Top 5 free task manager platforms for all your needs

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.

2. 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. 

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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. 

Feature	Approveit	Week	Todoist	Trello	Microsoft 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	Yes	Limited	Yes
Deadlines	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reminders	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Filters	Yes	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes
Comments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Attachments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited
Documentation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Creating Boards	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Dragging cards	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Analytics	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited
Integration with Apps	Yes	Limited	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. 

	Approveit	Weeek	Todoist	Trello	Microsoft To Do
Free plan features	1 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.