11 Best Productivity Apps for Your Android or iOS Device

Wondering how to stay productive these days?

With all that’s been going on around us, it can be a challenge to stay focused and on task.

Fortunately, the best productivity apps help you overcome this challenge.

Apps for improving productivity are more than just to-do lists. They are designed to boost your organizational skills, help you develop better habits, and improve your focus.

In this article, we’re looking at the best apps to help you stay productive despite the distractions and challenges you may encounter in a typical workday.

We’ve rounded up the best apps that help you in the following ways:

Project management
Time tracking
Improved focus
Goal setting
Getting things done

Please note that the apps featured today are presented in random order. Each has key features that improve productivity, depending on the area that needs attention.

Let’s check them out.

Table of Contents

Best Productivity Apps for Your Android or iOS Device

1. Todoist

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Todoist is more than just a to-do list. It is ideal for those who are looking for a task management tool that consolidates all the information you need, helps track the progress of your projects, and allows for collaboration.

One thing that users like about this app is its ability to transform a complicated to-do list into a manageable and user-friendly task tracker, ensuring that you stay on top of everything.

Main Features:

Next 7 Days – Allows you to quickly add a new task for the week. You can organize it according to priority, assign others to work on the task with you, label it, and/or set a reminder. These can all be done within a single interface.
Priorities – Helps you organize tasks according to priority. You’ll know exactly what task comes next in your priority queue.
Reminders – Get reminded about important events with this feature. To make sure that you don’t miss anything in your personal calendar, you can set up the app so that it sends you a text message to remind you of an upcoming event.
Collaborate and Delegate – Get more done by sharing your workload with family members or co-workers.
Progress Reports – Todoist provides daily, weekly, and monthly reports on your productivity. See your progress through color-coded graphs and a summary of your overall performance for a specified time period.

Pricing:

The app is free, with an option to upgrade to a premium account. A premium account starts at $3.99 per month and $35.99 per year.

To find out more about this app, check out this in-depth review.

For iOS | For Android

2. Trello

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If you need an app that functions like a Kanban board to improve team or personal productivity, Trello is well-suited for the task.

With Trello, you can easily organize your tasks. If you are working with a team, you can also use the app to coordinate and track collaborations that your team is working on.

The main draw of the app is its ease of use. Main tasks can be organized in boards, with cards representing subtasks. Within the cards, you can create checklists, reminders, and deadlines.

Main Features:

Trello Boards – Assign a board for every project you’re working on. Cards help keep track of tasks, schedules, deliverables, etc.
Members – Assign team members to particular tasks and track their progress.
Messaging – Allows real-time communication between group members.
Notification – Informs you when boards or cards have been updated recently.

No Internet connectivity? That’s not a problem with Trello. You can work offline, and all the updates and changes you make in your boards will still be saved.

Pricing:

Trello is a free app, with an option to upgrade to a Trello Gold subscription. Rates for Trello Gold start at $4.99/month and $49.99/year.

For iOS | For Android

3. Toggl

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Need an app that tells you the exact amount of time you spend on tasks? Toggl does that for you.

Its simple interface belies the fact that it is a powerful app for managing your time and reinforcing good habits. Toggl provides insight into how much time you spend on time-sink activities and how productive you really are.

The information you gather from Toggl can also help you charge the right amount for the work you do for clients.

Main Features:

Time Tracking – See the amount of time you and others spend on a particular task or activity.
Reports – Provide an overview of your productivity.
Integration – Toggle allows cross-platform integration with over 100 apps, ensuring that you stay on-task every time.
Pomodoro Timer – The Pomodoro Technique uses 25-minute time blocks for you to laser-focus on the task at hand.

Pricing:

Toggl is a free app, but an upgrade to a premium plan is available at $18 per month. A starter subscription ideal for small teams costs $9 per month. The paid plans have a 30-day free trial.

For iOS | For Android

4. Clockify

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If you are looking for an app that provides official-looking reports for billable hours that you can present to clients, Clockify answers that need. This is another time-tracking app that you might want to consider for boosting productivity.

The app is ideal for novice freelancers who need to monitor their work hours, as well as those who want a no-frills time tracker.

Main Features:

Time Tracker – Start and stop the app’s timer to track time spent on tasks. You can use the tracker for multiple tasks at one time. You can also choose to set the hours manually.
Timesheet – Providesan overview of the total number of hours spent on tasks or activities. Fill out the form with the number of hours used for a particular activity in a week, and the app automatically provides the total duration.
Dashboard – Charts show which activities or tasks you are working on, as well as how many hours you’ve spent on each one. They also display what tasks or projects your team members are working on, as well as the time they spent on each activity.
Reports – A detailed report displays the total number of hours worked on a project, as well as the billable amount that you can send to a client.

Pricing:

Clockify is a free app, although there is an option to upgrade to Plus with a monthly fee of $9.99. A premium subscription is also available for $29.99/month.

For iOS | For Android

5. Calendar

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If you are looking for an alternative to the free Google calendar, Calendar is worth checking out. It has many advanced features that accommodate your needs for a productive work life, and its intuitive artificial intelligence evolves to constantly give you a personalized user experience.

Main Features:

Centralized calendar – The app consolidates all your other calendars in one central dashboard.
Scheduling – Calendar.com offers a hassle-free way to book meetings between team members. Users can book meetings based on your available times and ensure that there are no conflicts with your other schedules. No confusing back-and-forth emails are required.
Meeting Transcripts – The app provides automatic transcripts of your meetings, in case you need them for future reference.
Analytics Reports – Track your productivity through the app’s analytics reports. You can see where you’re spending your time and make improvements in your work habits if necessary.

Pricing:

Calendar’s basic versions for individuals and teams are free. Upgrade to pro for both individuals and teams for $8 and $6 per month, respectively.

For iOS | For Android

6. Taskade

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Taskade may look like an ordinary to-do list app, but it offers features that effectively support productivity, whether in the workplace, at home, or at school.

The app allows you to create and manage lists without requiring you to log in. It has a strong collaboration feature, and can be an indispensable task-management app for a team.

Main Features:

Workspace – Enables you to split your to-do lists into specific workspaces, similar to what Trello does with its Kanban-style dashboard. However, Taskade allows multiple views of your tasks lists. You’ll have an idea of how things are coming along with only a quick glance.
Collaboration – You can invite an unlimited number of other people to collaborate on workspaces in real time.
Calendar – Monitor tasks and collaborations with the app’s built-in calendar.
Cross-platform availability – Aside from being available for iOS and Android, the app is also accessible through other platforms such as Windows and Mac PC. It can also be added as a browser extension for Firefox or Chrome.

Pricing:

The free version of Taskade provides 100 MB of storage, with unlimited tasks, collaborators, and projects. The unlimited version costs $5 per month.

For iOS | For Android

7. Asana

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If you’re part of a large team that needs a powerful collaboration and productivity app, Asana could be the answer. This app is rich in features that let you see how each project and task stands, manage workflows, and collaborate with team members.

You can work with your team to set goals and assign tasks, and the app then shows the workload of each team member for all the projects they’re working on. The Timeline feature, which is available on the premium version, provides a Gantt-style chart of all task deadlines.

Main Features:

Project and task management – Create lists or Kanban boards for your tasks, projects, and other initiatives. Assign tasks to team members and create due dates.
Task dependencies – This feature shows which tasks are good to go and which ones are dependent on other tasks before they can commence.
Communication – Leave feedback directly on tasks and images so team members know what needs to be done.
Reports – Set project milestones for extra motivation. Track goals and create portfolios for all projects in one place.

Pricing:

Asana has a free version, which includes many basic features for helping you and your team stay organized and productive. The premium version costs $13.49 per month per user. A business version is offered for big teams and companies at $30.49 per month.

For iOS | For Android

8. Airtable

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If you are used to spreadsheets like Excel for tracking your productivity, but would like an upgrade, you might want to consider Airtable. The interface is recommended for those with experience using Excel, considering that there is a bit of a steep learning curve if you’re new to the app.

The app basically functions as a database for managing all your projects. It offers collaboration features, and is constantly being developed to provide more intuitive features.

Main Features:

Database – Whether you’re working solo or with a team, a database helps keep and manage information for every list, project, initiative, or task you create.
Templates – Gives you a preview of the app being utilized for various purposes.
Collaboration – This key feature lets you invite others to join your database and assign them access permissions depending on their roles in your initiatives. Permissions include creator, edit-only, and read-only.

Pricing:

Airtable is a free app with an option to upgrade to a plus or pro version. The plus version is $10 per month, while the pro version costs $20 per month.

For iOS | For Android

9. Freedom

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Freedom app helps you stay focused on the task at hand by blocking your access to selected websites and apps. This is particularly helpful if you are constantly viewing time-sink sites and apps, negatively affecting your productivity.

Main Features:

Website Blocker – Disable access to an unlimited number of websites that distract you from focusing on the task at hand.
App Blocker – Spending too much time on your inbox or the latest addictive game on your phone? Freedom can restrict access to apps on your mobile device, too.
Internet Blocker – To stay truly focused, you can set Freedom to block access to the entire Internet.
Set a Recurring App/Site Block – Turn on this feature to automatically restrict access to sites and apps according to your preferred schedule so you can stay productive for the entire week.

Pricing:

Freedom is free, with an option to upgrade to premium. The premium version starts at $6.99 per month or $29.99 a year.

For iOS | For Android

10. IFTTT

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Get the most out of your apps by automating their services across your devices. Doing so conserves your energy so you can focus on more important things.

IFTTT can help you with that. There are other automation apps available, but IFTTT has been tried and tested, and has proved to be reliable. It’s not necessary for you to know how to code to use the app.

IFTTT stands for “if this, then that.” You can set the app to do things like send you an email if the weather forecast for tomorrow indicates rain, or automatically send greetings to your friends on social media on their birthdays.

Main Features:

Applets – Integration between two tools that requires a trigger and an action. Taking the example above, a weather forecast indicating rain is the “trigger,” while the “action” is to send you an email notification.
Main Page – Here, you will see applets recommended for you based on how you use apps and website services.

Pricing:

IFTTT is a free app, allowing you to create up to three applets. Recently, IFTTT Pro has been launched. The developers let you set the price for unlimited applets and customer support.

For iOS | For Android

11. Zoho Projects

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Working remotely has become the norm in light of recent events. If you need a tool that boosts your personal or team productivity, you might want to give Zoho Projects a try.

Manage your projects, collaborate with others, assign work, and track work progress while on the go.

Main Features:

Task Project – Create projects, assign work to group members, and establish due dates. Progress is viewable through different areas of the app, including the dashboard.
Charts and Reports – These features provide information you need to assess the progress of your projects.
Time Tracking – Stay on schedule and account for every second of work through this feature.

Pricing:

Zoho Projects has four different subscription rates:

Standard – $3/month/user for up to 10 users
Express – $4/month/user for 12 to 50 users
Premium – $5/month/user for up to 100 users
Enterprise – $6/month/user with unlimited scalability

For iOS | For Android

Final Thoughts on the Best Productivity Apps

It’s easier to stay focused and be productive with the right apps supporting us in our work goals.

The apps featured today are all designed to boost productivity in different ways. We hope you found the right app that works best for your needs.

If you need further resources about productivity, check out the following posts:

Finally, if you want to level up your productivity and time management skills, then watch this free video about the 9 productivity habits you can build at work.