Originally published at: 15 best productivity apps 2023 | ONLYOFFICE Blog
Productivity is what makes individuals and teams more successful allowing them to get the same work faster and with less effort. If you want to know how to boost your productivity, you will find the answer below. In this list, you will see some of the best productivity tools for different platforms and devices that you can use to good advantage to optimize your workflows.
What are productivity apps?
Productivity software refers to any application which makes people more efficient and effective in their day-to-day work. This software is becoming more and more popular because it lets individuals and teams improve their efficiency while carrying out simple and complex tasks on a daily basis.
One of the key advantages of productivity apps is that they help you focus on the most important things rather than focusing on small details that can keep your attention away.
Productivity software varies in uses and applications. It often refers to tools for creating and editing office documents, file sharing, processing data and statistics, project management and scheduling, among other common tasks. It can also include tools that improve collaboration, communication and interaction with third parties.
Let’s take a look at the best productivity apps in 2023 and get some tips on how to choose the right tools for your needs.
1. ONLYOFFICE DocSpace
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is a web-based collaborative platform that is available in the cloud and suitable for local deployment on Windows and Linux servers. The solution is designed to allow teams and individuals to edit and collaborate on text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and electronic forms online in customizable rooms.
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace offers professional editing tools, chat communication, audio and video calls via the Jitsi plugin and an AI assistant which makes it easier to work with texts. For example, you can generate images, create summaries, extract keywords, translate paragraphs and more.
When you collaborate in DocSpace rooms, you can establish various levels of access permissions for other users, including room admins, power users, editors, viewers, commenters, reviewers, and form fillers.
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace comes with a set of security tools and customization options so you can create a secure collaborative environment for your documents and files.
Best for: real-time document collaboration with teammates and external users
Platforms: online, Windows, Linux, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Startup plan with up to 2 GB of free space and up to 12 rooms
- Business plan starting from $15 per admin/power user
Feel ready to try ONLYOFFICE DocSpace to get a productivity boost? Get started now:
2. Evernote
Image source: evernote.com
Evernote is a note-taking and task management app that provides you with all the required features to keep your life organized and help you remain productive. It lets you take notes, plan your projects and corresponding tasks, keep track of your meetings and even scan documents. Evernote can also serve as a place where you can keep web pages, screenshots, PDFs, articles and photos. What is good about this productivity app is that it comes with excellent synchronization capabilities across different devices so you won’t lose a thing.
Best for: quick note-taking and simple task management
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan for up 2 devices and 60 MB monthly uploads
- Personal plan starting from $14.99 per month
- Professional plan starting from $17.99 per month
3. Zoom
Image source: zoom.us
Zoom is one of the most popular productivity tools out there. Basically, it’s a video conferencing platform that enables audio and video calls on all popular platforms. Zoom provides all essential features for virtual communication, including individual sessions, online webinars and public events. You can connect to other people online and use built-in collaboration tools for more productive interactive meetings. Screen sharing, reactions, polls, video recording and transcripts, and scheduling from Gmail and Outlook are just some of the features that Zoom offers.
Best for: audio and video calls
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with 40-minute meetings
- Pro plan starting from $149.90 per user/year
- Business plan starting from $199.90 per user/year
4. Toggl Track
Image source: toggl.com
Toggl Track is a time-tracking app that offers online time tracking and reporting features through its website and access via mobile and desktop applications. This tool helps you stay productive as it counts every minute you spend on a certain project or a task allowing you to minimize distractions. Toogl Track uses a calendar format so you can easily integrate it with your Outlook and Google calendars. Another useful feature is the ability to switch between Timer mode and manual mode. That means that you can track time as you go or add time later.
Best for: time tracking
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with unlimited time tracking for up to 5 users
- Start plan starting from $10 per user/month
- Premium plan starting from $20 per user/month
5. Slack
Image source: slack.com
Slack is a productivity app that enables teams and companies to communicate efficiently. It’s a corporate platform that replaces traditional email communication with channels that are quite easy to create and join. You can create separate channels for your projects, teams, offices and departments. A Slack channel is a dedicated space where participants can communicate and exchange information. You can simply add new members to the existing channels, and they will be able to read through old conversations, which saves a lot of time.
Best for: team communication
Platforms: online, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with access to the most recent 90 days of message history
- Pro plan starting from $7.25 per active user/month
- Business+ plan starting from $12.50 per active user/month
6. Box
Image source: www.box.com
Box is a cloud-based content management platform for productivity which allows you to keep all your important documents in one place and collaborate on them with other users using a chat, sticky notes, voting and other features. Importantly, Box comes with e-signatures and easy-to-use automation tools so that you can easily accelerate your workflows. When it comes to security, the platform offers secure file sharing with permission controls. Unfortunately, there is no free plan.
Best for: secure file-sharing and content management
Platforms: online, Windows, macOS, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Business plan starting from $15 per user/month
- Business Plus plan starting from $25 per user/month
- Enterprise plan starting from $35 per user/month
7. Pipedrive
Image source: www.pipedrive.com
Pipedrive is a web-based CRM tool for pipeline management and productivity. Using it, teams and businesses can plan their sales activities and control their deals. The solution provides all the essential features associated with sales management, sales forecasting and lead management. What’s more, Pipedrive offers integration capabilities for more than 400 popular business apps, allowing you to streamline your workflows with ease.
Best for: customer relationship management and pipeline management
Platforms: online
Pricing:
- Essential plan starting from $14.90 per user/month
- Advanced plan starting from $27.90 per user/month
- Professional plan starting from $49.90 per user/month
8. Clean Email
Image source: clean.email
Clean Email is a productivity tool which makes it possible to manage a huge amount of emails efficiently and with a few clicks. Using this app, you can always keep you your inbox clean and well-organized by automating your email cleaning process. It allows you to manage or delete thousands of emails at a time, create email groups, apply various email filters and even unsubscribe from unwanted email senders. The built-in security tools regularly check your email accounts against data breaches and notify you if your personal information has been stolen.
Best for: email management
Platforms: online, macOS, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- 11,89 € per month for 1 account
- 23,79 € per month for 5 accounts
- 35,69 € per month for 10 accounts
9. ProofHub
Image source: www.proofhub.com
ProofHub is a project management and team collaboration software. It’s designed for teams of all sizes offering them access to such productivity features as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, task management, time tracking and custom reporting. ProofHub comes with decent collaboration capabilities, allowing team members to collaborate and communicate in real time, share files and exchange feedback on their tasks and projects. The platform can be integrated with plenty of other business tools. For example, Google Drive, Dropbox and Slack.
Best for: project and task management
Platforms: online, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Essential plan starting from $45 per month
- Ultimate Control plan starting from $89 per month
10. Trello
Image source: www.atlassian.com
Trello is a web-based, kanban-style, productivity app that allows you to organize whatever you need, from personal tasks to corporate projects. The app’s interface is clearly structured and provides access to three main components: tasks, cards and lists. Using these components, you can easily visualize your projects and tasks as well as the progress you’ve made. For more productivity, you can connect your Trello platform to Slack, Dropbox, Outlook, Gmail and other solutions.
Best for: project and task management
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with unlimited storage
- Standard plan starting from $5 per user/month
- Premium plan starting from $10 per user/month
- Enterprise plan starting from $17.50 per user/month
11. Calendar
Image source: www.calendar.com
Calendar is a web-based scheduling software tool for teams and individuals. This app makes it possible to put all of your calendars into a single dashboard where you can keep track of your events and meetings. You can easily find open time slots, send links to your meetings to other people and allow anyone to schedule an appointment with you at any time. Calendar can be integrated with various other calendars, including Google Calendar and Microsoft Calendar. The Analytics feature gives you a breakdown of all your meetings and how you can become better at scheduling with others.
Best for: online scheduling and calendaring
Platforms: online, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with one basic workspace
- Standard plan starting from $20 per user/month
- Pro plan starting from $240 per user/month
12. Miro
Image source: miro.com
Miro is a digital whiteboard that allows you to boost your productivity by collaborating with other people. With this tool, you can create notes and designs, move whiteboard elements around and communicate in real time via video calls or online chats. Miro gives you access to a set of ready-to-use templates that you can use for your own projects. Miro’s online whiteboards are a great way to visualize data and projects in a creative way.
Best for: content and data visualization
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with access to s workspace with three editable boards
- Starter plan starting from $8 per user/month
- Business plan starting from $16 per user/month
13. Notion
Image source: www.notion.so
Notion is a productivity platform that you can use in a variety of ways. It features four core components, and you can adapt each of them to your needs. With Wikis, you are allowed to create a centralized database for your knowledge. With Projects, you can create, configure and effectively manage your projects and tasks. With Docs, you can create, store, share and collaborate on documents in real time. The last component, Notion AI, lets you automate your tasks and become more productive by using the power of AI.
Best for: team collaboration
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Free plan with a collaborative workspace for up to 10 guests
- Plus plan starting from $8 per user/month
- Business plan starting from $15 per user/month
14. Bitwarden
Image source: bitwarden.com
Bitwarden is an open-source app that you can use to generate, keep and autofill secure passwords for all your accounts. With this productivity tool, you don’t need to memorize each of your passwords as everything is done by Bitward from any device or location. The password manager comes with a feature that allows you to transmit your data directly to other users, using an end-to-end encrypted security mechanism.
Best for: password management
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, Linux, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- For individuals, there is a free plan with unlimited passwords and devices
- For businesses, the Teams and Enterprise plans start from $3 and $5 per user/month respectively
15. Canva
Image source: www.canva.com
Canva is a powerful graphic design software for individuals and teams that allows them to create professional designs for visual content of any kind, whether it be leaflets, letters, banners, presentations, reports, videos, logos and much more. Canva comes with a huge collection of ready-to-use templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch. Moreover, you can boost your productivity with built-in AI assistants. For example, they can help you edit your photos, generate new images and even generate a custom design.
Best for: visual content creation
Platforms: online, macOS, Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pricing:
- Canva Free with 5 GB of cloud storage and 250.000 free templates
- Canva Pro starts from $119.99 per person/year
- Canva for Teams starts from $300 per year
How to choose productivity apps that fit you best?
The apps mentioned above are just a few practical examples of productivity software available on the market. When choosing the right tool for your needs, you’d better take the following factors into consideration:
- Budget and payment terms: although the majority of the options on our list offer free plans, you should be ready to pay if you want to get access to the most advanced productivity features;
- Supported platforms: make sure that the solution you are going to use is compatible with your devices and OS;
- Software type: you need to have an understanding of what kind of productivity software is suitable for you.
The good news is that almost all productivity apps are available for free or provide a free trial period. That means that you can try all these options and see if they boost your productivity. If you find them useful, you might go for a paid version.