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There are hundreds of “productivity apps”, and most lists recommend tools that are free only for a trial or so limited they’re useless without paying. This list sticks to apps that are genuinely usable on their free plans in 2026, and says exactly where each free plan stops.
Short answer: for most people, Google Keep for quick notes, Microsoft To Do for tasks, Google Calendar for time, and Obsidian or Notion for longer notes cover everything for free. Add ChatGPT or Gemini for writing help.
Last updated: October 2026. Free plan limits change; the ones below were checked in October 2026.
The quick list
| Need | App | What the free plan really includes |
|---|---|---|
| Quick notes and lists | Google Keep | Free; notes sync with your Google account |
| To-do lists | Microsoft To Do | Free, unlimited lists and tasks |
| To-do lists with more structure | TickTick | Free with limits: up to 9 lists, basic habits and Pomodoro |
| Calendar | Google Calendar | Free |
| Long notes and knowledge | Obsidian | Free with no limits, including for work use |
| Notes, docs and simple databases | Notion | Free for personal use; small file uploads and 7-day page history |
| Team boards | Trello | Free with up to 10 boards per workspace |
| Writing help | ChatGPT or Gemini | Free plans cover everyday writing |
Notes
Google Keep: fastest for quick notes
Keep is the sticky-note app already linked to your Google account. Notes, checklists, voice notes and photo notes sync between your phone and computer instantly, and you can set reminders by time or place. It’s not built for long documents, but for shopping lists, ideas and reminders nothing is quicker. Images you add count toward your Google storage.
Obsidian: free, private and permanent
Obsidian stores notes as plain text files on your own device, so they’re yours forever and work offline. Since 2025 it’s free for work use too, without a paid licence. You only pay if you want Obsidian’s own sync service between devices; you can also sync the folder with a cloud drive you already use. The learning curve is steeper than Keep’s, but it rewards anyone who writes a lot.
Notion: notes, docs and databases in one
Notion lets you build pages that mix notes, to-do lists, tables and simple databases, which makes it popular for students and freelancers planning projects. The free plan is generous for personal use, with the main limits being small file uploads (about 5 MB), a 7-day page history and limited guests. It’s slower and needs an internet connection more than Keep or Obsidian.
Tasks
Microsoft To Do: simple and fully free
To Do is free with no paid tier, unlimited lists and tasks, reminders, due dates and a “My Day” view for planning today. It syncs between phone and computer and works with Outlook. For most people it’s all a task app needs to be.
TickTick: more features, with limits
TickTick adds habit tracking and a built-in Pomodoro timer. The free plan allows up to 9 lists and a limited number of reminders per task, and the calendar view is paid. Good if you want a timer and habits in the same app as your tasks.
Todoist: polished, but tight on free
Todoist is well designed and has excellent natural-language input (“pay bill every Friday”), but the free plan limits how many active projects you can have. Fine if you keep things simple; restrictive if you organise everything into projects.
Planning and teamwork
Google Calendar
Free, already on your Android phone, and it pulls in events from Gmail such as flight bookings and meetings. Use separate calendars (Work, Family, Study) with different colours to keep things readable.
Trello
Trello organises work as cards on boards, moving from “To do” to “Doing” to “Done”. It’s very visual and good for small teams. The free plan allows up to 10 boards per workspace and 10 MB per file attachment, enough for most small projects.
AI writing help
For drafting emails, rewriting messages or summarising articles, the free plans of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are enough for most people. ChatGPT’s Free plan now runs on GPT-6 Luna with unlimited everyday text chats; see ChatGPT Free vs Plus in 2026 for what paying adds. For AI built into Gmail, Docs and Word, see what’s free and what’s paid in AI writing assistants.
How to avoid app overload
The most common productivity mistake is using too many apps. A simple setup that works:
- One place for tasks (To Do or TickTick).
- One place for notes (Keep for quick notes, Obsidian or Notion for long ones).
- One calendar (Google Calendar).
Try a new app for two weeks before moving everything into it. If you stop opening it, it isn’t the right one.
The short version
Google Keep for quick notes, Microsoft To Do for tasks, Google Calendar for planning, and Obsidian or Notion for long notes are all genuinely free in 2026. TickTick and Todoist are good but limited on free, and Trello suits small teams. Keep the setup to three apps, and save your files somewhere safe: here’s how the free cloud storage options compare.
