Top 5 free task manager platforms for all your needs

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  • Project management
  • 7 min read

Task management is vital for productivity and business efficiency. Task management apps have transformed the way individuals and teams work by enabling users to track and analyze workload, plan and prioritize tasks, set deadlines, delegate responsibilities, and ensure transparent processes. 

In this article, we will compare five popular free task manager apps, evaluating their features, usability, and overall effectiveness.

Our choices

  1. Approveit 

It is a workflow automation software designed initially for approval automation, but evolving rapidly towards a full-scale BPMA platform. Task management is the latest edition to this platform’s functionality and is accessible for free to all teams regardless of the number of seats or task volume. 

Approveit provides a comprehensive feature block for managing tasks:                                                                     

  • creating separate task boards for each department or specific projects;
  • notifications 
  • working right from Slack or Microsoft Teams;
  • task status updates;
  • reminders
  • watchers 
  • task filtering and prioritization

The most curious feature is automatic task creation upon approval of the intake form. Sounds a bit complex, so let’s take a closer look at it. 

In Approveit, the core feature is approval workflows. There’s an intake form one fills in and submits for approval, and it automatically is routed through the pre-set approval flow. 

Once the request is approved, it often requires an action. For example, paying the approved bill, registering an approved contract or sending an approved quote. 

Approveit can create these tasks automatically without you having to manually dig into it. Automatic tasks are assigned to pre-selected group of users, and the first one to respond would be the assignee of the task. 

Approveit integrates task management effortlessly into Slack or Microsoft Teams, allowing you to manage your projects right from messengers.

Approveit platform is effective for organizations that require a structured approach to project management that incorporates approval process, ensuring accountability and compliance as well as timely task completion.

  1. Weeek 

Сomprehensive task management tool that offers daily and weekly planning features. It allows teams to work with multiple projects for different departments in separate workspaces. Users can create subtasks with various details and attachments. 

The platform also includes a knowledge base, flexible configuration of notifications by email, Telegram, Slack, internal CRM (a system for working with small volumes of customers, allowing to visualize the number of transactions at stages and link them with tasks and documents), and analytics for tracking workload

Weeek is effective for personal task management and includes various built-in tools like a calendar, kanban board, Pomodoro timer (method helping to divide working time into a period of focused work and rest, allowing to adjust any time intervals), and hotkeys. 

Weeek suits small and medium-sized teams and is rather versatile. 

  1. Todoist 

A free task tracker with a focus on easy task entry and reminders for timely completion. It offers features like smart text recognition (after entering the details of the task, this feature automatically determines the deadlines, labels, and projects to which the task should be added), recurring deadlines, and priority levels. The platform has a gamified interface that rewards users for completing tasks and motivates productivity. Users can leave comments, attach files, and track task progress. Todoist has multilingual support, file sharing capabilities, and syncs with Google Drive, Dropbox, and Slack. It lacks a Kanban board and Gantt chart (a tool for visualizing tasks, their duration, and dependencies over time). 

Todoist is a versatile task manager suitable for individuals and teams looking for comprehensive features and integration options.

  1. Trello 

A popular service for organizing work with projects and tasks using kanban boards with cards. It is suitable for small teams and is easy to learn and use. Trello is designed for creating and managing projects, assigning tasks, setting deadlines, and adding comments and descriptions to tasks. It supports notifications, importing files, and comes with a variety of ready-made templates for different activities. 

Advantages of Trello include visual progress display on kanban boards, a calendar for daily and weekly planning, the ability to archive tasks (remove task from view without deleting it), and receive notifications via email and Telegram.

  1. Microsoft To Do  

A user-friendly task management tool that seamlessly integrates with various Microsoft services (Outlook, OneNote and others), providing access to additional features and capabilities for users within the Microsoft ecosystem. This integration allows for a cohesive workflow across various Microsoft platforms, making it an excellent choice for individuals and teams already utilizing Microsoft products. With Microsoft To Do, users can easily create, organize, and prioritize tasks, set due dates, create subtasks, and receive reminders. 

However, the downside of Microsoft services is in their reliability. There’s possible downtime you have to account for when choosing a platform for yourself. 

Let’s compare! 

The basic functionality of task manager platforms is approximately the same: set tasks, assign responsible people, specify deadlines, record the time spent, and automate notifications for important events. Let see a comparison table of above mentioned apps listing their main and standout features. 

FeatureApproveitWeekTodoistTrelloMicrosoft To Do
Setting and tracking tasks  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Subtasks No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Assigning responsibilities Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Prioritization Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Visual Representation of tasks Yes (Boards)Limited No Yes (Boards) No
Time Blocking of Tasks No Yes No No Yes
Tasks lists Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Calendar integration Yes Yes YesLimited Yes
Deadlines Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reminders Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Filters YesLimited Yes Yes Yes
Comments Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Attachments Yes Yes Yes YesLimited
Documentation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Creating Boards Yes No No Yes No
Dragging cards Yes No No Yes No
Analytics Yes Yes Yes YesLimited
Integration with Apps YesLimited Yes Yes Yes

Task management tools come in all different shapes and sizes, and the costs, too.  Let see also a  pricing comparison including packages offered for free. 

 ApproveitWeeekTodoistTrelloMicrosoft To Do
Free plan features1 approval workflow

20 approval requests per month

3 task boards

Unlimited users

Unlimited tasks

Unlimited storage

Unlimited history

Assignees & due dates

Automatic tasks

iOS and Android mobile apps

Integration with Slack and Microsoft Teams

5 members in team

Unlimited storage

Project and document templates in the Knowledge base

Up to 7 projects

5 boards in project

Up to 100 documents in the Knowledge Base

Up to 3 funnels in CRM

Built-in pomodoro timer
5 personal projects

Smart quick add

Flexible list & board layouts

3 filter views

1 week activity history

Integrate email and calendar
Unlimited cards
Up to 10 boards per Workspace

Unlimited Power-Ups per board

Unlimited storage (10MB/file)

250 Workspace command runs per month

Custom backgrounds & stickers

Unlimited activity log

Assignee and due dates

iOS and Android mobile apps
– Free plan available with basic task management features
– Included with Microsoft 365 subscription, which starts at $5 per user per month, billed annually, and includes access to Microsoft To Do along with other Microsoft apps and services

Overall, the implementation of task management applications leads to improved effectiveness and efficiency in work, enhances time and resource management, and promotes better organization and synchronization of team efforts. These tools become indispensable helpers in achieving goals and managing tasks of any complexity.

Each task manager app offers unique features and benefits, catering to different user needs and preferences. Weeek is great for weekly planning, Todoist is ideal for general task management, Trello excels in project organization, Microsoft To Do integrates well with Microsoft services, and Approveit is perfect for managing approvals and tasks in a structured manner. Depending on your specific requirements, the scope of activity, the needs of the team for task management and preferences, you can choose the tool that best suits your workflow. 

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