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💡 Short answer
- Start withTodoist for tasks, Google Calendar for time and Notion or Obsidian for notes. All have free plans that cover most people.
- Pay nothingObsidian, Google Calendar and TickTick’s free plan make a complete stack without a subscription.
- Skip ifYour current setup works. Moving your tasks and notes costs a week of friction, so switch only when a tool is failing you.
Most productivity app lists repeat the same names without saying what each one is for. That is how people end up with three to-do apps, two note apps and a calendar nobody updates. This list gives every app one job, so you can pick one per job and stop there.
The right mix depends on how you work. A designer collecting references needs something different from a manager whose calendar is shared with five people. The twelve apps below cover tasks, time, notes, focus and teamwork, with current prices, and every card links to the app’s store pages and website. Pair it with the essential Android apps list for the rest of a good phone setup.
Productivity Apps at a Glance
Here is each app’s job, what the free plan gives you and what paying starts at. Prices are in US dollars from each company’s own pricing page and change often, so treat them as a guide.
| App | Job | Free plan | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todoist | Tasks | Yes, 5 projects | Pro $5/month, billed yearly |
| Google Calendar | Calendar | Yes, everything | Free |
| Notion | Notes and databases | Yes | Plus $10/seat/month, billed yearly |
| Obsidian | Private Markdown notes | Yes, no limits | Sync $4/month, billed yearly |
| TickTick | Tasks, habits, focus | Yes, 9 lists | Premium $49.99/year |
| Toggl Track | Time tracking | Yes | Starter $9/user/month, billed yearly |
| Forest | Focus | Yes, with ads | Forest Plus, varies by region |
| Microsoft 365 | Documents and email | Often via work or school | Personal $9.99/month |
| Slack | Team chat | Yes, 90 days of history | Pro $8.75/user/month |
| Microsoft Teams | Chat and meetings | Yes, 60-minute meetings | Business plans |
| Asana | Team projects | Yes, up to 2 users | Starter $10.99/user/month, billed yearly |
| Linear | Software issues | Yes | Paid plans per user |
Todoist
Tasks that follow you everywhere
A cross-platform task manager that reads plain English, so typing a task with a date is as fast as writing it on paper.
- Best forOne task list that stays in sync between phone, desktop and watch.
- Our rating9/10
- CostFree; Pro $5/month billed yearly
- Free planYes, 5 personal projects
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac, Linux, Wear OS
The good
- Natural-language dates in Quick Add
- Filters build custom views across projects
- Apps for nearly every platform you own
The bad
- Calendar layout and reminders need Pro
- Free plan keeps one week of activity history
Todoist is the task app we keep coming back to because it gets out of the way. Type “Pay rent every 1st” or “Call the dentist Friday 3pm” into Quick Add and it files the date and repeat for you. That sounds minor until you notice how many tasks you never wrote down because the app made you tap through a date picker.
It runs on Android, Wear OS, iPhone, the web and every desktop system, so a task added on your phone at the bus stop is waiting on your laptop when you sit down. Filters are the power feature: one view for everything due this week tagged @calls, another for work tasks with no date. The free plan covers five projects; Pro costs $5 a month billed yearly ($7 month to month) and adds reminders, a calendar layout and room for 300 projects.
Google Calendar
The calendar everything else plugs into
The free default calendar on most Android phones, with Gmail events, tasks and shared calendars in one view.
- Best forA shared, always-synced calendar that every other app can read.
- Our rating9/10
- CostFree
- Free planYes, everything
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Wear OS
The good
- Flights and bookings from Gmail land on it
- Tasks sit alongside events
- Almost every productivity app can sync with it
The bad
- Focus time is for work and school accounts
- Busy calendars get cluttered on a small screen
Google Calendar wins mostly by being everywhere. It is already on most Android phones, it reads flight and restaurant confirmations out of Gmail, and almost every app on this list can read from it or write to it. When the family dentist appointment, the team stand-up and your gym class all live in one place, double-booking gets much harder.
Tasks now sit next to events, and Google has added a way to block out calendar time for a task, which is the simplest form of time-blocking there is. If your calendar comes through work or school, Focus time can also decline meetings during the hours you protect. Personal accounts do not get that one, so treat your blocked time as a promise to yourself.
Notion
Notes, docs and databases in one workspace
A flexible workspace where notes, task lists, reading logs and team wikis link together as pages and databases.
- Best forBuilding your own system: projects, notes and lists that reference each other.
- Our rating9/10
- CostFree; Plus $10/seat/month billed yearly
- Free planYes, for individuals
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac
The good
- Pages and databases link freely
- Templates for almost any workflow
- Good for shared team docs
The bad
- Full Notion AI needs the Business plan
- Setup takes time before it pays off
Notion is a box of building blocks. One workspace can hold your meeting notes, a reading list, a project tracker and a simple client list, and any page can link to any other. People who love it build elaborate systems; people who bounce off it usually tried to build the elaborate system on day one.
Start small: one page for notes and one database for tasks. The free plan is generous for one person. On Notion’s pricing page, Plus is $10 a seat per month billed yearly ($12 monthly), and Business is $20 billed yearly ($24 monthly). Notion AI is no longer a cheap add-on: the full version comes with Business, while Free and Plus get only a limited trial. The Android app is good for reading and quick edits; heavy restructuring is still easier on a laptop.
Obsidian
Private notes in plain Markdown files
A local-first notes app that stores everything as Markdown files on your device, with links, a graph view and a huge plugin library.
- Best forLong-term personal notes you own outright, with no account required.
- Our rating9/10
- CostFree; Sync $4/month billed yearly
- Free planYes, no limits
- AppsAndroid, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux
The good
- Notes are plain files you can open anywhere
- Free for personal and work use
- Thousands of community plugins
The bad
- Syncing devices takes Sync or your own setup
- The mobile app is functional rather than polished
Obsidian appeals to anyone who has lost notes to a shut-down app. Every note is a plain Markdown file in a folder on your phone or computer, so if Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, your notes would still open in any text editor. Links between notes build up over time, and the graph view shows how ideas connect.
The app is free with no limits, including for work, and needs no sign-up. Syncing between devices is the one thing you pay for if you want it handled for you: Obsidian Sync costs $4 a month billed yearly or $5 month to month. You can also sync the folder yourself with a tool like Syncthing, which takes some setup on Android but costs nothing.
TickTick
Tasks, habits and a focus timer in one app
A to-do app that adds a habit tracker, a Pomodoro focus timer and calendar views, so one app covers what usually takes three.
- Best forPeople who want tasks, habits and focus sessions without juggling apps.
- Our rating8/10
- CostFree; Premium $49.99/year
- Free planYes, 9 lists
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac, Wear OS
The good
- Built-in Pomodoro timer and habit tracker
- Eisenhower Matrix view for priorities
- Generous free plan for one person
The bad
- Calendar views beyond the basics need Premium
- Packs in more features than a simple list needs
This spot used to go to Things 3, which is a lovely task manager and a strange pick for an Android list: it only runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac. TickTick is the closest Android equivalent in spirit, with a clean layout and fast task entry, and it goes further by folding a habit tracker and a focus timer into the same app.
That combination is the reason to choose it over Todoist. You can plan the day, tick off “drink water” in the habit tracker and start a 25-minute focus session without switching apps. The free plan allows 9 lists of up to 99 tasks each, which is plenty for one person; Premium is $49.99 a year on TickTick’s own upgrade page.
Toggl Track
Time tracking that freelancers stick with
A one-tap timer for tracking where your hours go, with reports for clients and a built-in Pomodoro mode.
- Best forFreelancers and consultants who bill by the hour.
- Our rating9/10
- CostFree; Starter $9/user/month billed yearly
- Free planYes, for small teams
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac
The good
- Start a timer in one tap
- Pomodoro mode with breaks built in
- Syncs with Google and Outlook calendars
The bad
- Home-screen widgets need a paid plan
- Billable rates and client reports are paid features
Most people guess wrong about where their week goes. Toggl Track replaces the guess with a timer: tap start when you begin a task, tap stop when you finish, and the reports show how much of Tuesday went to email. Freelancers use it to bill accurately; everyone else uses it to find the meetings that eat their afternoons.
The Android app has a Pomodoro timer mode with short and long breaks, which suits anyone who works in sprints. The home-screen widgets and quick-settings tiles are paid-only, though. Starter costs $9 per user a month billed yearly ($12 monthly) and adds billable rates; Premium is $16 billed yearly.
Forest
Focus sessions with a small stake
A focus timer that grows a virtual tree while you stay off your phone, and kills it if you leave for another app.
- Best forBreaking the habit of picking up your phone mid-task.
- Our rating8/10
- CostFree; optional Forest Plus
- Free planYes, with ads
- AppsAndroid, iOS
The good
- A tiny penalty that works on habit loops
- Allowlist for apps you need while focusing
- Real trees planted through a charity partner
The bad
- Free version shows ads
- Plus pricing varies by region
Forest’s idea is silly and effective. Start a session and a sapling begins to grow; open Instagram before the timer ends and the tree dies, leaving a withered stump in your forest. Nobody needs a cartoon tree, but plenty of people find they would rather not kill one, and that half-second of hesitation is the whole point.
The app is free to start, with ads, and an optional Forest Plus subscription adds extra tree species and features. The old one-time Pro purchase is no longer sold to new users. If Forest’s gentle nudge is not enough, Android’s own Digital Wellbeing settings can put a hard daily limit on the apps that pull you away.
Microsoft 365
Word, Excel and Outlook on Android
Microsoft’s office suite on your phone, for documents, spreadsheets and email in organizations that run on Microsoft.
- Best forAnyone whose work or school already runs on Microsoft.
- Our rating8/10
- CostPersonal $9.99/month or $99.99/year
- Free planOften included by work or school
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac
The good
- Opens Word and Excel files without formatting surprises
- Outlook handles work email and calendars well
- Family plan covers up to six people
The bad
- The hub app is now called Microsoft Copilot
- Prices rose when Copilot was added
If your job sends you .docx and .xlsx files all day, nothing on Android opens them as faithfully as Microsoft’s own apps. Word, Excel and Outlook are separate downloads, and the all-in-one Microsoft 365 app on Google Play now goes by the name Microsoft Copilot, which confuses a lot of people looking for it.
Check before you pay: many employers and schools include Microsoft 365 for free. For everyone else, Personal costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Family is $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year for up to six people, after Microsoft folded Copilot AI into the consumer plans and raised prices.
Slack
Team chat with a friendly free plan
Channel-based team chat with threads, huddles and thousands of app integrations.
- Best forSmall groups that want organized chat: side projects, clubs and startups.
- Our rating8/10
- CostFree; Pro $8.75/user/month
- Free planYes, 90 days of history
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac, Linux
The good
- Channels keep topics apart
- Huge library of app integrations
- Clean, fast Android app
The bad
- Free plan hides messages older than 90 days
- Group huddles need a paid plan
At work, your employer usually picks the chat app for you. Outside work, Slack is the friendlier choice for a five-a-side team, a study group or a side project. Channels keep the match schedule away from the banter, and threads keep long replies from burying everything else.
The free plan has real limits, and Slack lists them in its free version help page: you see only the last 90 days of messages and files, you can connect up to 10 apps, and huddles are one-to-one. For a casual group that is usually fine. Pro costs $8.75 per user a month paid monthly.
Microsoft Teams
Chat and meetings for Microsoft shops
Chat, video meetings, calendars and shared files in one app, closely tied to Microsoft 365.
- Best forTeams that already use Outlook, Word and SharePoint.
- Our rating8/10
- CostFree; paid business plans
- Free planYes, meetings up to 60 minutes
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac
The good
- Guests join meetings without an account
- Files and chats tie into Microsoft 365
- Skype users now land here
The bad
- Heavier and busier than Slack
- Free meetings stop at 60 minutes
Teams is the right pick when your organization already lives in Microsoft 365. Chats, meetings, calendars and shared files sit in one place, and a Word document shared in a channel opens in Word, not in a preview that loses half the formatting.
The free version is more useful than people expect: you can chat with anyone by email or phone number, and people can join your meeting link without a Teams account, for up to 60 minutes. Skype has also been folded into Teams Free, so if family calls used to happen on Skype, this is where they moved.
Asana
Project tracking for business teams
A work management app for planning projects, assigning tasks and tracking deadlines across a team.
- Best forMarketing, operations and agency teams running many projects at once.
- Our rating8/10
- CostFree; Starter $10.99/user/month billed yearly
- Free planYes, up to 2 users
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac
The good
- List, board and calendar views of the same work
- Clear owners and due dates on every task
- 100+ integrations on the free plan
The bad
- Free plan now covers only 2 people
- Android app is best for updates, not planning
Asana is for the moment a shared to-do list stops being enough: five people, three projects and a launch date that cannot slip. Every task gets an owner and a due date, and the same work can be viewed as a list, a board or a calendar, so the designer and the manager each see it the way they think.
The free Personal plan now covers only two people, down from the larger free teams Asana once allowed, so most teams land on Starter at $10.99 per user a month billed yearly. On Android, the app is best for checking what is due, commenting and ticking things off; planning a project is easier on the web.
Linear
Issue tracking for software teams
A fast issue tracker built for engineering and product teams, with native Android and iOS apps.
- Best forSoftware teams planning sprints, bugs and releases.
- Our rating8/10
- CostFree; paid plans per user
- Free planYes
- AppsAndroid, iOS, web, Windows, Mac
The good
- Very fast, keyboard-friendly design
- Cycles and projects suit sprint planning
- Native mobile apps for triage
The bad
- Built for software teams first
- Needs an existing Linear workspace
Linear has become the default issue tracker for a lot of software teams because it is quick. Pages load instantly, nearly everything has a keyboard shortcut, and cycles give a sprint a clear start and end without a pile of configuration.
The Android app is a companion rather than a full replacement: it is for filing a bug you spotted on the train, triaging notifications and updating an issue between meetings. If your team does not write software, Asana is the better fit; for shared project tracking across a whole business, either tool beats a spreadsheet.
The Small Stack We Would Start With
You do not need twelve apps. Most people need one app per job, and four jobs cover nearly everything.
One app per job
- Tasks: Todoist, or TickTick if you also want habits and a focus timer.
- Time: Google Calendar, with tasks blocked in as events.
- Notes: Notion for shared, structured notes; Obsidian for private ones.
- Work chat: whatever your team already uses, usually Slack or Teams.
The hardest part of changing productivity apps is the move itself. Do not switch unless the current tool is clearly broken for you; the new app is rarely worth the friction of moving years of tasks and notes.
FAQs
What is the best productivity app for Android?
There is no single best one, because tasks, calendars and notes are different jobs. For most people, Todoist plus Google Calendar plus Notion or Obsidian is the most useful trio. Add Toggl Track or Forest if time or focus is the problem.
Is Notion or Obsidian better?
Notion is better for shared, structured work such as project trackers and team wikis. Obsidian is better for private notes you want to keep as files on your own device. Both are free for personal use.
Are productivity app subscriptions worth paying for?
Only for apps you already use daily on the free plan. Todoist Pro and Notion Plus earn their price for heavy users. Obsidian, Google Calendar and TickTick’s free plan cost nothing, so try the free tiers first.
What about a paper notebook or a bullet journal?
Often the right answer for personal task tracking. Paper has no notifications and no sync problems. Apps win for shared tasks, reminders, calendar links and search.
How do I stop switching productivity apps?
Pick one app per job and use it for at least three months. The first month is a honeymoon; the second shows whether the app fits your habits. Every move means relearning where things live, a small everyday version of the task switching cost psychologists measure.
What about AI productivity tools?
They are useful for specific jobs, such as summarizing a long document or drafting an email, and less useful as the place you organize your day. Notion includes AI on its Business plan, and Microsoft 365 plans now include Copilot. For a broader look, see the editor’s shortlist of AI tools worth using.
The Verdict
Productivity apps are mature. Todoist, Google Calendar, Notion and Obsidian have settled into clear lanes, and the newer arrivals mostly add AI on top. The real cost is switching: moving tasks, notes and habits to a new app eats a week and breaks your rhythm for longer.
Key takeaways
- New setupTodoist, Google Calendar and Notion, all on free plans.
- Private notesObsidian keeps everything as files on your phone.
- FocusForest or TickTick’s timer for phone-free work sessions.
- TeamsAsana for business projects; Linear for software.
How we put this guide together. We tested the apps on a Pixel 8a and a Galaxy S24, with desktop apps where they exist. Prices and free-plan limits come from each company’s own pricing page and store listing, and we update them when they change.
