Top 20+ free productivity apps to stay focused and organized

You can get so much done yourself. Sometimes, you need the power of technology to keep you more organized, time-conscious, and less forgetful. In this article, we’ll be highlighting some of the best 20+ productivity apps for individuals and team collaborations, including key features and pricing (free & paid) to use if you need a little push to be more productive.

As employees, the thoughts of getting better at what we do cloud our minds. We always want to do more in less time. With a lot of tasks to complete, we endlessly seek methods that facilitate this process, from ready-made templates to online tools.

Luckily, certain productivity apps have been developed to make working easier. These apps help increase efficiency by serving as a reminder, organizer, automator, and manager all at once. With these apps, handling several assignments at once would be a lot more effortless.

While finding the best productivity apps was quite the challenge, we were able to pick the top 20+ best apps for productivity that will come in handy when you take up the next couple of tasks.

In this article, we will provide a list of productivity software for both team collaboration and individuals, which includes their key features and pricing for your reference. 

Best free productivity apps for team collaboration.

1. Zapier: best for multi apps integration

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Web App, Mac, Windows

Zapier is best known for its ability to automate workflows and integrate various web applications without the need for coding knowledge. It acts as a bridge between different apps, allowing them to communicate and work together seamlessly.

Zapier serves as an automation tool that helps you save the time and effort of having to switch between different apps. This app provides a streamlined experience by integrating and automating your most-used apps.

🧰 Key Functions

• Integrate apps to avoid spending too much time switching between multi apps
• Browse through Zapier’s library of pre-built automation called Zaps
• Customize your automation
• View task history
• Activity dashboard to track progress

Pricing Plans: 

• Free
• Starter (Monthly/Annually) - $29.99/$19.99 per month
• Professional (Monthly/Annually) - $73.50/$49 per month
• Team (Monthly/Annually) - $448.50/$299 per month
• Company (Monthly/Annually) - $898.50/$599 per month
  

2. Grove HR: best for HR checklist and automation

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Windows, Web App

Grove HR is for all your project management needs and HR operations. This multifunctional platform facilitates the documentation of employee profiles and policies, automates recruitment, time-tracking and payroll, and more. With less time doing manual HR tasks, you can focus more on growing your business.

🧰 Key Functions

• Automate recruitment with the hiring pipeline
• Welcome newcomers with customized messages and auto invitation
• Keep track of the onboarding checklists.
• Stay up-to-date with company news.
• Plan and manage leave requests using the Time Off Management function
• Track and consolidate time attendance data for payroll processing.
• Complete your tasks wherever with the mobile app.

Pricing Plans: 

• Free usage of Core HR features for companies under 50 employees.
• Essential (Monthly/Annually) - $3/$3.6 per user per month
• Growth (Monthly/Annually) - $4/$4.8 per user per month
• Engage (Monthly/Annually) - $6/$7.2 per user per month

3. Clockify: best for time tracking on various activities. 

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Chrome, and Firefox Extension

Show your boss or client how much time you spent working on their project with Clockify. It is a time-tracking software that records the amount of time you spend on an exact activity. It allows users to log their hours for specific tasks, projects, or activities, providing valuable insights into how time is being allocated throughout the day.

Clockify is widely used by individuals, teams, and businesses to monitor productivity, track billable hours, and gain a better understanding of time management. This app is useful for employees at the managerial level to review the activities of their team members.

🧰 Key Functions

• Track the time used to work on a project
• Track the progress of each project
• Collaborate with team members and monitor the time they spend
• View and share reports of tracked hours and group them by user, activity, or day
• Add custom fields to time entries
• Sync data across multiple devices
• Pomodoro Timer is used to track and manage time

Pricing Plans:

• Free
• Basic (Monthly) - $4.99/seat
• Standard (Monthly) - $6.99/seat
• Pro (Monthly) - $9.99/seat
• Enterprise (Monthly) -$14.99/seat
  
  

4. Trello: best for team collaboration and project management.

⚙️ Compatibility: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web App

Trello is a simple yet super-efficient project management tool for collaborative teamwork. With this collaboration tool, you can categorize your work by the level of progress you’ve made using the customized Kanban boards. Trello is used for organizing, managing, and sharing tasks among team members.

Within each board, users can create lists and cards to represent tasks or items, and team members can collaborate by adding comments, attachments, due dates, and checklists. Trello's collaborative features promote real-time communication and transparency among team members, making it an excellent choice for teams of all sizes seeking an organized and efficient way to work together on projects and tasks.

🧰 Key Functions

• Create, manage, and assign a task for team members with deadlines.
• Drag and drop cards into Trello's Kaban board
• Activity dashboard to help create and monitor cards
• Attach files and comment on task progress
• Receive email notifications and reminders

Pricing Plans: 

• Free
• Business (Monthly) - $12.50
• Business (Annually) -  $10/user/month
• Enterprise (Annually) -  $17.50/25 users/month
• Enterprise (Annually) - $210/user
  
  

5. Slack: best for chatting, messaging & communicating. 

⚙️ Compatibility: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web App

Slack is simply a communication tool that makes passing information across different channels less complicated. This is one of the productivity apps that primarily focus on preventing information loss. Unlike emails to communicate with team members, Slack categorizes your messages according to tasks and projects, allowing other team members to join or leave conversations irrelevant to them.

Slack provides a centralized hub where team members can send direct messages, create channels for different topics or projects, share files, and integrate with various third-party apps for seamless communication

With Slack, you can also make voice and video calls for an improved level of communication.

🧰 Key Functions

• Communicate across distinct team channels
• Place a video or voice call
• Third-party integration
• Prioritize messages by starring and pinning them
• Set availability status
• Share screen among team members

Pricing Plans:

• Free
• Pro - $6.67 /month
• Business - $12.50/month
  
  

6. Airtable: best for task management.

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows

Airtable functions are like a spreadsheet but with added functions for task management. You can create and assign tasks, add attachments, include notes, and set statuses. For teams that have grown to love Excel, Airtable is a more functional software to use.

🧰 Key Functions

• Manage and monitor projects with multiple views
• Team members can add messages, update task statuses, interact with projects, and prioritize their workflows.
• Cross-platform support
• Customize fields into checkboxes, text notes, attachments, or add links
• Track inventory in fields

Pricing Plans: Annual Plans

• Free
• Plus - $10/seat/month
• Pro - $20/seat/month
  
  

7. nTask: best for project management and team collaboration. 

⚙️ Compatibility: Android and iOS

For an even more advanced and more functional task management app, we recommend nTask. This productivity app meets the demands of team members who need a platform to organize and manage projects together. You can integrate the app with Zapier, Zoom, Outlook Calendar, and Google Calendar.

The nTask app comes with multiple features that make it possible to use without having to switch to other apps.

🧰 Key Functions

• Simultaneously monitor and manage distinct team workspaces  
• Create, assign, organize, prioritize, and share tasks 
• Convert comments to tasks using Slack
• Project management resources, including project reports, Gantt charts, and project timelines to manage and monitor project progress
• Manage risks by creating a list of risks and assigning them to team members
• Manage meetings by scheduling, arranging, sending invites, adding meeting details, and other follow-up procedures

Pricing Plans: Annual Plans

• Free
• Premium (Monthly/Annually) - $12/$2.99 per user per month
• Business (Monthly/Annually) - $24/$7.99 per user per month
  
  

8. Office 365: best for enhancing productivity and collaboration.

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web App

Office 365 is a collection of productivity apps with different features that facilitates the transfer of information. Some of the embedded apps include; Outlook, SharePoint, OneNote, Word, Excel, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, Yammer, and others.

Each of these apps has different functions that aid productivity, making Office 365 a pretty powerful productivity app.

🧰 Key Functions

• App collection for various functions
• Skype integration for voice and video calls
• All features can be accessed without network coverage
• Sync with mobile phones
• Email storage of up to 50GB
• Editing and conversion of documents

Pricing Plans:

• Free
• Personal - $6.99/month
• Family - $9.99/month
  
  

9. Calendar: best for meeting scheduling. 

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Web app

Next, we have the AI-powered Google Calendar for an improved schedule organization. Calendar keeps a record of all upcoming appointments and events so you don’t miss out on the important stuff. With this app, you can book meetings and schedule events for other days. You also never have a meeting or event clash, as you can’t fix two events in an hour.

🧰 Key Functions

• AI integration
• Sort events using color codes
• Works together with Google Tasks and Gmail
• No event/task clash

Pricing Plans: Free

10. MindMeister: best for online mind mapping and brainstorming.

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS

MindMeister is the perfect app for visualizing your ideas and sharing them with team members for proper evaluation. With this collaboration tool, you can document the process of your thoughts and ideas. You can map out ideas through slides and have team members share their honest opinions on the project.

🧰 Key Functions

• App Integration with Meister Task for project management
• Share links to mind map across other applications
• Recover old or deleted ideas with history mode
• Assign tasks to team members
• Customized themes
• Pass information by attaching files
• Built-in mind map templates

Pricing Plans:

• Free
• Personal (Monthly/Annually) - $5.99/$2.49 per month
• Pro (Monthly/Annually) - $9.99/$4.19 per month
• Business (Annually) - $6.29/month
  
  

11. Google Drive: best for documents storage

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Web App, Mac, Windows

We also have another free go-to productivity app from Google, Google Drive. With this app, the organization and management of documents are made quick, easy, and accessible. One of the many reasons to like Google Drive is its data synchronization features, which make all files and documents accessible via multiple devices so you can work on the go.

🧰 Key Functions

• Third-party integration
• Share folders and files for collaborative work
• Sync and backup data online
• Features Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets for varying functions
• Store files and documents with free 15 GB storage

Pricing Plans: Free

Best free productivity apps for individuals

To keep tabs on personal activities and track your progress as an individual, here are the top 10 free productivity apps to use:

12. Notion: best for note-taking, project management, knowledge organization, and collaboration.

⚙️ Compatibility: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac

Notion is a multi-purpose app that makes it possible to take notes and perform basic task management functions. It is considered an all-in-one workspace app because of its multi-functionality. Unlike other note-taking apps that give you a very rigid organizational structure, Notion gives you the freedom and creativity to organize just how you want to.

🧰 Key Functions

• Rich text formatting for powerful note-taking
• Share and assign tasks
• Create pages and folders to organize items
• Set due dates and add reminders
• Create or use built-in templates
• Set up multiple views (Kanban board, table, list, gallery, timeline, calendar)
• Integrate with several other tools like Google Drive and TypeForm.

Pricing: Annual Plans

• Personal - Free

• Personal Pro (Monthly) - $4.99

• Team (Monthly) - $8/member

13. TickTick: best for versatile task management and to-do list application

⚙️ Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web app, Mac

If you enjoy being in charge of all your activities, TickTick is just the right productivity app for you. This productivity platform features tools that make it possible to organize your entire task and improve your workday habits. You get to group your tasks in folders too.

With the TickTick app, you can create and access tasks from any location. You can also see how much you’ve accomplished with the Achievement score display. This score decreases when there’s a delay.

🧰 Key Functions

• Add tasks faster by using Siri, voice input, and widget features
• Convert emails into tasks
• Location reminder
• Task duration set-up
• Schedule recurring tasks
• Sort and tag tasks
• View tasks on a daily or monthly calendar
• Share and assign tasks
• View strengths and weaknesses via tasks for improvement

Pricing: Free and Premium Annual plan costs $27.99 (less than $2.4/month)

14. Any.do: best for managing daily tasks, projects, and goals.

⚙️ Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web app, Mac, Windows

Any.do is an efficient and easy-to-use productivity tool that helps you stay organized no matter where. This tool enables you to customize a to-do list and a calendar to keep track of the deadlines for each task. You can use any.do on your phones, laptops, and tablets with all your tasks synced to as many smart devices as you like.

🧰 Key Functions

• Create and organize lists, tasks, and subtasks by prioritizing with colors
• Integrate with Google Calendar, Exchange, and iCloud
• Share and assign tasks
• Take notes and add attachments
• Set due dates and add reminders
• Schedule recurring tasks
• Search for lists and tasks

Pricing:

• Free
• Premium (Monthly) - $5.99
• Premium (Annually) - $2.99/monthly
  
  

15. Tide: best for enhancing concentration and maintaining a productive workflow.

⚙️ Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web app

Tide is another productivity tool that uses the Pomodoro technique that helps you stay focused. You can create soundscapes that lengthen your attention span and make you stay productive. This app also puts your self-discipline abilities to the test as you try to give in to distractions until the set time is up.

🧰 Key Functions

• Offer a Focus Timer for applying the Pomodoro Technique
• Track progress with the data journal
• Create soundscapes
• Daily inspirational quotes for motivation

Pricing: 

• Free
• Tide Plus (Monthly/Annually) - $11.99/$59.99
• Tide Membership (Monthly/Quarterly/Annually)  - $1.99/$4.99/$15.99
• Special sounds (in-app purchase)
  
  

16. Todoist: best for managing tasks and projects efficiently.

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web app

If you have trouble managing tasks and need a more simple to-do list, Todoist is just about the right choice. With the daily hassles of juggling multiple tasks at once, Todoist changes the way you handle your tasks and gives you a more productive alternative. The simplicity of this app is what makes it stand out amongst other productivity tools.

🧰 Key Functions

• Create projects and add tasks using color codes to organize
• Create reusable project checklist with templates
• Integrate with Google Drive and Dropbox
• Automatic and location-based reminders
• Transfer emails from Gmail and add them as task
• Keep track of progress with the measurement and report functions

Pricing:

• Free
• Pro (Monthly) - $3/month
• Business (Monthly) - $5/member
  
  

17. Serene: best for eliminating distractions, staying focused, and achieving their goals

⚙️ Compatibility: Mac, Browser Extension

Serene is for freelancers and anyone who pretty much works from home. Using this app is one of the easy ways to stay productive, as it takes up a unique approach to helping you organize and accomplish your tasks. With Serene, you get to set a goal for each day and subdivide it into different tasks that’ll help achieve the goal.

🧰 Key Functions

• Block out other apps and websites to avoid distraction
• A session timer helps you track the time for motivation
• Set daily goals and sub-tasks
• Put the phone on silent to avoid further distractions
• Play background music to help you stay focused

Pricing Plans:

• Free trial of 10 deep work hours
• Premium (Monthly) - $4
  
  

18. RescueTime: best for time management on digital devices

⚙️ Compatibility: Mac, Windows, Android, iOS

RescueTime is another free productivity app that keeps you from wasting time. It keeps you in control of time-conscious activities. This app features a dashboard that can help you track your time daily, weekly, or monthly. You can also turn on notifications for every complete task.

🧰 Key Functions

• Track how much time you’re spending on different apps
• Block notifications from apps and websites to avoid distraction
• Notify you when you’ve spent more time on an app
• Track progress with a central dashboard
• Weekly report on activities and productivity score sent to mail

Pricing Plans:

• Free
• 14 days Free trial
• Premium plan (Monthly) - $12
• Premium (Annually) - $78
  
  

19. Forest App: best for time management and stay focused

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS

Forest App is different from all the other productivity apps on this list. It works more like a game than an efficient tool for productivity. This app prompts you to stay away from your devices for at least five minutes as you spend time working on important projects. Forest App plants a virtual tree for every five minutes you spend away from your devices. It also comes in a Chrome extension, so you get to use this on your PC too.

If your phone is a major source of distraction for you, Forest App will help you stay away from it for a while.

🧰 Key Functions

• Gamified timer for a little touch of fun
• Help you spend lesser time on your phone
• Enhance productivity

Pricing Plans:

• Free
• Purchase the app on your iOS device for $1.99
  
  

20. Otter: best for transcribing spoken content into written text

⚙️ Compatibility: iOS, Android, Mac

Otter is an AI voice transcription app that comes in handy when you can’t write an idea down. When you find it difficult to jot down notes quickly, like when you’re in a meeting or webinar, you could speak into your phone and have the app transcribe your words into readable texts as accurately as possible.

🧰 Key Functions

• Highlight the key points to review later
• Punctuate, capitalize and break paragraphs automatically
• Invite colleagues to view, edit, and highlight collaboratively
• Tag the speakers to label the paragraphs and train Otter to identify speakers
• Export text as PDF, TXT, or SRT, and MP3
• Import audio and video
• Sync with Zoom to transcribe cloud recordings
• Calendars integration to get reminders to record an event and auto-title your notes
• Automatically back up all data to Otter’s cloud 

Pricing Plans: Annual Plans

• Free basic plan
• Pro - $8.33/month
• Business - $20/user/month
• Enterprise – Request for Quote
  
  

21. Evernote: best for note-taking

⚙️ Compatibility: Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Web app

Evernote is a digital space for taking notes and mapping out ideas and events that need extensive organization. This app comes with a variety of functions; all centered around facilitating note-taking. With this app, you can upload a photo of a handwritten note, store it, and download it when necessary. Notes with photos, PDFs, and digital sketches can be captured too.

🧰 Key Functions

• • Drag and drop key documents into a note
  • Import hand-written notes to the app
  • Search for tags, titles, body text, and PDF text
  • Make key notebooks available offline
  • Create a to-do list
  • Built-in templates for better organization
  • Integrate applications

Pricing:

• • Free
  • Premium (Monthly) - $7.99
  • Business (Monthly) - $14.99/User
  • Premium (Annually) - $5.83/Month
  • Business (Annually) - $12.50/Month

Strengthen your willpower to stay focused & productive

In conclusion, these top 20 productivity apps offer a diverse range of features and functionalities, each designed to help users stay focused, organized, and on top of their tasks. Whether through efficient task management, time tracking, mind mapping, or meditation and mindfulness practices, these apps cater to various needs and preferences.

Staying productive requires total dedication and self-discipline. While these apps help you achieve more by managing your time and tasks, their effective utilization is really up to you. If you’re having trouble staying focused, read some books on improving productivity – this will prepare you for a distraction-free work period.

By harnessing the power of technology, individuals and teams can optimize their productivity and work smarter, not harder. From eliminating distractions to promoting deep work and collaboration, these apps empower users to achieve their personal and professional goals with ease.

The key to success lies in finding the right combination of apps that align with individual workflows and preferences. With the power of these productivity tools at their fingertips, users can unlock their full potential, maintain focus, and achieve peak performance in today's fast-paced digital world. So, why wait? Embrace these productivity apps and pave the way to a more organized, efficient, and fulfilling work-life balance. Let the journey toward increased focus and productivity begin today!