With the best productivity software, managing projects becomes a walk in the park. You can track office and remote teams efficiently while ensuring quality results.
Most productivity apps have a user-friendly interface that includes task management and collaboration tools. It helps managers set company goals and notify members of the latest company updates.
Using the ideal productivity tool can be straightforward with little research. You and your team will appreciate the easy access to file sharing and unified communication solutions.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to build a smooth work experience with these top 10 productivity software.
In a world where working hard is the standard norm, it’s important to reassess if this approach still coincides with your goals. Avoid scrambling to meet deadlines and start clearing your to-do lists with an optimistic mindset. But how can you create a productive work cycle without affecting your well-being?
There are ways to increase your productivity at work with the help of online apps and tools available for desktop and mobile use. These programs will assist you with goal setting, resource alignment, and effective collaboration.
In this post, you’ll find the top 10 productivity tools that can make your work routine satisfying.
Content Summary
Google Workspace
Trello
Zoom
Clockify
Dropbox Paper
Todoist
Slack
Hubstaff
Evernote
nTask
Conclusion
Google Workspace
- Business Starter Plan: $6 /user per month
- Business Standard: $12 /user per month
- Business Plus: $18 /user per month
Manage multiple teams and projects with Google Workspace.
Formerly known as G Suite, Google Workspace is one of the top productivity software that has all the essential tools needed for individuals and organizations.
Every Google Workspace plan includes project management tools and business apps for individuals and organizations. With core apps like Gmail and Google Meet, you can quickly relay messages and set up meetings on one platform. In addition to swift company updates, this software has excellent productivity tools that enable multiple people to edit any document simultaneously.
Signing up with Google Workspace allows you to share schedules with your team and send reminders for upcoming events. You’ll find that this productivity tool has everything you need whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or own an enterprise.
Pros
- Most enterprises use Google Workspace because it has a built-in office suite ideal for all their project management needs.
- Flawless real-time document editing.
- It allows up to 300 users in one admin account.
Cons
- Poor file management in Google Drive. When integrating with many members, organizing files can pose a challenge.
- It doesn’t include a free plan for team collaboration. The free subscription is only available for single users.
- Offline editing is only available on Chrome and advance plans.
Trello
- Trello is one of the popular free productivity software available.
Trello is a visually stimulating task management software that uses the Kanban board approach. It allows teams to create boards, cards, and lists to organize tasks in a rewarding way. You can customize each panel to fit your working style by moving items to different progress points. For example, you may label a column “In Progress,” “For Validation,” and “Completed Tasks.”
With Trello, team members can discuss projects by adding comments, due dates and casting votes on ideas. If you need to save time, you may use an automation Butler command that moves and archives cards automatically
Pros
- It’s user-friendly and easy to learn without the steep learning curve.
- It integrates with over 100+ tools like Google Drive, Slack, and Jira.
- Small scale businesses enjoy using Trello because it allows unlimited users on a single board. All you need to do is invite your members via email.
Cons
- It’s only ideal for small projects. You may opt for Teamwork productivity software if you’re managing complex projects.
- Limited storage space.
- It doesn’t include any reporting and time tracking tools.
Zoom
- Basic: Free sign-up for meetings up to 40 minutes
- Pro: $149.90 per year per user that can host up to 100 participants
- Business: $199.90 per year per user that can host up to 300 participants
In today’s hybrid workspace, companies are looking for reliable team communication tools to meet their employees virtually. Zoom brings teams together, providing remote conferencing services through their cloud platform. It features live chat functionality, screen sharing, calendar integration, and international calling. Their high-quality, scalable system ensures that you and your team won’t miss important meetings.
Zoom makes it easy for attendees to watch an event on desktop and mobile without signing up for an account. For that reason, you to live-stream any meeting or webinar on your Facebook page.
Pros
- It’s one of the top-performing video communication platforms for small and large businesses.
- Companies find Zoom mobile and desktop app convenient to join meetings on the go.
- For people who aren’t tech-savvy, Zoom has an easy-to-use system that allows users to download and install the program with just a few clicks.
Cons
- Although Zoom allows people to message each other in the chat box, it lacks the option for users to control inappropriate comments.
- There are some instances where people crash Zoom conference calls.
- HD Video doesn’t come with the basic plan. You’ll need to subscribe to higher plans to get HD video quality.
Clockify
- Freemium Plan is available.
- Basic Plan: $3.99 per user/month
- Standard Plan: $5.49 per user/month
- Pro Plan: $7.99 per user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $11.99 per user/month
Tracking attendance for onsite staff and remote teams has never been easier with Clockify. It allows individuals and managers to monitor work hours and projects from any location via GPS.
This time-tracking software lets employees start and stop the clock as they work. Depending on the setting, they can also manually input their hours. Hybrid teams find Clockify useful because it has a calendar that allows individuals to block time for tasks. So you can organize your schedule better, focusing on specific assignments at a time.
Aside from timekeeping, this productivity tool has an intuitive dashboard, making it easy for users to learn. The panel interface includes employee work reports to review your team’s shift, earnings, and activity. Thus, there’s no need to use a different app for invoicing labor; Clockify automates billable hours accurately for you.
Pros
- Users can create automated customizable invoices to help minimize payment delays.
- This time management app includes 40+ integrations with other programs like Quickbooks, Trello, Google Calendar, and Asana.
- It has a free forever plan that provides sufficient features for growing businesses.
Cons
- The HR management team may have to manually log Paid Time Off (PTO) since Clockify doesn’t include PTO management features.
- Users may experience lag on Clockify mobile app.
- The screenshot and mouse idle tracking features are only available for paid plans.
Dropbox Paper
- Plus: $9.99 /month for only (1) user
- Professional: $16.58 /month for individual users only
- Standard: $15 per user/month available for 3+ team members
- Advanced: $24 per user/month for complex teams with 3+ members
Modern companies constantly struggle with team collaboration. But with Dropbox Paper, you can easily manage tasks and projects in a single place. Users have freedom in creating documents within various projects while tracking milestones, deadlines, and assignments. However, Dropbox is only accessible if you subscribe to Dropbox plans.
Dropbox is one of the first productivity tools that help teams store and share files in a single place. The company launched Paper in 2017 as a collaborative document-editing service that allows various departments to collaborate in real time.
Pros
- Both Dropbox Paper desktop and mobile versions have somewhat similar interfaces. Users can efficiently create files and conduct edits on desktop screens. At the same time, the mobile app allows them to keep in touch with recent document changes.
- Dropbox Paper provides creative freedom and control. It allows you to start from scratch, formatting and organizing menu controls however you please.
- For projects that require media files, Dropbox Paper enables you to insert URL codes from various integration channels. For example, if you need to make a mood board, drop a link of your Pinterest, Instagram profiles, and YouTube video into your document.
Cons
- Some people may find Dropbox Paper too limiting because it has few options for font styles and lacks a spell check feature. Paper is ideal for flushing out ideas rather than editing and publishing documents.
- Since this productivity software is perfect for idea collaboration, you can’t save old versions of your projects. If you need a tool that allows you to restore previous changes, you might want to use Google Docs.
- Dropbox Paper provides basic features for the price you pay. Although it offers creative freedom, it lacks structure compared to its programs.
Todoist
- Free version available for 5 team members only
- Pro: $4 /month for 25 collaborators per project
- Business: $6 per user/month
Todoist is a task management tool that simplifies your to-do list into manageable assignments. It lets you collaborate with other people involved in projects to boost productivity. Since its design is simple, it won’t take long for you to plan your projects.
This productivity tool lets you manage all your projects, teams, and other work-related information in one organized location.
Pros
- The Todoist’s user-friendly design allows you to sync projects on all your devices where you can access your to-do list anytime, anywhere.
- Creatives appreciate the extensive Todoist customization tools. It allows users to select themes, fonts, and other to-do list templates.
- Todoist has a set reminder feature that notifies you to accomplish your tasks.
Cons
- Todoist may seem disorganized because it doesn’t have a well-defined subtask feature.
- Large businesses may find Todoist too basic. You may need a different productivity app to manage complex projects.
- Todoist has a default notification setting that constantly reminds people of assignments. So if you don’t want the reminders, you must meticulously assign deadlines to each project member.
Slack
- Free version available
- Pro: $6.67
- Business+: $12.50
- Enterprise Grid: Contact Slack for details
Say goodbye to endless email threads and find an organized instant messaging platform for your business. Slack is one of the best productivity apps for cross-team collaboration. It has a multi-rich, channel-based communication tool that allows groups and enterprises to relay information efficiently.
Slack will boost productivity for you and your team if you need to kick off projects, onboard employees, and build workflows.
Pros
- Losing your data won’t be a problem because Slack has secure cloud storage.
- Slack has a reasonable learning curve. Most of its features are simple, and any user can start using the platform without complications.
- Catch up on all of your company conversations with Slack’s mobile up. You can download the program and sync it across all your devices.
Cons
- Because of Slack’s intuitive design makes this team management tool addictive. Most users complain that they cannot create a healthy work-life balance.
- Slack’s pricing plans are expensive, even for large businesses. Its subscriptions aren’t flexible enough to make a big difference as opposed to other available plans.
- Despite Slack’s easy-to-use interface, it can eat up your system’s resources, draining its battery and memory.
Hubstaff
- Desk Free Plan available for one user only
- Desk Starter: $5.83 /user per month
- Desk Pro: $8.33 /user per month
- Enterprise Plan: Contact Hubstaff for details
Hubstaff is a team management and time tracking software that provides productivity metrics. It helps you create daily, weekly, and monthly employee reports to get insight into proof of work. So if you are a part of a mobile workforce, this productivity tool allows you to understand how team members use their time and estimate project costs.
Startups and businesses can use Hubstaff to generate invoices based on tracked chargeable hours. With its geofenced time tracking feature, you may keep tabs on remote team members when they enter and leave office sites.
Pros
- Companies and individuals use this team management tool to track time and create invoices and payrolls while on a budget.
- Hubstaff is a straightforward time tracking app that guarantees employees simplicity with just a click of a button.
- The automated timesheets are convenient for recording billings, payments, and budgets.
Cons
- The Hubstaff app is easy to understand however their website layout can be more use-friendly.
- Hubstaff’s paid plans may have more features than you need if you have a small team. This app is ideal for corporations that require more functionality than solo freelancers.
- Hubstaff isn’t customizable. It doesn’t allow you to pick which features you want to integrate for managing teams.
Evernote
- Free plan available
- Personal: $7.99 /month
- Professional: $9.99 /month
- Teams: $14.99 /user per month
Evernote lets you remember everything. A seamless note-taking app that allows you to jot down handwritten text and attach other media files such as photos and voice memos. It’s a great productivity tool that centralizes your ideas that applies to any workflow.
When you have difficulty searching for documents, Evernote has a structured database that lets you retrieve files easily. It acts as a digital desk that plays well with other tools to get work done even when you’re offline. If you have data on cloud base software, you can quickly grab a link and add them to Evernote.
Pros
- Evernote delivers good value for money with seamless information syncing and file sharing across multiple devices.
- College students can get a 50% discount on Evernote Personal Plan if they enroll in a one-year subscription.
- Save time searching for files and documents through Evernote’s Advance search technique lets you find anything on your device.
Cons
- Evernote’s free plan has limited features. For example, if your notes exceed 25MB and you want to link more than two devices, you have to sign-up for a paid plan.
- If you’re using the Amazon Appstore, you may no longer download or update the Evernote app. However, you can install this productivity app from their website, Mac, and Microsoft app store.
- Evernote doesn’t allow multilevel notebooks, which some individuals find restricting. So if you need to take down sub notes, you’re better off using other productivity software for this purpose.
nTask
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $2.99 /user per month
- Business: $7.99 /user per month
- Enterprise: Available by quote
nTask is a popular productivity app that allows you to build custom workflows to organize projects and repetitive tasks. With its all-inclusive time-tracking and project management software, your team won’t need other platforms to collaborate on a project.
Pros
- nTask’s chat features streamline communication and collaboration across all departments in a company.
- The ability to see progress charts and status reports in nTask allows team members to visualize progress, boosting productivity.
- Teams can monitor and evaluate any severe impacts on their projects using nTask’s risk management tools.
Cons
- If you need immediate concerns, nTask’s customer support takes a while to respond to tickets.
- Although nTask is a great personal assistant for keeping track of projects, they still need to resolve app-responsive issues.
- Uploading large files onto nTask may cause any lagging problems.
Conclusion
Productivity tools are not always perfect because some may have advantages and constraints. Some teams may require features that most software plans don’t have, while others may not afford hefty subscription costs. So it’s important to evaluate your team’s necessities and pick the ones suites your workflow needs.
In addition to finding the ideal project management tool, switching apps haphazardly kills productivity. Despite coming across the latest software, it’s always up to you to take action for self-improvement.
Productivity apps will only work if you have discipline and accountability.
