app disappears: tasks and notes in one place.
A day has a size. Aevo reads your appointments, works out what time is left, and shows which tasks still fit into it. My Day accepts as many items as you drag into it and never says that is too many.
Postponed work stays visible. Push something to tomorrow three times and in Aevo it grows instead of fading. A list shows this nowhere.
Calendars without being tied to one vendor. Microsoft 365 is supported, so is CalDAV. Change employer, keep your board: calendars over CalDAV and Microsoft 365.
No Copilot. Aevo has no assistant and hands your content to no service. Why that stays true.
If you want to move
- Go through your To Do lists and decide what is genuinely still running.
- In Aevo, create the projects and enter the open tasks, each with a date you mean to work on it.
- Connect Microsoft 365 so appointments and flagged mail keep coming in.
There is no automatic importer. Most To Do lists are half dead weight anyway, and retyping sorts that out.
Which one suits you
Microsoft To Do suits you if you live in Outlook, keep short lists, share them with colleagues and would rather not pay anything.
Aevo suits you if your tasks are more than one line, if notes belong with them, if you want to know what is realistically left in today, and if your data should stay in the EU. See the pricing or start for free.