Best Productivity Apps of 2021

Whether you are working from home, as part of a team, or in an office, productivity is an important factor to success. Various productivity apps, such as software or online services can considerable ease up your daily routine and boost the quality of your work. Productivity is the measure of how much you achieve, and what you get done. If you are unproductive, you are not using your time wisely and efficiently.

We understand that it can be difficult to remain productive – there are so many distractions, and when you are busy, productivity often takes a hit. How do you manage your tasks the best way? Which jobs do you prioritize? It can be stressful!

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Internet is packed full of useful productivity apps that can help you out. Moreover, many of these tools are free to use! To help, we have gathered seven best productivity apps that should help organize your working world and improve your productivity tenfold!

1. Icecream Screen Recorder – productivity software to record screen

Oftentimes you may need to teach others and work collaboratively. This is where a screen recorder can greatly help your productivity. Instead of trying to describe functions or tasks to others, you can use Icecream Screen Recorder to show exactly what you mean!

This program is one of those productivity apps that is simple and easy to use. Moreover you can both record your screen and take screenshots. Created screenshots can be copied to clipboard or uploaded by URL for effortless sharing. Use the “Draw” panel to highlight and markup your videos or screenshots. Record microphone to narrate your recording and make your videos even more productive. You can add your business logo to recordings, and you can also use it to record live webinars and streaming sessions.

OS: Windows, MacOS, Android
Licensing: Shareware
Our Rating: 10 / 10

Pros	Cons
Fast select the last area Easy-to-use interface Excellent range of additional tools and features Add custom watermark	Doesn’t offer the “Blur” feature for videos

2. PDF Candy – best productivity app to manage PDFs

When you work digitally, you will naturally accumulate a large number of PDF files and other documents. It can be tricky editing, organizing, and compiling such files. A fantastic free productivity app that can improve this process is PDF Candy.

PDF Candy is a service that you can use to convert, merge, split, compress, extract data from PDF files and more. It is easy to use and it has an excellent set of PDF tools. If you work with a large number of PDF files and regularly need to edit them – this is an essential platform. There is also a Windows version of the service that you can download and install on your computer to process PDF files offline.

OS: Web-based, Windows
Licensing: Free, subscriptions start at $6 per month
Our Rating: 10 / 10

Pros	Cons
44 different tools to process PDF files in one place Easily share created files Merge multiple PDF files with images Also available as a downloadable software One of the best productivity apps to work with PDF	Some tools are not available in the Desktop Windows version

3. Trello — online productivity app for teams

Trello is a free workflow management tool and one of the best productivity apps for teams. It is available as a web browser application and there is a basic version that is free to use. The free version offers excellent functionality to boost a whole team’s productivity, but there are some features that are only accessible in the upgraded pro version. Free version has the 10 MB limit per file for uploading so using WinZip or its alternative is a great way to compress your files. You might also check our guide on how to send large files as this might help as well.

Using Trello, you can create different “boards”. Within these boards, you can create individual lists, schedules, and tasks. For digital businesses and content creators, this is an incredibly useful productivity app. You can invite others to the board and assign them tasks too. This allows you to easily keep track of your workflow and ensure you are always on top of your job.

OS: Web-based
Licensing: Free, subscriptions start at $10 per month
Our Rating: 10 / 10

Pros	Cons
Create checklists for different tasks Great organizational tools Create and assign individual tasks to become more productive Integrates with other services like Google Drive	Can be initially difficult to use and learn

4. Slack — productivity app for messaging

Slack is another excellent free tool that is primarily used as a messaging system. Slack is available as a web-browser application, but you can also download a desktop version which is great as it allows for notifications of new messages, etc. Use a download manager to get the software on your computer.

Within Slack, you can create separate projects or teams and within these parent groups, you can invite new members to use this productivity app. You can then create a host of message rooms dedicated to different topics. For example, if you run a digital business, you could have one message board labelled “Social media”, and another labelled “Content creation”. The message threads and history are retained, and Slack allows for quick and effective communication between team members.

OS: Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS
Licensing: Free, subscriptions start at $6.67 per month
Our Rating: 10 / 10

Pros	Cons
Easily tag team member in messages Create multiple message threads Available as either a browser platform and productivity software Has a logical message flow	Limited in terms of task organization

5. Microsoft Teams – Windows-based productivity app

Microsoft Teams is a fantastic tool that is available on Windows devices. To use Teams instead of your other messaging productivity apps, you must have a Microsoft account, however, the basic version is free to use. It is also available for Android and iOS. Unfortunately this service is not available for Mac user and as for this specific service, the Mac vs PC battle here is won by Windows.

Using Microsoft Teams, you can easily collaborate and organize tasks within a large business environment. It has some cool features such as the ability to host meetings and video calls in-conjunction with Skype. Also, you can create task lists and message threads with your team members. This productivity app has a calendar feature, and easily display any notifications if you are mentioned in a message, call, or task.

OS: Windows, Android, iOS
Licensing: Free, subscriptions start at $5 per month
Our Rating: 9 / 10

Pros	Cons
Ability to host video meetings Extensive range of features Create detailed workflows Integrates with other apps like Skype	More complex to use than other tools

6. Asana – advanced productivity app for teams

Asana is a project-management productivity tool that is free to use. It can be integrated and paired with other services like Slack and Google Drive. Using this service, businesses can effectively manage jobs with multiple team members.

It is a web-based application and has various workflow views. For example, you can view a simple task list, or view a more detailed workflow board similar to Trello. Asana also allows you to create different teams for different parts of your business. For example, you could create a separate workflow for your marketing, content creators, and sales departments. It is a great productivity app for workflow management, but it does take a little while to get used to!

OS: Web-based, Android, iOS
Licensing: Free, subscriptions start at $10.99 per month
Our Rating: 9 / 10

Pros	Cons
Extensive task assignment system Brilliant for digital teams with multiple members Advanced task management Can activate notifications for task reminders	It may be initially confusing to use

7. HootSuite – productivity app to manage your social media

Being productive on social media can be incredibly tricky. It is a potential minefield and people often lose time here. Hootsuite is one of the oldest, and most popular social media & marketing management and productivity apps available.

Using this toolset, you can automatically schedule social media posts which can reduce your workload greatly. Also, it has a large content library that you can pull from to create interesting social media content. A range of analytical tools is at your disposal so you can boost the productivity of your marketing and social media strategies. The only downside is that there is only a 30-day free trial available.

OS: Web-based, Android, iOS
Licensing: Subscriptions start at $19 per month
Our Rating: 9 / 10

Pros	Cons
Monitor social media streams Automatically schedule social media posts Create engaging social media content Collaborate with multiple team members	Requires a paid subscription

Use the best productivity apps and utilize your time effectively!

When working, we generally have a limited timeframe. For example, you may work a set number of hours per day. Or, you may need to work to a specific deadline. This is why productivity is important. If you are productive, you can complete your jobs efficiently, and utilize your time effectively!