16 Best Work Apps to Work from Home

The recent shift in workplaces to follow a remote work setup and have a flexible work schedule has led to a change to how individuals work and stay productive. Remote workers and employees are constantly faced with the challenge of staying motivated when working from home and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. On the other hand, employers are faced with drawbacks from distractions and technical issues that are experienced by employees who are working remotely.

Fortunately, there are different kinds of work apps and solutions to help employers and employees address these challenges. These apps can help individuals with anything from task management, team management, time tracking, collaboration, and communication. Most of these tools are easily accessible for various platforms with the goal of simplifying complicated processes and tasks.

Even with the presence of team leaders and project managers to create a workflow, different tasks call for different solutions. Remote workers or employees and employers may find it difficult to find the time to go through thousands of apps to find the right app for the job. 

With that, we listed the best work from home tools and apps that will help remote workers overcome specific challenges to be able to work more effectively and efficiently.

1. ClickUp - for Project and Task Management

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity software to help teams collaborate and keep everything under one ecosystem. This app is designed to help individuals and teams stay connected and achieve personal or business goals while working remotely or from home.

Track progress, save time, and avoid communication setbacks along the way by keeping everything all in one place with ClickUp. This flexible productivity app has everything you need to work at home with unlimited flexibility. 

With over 35 customizable ClickApps, you can plan, organize, and create a collaborative project that will work best for your team. Use ClickUp's custom fields and choose from over 50 widgets to create the perfect dashboard to help you effectively communicate with the rest of your team. This all-in-one solution allows managers to connect with their team members while managing tasks and projects.

Best Features

• Team communication and management - brainstorm with your team in real-time and keep all ideas in one place with ClickUp's Whiteboards
• Reduce the need for other tools by integrating other apps with ClickUp for free
• Work and communicate proactively with ClickUp's mobile app featuring an intuitive interface that is convenient for people who are on the go

Current Limitations

• App interface, views, and features can be too complex for first-time users
• Some features and views are not available for mobile view

Pricing

• ClickUp offers various pricing options depending on the number of users or members in your team
• ClickUp has a Free Forever plan that offers most of the features you need for unlimited users
• Unlimited ($5 per member/month), Business ($12 per member/month), Business Plus ($19 per member/month), Enterprise (contact sales)

Sign up for ClickUp for free, no credit card required!

2. Planable - for Social Media Collaborations

Planable is a cloud-based collaboration tool for social media teams, marketing agencies, and freelancers. Team members are able to automate published posts, post scheduling, manage content, and handle multi-user collaboration to make remote collaboration better and faster. Unlike Excel sheets, Planable gives you an overview of a content calendar while allowing you to visualize social media images making approvals and publishing easier and faster.

Looking for content calendar templates? Check out our list here!

Best Features

• Multiple timeline views to collaborate according to your project requirements and goals
• Comes with a mobile app for providing feedback and approving edits
• Offers guest sharing and separate client workspaces for external collaborations

Current Limitations

• A bit of a learning curve for social media integrations
• Lack of analytics and reporting for social media efforts
• Tagging accounts within the tool is currently not available

Pricing

• Planable offers the first 50 posts for free. 
• Paid plans with unlimited posts and an individual workspace start at $11/user. 
• Pro plans start at $22/user. Custom plans are available for large enterprises.

3. Moosend - for Email Marketing Campaigns

Moosend is a powerful work tool that can organize your marketing automation with custom-made workflows to keep your email marketing campaigns going. Anyone from small local businesses to large enterprises without digital marketers will benefit from an email marketing campaign.

Best Features

• This platform carries automation tools that allow marketers to create triggered campaigns that follow the natural flow of a user's action and recommend just the right thing at the right time
• Its interface is easy to use and intuitive
• Reporting insights are detailed with click heatmap, geolocation insights, and device information

Current Limitations

• A great improvement would be upping the number of native integrations.
• Landing page templates and signup forms can be improved

Pricing

• The tool is perfect for Fortune-500 companies, as well as SMBs. There is a free 30-day trial that includes all features - no credit card required
• The pricing tiers start at 9/month for up to 500 subscribers
• Other pro plans start at $16/month for 501-1000 subscribers. Discounts are given for annual plans

“This tool allows marketers more freedom and it's ideal for those who want to save time and resources. As an insider tip, use the ready-made workflow recipes and tweak them to your liking, for maximum results.” —Virginia Zacharaki, SEO Project Manager at Moosend

4. Miro - for Visual Collaboration

Remote workers will need reliable collaboration tools and apps for efficient communication and project management. Miro helps remote teams to brainstorm ideas and team collaboration. It’s an online whiteboard app that makes it easier to visualize concepts and solutions in real time, making it a great work app.

Best Features

• Real-time collaboration to work with asynchronous teams
• Mind maps to brainstorm ideas
• Customizable templates to get you started off on the right foot

Current Limitations

• The interface experience can be improved
• Steep learning curve for new users 
• The controls can sometimes feel clunky and slow

Pricing

• Miro offers a free plan. 
• The paid plan starts at $10/user/month ($8/user/month for annual billing).

“It’s an affordable and straightforward online whiteboard for small remote teams who deal with design thinking and creative concepts. One go-to tip is connecting with other apps or plugins that Miro integrated. Those apps and plugins are categorized by use case, so you can identify the suitable ones for you.” —Andre Oentoro, CEO and Founder at Breadnbeyond

5. ScreenRec - for Screen Capture

ScreenRec is a great work app and a great alternative to Loom. Instead of sending an email, a user can take a screenshot or record a video of their screen, voice, webcam and even computer audio. After every recording or screenshot, the user will receive a private shareable link that can be sent to anyone. What makes ScreenRec better than similar tools is that there is no lagging, no watermarks, and no limits. It does it all quickly and reliably.

Best Features

• Records voice, audio, screen and webcam
• Unlimited recording with no watermarks
• Built on top of a secure video platform

Current Limitations

• No video editing tools
• No option to pause while recording
• Five-minute time limit for video recordings

Pricing

• Free to use

Check out some of the best screen recording apps we've curated.

6. Fyle - for Expense Management

Fyle is an innovation-driven expense management software that revamps how businesses manage their expenses and credit card reconciliations. This makes it a powerful tool for Accountants and Finance teams, irrespective of whether they work in an in-office, hybrid, or remote setup. This ensures no financial leaks exist in your company, and you always close books on time.

Best Features

• Enhanced employee experience with expense tracking and reporting
• Real-time corporate credit card feeds on cards businesses already have
• Direct transaction feeds for VISA cards, Mastercard launching soon
• Fyle integrates with software like Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite

Current Limitations

• Has a bit of a learning curve
• Report generation on both web and mobile versions can be confusing

Pricing

• Standard ($4.99/active user)
• Business ($8.99/active user)
• Enterprise at custom pricing based on volume and usage

“This is something that we are really proud of - This makes us the first in the industry to provide real-time expense management on cards users already have. (Other legacy expense management software generally ask customers to switch their existing cards to their cards to avail their benefits.)" — Shruti Kesavan, Content Lead at Fyle

7. Marinara - for Productivity and Time Management

Procrastinating and getting distracted is one of the downsides of working from home. Try the Pomodoro technique of alternating work and break periods with the help of Marinara: Pomodoro Assistant. This time tracking tool helps users with time management with straightforward timers and reminders. This simple and easy to use countdown timer is made for people looking to increase their productivity with ready-to-use timers.

Best Features

• User-friendly interface that provides users with data on their time spent
• Customizable so users can adjust their timers accordingly.
• Desktop and tab notifications

Current Limitations

• Design can be improved
• Lack of integration with other websites and mobile apps

Pricing

• Free to use

“This tool is one of our favorites because it has helped me personally when it comes to doing long hours of work or big projects. Some people can work on a big project all at once, but this can drain them real quick. The Pomodoro timer helps writers work effectively by giving them breaks in between so they don’t get burnt out. I recommend using this tool for big projects or tasks that require a lot of output. It will make working on big tasks more manageable.” — Ebnu Sudarso, Co Founder of Milkwhale

8. Active Campaign - for Email Automations

Run email and sales automation campaigns in one platform with ActiveCampaign. This CRM and email marketing platform is a powerful marketing tool that will make it easier for you to run marketing campaigns. It offers features such as email automation, contact management, advanced reporting, automated lead nurturing, and more. Integrate Active Campaign with more than 800 apps and find useful tools and extensions to build your next campaign.

Best Features

• Email automation and scheduling for small, medium, and large enterprises
• Customizable automation based on customer behavior
• Efficient campaign tracking and reporting

Current Limitations

• Steep learning curve for first-time users
• Interface can be complex and intricate

Pricing

• ActiveCampaign currently does not offer any free plans
• Lite $29/month, Plus $49/month, Professional $149/month

Looking for free CRM Templates? Check out our list here!

9. Google Sheets - for Managing and Editing Data

Google Sheets is a flexible tool that can help building and collaborating easier. This online spreadsheet platform provides users with a blank yet versatile page to create and edit data. It also allows users to collaborate, view, and track changes, as well as make suggestions and comments within the documents. As a great tool for small teams or local businesses with limited resources, it will help managers with important tasks like tracking employee schedule and hours, managing customers, and more.

Best Features

• Highly customizable with creating formulas and adapting to workflow
• Online app is supported for web, iOS, and Android
• List filtering for sheets with thousands of data

Current Limitations

• Slight glitches and inconsistencies with exported excel or sheet file
• Variations with Excel formulas

Pricing

• 100% Free to use

"It's exciting for three reasons - it's Google which makes collaboration easier, it's incredibly flexible, and you can build things with it. Find a use case for yourself - it will most likely be possible. Think of a workflow or process. Think of each step it takes. Then Google it. Chances are, there's already a Google Sheets solution for that. Build from there. There are hundreds of ways for making Sheets work for you. Who knows, you might even be able to turn that into a fully-fledged SaaS!" — Jan Suski, Content & Outreach Specialist at Chilli Fruit Web Consulting

10. Canva - for Graphic Design

Canva is an online graphic design and video editing tool that is great for both beginner and experienced designers. It allows the user to create designs from existing templates for a variety of projects including marketing materials, presentations, infographics, prints, and more. 

Best Features

• Easy to use with a simple drag and drop editor
• Choose from thousands of customizable design templates and layouts
• Team members can publish and schedule social media posts for Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter directly from Canva

Current Limitations

• Limited export settings
• Offers less alignment control compared to Photoshop and Illustrator
• Edits and collaborations are limited within the Canva site

Pricing

• Canva offers a free plan.
• A subscription starts at $9.99 a month which includes access to more templates and stock photos. 

11. DocuSign - for Online Documents

Reduce the need for manual paperwork with this online document signing software. DocuSign is a safe and secure tool that allows you to legally collect signatures online. This software helps people working remotely or from home get work done faster by reducing the time spent on signing documents and agreements manually as well as minimizes the need for paperwork. DocuSign supports most types of documents and applications to help organizations connect and streamline the process of preparing, signing, and managing agreements.

Best Features

• Simple and guided document signing process with tag placements and more
• Supports any file format for signing
• Documents can be sent through email, Dropbox, Evernote, Drive Box, or OneDrive

Current Limitations

• 5MB file size limit for attaching completed documents to emails
• All DocuSign plans limit only 100 envelopes per user each year
• The process requires recipient authentication via phone which will charge an extra cost

Pricing

• DocuSign offers a free plan. 
• Individual plans start at $10 per month which includes basic features such as integrations, automated reminders & notifications, and reusable templates.
• Standard group plans start at $25 per user per month or $300 annually for up to 5 users per plan.

12. IFTTT - for Automated Tasks

IFTTT is a web-based tool that can help boost the productivity of individuals working remotely or from home by allowing them to create code-free automation for manual, time-consuming, and repetitive tasks. Simplify and streamline everyday tasks with this easy to use online digital automation platform. These automations also known as “applets” allow individuals to connect multiple tools and services to perform simple tasks.

Best Features

• IFTTT has more than 650 partner services including Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Alexa, Google, Spotify, and more
• Simple and easy-to-use automation tool for non-programmers
• Offers the ability to execute commands and automation through a smartphone

Current Limitations

• Multistep applets are available for paid subscription only
• The activity section has more room for better organization and improvements
• Applets are limited to only one dependency

Pricing

• A limited free version is available for individuals. 
• Pro subscription starts at $3.99.
•  A developer version that offers API creators access to IFTTT’s ecosystem is also available for $199 a year.

13. Day One - for Daily Journals

Day One is an online journaling application. It features a simple and straightforward way of journaling. Record and log important events and milestones with this app. Day One gives you a free writing space with an option to add photos, videos, and audio files. The entries are searchable by type, text, and date for better organization. It has an easy to use interface to help you log important information for both personal and professional use. The app offers helpful prompts that help you consistently log regular entries.

Best Features

• Simple yet organized interface to log daily journal entries and other records
• Calendar view gives you an overview of previous entries 
• App automatically adds information such as time, weather, and location to journal entries

Current Limitations

• Paid features and integrations like Instagram importer and drawing functions are available for iOS devices
• The free version is limited to one daily entry with one photo 

Pricing

• Day One is a free app that offers a premium subscription for $2.92/month.

14. Calendly - for Scheduling Meetings

Schedule meetings without the trouble of looking through everyone’s calendar with Calendly. This online scheduling automation platform helps individuals and teams prepare and schedule external meetings online. The platform reduces the time spent on planning meetings by providing options that will cater to the preference of the hosts and invitees. 

Calendly can help teams working remotely plan meetings faster by reducing the need to check individual availability and schedules. This intuitive scheduling platform helps individuals achieve professional and business goals through better communication that builds relationships between various parties.

Best Features

• Avoid excess email exchanges with real-time intelligent multi-person scheduling 
• Allows customers or invitees to reschedule meetings
• Offers the option to block out specific dates or time slots for privacy

Current Limitations

• Features and other settings are not available all under one page
• Syncing with other calendars such as Google and Outlook can be improved
• Lack of response from customer support

Pricing

• Calendly offers various pricing levels as well as a free version. 
• Premium plans are offered for small teams and enterprises. 
• Individual plans start at $10/seat per month. Professional plans with more integrations start at $15/seat per month.

15. Krisp - for Noise Cancellation

Remote meetings and calls can be a struggle for individuals working remotely. Krisp is an AI-powered solution that helps remove background noise for a clear and distraction free virtual meeting. The tool’s background noise cancellation helps reduce various noises that can distract you and other people in your meetings. Stay focused and improve your overall meeting experience by reducing distractions or unwanted noise with this noise & echo canceling app. 

Best Features

• Keep track and monitor your calls with features like call summary and meeting insights
• Supports any device, headset, microphone, and speaker
• Easy setup with most used communication apps such as Zoom, Slack, Skype, Teams, Google Meet, and more

Current Limitations

• Incompatibility with certain devices 
• Does not offer a mobile app or version
• A slight learning curve for adjusting speaker and microphone settings

Pricing

• Free account is provided 90 minutes of noise and background noise cancellation per day.
• Unlimited plans start at $8/month for two devices per user. Business plan starts at $10/month.

16. Ubindi - for Online Classes and Trainings

Ubindi is simple software for independent instructors or teachers. Companies and employers with remote workers can efficiently handle training and workshops with the help of this software. This booking and administrative system offers an all-in-one solution for instructors handling classes which provides assistance with class bookings, scheduling, payments, attendance, client management, website integration and more. These features make allows attendees or students to sign up for available classes on the instructor’s schedule. Ubindi also provides instructors support for in-person classes with attendance taking and insights.

Best Features

• Can offer monthly subscriptions to clients
• Integrates with Zoom easily
• Provides students access to recordings in a video library

Current Limitations

• Lack of customization features
• Software currently doesn’t offer notifications for upcoming classes

Pricing

• Free if managing less than 50 students
• The unlimited version is $10/month. Ubindi also takes 2% transaction fees from payments.

Stay Productive with Work Apps While Working Remotely or at the Office

Improve employee experience and productivity by providing the perfect tool and solution. With so many tools and work applications available to help remote workers stay productive, it can be overwhelming to use everything at once. Despite having these tools at your disposal, using too many at once may not help you stay productive at all. 

Choose a work app that you can integrate easily with your current workflow and process while staying organized as well as having everything in one place. 

ClickUp is an all-in-one project management tool that offers various productivity tools and customization features to improve your overall workflow. You'll absolutely love how this project and team management tool will help employees and remote workers get the job done and avoid a busy schedule despite the distractions of working remote. It also provides other features to each team member to collaborate, track time, and manage documents. Try ClickUp for free today!

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