What are the best cross-platform productivity tools?

10

Options
Considered

25

User
Recs.

Sep 27, 2018

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

8 Options Considered

Best cross-platform productivity tools	Price	Platforms	Collaborative
-- TiddlyWiki	Free	Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android	No
-- SquidHub	-	Web, iOS, Android	Yes
-- Microsoft OneNote	-	Windows / OSX / iOS / Android / Web	Yes
-- FreeMind	-	Windows, Linux, Mac	-
-- Zenkit	-	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone	Yes

TiddlyWiki

Top Pro

Free and Open Source

No commercial interests, no ads, no registration, no nonsense. You own your notes 100%. See More

Top Con

Without JavaScript nothing is visible

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android

Collaborative:No

Cross Platform:Yes

Top Pro

10+ years mature

Mature software, active community with members from all over the world. See More

Top Pro

Extremely customizable

This is a major aim and point with TiddlyWiki; people can relatively easily modify it to fit their particular application needs. See More

Top Pro

Single html file

It's a single file and all your notes will be "accessible even in 25 years" because they can be seen in plain html text. See More

Top Pro

Progressive user level, from ease of use to programming your own plugins

Basic users can start with simple note-taking, progressively discover predefined features and existing plugins, then start using more fancy features (like filters, widgets, macros), in order to adapt their wiki to their needs. See More

Top Pro

Relational links

Allows for relational links and lists between notes to keep things organized. See More

Top Pro

Self-hosted and indefinitely accessible

All content is stored within the same html file as the interface. See More

Top Pro

Lots of plugins

Microsoft OneNote

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Supports hierarchical organization of information / notes

OneNote is designed to allow hierarchical organization of information. This is achieved with grouping into the following categories and UI elements (Notebooks, Sections, and Pages). Both Sections and Pages allow additional groupings that can be expanded/collapsed in list view. This can be incredibly helpful for quickly taking notes and organizing them for work or personal projects. For example, you could have a Notebook for "Cooking Recipes", with sections for "breakfast, dinner, desserts", where individual recipes would be page entries (i.e. the "Desserts" section would have pages for brownies, chocolate cheesecake etc). See More

Top Con

Sync isn't stable

Many users have reported synchronization issues. While not everyone will experience this, it can be difficult to troubleshoot, with some fixes resorting to editing registry keys in Windows when using the Windows client. See More

Mkallday's Experience

This would have been my favorite productivity tool. My advice, don’t use the default saving option on you devices. It caused too many syncing issues, which I didn’t don’t realize until it wasn’t too late. You have to manually open different “notebooks” or sections. Imagine having to open each section of your to do list. Couldn’t keep track of note clippings, topic locations and different devices were syncing in different places. Starting my over was easier than trying to reorganize. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows / OSX / iOS / Android / Web

Collaborative:Yes

Top Pro

Free on all platforms with free cloud sync

OneNote is available for free as a web app as well as natively on iOS, Android, OSX, and Windows. You can also use OneNote for free on as many devices as you need, through Cloud syncing. See More

Top Con

No native Linux version

There is no native Linux version, but Linux users can use the web version See More

Top Pro

Text can be added anywhere like a whiteboard

OneNote allows you to arrange text freely on the digital paper mimicking the way it would be done with a real pen on real paper. See More

Top Con

Uninspired, bland user interface

Many of OneNote's competitors use Material Design and bold colors to create a minimal, clean looking interface. OneNote has a bit more of an outdated look and can feel over crowded at times. See More

Top Pro

Similar to other Microsoft programs

If you have experience with other Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Office, you'll feel right at home with the design of OneNote thanks to the similarity of the menus. OneNote also integrates with Outlook, Office, and OneDrive. See More

Top Con

Requires a Microsoft account

You need to have a Microsoft email to sign up for OneNote (Outlook, Hotmail, or Windows Live). See More

Top Pro

Stylus and digitizer pen support

OneNote can be used on all touch capable devices via stylus or digitizer pen, making for an intuitive and easy way to take notes by hand, which can often be faster or just preferred over typing. See More

Top Con

Uninspired, bland user interface

Many of OneNote's competitors use Material Design and bold colors to create a minimal, clean looking interface. OneNote has a bit more of an outdated look and can feel over crowded at times. See More

Top Pro

Comprehensive organization methods

Can have multiple 'tabs' at the top like in a web browser with many notes within each 'tab'. See More

Top Pro

Insert files into your notes

You can add a variety of different files into your notes including images, video, audio, web clippings and more. See More

FreeMind

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Ergonomic editor

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac

ProofHub

Add Video or Image

Bitrix24

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Excellent free CRM, project management and collaboration tool

Bitrix24 gives you a ton of features absolutely free of charge. Free CRM with marketing and automation tools. Free project management with Gantt charts, time tracking, quotes and invoicing. And communication tools in Bitrix24 are free for unlimited users. See More

IntelliJ IDEA

Azendoo

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