We've all been there - staring blankly at a never-ending to-do list and feeling like we're trapped in a never-ending cycle of chaos. But what if we told you there's a way out? A way to conquer that to-do list and actually enjoy a fulfilling day?
Enter the world of daily planner apps. These little gems have the power to help you get things done. On-time. Without losing your peace of mind, or any time organizing and chasing your daily tasks.
But with so many options out there, how do you choose the right one for you? We've got you covered. We've scoured the internet, tried and tested a ton of apps, and narrowed down the best of the best, including one that’ll make you go "Why didn't I discover this sooner?"
Each of these apps has been thoroughly evaluated for their effectiveness and ease of use. Browse through the list of the 6 best daily planner apps in 2023 and pick the one that works best for you.
For those looking for a quick summary of the best daily planner apps, here's a Tl;dr version.
Tl;dr. Get a Quick Overview of 5 Daily Planner App Suited for Busy Professionals
Now that you have a brief overview of the top apps let's dive deeper into each one to see what sets them apart and what each one has to offer.
6 Best Daily Planner Apps for 2023
Sunsama
Sunsama is a daily planning app for busy professionals who have too much to keep track of. It offers a unified view of things you need to do by pulling in tasks from apps like Trello/Asana, emails from Gmail/Outlook, and meetings from your calendar. Sunsama is designed for users to have calm work days that they can repeat, and be productive in the long term, sustainably.
Features:
Timeboxing: Sunsama encourages you to schedule tasks on your calendar and estimate the time needed for each task. It also allows you to track the actual time spent on each task and compare it with the estimated time, helping you plan better and be more realistic with your time management.
Daily Planning & Shutdown Guide:
Sunsama offers a Daily Planning feature that helps you identify what's most important for the day and what can wait, while the Daily Shutdown Routine helps you prepare for the next day's tasks so you can hit the ground running. It works like a journal, where you can review and plan your tasks in the morning and evening.
Focus mode to stay on track: When you begin a task, a minimalistic white screen opens up with only your task and subtasks listed, helping you to focus on one thing at a time. The app also reminds you when a new task is scheduled to start, so you can shift your focus without worrying about losing track of time.
Time tracking: At the end of the week, Sunsama breaks down the time spent on each task or project into a pie chart, so you can see how much time you spent on what you thought was important and where you should cut back.
Get an Inside Look: A Video Review of Sunsama
Capterra Rating: 4.6 (17)
"This software is brilliant. For someone who has many tasks a day, it helps to prioritize, track time estimates, click and move tasks on day and week and month." ~Capterra Review
Pricing:
- Free trial for 14 days
- Starting at $16/month when paid annually, $20/month when paid monthly
- When someone is added to your Sunsama workspace, they will be added to your plan, and your monthly bill will be updated automatically.
Todoist
Todoist is an app that allows you to create tasks, set reminders, and schedule them for different times and days. You can also organize tasks into projects and sub-tasks and use labels and filters to prioritize and categorize tasks.
Features:
Monitor your progress: Todoist has a feature called "Productivity tracking," which tracks your completed tasks and gives you a score based on the number of tasks completed and the time spent on them. It helps you to track your progress and set goals.
Perfect for personal use and small teams: Todoist has a clean and minimalist design that makes it easy to use and navigate. With a focus on task management, it's perfect for personal use and for small teams.
Location-based reminder for forgetful folks: Todoist allows you to set reminders based on your location, so you can be reminded of tasks when you reach a specific location. For example, you can set a reminder to buy groceries when you are near the grocery store. This feature is available for both iOS and Android.
A Video Review of Todoist: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
"Todoist was my to-do list tool for more than 9 years. Now, after 1 year, I've settled in with Sunsama for planning and organizing my daily task list." ~ Francesco - host of the Keep Productive YouTube channel
Check out why he chose Sunsama over Todoist:
Pricing:
- Free: Basic features, up to 5 active projects
- Premium: $5/mo or $48/yr, all features, up to 300 active projects
- Business: $8/user/mo or $72/user/yr, team collaboration and admin features, up to 500 projects/user
Trello
Trello is a popular task management tool that uses a kanban board system to visualize and organize tasks. A kanban board is a visual representation of work, with columns that represent different stages of a project or task.
Features:
Better visibility with Kanban board: It allows you to see the status of tasks at a glance, making it easy to identify what needs to be done and who is responsible for it. It's a great way to prioritize work.
Collaboration for teams: Trello allows for easy collaboration with team members. You can add members to boards, assign tasks, and leave comments on cards. You can also get notifications when someone makes a change to a card or board you're a part of.
Automation to save time: It also offers automation features like creating rules that automatically move cards to different lists based on specific criteria and creating custom fields to add extra information to your cards. This helps to streamline workflows and save time.
See Trello in Action in this Video Review
Capterra Rating: 4.5 (22301)
"The features that allow shared accountability and ease of access/data sharing and management make this a big win for remote work." ~ Capterra Review
Pricing:
- Free: Basic features, up to 10 team boards
- Standard: $6/user/mo or $60/user/yr
- Premium: $12.5/user/mo or $120/user/yr, added security and administrative features, unlimited team boards
ClickUp
Features:
Flexible views that suit you: ClickUp allows you to view your tasks and schedule in multiple ways, including calendar, list, and Gantt chart views, Kanban view, and 12 more such views. This allows you to track your progress and manage your workload in a way that works best for you.
Time tracking for billing: This app has a built-in time tracking feature that allows you to track the amount of time spent on tasks, which can be helpful for project management and billing.
Goal setting for individuals and teams: It allows you to set and track goals, which can be helpful for both personal and team use. You can set goals at different levels, like personal, team, and company levels, and align your tasks to make progress toward them.
Expert Reviews: Watch a Break Down of ClickUp in this In-Depth Video Review
Capterra Rating: 4.7 (3530)
"ClickUp is a great tool for small and mid-sized marketing teams to keep all their projects organized. The best and most important feature we use is custom properties." ~ Capterra Review
Pricing:
- Free: Basic features, up to 100MB storage
- Unlimited: $5/user/mo or $9/user/mo (billed annually), all features, unlimited storage
- Business: $9/user/mo or $8/user/mo (billed annually), added security and administrative features, advanced integrations
Any.do
Any. do is a personal task list manager app. Simple, easy to use, and you can add notes and attachments and even color code your priorities.
Features:
Suggestions for proactive planning: Any.do also has a feature called "Smart Suggestions," which suggests tasks to you based on your past actions, and it also reminds you of tasks that are overdue or that are coming up soon.
Easy decision-making with prioritization: It allows you to prioritize your tasks by adding labels and color-coding, this way, you can easily identify what needs to be done first. You can also set reminders for tasks to make sure you don't miss anything important.
Adding tasks on the move: It syncs across all your devices (phone, web app, desktop app), so you can access your tasks and schedule from anywhere and always stay on top of what needs to be done.
Any.do is great for managing daily tasks, but it's a bit limited when it comes to planning ahead. You can only schedule up to seven days in advance.
Get an Inside Look: A Video Review of Any.do
Capterra Rating: 4.4 (154)
"There is a sync feature to help me work from everywhere. It's fun and helpful when I receive a notification on my phone, reminding me of a task I created a different gadget some time ago." ~ Capterra Review
Pricing:
- Personal: Free Forever, no credit card required
- Premium: $3/mo, billed annually. Added features such as location-based reminders and recurring tasks
- Teams: $5/mo, billed annually. Comes with added collaboration and administrative features
Twproject
Twproject is a project management app with a special focus on time tracking.
Its system is flexible and customizable: since projects in different fields have a different approach to the workflow, this tool takes into account all different needs in time tracking activity.
Twproject provides a solution suitable for multiple work styles and helps teams not run into internal resistance and have greater control over performed work. It offers different ways for time recording:
From the timesheet: a detailed entry method, that allows team members to see the total list of their assignments and record hours spent on each of them.
From the time counter: it is also possible to select the assignment and start a stopwatch, from the main dashboard or from the dedicated link in the main menu. From the moment the tool is activated, it will start counting the time even when browsing other pages and can be stopped at any time.
From to-do list: at the closure of each to-do, but also during ongoing processes, workers can add the hours worked, while the description will automatically be pre-filled with the description of the to-do itself.
Watch a short video on the management of worklogs with Twproject
Capterra Rating: 4.9 (16)
"Complete and flexible project management software solution for small and large teams. Twproject helps project managers and teams keep projects under control.” ~ Capterra Review
Pricing:
- Basic: up to 20 users, €4.89/user/mo (billed annually)
- Advanced: up to 40 users, €7.89/user/mo (billed annually)
- Enterprise: no users limit, €12.89/user/mo (billed annually)
Choose What's Best For YOU
When it comes to selecting a planner, it's important to focus on what suits your specific needs. Don't just choose what's considered the "best" in the market, but rather consider what will help you achieve your goals and boost your productivity, without burning you out. These apps are more than just a fancy to-do list; they are a tool to help you make the most of your time with ease. So go ahead, give them a try and find the perfect fit for you.
If you want to start with an app that helps you focus, and build habits that help you stay organized and productive, try Sunsama. Whether you're trying to manage your personal time, keep your team on track, or conquer work projects, Sunsama has got you covered. Give it a try for 14 days for free. No credit card is required to sign up.
