The Journal

What free means in a household app: the four places it stops

Most household apps are free to download, and few are free in the same way. Free tiers stop in four predictable places, and most of them are not visible on the day you sign up. This page explains the four, gives a four-step test to run before a household commits its records, and ends with a dated table of what is free in nine apps, including the one this journal's publisher makes, held to the same standard as the rest.

Published 2 November 2026

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Free is a shape, not a price

"Free" in an app store means free to download. What happens after that varies, and in the UK the word itself is regulated. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists, among practices that are unfair in all circumstances, "Describing a product as 'gratis', 'free', 'without charge' or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding". The advertising code says much the same, and adds that marketing "must make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make" to take advantage of a free offer.

So a free tier is allowed to stop somewhere. The question for a household is where, and whether you will find out before or after a year of your family's lists are inside it. Whether to pay once or by subscription is a separate question, answered in One-off or subscription.

The cap that bites a household: how many people

A household app is only useful if everyone who does the work is in it, so the first cap to look for is people. Some apps charge each user, some cap the number of people in a free shared list or household, and some charge per household for more than a set number.

For a couple, a cap of two is invisible. For a family of four, or a house share of five, it decides the price. Look for the number before anyone else installs the app, because the moment the third person is invited is the moment the free tier ends.

The cap on volume: lists, tasks, history and photos

The second cap is on how much you can keep: the number of lists or projects, tasks per list, how far back the activity history goes, and how large attachments can be. These rarely bite in the first month. They bite in the second year, when the household has built up enough history for the cap to matter and enough habit for leaving to be painful.

A household list that only ever holds this week's jobs may never reach a volume cap. One that holds receipts, warranties and photos of what the boiler engineer said will.

The tier funded by advertising

The third shape is a free tier paid for by adverts, with a paid tier that removes them. That is a legitimate model, and it is the easiest to spot, because the adverts are visible from the first day. What is less visible is what the advertising needs: a free tier that funds itself by showing adverts has a reason to keep you opening the app, which is not the same as a reason to get your jobs done.

Check the app's privacy information in the store listing, where both Apple and Google show what data an app says it collects and whether it is used for tracking or shared.

The feature that moves behind the wall later

The fourth is the hardest to see in advance: a feature that is free when you start and becomes paid later, or a free tier that shrinks. Nothing in the store listing on the day you install warns you of it.

There are two defences. Prefer apps whose paid tier is clearly described in their own published terms or plan comparison, because a documented line is harder to move quietly. And keep the ability to leave, which is the exit test below. An app you can leave in an afternoon cannot hold your history hostage.

The exit test: four steps before a household commits

Run this in the first week, before your history is inside.

1. Find the export. Look in the app's settings for an export, backup or download option. If there is none, stop here, or accept that whatever goes in stays in.

2. Export something real. Add a week of genuine tasks, with dates, people and a photo or two, then export it.

3. Open the file in something else. Open it in a spreadsheet, a text editor or another app. If it only opens in the app that made it, it is a backup, not an exit.

4. Check what is missing. Compare the file with the app: are the dates there, the names, the repeats, the photos, the completed history? Whatever is missing is what you would lose.

The legal right to receive your personal data in a portable form is covered in One-off or subscription; this test is about whether the app makes it practical.

The dated table: who is free at what

Read from each company's own pricing page, help pages or UK App Store listing on 2 November 2026. Prices are UK App Store prices unless stated; they change, and the price shown at purchase is the one that counts. To be re-checked by 2 February 2027.

Apple Reminders. Free, built into Apple devices. Stops at: Apple's sharing guide is written for iPhone and iPad and requires invitees to be on iOS 13 or later, so it does not suit a household with an Android phone.

Google Tasks. Free. Stops at: Google's help page on shared tasks names two places they can be created and assigned, a space in Google Chat and Google Docs on eligible Workspace plans; it describes no way to share a Tasks list itself.

Microsoft To Do. Free, with no in-app purchases listed. Shares lists with family and sets recurring due dates. On iPhone and Android.

Todoist. Free plan: 5 personal projects, 5 people per project, assigned tasks, one week of activity history, 5 MB uploads. Paid: Pro, £6.99 a month or £59.99 a year.

TickTick. Free plan: 9 lists, 99 tasks per list, 2 members per shared list, 2 reminders per task. Paid: Premium, £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year.

Cozi. Free, with adverts; "The whole family shares one account". Paid: Cozi Gold, an annual subscription that removes adverts and adds features such as a month view on mobile and more reminders; the UK listing shows Gold purchases at several prices, from £29.00 to £59.99.

FamilyWall. Free: shared calendar, shopping lists, task lists and more. Paid: Premium, £5.99 a month or £39.99 a year, which adds features such as budget tracking, a meal planner and more storage, applied to the first five "circles".

Sweepy. Free to download. Paid: a subscription, £3.49 a month or £16.99 a year. Whether adding household members needs the subscription is not stated on its own site or listing; one App Store reviewer says it does.

Barriers, made by this journal's publisher. Free: tasks with no cap, repeating tasks, and a household of two, including assigning, rotating, accepting and declining tasks. Stops at: a third person in the household, the shared family ledger and a second or third household (Family, £3.99 a month or £25 a year, paid by the household's owner; people they invite join free); Finance, Receipts, saying several tasks in one breath and, on new installs, repeats on several chosen weekdays or chosen months (Premium, a one-time £1.99, or included in a subscription); sub-tasks and the planning desk in Finance (Advanced, £2.99 a month or £19.99 a year, or included in Family); and progress for every month rather than only the current one (Family). It has no adverts. Its export is under Settings, Data, Export.

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