The 8 Best Android Productivity Apps of 2024

Dr. Jody Muelander is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire who's writing has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and aerospace industry reports.

• Best Apps
• Payment Services

Whether you use Android to get work done on the move or to organize and plan, discover the best Android productivity apps. Task-specific tools include word processors and document scanners, while organizational aids help you to plan tasks, schedule, and keep notes. Here are the best Android apps to organize your projects and get things done when you're on the move.

The Official Outlook Solution for Android: Outlook

• Access email and calendar.
• Works with Exchange server.

• No tasks.
• No notes.
• Requires a Microsoft service to sync calendar.

Outlook for Android aims to provide a more streamlined Outlook experience than the full PC version. If all you need is email and calendar and you sync via an Exchange Server, then this is ideal for you.

Free Cloud-Based Word Processing on Android: Google Docs

• Tight integration with Android.
• Great for working on collaborative documents.

• No auto-numbered captions.
• No cross-references to captions.
• Missing basic word processing functionality.

If you need a basic word processor, Google Docs can do a good job. However, don’t expect it to replace Microsoft Word. Docs isn’t suitable for producing large complex documents, as it lacks features like captions and cross-references. Also, unlike Word for Android, you can’t edit equations in the Android version.

Best Free Personal Organizer App: DejaOffice

• Access all your Outlook data.
• Today widget to view upcoming appointments.
• Shortcuts to edit specific memos.
• Shortcuts to call favorite contacts.

• Paying to sync our data.
• Extra cost for cloud sync.

DejaOffice has many different widgets that can be used to view important summaries of information directly on your home screen, as well as shortcuts straight to a particular function of the app.

One of the most useful of these is the Today widget, which places a list of upcoming appointments on your home screen. You can also create a shortcut that takes you from the home screen straight into editing any memo.

Best Free Cloud Calendar for Android: Google Calendar

• Sync to built-in Android Calendar app.
• Includes tasks.
• Integrates with Google Assistant.
• Simple and clean interface.

• No task categories makes GTD difficult.
• Notes aren’t integrated.

Google’s own Calendar app is best integrated with Android. If all you need is a basic calendar and task list, it’s a great choice, but it has far fewer features than Outlook, which may be an issue.

One key weakness is the lack of categories for tasks. However, integration with Google Assistant is nice, meaning you can say “Hey Google” and ask things like “When’s my first meeting today?” or “Where’s my next event?” You can also ask the assistant to schedule and add events.

Best Android Productivity App to Edit Word Documents: Word

• Interface that works on small screens.
• Sync documents with OneDrive or Dropbox.
• Edit styles and equations.
• Preserves as captions and cross-references.

• Track Changes isn’t reliable.
• You can’t add captions and cross references.

If you need to open and edit Word documents on the move, the official Microsoft Word for Android app is the best option. It has a simple interface that intuitively gives access to the most important features for creating and editing documents, and you can even write complex equations in the mobile app, provided you can write in LaTeX.

A common use for Word for Android is to review documents received by email. This is where the app has some issues. Although it has a Track Changes option, it doesn’t always work reliably.

Best Scanner App for Android: CamScanner

• Very easy to use.
• Corrects alignment and perspective.
• Recognizes text (OCR).
• Can sync documents with Evernote, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive.

• Lots of pop-ups in free version.
• Need to pay for sync.
• Need to pay for OCR.

CamScanner provides a convenient way to quickly scan paper documents, whiteboards, and receipts using your phone, almost completely removing the need to keep paper documents.

For this to work in an ideal manner, the scanning process needs to be quick and easy. Maybe even more importantly, documents need to be filed in a trusted and easily accessible location, meaning you need to pay to sync files to your preferred cloud storage.

Cloud-Based Notes: Google Keep

• Simple visual note taking.
• Create reusable checklists.
• Set reminders by time or location.

• Not integrated with Google Assistant.
• Locations must be a single location.

Notes in Google Keep look like post-it notes, but you can do a lot with them, including adding sketches, photos, and lists. Like most Google apps, everything is stored in the cloud and can be easily accessed from a PC using a web browser.

You can also set reminders, either by time or location, but Keep isn’t fully integrated with other Google apps in a way that truly capitalizes on Keep. For example, integration with Google Maps could allow location reminders to be set to any grocery store, instead of only a single location. What’s even more surprising is Google Assistant can’t be set to take and save notes in Keep.

Best Productivity App to Make Checklists: Listing it!

• Create reusable checklists.
• Hierarchies with many layers.
• Simple text import and export.

• No cloud sync.

Listing it! is convenient and flexible, with powerful import and export features, while being quick and easy to use. You can create standard lists for your groceries or pack for an overnight trip, for example, then quickly check off what you've already finished and move on to what you still need to do.

You can import and export lists using simple text files, meaning you can easily back up lists or create them using a spreadsheet.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

Hit Refresh on Your Tech News

• About Us
• Privacy Policy
• Editorial Guidelines
• Terms of Service
• Careers
• Advertise
• Contact
• EU Privacy

We Care About Your Privacy

We and our 100 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to provide:

Store and/or access information on a device. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners (vendors)