The universe strives for productivity. To exist in a fast-moving world like ours, we are always struggling to be more efficient in minimum time and effort. That is why productivity software is an integral part of existence.
What can be called a productivity app? In simpler terms, the apps that provide the backbone to complete our tasks in minimum time are tagged as productivity apps.
Here we are listing the most efficient free Productivity apps you can use in %currentyear%,
So without any further delay, let’s check-in.
Team Collaboration and Project Management apps
#1. Slack
Highlights – Platforms- Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web | Forever Free Option available, Paid options from $6.67/mo per user.
Slack is an instant messaging platform that replaces the need for transactional emails, particularly for people who work in teams. Slack brings the concept of Channels and Workspace.
The workspace is the hub for the people you work with. One can create channels within the Workspace.
Channels are an organized central space for conversation, file sharing, tools, and people within a workspace.
It is a great chat messenger with Voice and Video calls, Screen share options and integrates with thousands of business apps to boost the productivity of your team
Features of Slack
- No Inbox Focussed communication platform: Instead of overcrowded inbox, focussed communications in slack takes place in dedicated spaces named channels
- Voice -Video Call – Voice or Video call features within Slack
- Screen share – Share screen with your colleagues
- File Sharing and File Management
- Org Wide Search Options
- Integrates with multiple apps like Outlook Calendar, Google Suite, Zoom etc
Various workspaces have been designed by slack enterprise grid. All of them are interconnected. Each workspace is linked with an org-wide search, direct messaging system, and various workspace channels. This channel-wise working brings institutions and clients closer.
If you are tired of overcrowded inboxes, then it will be better for you to try Slack, and experience incredible collaboration.
#2. Trello
Highlights – Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web | Forever Free Option available, $9.99/mo per user
Trello is an easy to use Project Management tool that allows you to collaborate with your team members by creating Boards, adding lists to the Boards and then adding cards to the lists to track the ongoing tasks
Trello is a productivity platform with the concept of Kanban board from the Agile Project management technique that helps you visualize progress of your tasks.
Features of Trello
- Create Lists like ‘To Do’ ‘ In progress’ ‘Backlog’ and add tasks in form of Cards to stay organized. Assign those tasks to your team and stay updated on the progress
- Informative: Update comments, attachments, datelines, etc. on the Trello board and keep your team informed throughout the project.
- Automation with Butler: Butler is a bot that helps automate all repetitive tasks from your checklist with the rule-based triggers. Eg – Instead of Dragging and moving a card to the ‘Complete’ list, you can create a Button using Butler that does the work for you!
- Stay Connected: stay in sync with your team across the web and mobile-based platforms with simple boards and cards together in one place
Trello is a great collaborative platform to get you team to perform and track progress
#3. Asana
Highlights – Platforms: iOS, Android & Web | Forever Free Plan, 30 Day Free trial available for paid plans, Paid plan starts at $10.99/user /yr
Asana is a project management tool that helps you create visual project plans, coordinate with teams to track project progress, assign tasks, and automate processes.
It allows you to manage projects in 4 layouts – Lists, Boards, Timeline and Calendar and helps you to visualize progress against each of your tasks
Features of Asana
- Get structured work: Asana helps you stay organized as it builds up the priority list, assigned tasks, and shares details on one page.
- Stay on track: check the progress of the project at every stage via visual arts so that everyone has the notion about the exact position of the work and can stay focused.
- Achieve Goals on Time: Keep a project plan ready to see how things progress over time. Chalks out risk factors and drives out the fear of roadblocks, in plan changing situations.
- Active applications: Asana tools will enable your team to reach the deadline in perfect time with easy task capturing, to-do lists, reminders, and ideas.
#4. Monday
Highlights – Platforms: iOS, Android & Web | Forever FREE plan, Plans Start from $39/month for 2 users
Monday.com is a project management software with advanced features and CRM capabilities that helps to manage advanced project metrics and KPIs for large teams.
Monday brings various features of Project management at one place – like Communication, Scheduling, Marketing, project progress, milestones, and monitoring project success.
Its advanced features help you in Opportunity and Lead management, Forecasting revenue and closing deals with clients on Priority
Features of Monday
- Project Management – Create Detailed plans, Collaborate on Deliverables, Monitor progress and report on results all using one platform
- Software development – Plan your product, Bug tracking, Maintain Product backlog and define the product roadmap
- Remote Work – Connect with your Remote teams to collaborate, manage and track work
- Automate schedule tasks: Tiresome methods are ruled out by automatic tools. So put your effort where it is needed instead of on a daily monotonous schedule.
- Stay Informed: It provides the total view, required to have all on the same platform and pursue all the happenings.
Streamline Process, Allocate resources, and get visibility in the entire project using the boards and dashboards.
Video Conference and Webinar Apps
A webinar and video conferencing app is a software that connects clients, partners, and participants together on one platform. The software includes audio-visual web conferencing to host online business meets, training, plan discussions, Webinars, and allows sharing of contents.
These apps can connect participants from all over the world even if from remote areas.
#5. Google Meet
Highlights : Platforms – ( Web, iOS, Android) | Forever Free option available, Paid plan starts from 10USD /mo/user
Google Meet provides quality video conferencing with options like Tile view, Screen share and Meeting record options. These features help to keep the team involved during a discussion
Features of Google Meet
- Forever Free but with few restrictions – Google meet users under the free plan can host 1-hour unlimited meetings with 100 participants.
- Secured meetings: It has in-built secured features like 2 step verification, encryption, anti-abuse features to discuss your business terms with your clients.
- Integrates with other meeting apps: like Skype
- Collaboration features like Chat, Google drive, Shared drives and file stream
- Amalgamated with G Suite: Google meet comes free with G Suite. Google calendar information is accessible in Google Meet meetings.
- Perfect for business meetings: It allows you to join meetings through invitation.
To conduct your business-related talks successfully, don’t hesitate to go with Google Meet.
#5. Zoom
Highlights : Platforms – ( Web, iOS, Android) | Forever Free option available, Paid plan starts from 14.99USD /mo/user
Zoom keeps you safely linked up with people all over the world. It provides an uninterrupted video conferencing service for your business meetings or family calls.
Features of Zoom
- Enables to join the meeting from anywhere with any device.
- High-security solutions to keep your details secret.
- Allows Screen sharing along with video options
- HD video and audio quality are available.
- You can conduct 49 video conferencing together with up to 1000 participants.
These features have made Zoom highly equipped as a webinar and conferencing software.
Docs sharing and Notes App
Docs sharing helps you to create and edit documents. With the help of doc sharing and Notes app, you can maintain documents, take important notes, and keep it handy to refer.
Docs sharing or Notes apps help in improving your productivity by making sure you do not miss important points.
Let’s have a look at some of these apps and their features
#7. Google Docs
Highlights – Platforms – ( Web, iOS, Android| Forever Free | Paid plans come with G Suite
A free application Google Docs provides facilities like writing, editing, and collaboration with remote teams. It can be used for personal use ( forever free) or business use ( paid plans)
For business use, Google docs can be accessed through G Suite offering that brings various Google apps in one place like docs, spreadsheets, Meet, Chat, Slides, Forms, etc.
Features of Google Docs
- Advanced editing tools: Google Docs offers some excellent styling and editing features. You can easily format your documents with the help of them. They look very lively with an advanced touch.
- Say ‘No’ to save: Sometimes, we miss to save our created documents and find ourselves in trouble. Google Docs brings for you automatic save options.
- Keep Track of Revision history: Track changes made to your documents and make updates as required.
- Share docs with different access – FOr working with teams, you can share a doc with various access like – Read-only, Edit Options, etc
With a wide range of offerings, Google Docs is waiting for you. So have an enjoyable creative experience with it and give it a try.
Explore the features and price calculator of GSuite
#8. Evernote
Highlights – Platforms – Desktop App, Web, iOS, Android | Forever Free plan available, paid plans starts at $7.99 /mo /user
Evernote is your personal notebook that helps you to take notes, find information, share documents, maintain to-do lists, add reminders, and many more.
Features of Evernote
- Use it to take notes, ideas, what to do, reminders, etc.
- Sort and organize information by date, title, or tag.
- Document Scan and Search Features
- Manage your account even while offline.
- Meet your professional needs by keeping track of all your work, documents and web links at one place
- Link Google Drive, emails and CRMs ( Paid Plans)
Paid Plans of Evernote has AI suggested content. As you type, AI content helps you to see related information from major blogs like Wall Street, Magazine n more
Evernote has a Web Clipper in the form of an Evernote Chrome extension. With 400k users, it is definitely one of the best Chrome extensions to –
- Clip and save screenshots and highlight what’s important
- Clip whole web pages or part of it. Save and bookmark web pages and add reference notes etc. in your Evernote
- Save articles in your Evernote without images ( A cool feature – in case you want to save only Texts!)
Time Management and Calendar Apps
Calendar Apps are designed for time management and scheduling purposes. Some apps which can help you in the goal are:
#9. Calendar
Highlights – Platforms – Desktop App, Web, iOS, Android | Free version available | Paid versions from $10/mo
Calendar app helps you to plan about meetings, seminars, followups by simplifying scheduling of events. It also helps you to analyze how you have spent your time to improve.
Features of Calendar
- You can schedule your meetings as per availability through ‘Find a time feature.
- It Syncs with your email calendar and helps you create Events and know what is Coming up
- Global teams can collaborate as it is Time Zone Friendly
- With the help of calendar analytics, you can be more focused and organized
Looking for Cheaper Calendar Alternative – explore G Suite offering as it offers a lot more than the only Calendar!
#10. Todoist
Highlights – Platforms – Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari, Firefox | Free Version available | Paid plans start from $3/mo or $5/mo
Todoist helps you to plan your future events and organize tasks.
Key Features
- A polished and extremely high featured productivity app enables you to design and control your works smoothly.
- You can set a priority list and focus on the right things
- Add Your Favourites, Sections, and Subtasks
- Create Shared Tasks – between your Co-workers or Roommates
Todoist has the feature of tracking and reporting, which helps you to track your progress in the form of charts and graphs
Todoist can be connected to various apps like Dropbox, Zapier, Amazon Alexa and has a wide range of ready to use templates from Grocery list templates to Product Roadmap!
Password Manager App
#11. Dashlane
Highlights – Forever Free plan | Individual or Family pan at $3.33 per user/mo, Business Plan at $4.00 per user/mo | Free Paid Trial available with NO Credit Card
Dashlane is an app that helps you manage your passwords, payments, and personal details protect your passwords, and stores your passwords in a safe and secure vault across the web or a device. Dashlane is available as desktop App for Windows and Mac, Chrome Extension, iOS app and Android app
It boosts your productivity making sure you don’t have to waste your time re-setting your password or searching your details if you forget it!
It really makes browsing an easy affair
Key Features
- Save your passwords and login details as you browse across the web
- Save unlimited passwords, addresses, and other form details and fill wherever required with a click
- Sync Across devices – a desktop app, a chrome extension, android or is apps – it thus fits for every device user, whether Apple or Android or a combination of both.
Dashlane is safe and secure to use. When you install it for the first time, it asks you to migrate your passwords from your browser to the desktop app.
It keeps data on your personal device and not on the cloud. Dashlane is unable to view your information.
There is a Dashlane Chrome extension with 100k downloads. Once you install this extension, you can access all your passwords in one place
Conclusion – Best Free Productivty Apps
All the above-mentioned productivity apps are designed to help you increase productivity in your day to day lives while you are working from home.
Every app mentioned above has a feature that can help you boost your personal or professional productivity. You can select apps as per the needs, requirements and budget