Transform your workflow with the best productivity apps of 2024. Whether you’re managing work projects, personal goals, or seeking a better work-life balance, these tools help you streamline scheduling, note-taking, communication, and writing for maximum efficiency.
Table of contents
The best productivity apps: overview
| App | Category | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Calendar app | Web, iOS, Android | Free | Google Workspace: $6/month |
| Notion | Productivity suite | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free | $8/month |
| Todoist | To-do list app | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Free | $4/month |
| Microsoft OneNote | Note-taking app | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Apple Watch, Android | Free |
| Streaks | Habit-tracking app | iOS, Apple Watch, Mac | $4.99 |
| 1Password | Password manager | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | $2.99/month |
| Structured | Calendar and task manager | iOS, Android | Free | Access to all features: $2.99/monthly |
| HabitNow | Habit-tracking app | Android | Free | Unlimited habit tracking: $9.99 |
| Trello | Kanban-style task manager | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free | Standard plan: $5/month |
| Slack | Communication tool | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free | Pro: $7.25/month |
| Freedom | Focus app | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chromebook, Linux | Free | Premium: $8.99/month |
| Grammarly | AI writing assistant | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free | Premium: $12/month |
1. Google Calendar
✍️ Category: Calendar app
✅ Pros:
- Minimalist interface
- Subscriptions to other calendars
- Calendar sharing
- Integration with Google Tasks and Google Meet
- Easy tracking of your events and tasks
❌ Cons:
- The mobile app’s UI can be confusing when managing several calendars
- Too many calendar subscriptions can look a bit packed
💻 Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | Google Workspace: starts at $6/month
Google Calendar remains to be one of the best productivity apps in 2024. Its core strength lies in its seamless integration across devices and the broader Google Workspace. Schedule meetings effortlessly, set reminders, create to-do lists directly within your calendar, and share events for easy collaboration. With ongoing AI enhancements, Google Calendar’s intelligent suggestions for event times and locations further streamline your schedule and organization.
2. Notion
✍️ Category: Productivity suite
✅ Pros:
- Generous free version
- Excellent for teamwork
- Highly customizable
- Intuitive UI with drag-and-drop feature
- AI support
❌ Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- No built-in reports
- The mobile app could better
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | $8/month
Notion is an infinitely flexible productivity hub. It blends note-taking, wikis (knowledge bases), project management, and databases. Its core appeal lies in blocks, modular content elements that you freely arrange to create the perfect workspace tailored to your needs. From company handbooks and meeting agendas to personal habit trackers, Notion’s versatility is unparalleled. In addition, the power of AI-assisted content generation has only improved the software.
3. Todoist
✍️ Category: To-do list app
✅ Pros:
- Easy to use
- Simple and clean interface
- Constantly updated
- Useful iPhone widget
❌ Cons:
- Not suitable for complex project management
- Reminders are paid
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | $4/month
Todoist offers an intuitive Kanban-style design and powerful features, making it the go-to choice for individuals and teams who need a quick way to stay on top of their to-dos. Add tasks with natural language (for instance, weekly meeting tomorrow at 5 pm), add recurring tasks, organize with projects and labels, and set reminders to ensure nothing is forgotten. Todoist’s focus on simplicity and reliability makes it an ideal productivity companion for getting things done.
👉 Learn more: 10 Best Kanban Software in 2024
4. Microsoft OneNote
✍️ Category: Note-taking app
✅ Pros:
- Completely free
- Well-integrated with Microsoft software
- Easy organization of notes across projects and dates
- Free-form text placement
- Good web clipper
❌ Cons:
- Frequent syncs make it longer to start up
- Users report some slow syncing issues
- Limited exporting options
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Apple Watch, Android
💲 Price: Free
Microsoft OneNote remains a top choice for digital note-taking and productivity in 2024. It excels in capturing ideas in diverse formats: type, write by hand, draw, or even record audio notes. OneNote’s organizational structure mirrors physical notebooks, with sections and pages, along with tags for easy retrieval. Collaboration is a breeze with shared notebooks, allowing real-time editing for seamless teamwork. OneNote integrates smoothly with other Office apps, further boosting your productivity.
👉 Learn more: Notion vs. OneNote: Which Should You Use for Note-Taking?
5. Streaks
✍️ Category: Habit-tracking app
✅ Pros:
- Low-cost productivity app
- Daily tasks
- Complete statistics
- Excellent integration with the Apple ecosystem
- Useful widget
❌ Cons:
- Limit of 24 tasks
- Not the easiest app to learn
💻 Platforms: iOS, Apple Watch, Mac
💲 Price: $4.99
Streaks is an award-winning habit tracker designed to help you build positive routines as an Apple user. The core concept is simple: choose or create tasks (up to 24) like walking the dog, flossing, or practicing Spanish. Complete a task each day to extend your “streak.” Streaks integrates with the iOS Health app, automatically tracking goals like steps taken or heart rate. Streaks is available across the Apple ecosystem with handy complications and widgets for easy tracking.
6. 1Password
✍️ Category: Password manager
✅ Pros:
- Intuitive user interface
- Robust security measures
- Excellent cross-platform accessibility
- Easy to safely share passwords
- Password organization by vaults and teams
- Passkeys
❌ Cons:
- No free plan
- Autofill of passwords doesn’t always work properly
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: $2.99/month
1Password stands out as more than just a password manager. It’s designed to be your digital security hub, simplifying the storage and management of passwords, passkeys, credit cards, documents, and more. Sharing sensitive information within families or teams is secure and straightforward with shared vaults. A unique Secret Key adds an extra layer of protection beyond your master password, and since they can’t access your data, your information remains private.
7. Structured
✍️ Category: Calendar and task manager
✅ Pros:
- Simple yet powerful
- Merge of task manager and calendar
- It helps you know how you spend your time precisely
❌ Cons:
- Some important features are paid
💻 Platforms: iOS, Mac, Apple Watch, Android
💲 Price: Free | Access to all features: $2.99/monthly
Structured aims to streamline your daily life with its all-in-one planner. It merges your calendar, to-dos, and even habit tracking into a visual timeline, giving you a clear picture of your day and boosting your productivity. Structured is designed to be flexible: create tasks, set deadlines, and drag-and-drop to rearrange as needed. The Pro version unlocks calendar and to-do list integration, recurring tasks, AI-powered scheduling, and greater customization options.
8. HabitNow
✍️ Category: Habit-tracking app
✅ Pros:
- Beautiful UI
- Full of customization options
- Complete visual reports of your habits
❌ Cons:
- Steep learning curve and management
💻 Platforms: Android
💲 Price: Free | Unlimited habit tracking: $9.99
HabitNow is designed to help you build strong, positive routines in your daily life. Set habits and goals, track your progress, and receive reminders to stay on track and improve your productivity. HabitNow’s flexible scheduling lets you tailor your habits, whether it’s a daily practice, specific days of the week, or a certain number of times per week. Track your success with insightful statistics and motivating streak counters. The useful widget will help you visualize your progress on your screen without having to open the app.
9. Trello
✍️ Category: Kanban-style task manager
✅ Pros:
- Easy to use
- Clear interface
- Good integrations
❌ Cons:
- Lack of advanced features for large projects
- Tasks limited to a single project
- Limited customization
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | Standard plan: $5/month
Trello is a famous and flexible visual project management tool that simplifies organizing and tracking tasks using boards, lists, and cards in a Kanban style. It provides a clear overview of who’s doing what and what remains to be done. Trello is customizable for workflows of any size, from personal to-do lists to large team projects. Its intuitive interface, collaboration features, and integrations with popular tools make it a favorite for boosting productivity across various teams and projects.
10. Slack
✍️ Category: Communication tool
✅ Pros:
- Easy to use
- Many built-in communication options
- Large number of integrations
- Automated workflows
❌ Cons:
- It can easily get noisy using many channels and threads
- Hard to find specific conversations
- Expensive paid plans
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | Pro: $7.25/month
Communication is key to good productivity. Slack is a team communication hub designed to streamline workplace collaboration, replacing cluttered email inboxes with organized channels for teams, projects, or topics. Slack fosters real-time messaging and file sharing and integrates with a wide array of popular productivity tools. Whether in the office or working remotely, Slack keeps your team connected, focused, and informed, boosting efficiency and transparency throughout your organization.
11. Freedom
✍️ Category: Focus app
✅ Pros:
- Block your most distracting websites
- Set specific focused times
- Background sounds to help you focus
- Pre-defined block lists
❌ Cons:
- You need to install an app
- Focus sounds only work on the browser
💻 Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chromebook, Linux
💲 Price: Free | Premium: $8.99/month
Freedom is a powerful distraction-blocking tool designed to give you control over your screen time. It lets you block websites and apps across multiple devices (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome) to help you reclaim focus and be more productive. Schedule focused work sessions, block specific distractions and enjoy the productivity boost that comes with regained time and attention.
12. Grammarly
✍️ Category: AI writing assistant
✅ Pros:
- Accurate grammar and spelling checks
- Style and clarity suggestions
- Tone adjustments
- Plagiarism detection
- It integrates well with many browsers and apps
- AI text generation
❌ Cons:
- It can sometimes be overly prescriptive
- The free version is limited
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | Premium: $12/month
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that goes beyond simple spelling and grammar checks. It analyzes your writing to suggest improvements in clarity, tone, word choice, and style. Grammarly integrates with popular writing tools and web browsers, providing real-time feedback as you write. Whether you’re crafting emails, blog posts, or important documents, Grammarly helps you communicate effectively and polish your writing. It also offers AI text generation assistance.
Conclusion
The best productivity apps can change the way you live and work. From streamlining calendars and note-taking to boosting focus and refining your writing, these tools can help you stay organized, motivated, and efficient. Experiment with the apps on this list to find what fits your style. Remember, the key is consistency!
We love Notion at 2sync. That’s why we developed a seamless syncing tool to sync your events and tasks with other popular tools like Google Calendar and Todoist in a full 2-way sync that leverages the best of both worlds.
