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What are the best productivity tools for entrepreneurs and self-employed people?

25

Options
Considered

80

User
Recs.

Mar 30, 2020

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

19 Options Considered

Best productivity tools for entrepreneurs and self-employed people	Price	Platforms	Collaborative
-- Trello	-	Android / iOS / Windows / Web	Yes
-- Google Keep	FREE	Android / iOS / Chrome / Web / Desktop	Yes
-- Evernote	$0-$89.99/Y	Android / iOS / WP / OSX / Windows / WebOS	yes
-- Toggl	-	-	-
-- Zenkit	-	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone	Yes

Trello

Top Pro

Simple and easy to use interface

There are two primary columns: the board is shown on the left and all the other controls on the right. The main means of interaction is dragging and dropping to-do cards into the various lists. The board structure is very customizable and includes a variety of features that help along the way: color-coding, due dates, card images, checklists with a graphics bar that allows following progress easily, and card aging for cards that haven’t been touched in a long time. See More

Top Con

No quick deadline assignment

You have to open a Calendar every time to set a date without any quick options like today, tomorrow etc. See More

Oliver Burns's Experience

Good taskboard app. I use it when I have a big project in work with many tasks. It helps me not to forget tasks. Also, there is an opportunity to add details and comments for tasks. And it is easy to work on a project in the group without meeting each other (working from home and reporting about results). See More

Specs

Platforms:Android / iOS / Windows / Web

Collaborative:Yes

Offline access:yes

Top Pro

Cross-platform and cross-sync

Trello works on all modern devices through the web application and has native apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8/10 devices See More

Top Con

Project management system only

This is cumbersome to get started. See More

Jill Davis's Experience

Great for visual thinkers. Easy to organize links, files and other content with related tasks. The customizable checklist feature is helpful. See More

Top Pro

Works well for visual thinkers

The UI is based around Kanban, so you can see all your tasks and their status clearly. See More

Top Con

Managing large projects may be difficult

Trello works best with medium to small projects and with very high-level overviews. It is less effective for projects that require very granular management due to the fact that it becomes considerably more difficult to keep track of various cards and priorities as they are pushed off the screen. See More

Yanis's Experience

Still a good tool, but I'm balancing it with Zenkit now. See More

Top Pro

Sub-tasks

Each card can have one or even multiple task lists. See More

Top Con

No multi-board aggregation

If you have multiple boards with tasks on them there is no way to get all the tasks on one board in a way that changes on one board will update the other. See More

esparza's Experience

Nice kanban boards, I use them to make sure I don't forget about any of my tasks. See More

Top Pro

Great native app for Android and iOS

Top Con

Slow and requires a lot of mouse work to navigate

Top Pro

Great prioritization, Due date and Story point features

Can set different priorities to various tasks, set appropriate due dates and Story points - timing allotted to each task. See More

Top Pro

Markdown support with well-rendered images

Trello supports Markdown, meaning that HTML input is represented appropriately. Cards with attachments are also rendered well. For example, images are shown correctly on the card, bug links are detected etc. See More

Top Pro

Highly flexible workflow

Trello calls items used in the workflow “cards.” Cards are double-sided and can contain subtasks as well as notes and other details. Card columns can be used to simulate a workflow by moving cards from left to right as they are completed, or as a way of indicating task priority. The workflow is highly flexible as the columns are completely customizable to suit the task flow. For example, tasks can be put through a workflow "idea > approved > in-progress > pending review > released" or simply "ideas > released" depending on the granularity level needed. This makes Trello a great solution to feature management as it's possible to set up boards to handle everything from agile sprints to a more generic to-do list, all with status management. See More

Top Pro

Free for unlimited users

Trello offers a very generous free version that has no ads, no restrictions on the number of users, and very little restriction on how the program can be used. The paid features are generally cosmetic, such as the ability to change the background, add stickers, etc. See More

Top Pro

Best kanban for personal usage

Top Pro

Good performance

Top Pro

Great real-time team collaboration features

Trello has permissions at the board level as well as the ability to assign multiple people to each card. There are a lot of sharing options available and boards can be made visible for the public. It's also possible to subscribe to a card to be notified of its progress. The simplicity of the UI makes collaboration easy because it’s very simple to see the progress of each card and who is responsible for it. It also updates constantly to reflect real-time changes in progress. The simplicity of the UI makes collaboration easy as it’s very simple to see the progress of each card and who is responsible for it. It also reflect changes on boards in real-time. See More

Top Pro

Attach files to cards

Keep all of your files (images, documents, etc.) organized on their relevant cards. See More

Top Pro

Features to add voting on cards

Trello offers support for features to add voting on cards, often referred to as 'power-ups'. See More

Top Pro

Easy-to-use

Top Pro

Functionality can be extended via plug-ins

Voting, view, and calendar plug-ins further increase the functionality. See More

Top Pro

Excellent for groups using agile software development

The responsiveness and layers of customization make it easy for team members of various disciplines to collaborate on the same task board. See More

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Google Keep

Top Pro

Useful Android home screen widget

The Keep widget lets users quickly see existing notes and add new ones. See More

Top Con

No text formatting

No basic formatting like bold, italics. Makes it harder to do things like meeting notes. Keep is intended as a minimal and quick note taking app, but sadly for those that are looking for something more robust, the features are just not there. See More

Yanis's Experience

A good start, still need improvements See More

Specs

Platforms:Android / iOS / Chrome / Web / Desktop

Collaborative:Yes

Top Pro

Unlimited and seamless sync across all Google connected devices, from mobile to desktop

When a mobile device isn't in use, Google Keep can be accessed as a Chrome app or as a website. Basically, no matter the device being used or the OS on it, there is always a way to access the app. There is also no limitation to how many devices this can be done with, freeing up the user to always have access. See More

Top Con

No ability to undo changes

There is no way to revert changes or restore text you may have accidentally deleted (however, you can restore entire notes for up to 7 days after deletion). See More

Top Pro

Super fast to use

The focus on a minimal interface makes everything fast to use on both web and mobile. This comes in handy for when a note needs to be jotted down quickly, as there is little to no load times or faffing about trying to get to a space where the note can finally be recorded. See More

Top Con

No way to search within a note

There is no "find" feature for looking up a word or phrase within a note, which can be problematic for larger notes. See More

Top Pro

Includes character recognition for text in images

Google Keep lets users take pictures of physical notes and makes the contents searchable within the app. This can be a convenient time saver for those that do not want to type out the necessary info, but rather take a quick snapshot of it. See More

Top Con

Google account required

You're required to have a Google account in order to use the app. See More

Top Pro

Supports drawing or writing notes by hand

Newer version of Google Keep now supports drawing on either a blank page, existing notes or in an image attached to the note. See More

Top Con

No notifications when tasks are added to shared lists

Although the ability to collaborate on lists is advanced, Keep will not let you know when another person adds an item to a list you share. See More

Top Pro

Really well implemented speech-to-text

Google has a lot of experience with speech-to-text functionality and they did a fantastic job with Keep. This means you can easily record spoken notes that can then be changed to a text based note. See More

Top Con

Organization is limited to just multiple tags for notes

There are no folders in Keep that you can move notes into. It makes the user interface more cluttered, and navigation gets more difficult. See More

Top Pro

Both location- and time-based reminders

You can set reminders that bring certain notes to your attention when you arrive at a specified location or when it’s a specified time or date. Unfortunately, you can only do one or the other for each note. See More

Top Con

Does not integrate with Google Calendar or Tasks

It does not integrate with Google Calendar or other Google Apps with the exception of "Google Now." Keep reminders can appear on Google Calendar, but you can not get reminders and use Tasks at the same time. See More

Top Pro

Can share and collaboratively edit any item including lists

Keep allows sharing any item with other contacts and editing them together at the same time. This way a team can work together in real time, no matter their location. See More

Top Con

Cannot share groups of notes (e.g., labels)

Google's equivalent of groups are labels, which can't be shared. By comparison, Trello allows you to share boards with others. Trello also supports grouping through teams. Google Keep has no such concept. See More

Top Pro

Notes can be grouped via labels

In addition to the ability to color-code notes, they can be labeled and navigated and grouped that way. This allows for easy organization, to then be found easily at a later date. See More

Top Con

Google can access and mine your data

You have to be okay with Google analyzing and using your data in order to use Keep. See More

Top Pro

Notes can include photo and audio attachments

Notes can include multimedia attachments in addition to text. See More

Top Con

Single-level lists only

There’s no way to set a hierarchy for your lists. See More

Top Pro

Drag and drop sorting

You can move cards manually, which is great for prioritizing to-dos. Within a card, you can also drag and drop items. See More

Top Pro

Works as a great bookmarking tool as links added can optionally include a preview image

Keep has a great feature that allows you to save sites you visit as a special note type with a link and a preview image. See More

Evernote

Top Pro

Powerful features for organising your notes

Evernote is designed to make it easy to keep your notes well organized, which aids in quickly finding/browsing old information. You can put notes into a single notebook and use search to access old notes, or if you're so inclined, organize notes extensively with hierarchical notebooks and tags. See More

Top Con

Constantly directs you to upgrading your account

The frequent reminders to upgrade your account can quickly become disruptive. You get notifications when using the app, and many of the features that show as available in the app are actually for paid accounts only (which, when you try to use them, will remind you to upgrade). See More

Yanis's Experience

My friend since 2008 ! See More

Specs

Platforms:Android / iOS / WP / OSX / Windows / WebOS

Collaborative:yes

Offline access:yes

Top Pro

Powerful note formatting

Evernote has an extensive range of formatting options and note types. You can create checklists, reminder alerts, audio notes, or add images and attachments. It also has an awesome speech-to-text feature if you prefer to dictate aloud. See More

Top Con

Free version limited to 2 devices

The free version has become very limited as a cloud based note taking app as there is now only sharing between two devices allowed. See More

Top Pro

Integrated web clipper

Can clip to the web from desktop or mobile, using simplified format or original formatting. Very quick and flexible, and enables you to highlight, take notes, tag, etc. See More

Top Con

Pay for offline use, search, and other functions

The free version of Evernote is highly limited. You have to pay if you want to access your notes without internet connection, search your notes or documents, or upload large amounts of data. The free version allows you to upload 60 MB of data per month, which is about 20 to 30 iPhone camera pictures. At a certain point, they started charging you for "advanced" capability, which includes searching your own attachments. See More

Top Pro

Consolidates all your information

Evernote is designed to store a lot of different types of information from a lot of different sources in one place. Using the Web Clipper, native integrations, or a service such as IFTTT (If This Then That) you can use Evernote to store all your ideas, notes (both handwritten and typed), tasks, reading lists, receipts, and more. See More

Top Con

Very heavyweight for a to-do list

Evernote is a powerhouse program with many features. It uses a correspondingly large amount of memory to run. See More

Top Pro

Flexible image manipulation

Permits photos that are taken, to be processed when in automatic mode and saved as a photo, black and white document, colour document, post it note or business card. The automated mode is also good at cropping the document effectively. See More

Top Con

No official Linux app

Evernote does not offer an official Linux app, although there are some third party alternatives available. See More

Top Pro

Multipurpose

In addition to general note taking and to-do list management, Evernote lets you search through scanned documents, handwritten text, and images; collaborate with others through shared notebooks; record audio notes; and more. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

Evernote is easy to dive into because it doesn’t overwhelm you with advanced functionality from the start. As you get more accustomed to the app, you might want to delve deeper to see what benefits the more advanced features will offer. See More

Top Pro

Focused, uncluttered user interface

Evernote has a very clean and intuitive interface that's simple to understand at a glance. See More

Top Pro

Great selection for integrating with other apps

The Evernote app center page is nicely organized and has good quality integration of apps that can improve your productivity. See More

Top Pro

"Reminders" are a great way to combine your to-dos and notes

One of the note types is a "reminder," which can act as a to-do list. You can add all the usual formatting to reminders, including audio. Evernote will provide alerts when they are due and house them in a special location within the app. See More

Top Pro

Trustworthy to store data in the long term

With many utility tools being constantly shut down by their creators, it's really important to consider the long-term risks of picking a home for all your notes. Evernote is a $1 billion company with a track record of exceptional security and goals of becoming a "100 year old" company. See More

Top Pro

Has OCR functionality to convert images to searchable text

A really cool and handy Evernote feature is the ability to automatically scan images for text. See More

Top Pro

Can include images, and snippets from the web or a whole webpage via web clipper

With one click you can clip part or all of any webpage, including text, images, and links. Especially for those who use Google Chrome, this web clipper is a very rich add-on. The “simplified article” mode strips all graphical overhead from the page before adding the information to Evernote. It's also possible to add highlighting, tags, etc. before storing the note. See More

Top Pro

Native and offline-capable apps on pretty much every platform

Evernote has apps for Windows 7 and 8, Windows 10, Mac, Android, iOS (both iPhone and iPad), Blackberry, and Windows Phone. It also has a fully functional web app and chrome plug-in. No matter what device or platform you're on, you will pretty much always be able to access Evernote. See More

Deepstash

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Simple and useful

CaringHestia's Experience

User for about 5 months. See More

Top Pro

Personalised recommendations of ideas and subjects that you are interested in

IntuitiveLotan's Experience

Really cool self improvement app. Takes you through main ideas of articles. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful UI

Fast and sleek See More

ArticulateAmeNoUzume's Experience

It's a very very decent app. Has a lot of potential See More

Microsoft OneNote

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

Needs stable internet connection

High speed internet connection is recommended. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows / OSX / iOS / Android / Web

Collaborative:Yes

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Its available Windows Mobile, Windows Store, Android, a Desktop Version, and a Web app. Apple macOS and iOS are also supported. 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

Browser plugins allow easy saving of web pages

The ability to quickly file away web clippings is a key part of note taking. See More

Top Con

The added flexibility means your notes may feel cluttered

Since you can place elements anywhere you'd like on your note, you have to pay attention to how you structure it. For some this added flexibility is a huge selling point, but for others it could become distracting and makes notes feel difficult to digest. See More

Top Pro

On Android, you can tap a badge to start a note

The badge on Android hovers over on your screen similar to Facebook Messenger's Chat Heads. You can tap it and instantly start jotting down your thoughts without having to flip to the app first. See More

Top Pro

Converts handwriting to text on Windows version

You can take handwritten notes on your mobile device with a stylus or digital pen and then convert the handwriting to text later on your Windows PC. See More

Top Pro

Insert files into your notes

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

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 Pro

Sharing and collaboration

You can share your notes by inviting people with an e-mail, or by giving them a direct URL. You have control over what kind of access the user has on your note (read only, edit) and can revoke it at any time. OneNote will alert you when a chance in made on your shared note. See More

Top Pro

Integrates with other Microsoft services

Integrates well with Outlook, Office, and OneDrive. 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 Pro

Comprehensive organization methods

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

ProofHub

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Super Pricing Plans

ProofHub does not charge per user. It lets you grow your team all you want. And also it is for the right price -- $89/month (limited time offer) -- for a good set of tools that teams need for task and project management, and team collaboration. See More

VersatileFutsunushi's Experience

ProofHub is a great productivity tool for entrepreneurs and self employed people. It get projects done, faster and helps you to collaborate with your team under one roof. See More

Top Pro

ProofHub is for any team

Small or big, any industry, any department, remote or in-house or cross-functional. Anyone with tasks, projects, teams, clients can use ProofHub to manage work. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

Functions and tools are straightforward and intuitive for a non-technical user. See More

Top Pro

Extensive customer support

A knowledge base is provided in their site for FAQs, use cases, and video tutorials. In most cases, the answers you are looking for are already addressed in this section. The website also provides an Update Page to keep you informed about the latest features or issues about the software. Their Facebook page and Twitter handle are active and responsive. You can communicate with them via their social networks. See More

Top Pro

All-in-one project management and collaboration software

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and collaboration software. It is one single platform for all your projects, tasks, teams and client communication. See More

EssentialPIM

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

A full suite with planning, tasks, notes, address book, etc

Freshbooks

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Easy to get a promo code

Many YouTubers and podcasters will have an affiliate link for a discount. See More

Zapier

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

There's a free plan

You can use this service for free for basic task automation. If you find yourself needing more functionality, you can upgrade to one of the premium plans at any time. See More

Find

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Extreme productivity

Spekfy

Add Video or Image

InfoQube

Add Video or Image

PPLandry's Experience

Handles all aspects of self-employed / entrepreneur's work See More

Procezo

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