11 Best Productivity Software and Tools [Ultimate Guide]

Productivity software is the categorization of application programs that are used by the users to generate the worksheets, databases, graphs, presentations, and also the documentation. Productivity software helps in increasing efficiency and enhances the output of the work. In this ultimate guide, we will look at the best productivity software and tools to help you make a productive person.

Many applications are intended for use by businesses and not for personal use, for example, the database management systems (DBMS), Word processors, spreadsheet applications, and graphics software.

Sometimes the definition of productivity software is broadened to the applications which are used by people to make their lives and jobs easier which also include communication and collaboration groups.

Productivity software and tools like many other applications are available for the mobile devices as well.

Let’s dive straight into the best software and tools for productivity:

Best Productivity Software and Tools

1. Evernote

Evernote is an app designed for taking notes, editing, task management, and archiving. It was built by Evernote Corporation, headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Evernote app allows users to create notes, which can be in the form of text, graphics, photos, audio, or web archived content. The notes are archived and can be easily tagged, explained, edited, searched, attached, and sent to others.

Evernote is a cross-platform for iOS, Android, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.

It’s free to use however with some monthly usage restrictions and also offers paid plans for extended or without any restriction limit on the usage.

Pros of Evernote:

• Documents can be searched by keywords in the document content. This applies even to text/keywords to images with amazing accuracy.
• You can simply send files via email to the selected email id and the files are automatically saved to your Evernote account. This will save you a lot of trouble of first downloading the email content and then uploading it to Evernote.
• Evernote also serves as a tool for managing contacts. You can simply scan business cards and the contact details can be searched later. This unique feature is widely used by sales and business development teams to manage their leads and prospects.
• Journal – Evernote also allows you to organize your topics and thoughts into digital notebooks. This feature is especially useful for creative people to put their ideas into visuals.
• Integration – Evernote works with Google Chrome and can help you to cut, search, and paste items onto our journals.

Cons:

• The web application has limited features especially with regard to images. It is difficult for photos to get rotated or cut in Evernote.
• No option to record audio and video directly from Evernote.

Pricing:

Evernote comes with three different monthly rates: Free, Premium of $7.99 per month (plus about $ 100 more per year), and Business at $14.99 per month.

2. Boomerang

Boomerang is the leader in producing email software since 2010.

It has focused on millions of email users and also guided them in what matters in an email, how it matters, and when it matters.

Boomerang has made it possible to know how to write an email that it should receive the response.

Boomerang application allows us in scheduling the messages which have to be sent or returned at some later date.

Even if we are not online we can write a message and send it whenever we want.

Pros:

• A must-have for Outlook Desktop.

Cons:

• It can be a bit confusing to schedule the time and to retrieve it once it sits in the outbox.

Pricing:

There are two options for buying the subscription to Boomerang. We can choose between any two; one is a monthly payment of $4.99 and another is a yearly payment of $39.99. The yearly or the annual plan is of more benefit because if seen clearly it stands around $3.33 for a month.

3. Clearbit

Clearbit Connect is a very small widget that is present on Gmail’s sidebar. It displays very useful information and tells about the mailers who email us, and also allows us to find anybody’s email address even if we do not want to leave our email inbox.

It searches for the company and also the people we just have to type the name of the person or the organization we are searching for, it connects immediately and gives us our preferred list either of the organization or of the person based on our search.

Pros:

• It enriches the Sales force’s data.
• It helps to keep the information updated.
• It helps to keep the added data in a proper and inaccurate manner.
• There’s no list of the company under it.
• The names and emails of the workers have the job titles attached to them.
• Even it provides the prospects with social information like the Twitter bio and LinkedIn which may help a lot at times.

Cons:

• There is no real way which can validate the information that is correct but it has not been let down till now.
• The Information provided to us is not 100% accurate and also at times, we are needed to update and validate the information again and again.
• The phone numbers which are given to us are nowhere close and also as accurate as of the emails it searches. It can be a bit surprising to see whether the number is correctly offered to the place where it has to be delivered.

Pricing:

They offer 100s of free lookups for every user every month. The cost of Clearbit starts from somewhere around $20000.00 per year.

4. Team Viewer

Team Viewer is a popular software program for remote control devices, such as desktop sharing, online meetings, web conferences, and file transfers between computers and laptops.

TeamViewer is the application that is available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, iOS, Chrome OS Android, Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, and also BlackBerry apps.

It is also possible to access the machine using TeamViewer with a web browser. While the main focus of the app is remote computer control various collaborative features and presentations are included.

TeamViewer includes multiple encryptions based on 4096-bit private/private key exchanges and advanced AES session encryption, two-factor authentication, forced password reset for extraordinary work, and a reliable device listing feature.

Pros:

• Desktop sharing and remote machine remote control, within full version without the time and other limitations.
• Ready for web meetings.
• Integrated (or can be integrated) with MS Outlook.
• Web-based and easy to use.
• Secure connection.

Cons:

• There are restrictions on file sharing.

Pricing:

The pricing for Team Viewer is $49 / month (or $588 / year).

5. Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 (formerly Office 365) is a list of registration services offered by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft Office product line.

The product includes applications that allow the use of Microsoft Office software during the registration period, as well as cloud-based software such as enterprise service products, such as Exchange Server, Skype for Business Server, and SharePoint, among others.

All Microsoft 365 applications include automatic updates to their software at no additional charge, unlike the regular licenses of these programs – where new versions require the purchase of a new license.

Pros:

• You can seamlessly integrate the Office Tools suite.
• It is available to users in a wide range of skills – from basic to advanced.
• You will get the best and most secure official email service with Outlook.
• Smooth functionality and integration in all apps like Windows, Android, iOS, etc.
• Tools like Words, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.
• You can continue your work on any device without the hassle of transferring files from one to another by signing in to Office 365 and syncing devices with this software.

Cons:

• Advanced heavy software costs.

Pricing:

Apart from its name – Office 365 Home Premium – there is only one version of Office 365 for home users. It costs $99.99 a year or $9.99 a month, which includes up to five computers at home.

6. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a communication management platform, created by Ryan Holmes in 2008. The interface of the app assumes the status of the dashboard and supports the integration of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, and YouTube social media.

Based in Vancouver, Hootsuite has about 1,000 employees in 13 locations, including Toronto, Bucharest, and Mexico City. The company has more than 16 million users in more than 175 countries.

Pros:

• You can easily publish and edit public posts.
• You can build and install new applications that will make your life easier.
• Creating and sending reports is very easy using this tool.

Cons:

• There is no easy way to preview how posts will appear on various social media platforms.

Pricing:

Experts: $29 per month for 10 community profiles and 1 user. Team: $129 per month for 20 community profiles and 3 users. Business: $599 per month with 35 community profiles and 5 users. Business: Contact Hootsuite for a custom price.

Hootsuite also has a free plan but it greatly reduces it. We can find 3 social channels that we can post up to 30 schedule posts and can only have one user.

7. Asana

Asana is a web and mobile app designed to help teams plan, track, and manage their work. Forrester, Inc. reports that Asana simplified team management. It is issued by a company with the same name.

Founded in 2008 by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and former Google writer, former Facebook engineer Justin Rosenstein, both work to improve employee productivity on Facebook.

The product was launched commercially in April 2012. In December 2018 the company was valued at $1.5 billion.

Pros:

• It is an excellent and easy forum for project management.
• Excellent event management tool.
• Excellent collaboration and teamwork.
• Custom dashboard.
• With Asana, you can create Gantt charts that show pre-required / required action items.
• Asana allows you to see users individually and assign tasks to the entire project.

Cons:

• Fixed file storage.

Pricing:

A free version of Asana is available for groups of up to 15 people. Asana Premium costs $10.99 per user per month when it is charged annually and $13.49 per user per month when it is charged monthly. The price of Asana Business is $24.99 per user per month where it is charged annually and $30.49 when it is charged monthly.

8. Toggl

Toggl Track formerly known as Toggl is a location tracking app operated by Toggl, headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, providing online tracking and reporting services through their website and mobile and mobile applications desktop.

Toggl Track tracks time labels with labeled function, project, and tags. Time can be tracked with the start/stop button, manually enter, or drag and drop block size in a calendar view.

With browser extensions, Toggl Track has a combination of time tracking with over 100 websites

Pros:

• User interface – Intuitive, simple, and easy to switch between tasks and scheduling when needed.
• Desktop app – It stays on top so there is no switch between screens to change the turn on and off.
• Integrated reports – Create easy-to-read, complete customer reports.
• Very easy to read – the UI (user interface) is simple.
• Compatibility with most platforms – Chrome extensions, mobile, and browser.

Cons:

• There is no invoice capability so if you need that you will need to add another plan.

Pricing:

Toggl is free for up to 5 group members. If you are a person who just wants to know where your time is going, the basic free version is all you need. If you have a group or need a calculated hourly rate, prices start at $10 / user/month.

9. ProofHub

ProofHub is a project management tool and collaborative tool designed to help you plan, collaborate, plan, and deliver projects on time. Using thousands of teams from around the world, ProofHub exudes pain in project management with its simple interface and amazing features.

There is a mobile app, too, to stay connected at work or on the go. Its features include Task Management, Conversations, Notes, Internet Authentication, Time, Gantt Charts, Calendar, Messages, Files, and Third-Party Integration.

The last one is our personal favorite: ProofHub lets you access Fresh books, Google Calendar, iCal, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, and Outlook within its interface. It’s a great way to keep all your files scattered in one place.

Pros:

• It is easy to set up and use.
• It easily organizes group projects in a friendly way.
• You will get powerful file management and generous storage features.
• By choosing to set up a custom domain and keep things private, we feel reassured that we don’t have to compromise our privacy or security while storing all our data on an external device.
• There is only one tool and everyone can add to it, without syncing different tools together.

Cons:

• Limited integration.

Pricing:

The price of ProofHub starts at $50.00 per month. There is a free version. ProofHub offers a free trial.

10. Mixmax

Mixmax enhances your Gmail and Google Inbox with unlimited free email tracking, instant editing, reminders, posting later, post encounters, polls and voting, and more.

With snoops and reminders, your messages return to the top of your inbox at the appointed time.

It is an email app with features that will expand Gmail functionality and bring improved productivity to customer-focused groups.

Pros:

• Tracking – This helps by setting up multiple contact points via email easily.
• Creating unique assembly buttons that are smooth and easy to use for our customers.
• The interface of Mixmax is well designed.
• Creating unique and easy-to-use conference buttons for our customers is easy.
• It is integrated with Google Calendar.

Cons:

• Installation could be a bit difficult at times.

Pricing:

The pricing of Mixmax starts at $12.00 per month, per user. There is a free version also.

11. Calendly

Calendly is an application for scheduling appointments, meetings, and events.

It helps you to connect with your best contacts, prospects and clients.

All connections from the browser to the calendar platform are encrypted using TLS SHA-256 via RSA Encryption. Calendly requires HTTPS for all services.

Pros:

• You can add extra time before or after any events.
• Easily send confirmation and reminder emails and texts in order to improve no‑show rates.
• Easily cap (daily limits) the number of meetings per day.
• You can empower your team to have a well-organized and productive workflow.
• It allows your customers to schedule directly from your website.

Cons:

• Sometimes slow and difficult to navigate.

Pricing:

Calendly price starts at $10.00 per month, per user. There is a free version.

Overview of Productivity Software

What actually is productivity software and how do we use it? Productivity software and tools are basically the versions of applications that are making our work easy by creating and generating the worksheets, databases, presentations, and other relevant material available to us so that we can organize and sort our work.

All the above-mentioned productivity software and tools are very important for our lives because we are knowingly or unknowingly using them right now also but we do not know the proper use of them as we are only having the free version, so we aren’t aware of the benefits and perks the paid version of these applications brings to us and we are missing out on all things.

We should be completely aware of the application we are using as there are many people who are uneducated regarding the product or the service they use.

We should have complete information regarding the thing we put our time into and also should not waste our time on the things that are useless.

FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) on Productivity Software and Productivity Apps:

Conclusion

So that’s the list of all the productivity software that will be useful for you.

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