One of the biggest trends in work today is working from home. Whether you work a traditional full-time job, or you’re a freelancer who works on various projects, it can be difficult to find apps that will help you manage your time and make sure you’re as productive as possible.
Here’s a list of our top 5 favorite apps for working from home!
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Working From Home
The best WFH apps can improve connectivity and efficiency of employees working from home, while ensuring data is secure.
Even before the unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote working was an increasing trend for businesses all over the globe. One survey(opens in new tab) in 2019 found that up to 30% of the Americans surveyed worked remotely full-time, with 62% working from home(opens in new tab) on a regular basis.
Of course, this is a cultural shift that has been accelerated by the pandemic, which—at its height—required workers in many countries to work from home if they could. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best WFH apps of 2021, which should improve the working conditions, efficiency, and productivity of any remote worker.
Whether aiming to stay in touch with the office via video conferencing(opens in new tab), ensuring your data connection is secure, or staying organized with a project management tool(opens in new tab), you’ll find everything you need below.
Additionally, we’ve highlighted all the gear you’ll need to work from home successfully.
1. Zoom
Best app for video conferencingTODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT AMAZONView at Alibaba WWView at Kinguin WWSee all prices (277 found)
REASONS TO BUY
+Up to 100 participants on free version+Useful business add-ons+Intuitive and familiar interface
REASONS TO AVOID
-40-minute group limit on free version
Few will be surprised to find Zoom(opens in new tab) on any list of WFH must-haves, following a stellar 2020 for the platform. As workers flocked from offices to home, Zoom became the go-to conferencing app, to such a degree that the brand name has begun to be used as a verb. Its success is undoubtedly aligned to the generously-packaged free version, which allows users unlimited one-to-one video calls, while up to 100 participants can join meetings for up to 40 minutes.
For longer meetings, businesses will require the Pro package, which also comes with 1GB of cloud recording, meaning video calls can be recorded and uploaded to Zoom’s cloud storage. The Business-level subscription includes additional branding and transcription features and permits up to 300 participants.
If you would like to find out more, read our full Zoom review.
2. Freedom
Best app for staying focusedTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Syncs across all devices+Free trial+Set time limits
REASONS TO AVOID
-Monthly sub costly compared to annual
Without the peering eyes of colleagues or management, the millions of potential distractions provided by the world wide web can become trickier to avoid for those working from home. Many remote workers possess the required willpower to avoid the magnetic draw of Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook, but for the rest of us, there’s Freedom(opens in new tab).
Ideal for workers whose focus can wane when left to their own devices, Freedom encourages its users to set time-limited blocks on websites that are likely to steal your concentration. Most importantly, the app can be synced to work across several devices, which is especially helpful for anyone tempted to glance away from their screen towards their smartphone. Used by over 1 million people all around the world, Freedom works on Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and as a browser add-on for Chrome.
3. Zapier
Best for automating repeat tasksTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+14-day trial of professional plan+No coding required+24/7 on-call security
REASONS TO AVOID
-Premium apps not supported on free versionAdvertisement
It’s not always immediately obvious, but those of us who spend our days working at a desktop computer will repeat the same manual tasks dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day. Zapier(opens in new tab) is an app that aims to automate these repetitive tasks without requiring any coding knowledge, in turn streamlining your time and improving productivity levels.
Zapier works seamlessly with thousands of leading apps and platforms, including Gmail, Slack, Google Drive, Outlook, and Dropbox. Pre-designed workflow templates, which are called Zaps, include automatically sharing content across numerous social media platforms, sending leads personal messages, and saving files and media to the cloud. Users can also create their own bespoke Zaps simply by connecting the relevant apps and automating triggers and actions.
4. Trello
Best for organizing and collaboratingTODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT AMAZONView at UdemyView at LinkedIn LearningSee all prices (21 found)
REASONS TO BUY
+Attractive interface+Works across devices+Easy to use
REASONS TO AVOID
-No time-tracking function
Keeping teams on track and organized is arguably the most difficult workplace aspect to replicate away from the office, but with Trello(opens in new tab) at their disposal, project managers need not be too disheartened.
This attractive Kanban-board-style app allows teams to create boards for each project, with board templates filtered by category (including business, design, education, and engineering). These boards are made up of lists, which are in turn composed of cards. Cards can be added, edited, and shared or passed between lists, allowing all team members to easily track progress. Other useful features include checklists, due dates, labels, and attachments. Advertisement
Trello’s Butler is also a useful feature that gives users the ability to implement automations.
For more information, read our full Trello(opens in new tab) review.
5. ExpressVPN
Best for staying secureTODAY’S BEST DEALSEXCLUSIVE – 3 MONTHS EXTRA FREEExpressVPN 12 monthUS$6.67/mthExpressVPN 6 monthUS$9.99/mthExpressVPN 1 monthUS$12.95/mthVISIT SITEat ExpressVPN
REASONS TO BUY
+High-speed servers in 94 countries+24/7 customer support+30 days money-back guarantee
REASONS TO AVOID
-Limited to five devices
A Virtual Private Network, or VPN(opens in new tab), is no longer the preserve of IT firms, as businesses from all industries become increasingly aware of the importance of robust network security. With more staff working from home than ever, the in-house IT team is no longer the all-encompassing safety net it once was, as remote workers look to access company data and files from their own home.
Ensuring these workers have a secure connection is therefore paramount, making the argument for a VPN service like ExpressVPN(opens in new tab) ever more persuasive. Supporting up to five devices per user and with an app that can be synced across several devices, Express VPN is regularly ranked among the top VPN picks, with high-speed servers in over 94 countries accounting for its reliability.
work from home productivity apps
Serene
Serene is a relative newcomer to the productivity app game but it’s quickly becoming one of my favourites. The app combines some of the most effective productivity features into a single tool, which means you don’t need to pay for multiple apps to get a complete productivity platform.
This is perfect for individual workers who want to enhance their own productivity as there aren’t many affordable options available that are this comprehensive.
Here’s a quick summary of the features you get:
- Block distractions: Block distracting websites and apps so you don’t get interrupted by notifications or tempted by not-so-quick Twitter session.
- Power sessions: Work in short power sessions with regular breaks to keep your mind fresh and working pace fast.
- Day planner: Set daily goals to keep your work sessions focused on hitting targets.
- To-do lists: Mange your individual tasks with Serene’s built-in to-do list feature.
- Focus music: Keep your mind in productive mode with soundtracks scientifically engineered for maintaining focus.
- Phone silencer: Automatically put your phone on silent during work sessions to cut out mobile distractions.
Aside from blocking websites and apps, Serene encourages you to work in highly-productive power sessions of 20-90 minutes with regular, short breaks. This prevents you from spending too much time on a single task and developing cognitive fatigue.
Likewise, the constant presence of an upcoming deadline gives you a regular kick up the butt to keep the pace up, knowing you’ll soon be rewarded with a break.
Serene starts at just $4 per month and you can try it out for free using its 14-day free trial – no credit card details required. At the time of writing, Serene’s native app is only available for macOS but a Windows version is coming soon and there are also plugins for Chrome and Firefox.
Freedom
Freedom is a simple website and app blocker tool that allows you to create blacklists, much like the same feature in Serene. This is pretty much all you get with Freedom although there are some additional features on the Premium version, including “coffee shop sounds” for focus and session scheduling.
Pricing starts at $6.99 per month although you can drop this down to the equivalent of $2.42/monthif you pay annually. Freedom is available on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and ChromeOS, making it a great option for cross-platform consistency.
Forest
Forest is one of my absolute favourite productivity apps, mainly because I love the concept but also because the app itself is such a pleasure to use. Forest encourages you to stop using your phone, which has got to be one of the worst possible distractions from working at home.
When you start a session in Forest, the app plants a digital seed and the longer you spend without exiting the app and using your phone, the more your tree grows. Use your phone before the session is over and your tree will die. Complete a series of successful sessions and you’ll soon have a digital forest showing you how much progress you’ve made.
This is a great way to gamify the process of developing better habits and improving productivity. It’s surprisingly addictive and rewarding to see your forest grow, too.
Best of all, Forest partners with tree planting organisations around the world. The app rewards you with virtual coins for growing digital trees, which you can “spend” to plant trees in the real world through Forest’s partners. So you’re not only boosting your own productivity with this app but also helping to make the world a better place while you’re at it.
Team communication
Maximising your own productivity at home is one thing but being efficient as a remote team is even more challenging. Even the most basic office interactions, like asking the person next to you where a document is, become a challenge once teams are split up between locations.
Thankfully, team communication tools have matured a lot over the past decade, which means productivity doesn’t need to suffer when you work from home.
Slack
Slack has established itself as one of the most popular team collaboration and communications tools, used by major brands ranging from Airbnb and Starbucks to EA and the BBC.
Slack was built by remote workers, for remote workers. The original concept was to replace cumbersome email exchanges with an interface that allows teams to communicate and work together from any location.
Basically, it’s organised instant messaging for teams that need to work collectively. Throw in voice and video calling features, file exchanging and integration with 2,000+ other productivity apps and you’ve got yourself a simple yet powerful communication tool that allows you to work from anywhere with an internet connection.
Chanty
Chanty is very similar to Slack in the sense that it creates a simple, instant messaging platform for teams to communicate and collaborate. The overall design and majority of features are the same, too, and this is a good thing because the formula works so well.
However, Chanty does bring some standout features to the table.
Aside from being cheaper than Slack and having fewer restrictions on things like the total number of messages per price point, Chanty offers more in terms of task and project management features. You can create and assign tasks to individuals and teams, for example, and manage projects using the Kanban board view.
In fairness, Chanty is never going to match a dedicated project management platform so you may find these features overlap with your other productivity tools and offer limited value
Slack simply sticks to communication and excels at it.
It all depends on which tools you’re combining but it’s great to have Chanty as a Slack alternative and it may even offer enough task/project management features for individuals and small teams.
Spark
As good as Slack and Chanty are at replacing cumbersome email exchanges, I can’t honestly imagine ever abandoning traditional email entirely. In fact, even on a good day, I still probably spend a good hour reading, responding and sending emails from my inbox.
Which is why I’m a big fan of tools that allow me to spend less time on emails and more time on tasks that actually make me money.
Spark is one of my favourite email productivity apps, even if some of its basic features are now standard on Gmail and other clients. Here’s a quick summary of what you get from Spark:
- Smart Inbox: Emails are automatically grouped into categories for easier browsing and you can view your inbox by most recent emails or your chosen categories.
- Smart Search: Spark’s Smart Search makes it easy to find any email, conversation or attachment.
- Snooze emails: Put emails on pause to stop interruptions and distractions.
- Send later: Schedule emails to send them at appropriate times or when recipients are most likely to see and read them.
- Reminders: Automatic reminders to respond to important emails.
- Smart Notifications: Get notified for important emails only so the rest never interrupt your workflow.
Those are all great features for individuals but my favourite Spark features are the ones designed for teams. With Spark, you can delegate emails and assign conversations to team members and create templates to maintain consistency across your entire team. You can also have private team conversations through Spark through instant messaging.
However, my absolute favourite Spark feature is Shared Drafts, which allows team members to work on the same email together in real-time. This is such a good feature for important emails where it helps to have a second pair of eyes, training new team members or asking someone from another department to add some information without any confusion or misinterpretation.
Project management
Now we get to the comprehensive project management tools and these have the difficult task of providing a platform that meets the needs of project managers themselves but also the individual team members they work with.
That’s no easy task and while there are plenty of project management tools that claim to pull it off, it can be difficult to find one that delivers. Here are three of them actually work for everyone involved.
Asana
Asana is a comprehensive project management platform designed for teams of all sizes. It offers a generous set of features on its free plan, including task management, lists, board views, calendar, assignments and due dates, collaboration with up to 15 teammates and a solid range of integrations options.
That’s a solid offering for individuals and small teams looking for a free project management tool.
Paid versions of Asana start at $13.49/month, per user and these open up more advanced features and these are really designed for businesses with creative and remote teams. One of Asana’s biggest strengths is that it really does provide for businesses all the way up to the enterprise level whereas many tools fall short at the bigger businesses end of things.
Asana keeps delivering with reasonably-priced packages at every level and its free version makes this a genuine option for freelancers, small businesses and creative teams.
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects doesn’t feel like the same enterprise-level software that Asana provides and its free version doesn’t offer anywhere as many features. However, with paid versions starting at just $3/month, per user, Zoho Projects is a tempting option if you need more than Asana’s free version offers but don’t like the price tags on the paid versions.
Even Zoho Project’s Enterprise version costs less than half of Asana’s cheapest paid plan at an impressive $6/month, per user, and this gets you a lot of project management features for your money.
I still prefer the overall design and experience of using Asana but I’m constantly impressed by how much Zoho packs into its project management platform at these prices.
Conclusion
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