Likeliness is you are here because you googled best productivity apps. Got it, I know you that inner feeling. You strive to squeeze more out of less time which is one of the things people get at work and which is about as universal as a human feeling at work can get. The problem: productivity equates disparity, so the words ‘productivity tools’ mean quite a lot to the population. For you, what works may or may not work for me, and that’s why, after years of writing about productivity software, I believe there is no single “best” or finest productivity application.
On the other hand, I suppose that there are those categories of tools that can make you a better you. Some of them are especially used by more people than others, and everyone cannot use all apps from a particular category. It’s more important to understand what kinds of apps exist and what an ideal app in a category should look like than to know the best app for that category.
I have already made the point, but no matter, you want software advice, not my musings on the essence of productivity. Now, I will update on the main categories of productivity apps which I think all humans that use any work electronic devices should know about. Here, I’ll be describing the reasons I consider each category as significant, highlighting the apps that I think will work for most people in this category and giving links to additional information on further options if you need.
Just remember: as long as the app is for that purpose. Indeed, the best productivity app is the one that works well for you. Of course, system is the most important. Sound good?Let’s jump in.
- To-do list apps
- Calendar apps
- AI scheduling assistants
- Note-taking apps
- Focus apps
- Habit tracker apps
- Read-it-later apps
- Screen recording apps
- Password manager apps
- Other productivity app categories
Purpose Of The Best Productivity Apps In Brief.
Name | Category | Best for | Pricing |
1Password | Password manager app | Easy password management across devices | $36/year for Personal account; $60/year for Families (up to five accounts) |
Freedom | Focus app | Blocking distractions on all your devices at once | $3.33/month (billed annually) or $8.99/month (billed monthly); $199 for a lifetime subscription |
Google Calendar | Calendar app | Seamless integration with other calendar services | Free with a Google account; Business Starter for Google Workspace starts at $6/user/month |
Loom | Screen recording app | Quickly recording your screen to share with others | Free for 25 videos up to 5 minutes; Business plans from $12.50/month/user |
Microsoft OneNote | Note-taking app | A freeform (and free) experience | Free for up to 5GB of notes; $1.99/month for 100GB |
Read it later app | Easily saving articles for later | Free plan available; $4.99/month for Pocket Premium | |
Reclaim.ai | AI scheduling assistant | Protecting your habits | Free with a Google account; Business Starter for Google Workspace starts at $6/user/month |
Streaks (iPhone) / HabitNow (Android) | Habit tracker app | Building and maintaining habit streaks | Streaks: $4.99 for the app; HabitNow: Free for up to 7 habits, $9.99 for unlimited habits and more features |
Todoist | To-do list app | Balancing power and simplicity | Free version available; paid version from $5/month |
The Perfect Password Management Tool Among All Productivity Apps
1Password
It is hard to think of an overly long, complicated password. But remember, do you have a good, long and complicated password? Now that you have a long list of unique, quite complicated passwords to use for each site, the second problem arises. That’s why it’s so necessary to have a password manager.
Use of password managers will solve all the problems if you have difficulties with passwords. All you need to do is just memorize one master password, and let the app handle it all. And as data leak is even more common than you think, password managers help you to be protected against unauthorized access and nasty attacks. So, this app maintains your privacy as well.
1Password, which is the popular password management tool, is one of the giants. It is the best option for most of the people who are in need of password managers, since it is easy to use, extraordinarily secure and works with virtually all the web browsers, your details and passwords being synced on all your devices.
Other password manager apps are available for free with basic packages too. Take a look at our list of the best password managers if you also want some other options. When you are serious about the improvement of cyber security, preferrably passkey will be used.
1Password pricing: $36 for a single account, Personal; $60 for a family package that accommodates up to 5 accounts. The monthly plan is available only after joining our organization.
The Most Impeccable Time Management App Is One Which Does Not Allow Distractions
Freedom
Look the way I am coping with the roar of amusement park rides – people might fall into serious state of concentration problems. It is also quite discomforting.The internet is worse. Everything you have ever imagined is available to you with all of it having been created by the most brilliant engineers who are making sure you keep coming back and back. I have to admit it’s hard to stay motivated when there is no accountability, so it is great that there are apps that let you stay focused.
Liberty is a great instrument which is playing the job. It is portable and can block distractions, including websites and apps, on all of your phones. In essence, this implies that it is not possible to block TikTok on your computer, surf on it later on your phone. With Freedom, what you can do is setting up various block lists. And then you can set the timers for any of them. Our review is here! Freedom app among all the best focus apps is included. Also, the top focus apps list where this application is one of the options to consider can be found here.
To me, Serene put things in practice together as both distraction blocking and to-do. Just saying what it takes and how long you need to do it is enough to enter a single-task mode focused on the task itself. Moreover, there’s Cold Turkey Blocker. Which can also set the time settings of your computer to bring you back. Even if you try to change them in order to bypass the block. But you do have yet more choices,, particularly if you’re a Mac user.
Remember: Internet designed to be attention-grabbing. It’s ok not to be ashamed if you are using a tool to build discipline.
Freedom pricing: $3.33/month annually, or $8.99/month monthly billed; $199 once for a life time subscription.
The Best Productivity App For The Calendar Management Is The One We Have Chosen.
Google Calendar
Unfortunately, a day has only limited number of hours, and this means we have to be economical with them. As for how you do it, a calendar is what you use for that. You could use a standard paper wall calendar, but a calendar app enables you to invite other people to an upcoming event. In addition, in the world that might have an excess of meetings. A calendar is also your useful place to store the link to the Zoom meeting or the meeting place.
For my part, I believe Google Calendar, as shown above, is the ideal choice for most people—especially for those who actually use Gmail in the first place. Google Calendar is a cross-platform app that makes you view your calendar in several different views and share your invitation with anyone who intends to attend any plan you make. I could make several articles about the features of Google Calendar (and I do). Similar to other calendar apps, this software does everything powerfully, and a bit more, but of course, as easy as a piece of cake.
Want one more thing your calendar can offer? Through Zapier, you can link Google Calendar to your desired apps to perform tasks such as appointment creation from spreadsheets. Learn more about how to use IFTTT to schedule emails and alerts, or choose one of these pre-built workflows.
Google Calendar is a great option for some, but if it doesn’t suit your needs check out our post about the best calendar apps for more options. Microsoft Outlook works as a great substitute, in just the way the Calendar app inbuilt in all Apple devices does.
The next thing I’d look into is the availability scheduling app. These apps allow scheduling of appointments by anyone that suits your schedule. Which could be appropriate for you if you’re super busy like me. Calendly would be a good fit as it is packed with a lot of customizability and its probability of syncing with Google Calendar. Here is the list of the top meeting planners, belonging to Calendly and other products.
Google Calendar pricing: Free with a Google account; Business Starter for Google Workspace. (which includes all Google apps) is also available from $6/user/month, with a one-year commitment.
The Perfect Productivity App Is For The Purpose Of Making And Sharing Screen Recordings.
Loom
Be it the presentation or troubleshoot the problem, often times a recording of your screen can prove useful or simply saving yourself some time. Screen recording tools are just what you need as they can capture action any time and you can easily use one to record your screen, your voice, and even your face if you have a webcam.
Loom, which is demonstrated at the beginning, gives you a good starting point assuming you consider this category. It’s very quick and easy to use, can work across all the major platforms and it’s convenient to share recording. You can even do that with the tool today and it will add your face to the recording using a webcam.
I used Zappy that Wyselabs developed for Zapier internally. I honestly must say that it is the best screenshot program I’ve ever used, and it’s free, too. If your machine is a Mac, it is a must for you to try it. See the best screen recording tools. For further options, please, check, and remember to record your screen even without software if you want to manage the file on your own.
Wanna display your screen right away? A screen-share app (I’ve found Zoom works great) is quite handy.
Loom pricing: Access to the plan is for free 25 videos up to 5 minutes; Business plan starts at $12.50/month/user with unlimited videos and duration.
A Cool App To Take Notes Is The Best App To Boost Productivity.
Microsoft OneNote
I’m constantly taking notes: before, during or even while I’m having a meeting; finding info on an article; and even while brewing beer. Now to be fair, I think most people do have some class of information that they will need to come back to later, and that isn’t ‘document’ content. Does anyone really want this sort of sprawling chain of folders for all of that information?
Therefore, clipboard tools should be used to record the information so that you can read them later and (hopefully) do the follow-up afterward. They can be used for personal journaling or as a file storage system for a tailored project, too.
According to an image above, when it comes to note-taking apps. I think the first one you ought to test is Microsoft OneNote. It’s free, but if you’re a OneDrive user, it doesn’t last that long. And you’re given plenty of ways to arrange your notes, like notebooks, sections, and sub-headers. It also offers an intensive search feature. The content of which is derived from the images and PDFs being dropped in the note.
With OneNote coming into Zapier, you can automate the OneNote to avoid dealing with information workflow between apps. Zapier lets you make a new note in OneNote whenever you have a new task or an event in another app, for example. Below are few predefined workflows to help you begin with.
On the contrary OneNote is not the only choice. You may find a more elaborate range of note taking apps on our list. If you were among the fans of Evernote back in those days. You will probably fancy Joplin which is a free and open source remake of that app. Personally, i am a big fan of Obsidian which can turn your notes into a single database and has plugins. Fortunately there are plenty of great choices to pick from. Find one that allows you to scratch some thoughts down and dig them up later.
OneNote pricing: Free until you use up the first 5GB of notes; then $1.99 per month for the next 100GB.
A Good Productivity App For Storing Articles And Read Them Offline Is The Best.
I`d spent all day reading articles and watching YouTube videos.We all would. It happens too, that you get an article from your friend that might look interesting, but in that case, you would have to do something else. That’s the best part of read-it-later apps. They bookmark what you intend to read allowing to return there when you are ready.
I think that, for this class, beyond doubt, it’s Pocket that suits the finest. It’s free and it has extensions for all the giant browsers together with an amazing offline reading mode on your mobile that syncs your articles to read later. Too it also has inbuilt support for spotlight and highlighting, and then reading them again at a later time.
Pocket offers an App to connect the App with your other preferred Apps too. As an illustration, you may have your RSS feed’s posts automatically send to pocket or share your best content to Slack. That is where the additional lines lie.
Instapaper is a top-tier solution with one complementary feature to it – possibility to send articles to your Kindle. But they aren’t the only two, there are many other apps like these, so check out our blog article about the best read-it-later apps for some more choices.
Moreover, there are people who use apps like bookmarking or even note-taking ones to achieve the same purpose, which sounds great because they do the same thing and it’s just easy to get some content later.
Pocket pricing: Lite: Free; $4.99/month for Pocket Premium, which includes permanent personal backup of the articles you’ve saved, suggested tags, and full-text search.
That Is The Best Productivity Apps Which Is AI Assisted.
Reclaim.ai
If, you find difficulty in practicing habits such as morning meditation or afternoon walks. Then a virtual assistant which sets your schedule can be an excellent way of helping you back on track without the scheduling hassles.
The usage of Reclaim.ai for this is what I am talking about. as it’s a great contender that looks nice and that works even better. And it provides us with an optimal power/complexity ratio.
In fact there are lots of other choices but. Get your AI scheduling assistant now. Check our most useful list. Use AI scheduling assistant for some time, and you will definitely figure out that it makes use of your time more productively. It may be that you find out very soon a lot about the rate of your productivity.
Reclaim.ai pricing: For two calendars and three habits free. Paid plans start at $8 per user per month for unlimited calendars, unlimited habits, more integrations, and more powerful features.
The Best Productivity Apps To Monitor Behavior
Streaks (iPhone), HabitNow (Android)
The dentist I visited said I should brush my teeth twice a day. And I followed his orders, at least that was what I did in the evening. I converted it using habit checker.
There is a feeling like these apps are similar to a to-do list, but they function distinctly. You can not use a habit tracker for a task that you need to do every time you finish something custom. The whole point here is to fine-tune your efforts to something you do regularly, and then track how many times you do it without fail. And finally the drive is mentally recognized and you want to keep it that way and you do so even when the habit becomes a second nature.Don’t laugh—it works.
If you are an iPhone user, you may like to try Streaks for your habit tracking needs. For Android device users, below is HabitNow. Both apps are on your phone handset, which is the last place that you look before you decide. They provide you with the opportunities to create your list of habits that you’d like to build, which will keep you reminded. And give you the progress in different ways.
While they are not the only ones, the apps we have listed can also help you to create even more powerful habit trackers. Don’t forget that most to-do lists today have habit-tracking functions already built-in. I, for one, make use of TickTick’s embedded habits tracker. I just love that. And similarly, others use a paper calendar to keep a simple habit. Every day you do it, just write an X next to the date.
Streaks pricing: $4.99, universal app
HabitNow pricing: Free habit tracker app for up to 7 habits. Or $9.99 to unlock unlimited habit tracking and more features.
The Best Productivity Apps For Creating A To-Do List Is The Best In The Class
Todoist
We have things that we need to do, be it at work or other facets of our lives. Within my mind I consider the worst place where you could keep them in, in my opinion. It’s just stressful: you’ll flash on memories of making promises, or doing things. Randomly, and that too will produce the same attractive carrot with defeat having the same stunning nature. Putting your assignments down on paper will enable you to make a plan, and (most importantly) mean that you will not be panicking.
Not everybody gains from a to-do list app as organized as some—t Read More I agree. As social media allows for a huge opportunity for friendships but the one risk is you do not have somewhere to note down things which need to be done.
Though I think Todoist, the app in the picture below, is the best app for a to-do list for most people. Use it is simple but also has many features. It also can be installed in virtually devices and therefore it is always with you. It lets you create a deadline for the tasks, it can group by projects or even view using Kanban board. It’s also fine if it’s not your style to use those user-friendly features but it is its greatest asset for someone who needs a task-itemizing list.
In addition to that, Todoist also can be integrated with Software. Which means that you can automatically have tasks created in Todoist. When something happens within one of your favorite apps. here are some App Todolist automation ideas, or get going with one of these templates.
If Todoist doesn’t work for you, though, you can explore the links of our best to-do list apps – their list is not restricted. One of the reason why I choose Tick Tick is because I love how simple it makes things. It is also in our compilation of best to-do list apps in ADHD situation. And I am so thankful for Things because of the simplicity it has despite being just available on Apple devices. Find any tool that you liked and is usable—so that you can recall it in your memory. Of all the useless things in your world, the most useless will be an app with tasks you never even check.
Todoist pricing: Free trial; subscriptions are from $5/month.
Other Productivity Apps That Are Worth Sharing.
It is difficult to put into words how amazing my first semester at university has been. There’s no limit to the great software out there, and it’s so much fun to review it and tell my readers all about it. Those categories should help to save your time and spend some of it on their storage. For those who find this not enough, here are some other minor additions.
- Digital photo applications, such as Microsoft Lens, allow document scanning from your phone while also converting text using character recognition (OCR). Whether you are looking to purchase a bundle or an app individually, please check out our list of the best OCR apps for mobiles to make your choice.
- Text typing expansion utilities, such as PhraseExpress, will help you never look and copy-paste the same text to several people. Read more about text expansion software or learn to use it to get a better result when dating.
- Like Apple Dictation, for instance, it can “type” text by speaking; and such programs save you all kinds of time. This dict7a here are the best dictation software.
- Toggl Track time tracking apps are perfect for keeping the projects. Under control and making sure you’re not over doing it with the stuff that you can’t afford. Go through the list of the best time tracking apps available below and see which one suits you
- Coggle mind mapping software helps you to visualize. The different connections between the ideas as you are still in the thinking stage. Find below the list of the top Mind Mapping Software. Or check out the best business brainstorming tools.
Automate Your Productivity Apps
Once you have gotten apps to show up in the listed categories, you can take the whole productivity thing to another gear. App can be used to connect all other apps you already use with Zaps. You can build yourself, no code necessary. Just like the tools above, it will not solve all your problems at one time, but it is a wonderful way of linking tools that cannot integrate easily. With this method you can use the best post product. While the traditional approach requires you to use the tools that can be operated together. Not only that, but it will not affect only your efficiency but will go even further so you will be able to automate even your most business crucial workflows.