20 Best Windows Productivity Apps To Use in 2023

04 July 2023

Microsoft Store for Windows isn’t as populated as Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store, but it certainly showcases some user-friendly and intuitive apps for boosting productivity.

This article presents a list of the 20 best productivity apps for Windows, carefully curated to cater to various needs and preferences. Explore the list and discover the next best app to improve your productivity.

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The best apps for productivity for a Windows user

1. Timeular

Timeular is the most effortless and accurate productivity tracker software for teams and individuals that use Windows as an operating system.

Its interface is so intuitive and user-friendly that employees even enjoy tracking their time. This helps you ensure that time is tracked properly and there is no more need to chase timesheets at the end of the month.

Already more than 10,000 companies and track their time with Timeular, including teams from Google, Audi, Toyota, McKinsey and Bang&Olufsen.

“I’ve doubled my revenue thanks to Timeular and managed to halve how much I work. Timeular helped me understand where I needed to make changes to become more efficient and this has allowed me to cut down my time spent working.”
Valdemar Alfred, Owner of Valdefar

Timeular provides multiple convenient tracking methods that help to build a time tracking habit, including:

Intuitive calendar view: Team members can easily add activities by simply dragging and dropping them on the calendar.
Leave tracking feature – allows employees to input their time off or any leave type and Timeular automatically adjusts their time budget.
Handy keyboard shortcuts: Quick switching between different activities is possible with the use of convenient keyboard shortcuts.
Physical time Tracker: By leveraging muscle memory, Timeular helps users build a habit of time tracking through a physical device.
Automatic tracking: track websites, apps, and tools in the background. The data are only accessible to you and no one else!
Automated reports: this feature automatically fills timesheets for contributors, saving them time and effort.

You can access time logs, view detailed reports, and analyze your productivity patterns. The visual representation of data helps you understand where your time is going, enabling you to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions about time allocation.

Moreover, Timeular allows you to track overtime and all types of absences, providing comprehensive control over your work schedule.

The app provides insights and notifications to keep you on track and ensure you make the most of your valuable time.

With Timeular, user privacy is prioritized, ensuring that time data remains secure and confidential. Pricing starts at 6.30€ per month.

Track your productivity with Timeular

“My time spent on revenue-generating projects has increased by ~10% each week and time in meetings decreased by about 1-2 meeting per week” – Angela Morisette, SVP Business Operations at Scratch Financial

2. Zapier

Zapier is the top automation tool that enables Windows users to connect and automate tasks between various web applications without the need for coding knowledge.

One of the standout features of Zapier is its ability to create automated workflows called “zaps.” These can be created to connect different apps and trigger actions based on specific events or conditions.

For example, you can automate tasks such as sending emails, creating tasks, updating spreadsheets, or posting on social media. Everything is easily set up using Zapier, which integrates easily with apps such as Gmail, Trello, Slack, Google Sheets, and many more.

Connect Timeular to 2,000+ apps with Zapier

Zapier + Timeular = Unlimited possibilities to track time 100% automatically

Connect Timeular to your project management tools and other apps used daily and track productivity automatically. Your team will love it!

Zapier provides advanced filtering and customization options for zaps and a drag-and-drop function. The level of control provided allows users to fine-tune their automation and ensure that only relevant data is transferred or actions are executed.

You can schedule zaps according to your needs; if there are issues, the app helps identify any errors or issues. Zapier supports over 3,000 apps and services, including popular tools like Gmail, Trello, Slack, Google Drive, and many more.

This is one of the best team productivity tools and its most basic plan (that includes 100 “zaps”) is free. From there, prices start at 18.95€ per month. There are the Starter, Professional, Team, and Company plans, to suit anyone’s needs.

2. Slack

Slack is a versatile communication and collaboration app that brings teams together, streamlines workflows, and enhances productivity for Windows users. Slack is a favorite for many organizations with its intuitive interface and powerful integrations.

Its channel-based structure provides a centralized hub for teams to gather and collaborate on specific projects or topics. A Windows user can benefit from this feature and create dedicated channels for different departments, teams, or projects.

The app offers various integrations with popular productivity tools and services, from Google Calendar to Google Drive, to Hubspot, Jira, and Zoom, among others.

Slack’s robust search functionality ensures that critical information and past conversations are easily retrievable. Slack can be used for free, with limited integrations and message history. Prices for more complete plans start at 6.75€ per user per month.

Connect Slack with Timeular to track your time effortlessly

3. Zoom

Over the last few years, it’s more than likely that you’ve had some meetings over Zoom. This video conferencing tool became a symbol of communication during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

It wasn’t just a fad, as Zoom is a feature-rich platform and robust capabilities and has become an indispensable tool for many Windows users seeking to optimize their remote work, virtual meetings, and team collaboration.

The high-definition video and audio quality ensures crystal-clear communication in one-on-one conversations, team meetings, or larger-scale conferences.

Zoom’s collaborative features stand out the most when using it: the intuitive and user-friendly controls enable users to easily manage their video and audio settings, share screens, and collaborate on documents.

It also integrates seamlessly with other productivity tools and allows the easy recording and archiving of meetings.

The Basic plan is free of charge and allows for a maximum of 40-minute meetings. The Pro and Business plans go for 139.90€ and 189.90€ per year, respectively, allowing for more attendees and longer meetings, among other features.

4. Trello

Trello remains one of the most used productivity apps for Windows, as an intuitive and one of the top project management apps that helps individuals and teams stay organized, collaborate effectively, and easily manage tasks.

Trello is primarily known for its flexible board-based system, which allows users to organize tasks and projects into customizable boards, lists, and cards. Tasks can be easily created, moved, and prioritized by dragging and dropping cards across lists.

This approach simplifies task management and helps users gain a clear overview of project progress at a glance.

Collaboration is improved, as comments and attachments can be added to individual cards.

Trello’s mobile and desktop synchronization ensures users can access their projects and tasks on the go. Whether using Trello on their Windows or mobile devices, users can seamlessly switch between platforms and stay updated on project status.

Due to its synchronization capabilities, Trello is considered one of the best apps to increase productivity on Mac and iPad and also one of the most excellent tools to boost productivity on Android.

Trello’s plans go from entirely free to 5$ per user per month for a standard plan, to 10$ per user per month for a premium plan, and 17.50$ per user per month for the enterprise option.

TIP: Trello time tracking integration

5. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote for Windows is a versatile digital note-taking app that allows its users to capture, organize, and access information effortlessly.

Known for its intuitive interface, Microsoft OneNote reaches its full potential when used in team projects and used across devices; since it’s possible to sync across devices, whether on a Windows desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device, notes are automatically updated and synced.

OneNote stands out for its flexibility since it allows inputting text, drawing, recording audio, and even clipping web pages. Information can be organized in notebooks, sections, and pages, mimicking the traditional notebook format. Notebooks can then be organized for different projects. Microsoft OneNote integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft Office applications, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, providing added productivity for Windows users.

It’s possible to import or export content between OneNote and these applications effortlessly. It’s available as a free app and can be used with a free Microsoft account. Paid versions are included in the Office365 packages.

6. Notion

Notion is a top tool to increase productivity on Windows because it’s an all-in-one workspace app that allows users to create, organize, and collaborate on various projects and tasks.

Its flexibility allows for the ability to create and customize different types of content. The users can create text documents, tables, task lists, calendars, and more within a single workspace.

Notion organizes its information in pages and blocks that are visually appealing and can be rearranged, resized, and customized, providing a dynamic and adaptable workspace.

The app is highly customizable in itself, as the users can choose from different templates, themes, and layout options.

Users can integrate Notion with calendars, cloud storage platforms, and project management tools from Slack, Jira, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Zapier, ensuring seamless connectivity and centralized access to information.

Notion has an attractive free plan available, perfect for an individual worker or freelancer. The Plus and Business programs, directed at groups of workers and companies, start at $ 8 and $ 15$ per month, respectively.

TIP: Get to know the best time tracker for Notion.

7. Todoist

Using Todoist on a Windows device is a great way to stay organized, prioritize tasks, and quickly achieve goals.

Todoist features an intuitive interface and robust features that help streamline workflows, collaborate effectively, and keep track of commitments and task lists.

This Windows software to boost productivity has a very user-friendly design, with boards and task boxes that allow it to set a priority level and reminders for when it needs to be done. It’s straightforward to quickly add, update, and mark tasks and items as complete.

Collaboration is made seamless with Todoist. The users can share projects and tasks with colleagues and team members, enabling real-time collaboration, task delegation, and progress tracking.

Todoist seamlessly integrates with other popular productivity tools and platforms, allowing users to sync their tasks with calendars, set up integrations with email clients, and connect Todoist with project management tools, such as Trello.

A free Todoist plan allows for maintaining 5 active projects. For more and to integrate more collaborators and tools, prices start at 4€ per month when billed annually.

TIP: Enhance your performance and business profitability with this Todoist time tracking integration.

8. Google Docs

Google Docs has emerged as a game-changing document creation, editing, and collaboration platform.

Even though Windows users might prefer Microsoft Word by default, Google Docs bring document creation and editing to a different level when it comes to sharing and integrating in the context of a team project. Due to this, Google Docs is one of the most used software when managing remote employees and teams.

With its seamless integration, real-time collaboration features, and robust editing capabilities, Google Docs is a great solution for individuals, teams, and organizations seeking a reliable and user-friendly document processing application. One of Google Docs’ standout features is its cloud-based nature, shared with its sister apps: Google Sheets and Google Slides. The users can access their documents from anywhere, at any time, with an internet connection.

This accessibility eliminates the need for manual file transfers and ensures that the latest version of a document is always at your disposal. Google Docs also offers seamless compatibility with Microsoft Word files, allowing Windows users to import and export documents effortlessly.

Google Docs is a part of Google Workspace. There is the basic free plan, and for businesses, prices start at 6$ per user per month. From here, prices increase according to the different features available and how many participants can be included.

9. Google Sheets

A great app to perform data analysis and create, edit, and collaborate on spreadsheets seamlessly and efficiently is Google Sheets.

As the sister app to Google Docs, it shares many of its benefits and features, mainly its cloud-based nature. Google Sheets users can access their documents from anywhere, at any time, with an internet connection, and invite team members, clients, or stakeholders to collaborate on a spreadsheet, facilitating effective teamwork and eliminating the need for version control.

Google Sheets offers a vast library of pre-designed templates that cater to various use cases, from financial planning and project management to personal budgeting and inventory tracking.

Its integration with other tools spreads to Google Forms, Google Slides, and Docs, among others. It offers a wide range of functions and formulas, allowing users to perform complex calculations and data analysis, from basic maths to advanced statistical analysis.

Google Sheets is a part of Google Workspace. There is the basic free plan, and for businesses, prices start at 6$ per user per month. From here, prices increase according to the features available and how many participants can be included.

10. Google Slides

Google Workspace also offers Google Slides, a presentation software. Google Slides also works as Docs and Sheets; it’s a cloud-based software.

Google Slides allows users to craft professional presentations, communicate ideas effectively, and collaborate seamlessly with others.

Like many other Google apps, the collaboration this tool allows is its standout feature. Multiple users can work on a presentation simultaneously, making real-time updates and edits. The users can invite team members, colleagues, or clients to collaborate on a slideshow.

A wide range of pre-designed templates and themes cater to various presentation needs that you may professionally (or personally) need, as well as a comprehensive set of tools and features to create visually stunning slides. By using these templates, this app saves you time and boosts your productivity on Windows, Mac, iPhone, or any other device.

It’s possible to add and format text, insert images, videos, charts, and shapes, and apply transitions and animations to presentations. Google Slides offers seamless accessibility across devices, from desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. As happens with the other apps of Google Workspace, there is the basic free plan, and for businesses, prices start at 6$ per user per month.

11. Microsoft 365

Even after highlighting the uses of Microsoft OneNote, when listing the best productivity apps for Windows, the rest of Microsoft 365 cannot go unmentioned.

This powerful productivity suite is designed specifically for Windows and offers comprehensive applications and services.

Microsoft 365 includes es Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and apps, used in the business world to create documents, analyze data, design presentations, manage emails, and capture notes, catering to a wide range of personal and professional needs.

With the suite for Windows, whether working from a desktop, laptop, or tablet, users can access their documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and emails everywhere, ensuring seamless productivity and collaboration across multiple devices.

In a work team context, multiple users can co-author and edit files in real time, whether it’s a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, or a PowerPoint presentation. This fosters effective teamwork, eliminates version control issues, and ensures that everyone is working on the most up-to-date content.

Office 365 seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft services and applications, like Microsoft Teams or One Drive. Microsoft 365 plans start at 6$ per user per month (Business Basic package), and go up to the most complete plan, the Business Premium package, at 22$ per user per month.

12. Evernote

One of the best software to enhance productivity on Windows due to its powerful note-taking and organization features with an intuitive interface.

One of Evernote’s standout features is its ability to capture various types of content: text notes, attach images, record audio, clip web pages, and even scan documents.

This versatility allows for comprehensive and dynamic note-taking, combined with a very good search system because of its tags that enable further categorization and quick retrieval of specific information.

Collaboration is made easy with Evernote: users can share notebooks with colleagues and team members, allowing for real-time co-editing, feedback exchange, and shared brainstorming sessions.

You can also add Evernote’s Web Clipper extension, a powerful tool for capturing web content. With a single click, Windows users can save articles, blog posts, or web pages directly into Evernote.

Its free plan allows for the sync of two devices and 60 MB monthly uploads. From there, plans with more features available start at around 8$ every month.

13. f.lux

f.lux is an app that contributes to productivity in a less obvious, but still very important, way. This utility is exclusively designed for Windows and works to adjust the color temperature of your display based on the time of day.

By reducing the amount of blue light emitted by your screen, f.lux helps improve sleep quality, reduce eye strain, and create a more comfortable viewing experience. As the day progresses, f.lux gradually adjusts the color temperature to match the natural lighting conditions.

During the daytime, the screen appears cooler with a blue light filter, which can help reduce eye fatigue and promote a more alert and focused state.

In the evening and night, f.lux transitions to warmer tones, mimicking the softer light of sunset and reducing the blue light exposure that can disrupt sleep patterns. f.lux runs seamlessly in the background, requiring minimal user interaction.

Once configured, the app automatically adjusts the color temperature based on the specified settings and location information.

In a particular setting, f.lux is free of charge, and on a corporate deal, f.lux costs around 10$ for the first ten users, with the price increasing slightly from now on.

14. MindMeister

MindMeister is an intuitive mind-mapping software that allows users to visually organize their thoughts, brainstorm ideas, and collaborate with others in real time.

MindMeister allows its users to unleash their creativity, enhance productivity, and effectively manage complex projects. With this app, it’s possible to create, edit, and rearrange topics and subtopics using a simple drag-and-drop mechanism, making it effortless to brainstorm ideas, plan projects, and structure information visually engagingly.

You can choose from various map styles, colors, icons, and themes. MindMeister supports real-time collaboration by multiple users.

Mindmesiter users on Windows can integrate their mind maps with task management apps like Todoist or project management platforms like Asana, and share mind maps with others, whether it’s via email, direct link, or embedded in websites or presentations.

There is a free plan available that allows for three mind maps. Personal and Pro plans start at 2.99€ and 3.74€ per month, respectively.

15. Drawboard PDF

DrawboardPDF is a PDF annotation and editing tool designed specifically for Windows users.

It offers many features to enhance your PDF viewing and editing experience, providing an intuitive interface, good annotation tools, and seamless integration with Windows devices. It’s one of the best apps to increase productivity on Windows for someone who works with PDFs daily.

The extensive annotation possibilities of the app allow users to easily highlight text, underline, strikethrough, or add comments to important sections.

The app supports touch gestures, pen input, and keyboard shortcuts, quickly helping users find the information they want.

DrawboardPDF ensures seamless integration with popular cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive, making it possible to access and sync PDF documents across devices.

There is a Basic plan, free, for personal use. Paid plans start at 4.19$ per month, with the team plans to cost around 6 or 13$ per month, depending on the number of users. A customized Enterprise plan can also be requested.

16. ShareX

ShareX is a screen capture and sharing tool with extensive tools and customizable options.

By using ShareX, users can capture, edit, and share screenshots, screen recordings, and more, making it an essential app for those who frequently work with visual content.

Users can capture screenshots of specific regions, entire screens, or just specific windows and capture scrolling webpages.

ShareX provides flexibility and precision in capturing visual content, making it a great tool for capturing tutorials, bug reports, or any other visual documentation needs.

On top of the recording, it’s also possible to annotate screenshots with text, arrows, shapes, and highlighting. The app seamlessly integrates with popular image and file hosting services, enabling easy sharing of captured content.

A standout feature of ShareX is the OCR (Optical Character Recognition), a mechanism that allows the extraction of text from images or screenshots. ShareX is an open-source tool, free of charge.

18. Adobe Photoshop

This tool almost doesn’t need an introduction, but it’s still good to justify why it’s the best app to increase productivity for Windows users.

The industry-leading image editing and manipulation software provides comprehensive tools and features that allow users to bring their visual ideas to life.

Adobe Photoshop is an essential application for photographers, designers, and creators alike. Its array of editing tools is still what stands out the most when using Photoshop.

Users can perform a wide range of tasks, from basic adjustments like cropping and resizing to advanced retouching and color correction.

The app provides precise control over every aspect of the image, allowing users to enhance details, remove imperfections, adjust tones, and create stunning visual effects. Adobe Photoshop is all about flexibility and freedom of use.

This tool supports a wide range of file formats, ensuring compatibility with various industry standards and facilitating collaboration with other software, including other Adobe applications like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Designers who use it can customize Photoshop to suit their needs since the app allows users to create custom tool presets and assign shortcuts to frequently used functions. Photoshop is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud hub, which costs 54.99$ per month and includes other Adobe tools. It’s possible to purchase a single Photoshop plan for 20.99 dollars per month.

19. Google Drive

Google Drive is likely the world’s most popular cloud storage and file management app.

It’s a versatile cloud storage and file synchronization service that offers an array of features designed to enhance productivity for Windows users. Using Google Drive allows for storing, sharing, and accessing files across devices.

From the start, for free use, Google Drive offers 15 GB of storage. Being a part of the Google Workspace suite, along with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, users can create and edit files together, seeing changes made by collaborators in real time.

It’s possible to synchronize files across different devices with the same account, ensuring that the most up-to-date version of a document is always available. This synchronization eliminates the need for manual file transfers and allows for efficient and seamless workflows.

Drive integrates seamlessly with other Google services, such as Gmail and Google Calendar. For example, attachments in Gmail can be saved directly to Google Drive. The service utilizes encryption to safeguard files. It also offers two-factor authentication, adding an extra layer of security to user accounts.

Google Drive is included in the Google Workspace subscription. A personal account with 15 GB of storage is of free use.

20. ChatGPT

Yes, we suggest an Artificial Intelligence tool on this list because AI is an efficient productivity tool when used correctly.

ChatGPT is an advanced conversational AI powered by OpenAI, designed to provide intelligent and human-like responses to user queries. Among other prompts, users can ask ChatGPT about general knowledge, specific domains, technical inquiries, creative brainstorming, and more.

The AI leverages its extensive training data and language understanding to generate relevant and informative responses. This doesn’t mean that ChatGPT is 100% correct since the model continuously learns and improves from user interactions, allowing it to adapt and provide better responses over time. The human-like conversations and feedback contribute to the training and refinement of ChatGPT, making it more intelligent and more capable with each interaction.

This iterative learning process ensures that the model evolves and stays up-to-date with the latest information and user preferences, enhancing the overall user experience.

It can be a great booster to your productivity by assisting with research, presentation preparation, and answering complex questions that could take a long time to dive deep into.

You can type your queries or statements in plain English, and ChatGPT will generate responses conversationally.

The model can be used in its free version. The paid version of ChatGPT comes with additional features, such as 24/7 customer support and priority responses, costing 20$ per month.

How to choose the best productivity apps for Windows

Choosing your Windows device’s most significant productivity apps can significantly boost your efficiency and organization. Several important factors must be considered when making such a decision for your productivity.

By keeping the following topics in mind, you can ensure that you make an informed decision that best suits your needs:

Perform thorough research – explore the available productivity apps for Windows: read reviews, compare features, and consider the user ratings and feedback. Go for apps that have a good track record and positive user experiences.
Set priorities and identify needs – are you totally aware of your workflow? Start by understanding your workflow and the areas where you need assistance and also determine the tasks you frequently perform and can be automated. Then, it’s also important to prioritize the features and functions that are most important.
Choose security and privacy – ensure that the chosen apps prioritize the security and privacy of your data. Look for features like encryption, access controls, and data backups to protect your sensitive information.
Test the apps before committing – take advantage of free trials or demo versions offered by the app developers. This will allow you to test the app’s interface, features, and usability firsthand. Ensure that the app aligns with your preferences and fits smoothly into your workflow.
Consider integration and compatibility – evaluate how well the apps integrate with other tools and services you use. And very important: check if they are compatible with the Windows operating system.
Go for a good interface and user experience – choose a user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation. Look for apps with a clean and organized design that make it easy for you to access and manage information.

Conclusion

The apps we list in this article offer a range of features and functionalities to streamline workflows, boost organization, and inspire creativity for Windows users.

Give them a try and hopefully, you’ll find the best solutions to enhance efficiency, collaboration, and creativity, that’ll also empower you to become a better and more productive worker.

Whether you’re tracking time, communicating with teams, managing tasks, or creating documents there is a Windows app to boost your productivity and meet your needs.

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