Flagged email in To Do is the right idea, split across two apps and left to you to date and remind. Gadfly does the dating and the reminding, in the same app as the mail, for Outlook and every other account you have.
Good at: Flag a mail and it becomes a task in Microsoft To Do.
Where it stops: Due dates have no time, reminders are set by hand, and mail and tasks are two apps.
Platforms: Everywhere. Price: Free / Microsoft 365.
| Feature | Gadfly | Outlook + Microsoft To Do |
|---|---|---|
| Turn an email into a to-do | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Every to-do gets a deadline automatically | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Deadline re-read when the thread changes | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Deadline shows the sentence it came from | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Pressure rises as the deadline nears | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Push before a to-do is due | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partly |
| To-dos on the iPhone lock screen | ✓ Yes | — No |
| To-do widget on the home screen | ✓ Yes | ? Not documented |
| Starred mail becomes to-dos | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Follow up if no reply | ◔ Coming | — No |
| Any IMAP account (iCloud, Fastmail, your domain) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Mail and to-dos in one app | ✓ Yes | — No |
| No ads, mail is not the product | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partly |
| Price | €9/mo | Free / Microsoft 365 |
✓ yes · ◐ partly · ◔ coming · ? not documented · — no. From each product's own docs and pricing pages, checked November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we fix it.
Pressure that rises until it is done Only in Gadfly Every to-do sits in a band set by its deadline: calm, hot a week out, burning two days out, critical once overdue. As the date nears it climbs, and critical ones break through your quiet hours. Other apps remind you once; Gadfly keeps the pressure on.
Lock screen and home screen widgets Only in Gadfly Your hottest to-dos on the iPhone lock screen and home screen, critical first, plus unread count. Private on a locked phone: band and short title only.
Deadlines that follow the conversation Only in Gadfly When a new message arrives, the deadline is read again from the whole thread. "We will get back to you next week" moves it; a contract expiry stays put. A date you set is never touched.
Every to-do has a deadline Only in Gadfly The date the mail states, else an estimate from what is asked and who is waiting, else a default by importance. No to-do can silently rot without a date.
Deadlines with evidence Only in Gadfly A deadline taken from the mail shows the sentence it came from. No mystery dates.
Gadfly. Like Outlook + Microsoft To Do, it is a full mail client, but every email you need to act on becomes a to-do with a deadline read from the mail, and Gadfly keeps the pressure on (bands, nudges, lock-screen widgets) until it is done.
Gadfly Pro is €9/month or €79/year after a 30-day free trial. Outlook + Microsoft To Do: Free / Microsoft 365 (checked November 2026).
Yes. Gadfly connects to the accounts you already have: Gmail, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, iCloud, Fastmail and any IMAP server. Nothing moves; your mail stays with your provider.
Early sign-ups get 3 months of Pro free, not 1.