Start with Vertex42's free To Do List template for Excel or Google Sheets: it has Status and Priority drop-downs, turns finished rows grey and has an Owner column, so it works for a team as well as for you. If you'd rather work on paper, Vertex42's daily and printable lists come as ready-made PDFs, and Template.net has to-do list templates you design in your browser.
A to-do list only works if you keep using it, and that comes down to fit. Some people want a sortable sheet with due dates that turn red. Others want a printed list on the fridge they can scribble on. The free templates below cover both, and the difference between them is bigger than it looks.
Five free to-do list templates compared
Here's what each one is good for, as of October 2026:
| Template | Best for | Standout feature | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| To Do List (Vertex42) | Personal or team task lists | Status and Priority drop-downs, grey rows when done, Owner column, due-date warnings | Excel, Google Sheets |
| Project Task List (Vertex42) | Tracking progress on a project | Progress bar in the % Complete column, check box, budget and hours columns | Excel, Google Sheets |
| Daily To Do List (Vertex42) | Planning a week day by day | Starred top priorities for each day | Excel, PDF |
| Printable To Do List (Vertex42) | Paper lists | 2-column upright or 3-column wide layout | Excel, PDF |
| To-do list templates (Template.net) | A designed list to print | Edited in the browser; school, work, weekly and wedding versions | Pages, Word, Google Docs, Excel, Google Sheets, PDF |
How Vertex42's editable To Do List works
The To Do List is set up for filtering and sorting, so you can group tasks by date, priority or status, then print it if you like ticking things off by hand. When you pick 'Completed' in the Status column, a conditional formatting rule turns that row's text grey, so finished work fades without disappearing.
The Status and Priority drop-downs pull their options from a Lists sheet you can edit. For priority, Vertex42 suggests a 3, 5 or 10-point numeric scale where 1 is the highest; out of the box, High shows in red and Low in blue. The Due Date column does the nagging for you: a date earlier than today turns red with a red dot, and a task due today shows a yellow warning icon. You can change the rule so the warning appears for anything due within 3 days.
There's also a PICK column, short for Possible, Implement, Challenge or Kill, a lean six sigma technique for sorting ideas. If you don't need it, delete it. Vertex42 says you can use whatever codes and abbreviations you like in every column.
Turning it into a team task list
This is where the template earns its place in a small business. The Owner column is for the person assigned to a task, or the person responsible for seeing it done. Vertex42 suggests using it for a team project, then emailing the spreadsheet or working on it together. In a small team that means one list, one owner per task and no 'I thought you were doing it'.
- Download the Google Sheets version if more than one person will edit it.
- Edit the Lists sheet so the Status and Priority options match how your team talks.
- Add every task with a short description, a due date and one owner.
- Share it privately with the people on the team, with link sharing turned off.
- Sort by owner before a weekly catch-up so each person can see their own list.
- Filter out completed rows once a month, or keep them as a record of what got done.
If the team outgrows a sheet, that's the time to compare to-do list apps or a kanban board, which shows the same tasks as cards moving across columns.
Daily and printable lists for paper people
The Daily To Do List is built on a sensible idea: spread your tasks across the week so you're not staring at one list that couldn't possibly get done in a day. Vertex42 stars the first couple of items each day as the top priorities, the ones to finish even if nothing else happens. The upright version combines Saturday and Sunday; the wide version has a notes area for appointments and a bigger space for Saturday, which Vertex42 says helps if you have a lot of weekend tasks.
The Printable To Do List is plainer still: a clean checklist in 2 columns on an upright page or 3 columns on a wide one. Vertex42 suggests printing as many copies as you need and folding or cutting the sheets into a stack, one for each day, and keeping the list in plain view, like on the fridge or next to your office computer. Both spreadsheets are theme-enabled, so you can change the grey colour scheme under Page Layout, Colors.
Progress bars and checkboxes in the task list templates
Vertex42's Task List Templates page is for people who want to see progress, not just tick things off. The Project Task List highlights the Priority column, draws a progress bar in the % Complete column with conditional formatting, creates a working check box with data validation and adds columns for budget and hours spent on each task.
The Google Sheets version, added in September 2019, swaps the icon sets for in-cell checkboxes. Vertex42 notes that Google Sheets doesn't have in-cell data bars, so the % Complete progress bar is an Excel feature. The same page has a simple task tracker with a 1 to 4 priority rating in coloured circles, a task checklist that turns finished items into grey strike-through text, and a task list with a Gantt chart built from a stacked bar chart.
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If what you want is a repeating daily checklist rather than a to-do list, see what makes an Excel checklist template work for daily tasks.
Template.net's designed lists
Template.net's to-do list templates are edited online in your browser and download in Apple Pages, Word, Google Docs, Excel, Google Sheets and PDF as of October 2026. It says a to-do list should include a task description, due date, priority level and completion status, and its printable versions are set up for Letter or A4 paper. The listings range from simple, editable and weekly lists to school, assignment, project, office and wedding versions, and it has an AI tool that drafts a list from a prompt.
Vertex42's lists, by contrast, are labelled Private Use (not for distribution or resale) as of October 2026. Use them for yourself, your household or your team, but don't upload the file to a website or share it with a public link.
My advice
I'd use Vertex42's To Do List if more than one person is working through the tasks, because the Owner column and due-date warnings do the chasing. I'd print the Daily To Do List if your problem is a list that's too long to face, since the starred top two make the day manageable. Skip the Project Task List unless you're tracking hours or a budget; it's more than a simple list needs. And pick Template.net if the list will be seen by other people and you want it to look designed.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I get a free to do list template?
Vertex42 has a free To Do List template for Excel and Google Sheets, plus daily, printable and task list versions. Template.net has to-do list templates you edit in your browser and download as Word, Google Docs, Excel or PDF.
Is there a to do list template for a team?
Yes. Vertex42's To Do List has an Owner column for assigning each task, and Vertex42 suggests sharing the spreadsheet or working on it together for a team project.
How do I mark a task as done in the Vertex42 template?
Select 'Completed' in the Status column. A conditional formatting rule turns that row's text grey.
Is there a printable to do list template?
Yes. Vertex42's Printable To Do List comes as a PDF in a 2-column upright or 3-column wide layout, and its Daily To Do List spreads tasks across the week.
Does the Google Sheets task list have progress bars?
No. Vertex42 notes Google Sheets doesn't have in-cell data bars, so its Google Sheets task list uses in-cell checkboxes instead.
