Talking about personal productivity might seem like a dry topic, but it's more relevant than ever. 

The term productivity itself, can mean a range of different things... and while our list is not exhaustive, we've provided a list with recommendations to enhance different areas of your daily life. 

The best iOS productivity apps can go beyond squeezing more tasks into your day, or boosting efficiency. They aim to simplify your life in some way - whether it's helping you sleep, remember passwords, or managing your to-do list, these apps can make these processes smoother and less time-consuming.

In this article, we'll explore top productivity iOS apps (from our opinion!) that are worth adding into your productivity systems. 

The 14 best iOS productivity apps 

​Splitwise is really great for tracking and splitting expenses with family and friends, and removing the headache and need to track IOUs. 

​1Password will remember all your passwords for you, so you don't have to. 

​Llama Life will help you work through your to do list by breaking down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. Plus it's bright, colourful, and fun to use. 

Todoist is great for managing all of your to-do lists across multiple areas of your life across work, home and beyond. 

​Sectograph is a visual day planner for visual people, who love a good pie chart.​

​Day One  makes daily journalling an easy and enjoyable experience.  

YNAB (You Need A Budget) is a friendly and flexible method for managing your finances. 

​Fantastical will help you manage your calendar and events seamlessly. ​

Triage will gamify inbox management. By swiping left or right, you'll quickly get a hold of that ever growing inbox. 

​Streaks will help you form good habits. 

Dumbify will declutter your home screen and minimize screen time.

​Walkr has an out of this world approach to helping you increase your daily steps. 

Seven helps you to focus on your physical health in short exercise sessions.​

Sleeptown will help you focus on your sleep by gamifying it - you'll build houses when you hit your set goals, which get knocked down when you don't. ​

What makes an iOS app great? 

What makes any app or platform, or any tool that you use for that matter, great? The same principals apply here. 

Firstly, it needs to add value to your life by using it. 

It needs to help simplify something that can be complicated for you, remind you of things you may forget, speed up a process that may take you a long time, or help support you where you need.

It needs to be easy for you to use, not overwhelm you! And you should be able to personalize it for your preferences if needed. 

​Splitwise​

Travelling with friends? Tracking costs and who owes who, can become such a headache. Splitwise will remove the stress of group expenses so you can enjoy your holiday instead. 

  • Free version available
  • Pro version - Monthly plan $3.99 p/m or Annual plan $39.99 (AUD)

​1Password 

Who can remember passwords for everything these days? Nope, not us. Using 1Password removes the stress of having to remember passwords and passcodes across multiple devices. 

  • 14 day free trial 
  • A range of plans available depending on your needs. Plans start at $2.99 USD per month 

​Llama Life 

Llama Life is a productivity and focus tool that's designed to help you work through your to-do list. It has a range of features which target the reasons why your list keeps growing - your tasks may be too big, you're distracted, or you don't know where to start. 

It has a simple, whimsical design with lots of colors, emojis and dopamine, to help you work through your task list with less stress, and more fun. 

  • Free 3 day trial, no credit card needed 
  • iOS and desktop web
  • Annual plan $39 
  • Monthly plan $6 p/m 

Todoist 

Todoist is a task manager which provides a space for all of your to-do lists. You can create projects, share your tasks with others, add reminders, and more! 

  • Free version available
  • Pro plan starts from $6 p/m 

​Sectograph 

Sectograph is a daily planner that provides a different way to view your day. If you're a big fan of pie charts, then this app is for you. For some, viewing how their day is broken up on a pie chart, can help see time more clearly. 

  • $5.99 
  • Family sharing available

​Day One  

Day One is a beautiful app which makes journaling each day a delightful experience. It feels simple to use, but can bring your journal entries to life with more than just words including images, videos and even handwriting. 

  • Free plan available 
  • Pro Annual plan $34.99 

YNAB (You Need A Budget) 

Being able to manage your finances well, will help to reduce stress! And therefore, improve productivity. Imagine your life without wondering how or where, you're spending your money? YNAB is a tool that comes highly recommended from our community!

  • Available for Web, Mobile - iOS (iPhone and iPad) & Android, Apple Watch and Alexa by Amazon
  • Try for free for 34 days 
  • Can share one subscription across 6 people 
  • Monthly plan $14.99 paid monthly 
  • Annual plan $99 paid yearly 

​Fantastical 

There are many calendar apps available out there! Fantastical works across all your Apple devices, ensuring all of your events and tasks stay in sync. It also has a Focus Filter and a large rang of widgets. 

  • 14 days free trial 
  • Individual plan starts at $8.34 p/m 

Triage 

Triage is first aid for your inbox! Quickly swipe left to archive, swipe right to keep, or to create your own custom work flow. Managing your inbox will hopefully not feel as much as a chore. 

  • Free version available 
  • Annual subscription $14.49

​Streaks 


Streaks is an app designed to help you form good habits, as well as avoid bad ones. With every day that you complete a task, you'll extend your streak. You can start streaks across 24 different activities from walking your dog, exercising, to reading. 

  • Free version available 
  • Monthly plan $4.99 p/m

Dumbify 

Dumbify is a minimalist home screen launcher for iPhone. It's mission is to help reduce your screen time down by simplifying your home screen. You can personalize which apps are most important to you, and show those in a clean launcher on your home screen.

  • $4.99 to download 

Walkr 

Walkr is a mix of a fitness game and an adventure game which keeps track of the steps as players walk around. It then uses those steps to move players around the game universe, with a goal to help players reach 10,000 steps per day.

  • Free to download 
  • In app purchases from $1.99 

Seven

Set your personal fitness goal, and Seven will help make getting fit easier, with short and sweet personalized exercise sessions. Create a habit of working out with a large range of exercises available, whilst competing with friends for additional support. 

  • Free version available
  • Seven Club membership starting at $7.49

Sleeptown

Sleeptown is a fun, engaging, and simple way to create healthier sleep habits. When you achieve your bedtime and wake-up goals, you'll construct buildings - up to your own village! 

  • $2.99 to download 

There are a plethora of iOS apps available out there to help improve productivity across all areas of your life - give these a go and let us know your thoughts! And your recommendations. 

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