Buzzley vs Google Tasks and Keep reminders

If you want a free task list that sits next to Gmail and Google Calendar, and a plain notification is enough to get you moving, Google Tasks is the better fit. If your reminders get lost on a silent phone, if you want one to ring like an alarm, or if you want to be reminded when you arrive somewhere, Buzzley does those things and Google Tasks does not. Buzzley costs money after a 7-day trial; Google Tasks is free.

Competitor details below come from Google's store listings and public reporting as of October 2026.

What happened to Google Keep reminders

Google moved the reminders from Google Keep into Google Tasks during 2025 and 2026. Location reminders did not make the move. If you used Keep to get a reminder when you reached the supermarket, Google's own apps no longer offer that. Time-based reminders still work in Tasks, and they arrive as ordinary notifications.

Side by side

	Buzzley	Google Tasks
Price	Core $2.99/month, Plus $5.99, Pro $9.99; yearly from $24.99	Free
Free plan	No. A 7-day trial, no card	Free with a Google account
How a reminder arrives	You choose per reminder: notification or full-screen alarm	Notification
Rings when the phone is on silent	Android: yes, with the Alarm style. iPhone: on iOS 26 and later	No
Location reminders	Arrive, leave or both, in the phone app	Removed in the move from Keep
Sharing	Sharing group; set a reminder for someone else; tell someone if it is missed	Single tasks
Lists	A checklist inside a reminder, up to 50 items	Task lists, subtasks, stars for priority
Email	Optional email copy of a reminder (Plus, Pro)	Create a task from a Gmail message
Platforms	Android, iPhone, web	Android, iPhone, web
Developer access	API and webhooks on Pro	Tasks API

Where Google Tasks is stronger

It is free. No trial clock, no plan to pick. On many Android phones it is the reminder app people already have.

It lives where your email is. You can turn a Gmail message into a task, with a link back to the email. If most of your to-dos start as emails, that saves real time. Tasks also shows up next to Google Calendar.

It is a list app. Drag tasks into order, star the important ones, break a task into subtasks. Buzzley has checklists inside a reminder, but it is not built for working through a long to-do list.

Where Buzzley is stronger

Reminders that ring. Each Buzzley reminder can be a normal notification or a full-screen alarm. On Android the Alarm style plays on the alarm sound channel, rings through silent mode and Do Not Disturb, and keeps ringing until you snooze it, mark it done or dismiss it (on Android, if nobody opens the ring screen, it goes quiet after 10 minutes and rings again 5 minutes later by default, for up to an hour). On iPhone the same style uses Apple's alarm system on iOS 26 and later; on older versions it arrives as notifications. More on this in reminders that ring like an alarm.

Location reminders. Set a reminder for when you arrive at a place, leave it, or both. Pick a saved place such as Home or Work, or use where you are now, and set the radius between 50 and 500 metres. A reminder can also trigger only by location, with no time at all. See location reminders in Buzzley.

Reminders for other people. In a sharing group you can set a reminder that rings only on someone else's phone, and pick who hears about it if it is still not done 15 minutes to 2 hours after it was due.

Finer control over timing. Up to three early warnings before a reminder, snooze presets right from the notification, and custom repeats such as the last Friday of every month or every two hours between 9:00 and 17:00.

Help when a phone blocks reminders. On Android, the "Alarm not ringing?" screen checks notifications, exact alarms, full-screen permission and battery settings, and shows the extra steps for your phone brand.

When Google Tasks is the better pick

Pick Google Tasks if you mostly need a list, your to-dos start in Gmail, and you notice notifications when they come in. It is also the right call if you don't want to pay for a reminder app at all, or if you only ever set a handful of reminders a month. A paid app that rings like an alarm is overkill for "reply to Sam on Friday".

If you are also looking at Microsoft's free option, read Buzzley vs Microsoft To Do.

Common questions

Does Google Tasks have location reminders?

Not as of October 2026. They were dropped when Google Keep's reminders moved into Tasks. Buzzley has them, and so does Apple Reminders on iPhone.

Can I try Buzzley before paying?

Yes. The trial lasts 7 days, includes every Plus feature and needs no card. After that you pick a plan on the pricing page; there is no free tier.

Can I see Buzzley reminders in Google Calendar?

Yes. Buzzley can give you a private calendar feed link, and Google Calendar can subscribe to it, so your reminders show up next to your events.