Task management is most effective when the software supporting it is reliable and flexible. One reason to use open source products is that you can customize them for your own purposes.
The following free and open-source personal task-management programs can help you stay on top of your work:
- Nozbe
Nozbe has been one of the leaders in providing task management solutions to organisations and professionals. It provides nearly all the major tools for task management, such as sharing projects and updates with the team, delegating tasks, attach comments and documents to tasks etc.
Features
- Multi device access
Nozbe tool can be accessed from different devices such as desktop, tablets and mobile phones
- Supports collaboration
Nozbe free task management software allows collaboration between different team members through shared project lists and with guest users.
- Integration with third party apps
This open source task management software supports integration with third party apps such as Google calendar, Drive, Dropbox etc.
- Enhanced communication between team members
With Nozbe task management system, team members can effectively communicate with one another through integrated chat and email.
- Improved support services
This task management tool provides round the clock customer support available via email.
Premium Features
Premium version of Nozbe is available. It offers the option of adding accounts for upto 100 people and unlimited storage.
Premium Pricing
The price of Nozbe project tracking software starts from ₹2169.24 per month.
Pros
- Easy to synchronise tasks from your Dropbox, Google Calendar and Evernote accounts.
- It lets you attach files by task, create groups, etc.
- This online task management tool helps in dealing with incoming tasks, prioritising, managing, and getting them done on time and effectively.
Cons
Sometimes, if you add a task to ‘Project’, it may not be added to the ‘Inbox’ unless you flag it as priority.
- OpenProject
OpenProject is one of the leading open source project management software which allows all members of a team to share their progress and timelines. With shared timelines, one can unleash the creativity and expertise of the team in an enhanced manner, thus supporting better collaboration.
Features
- Detailed project planning
This best task management software lets you plan the schedule of project deliverables
- Project roadmap
This feature of OpenProject open source task management software shares project progress with stakeholders and collects their feedback.
- Suitable for quick completion of projects
This to do list software provides tools such as scrum for quick completion of projects as well as recording user feedback in quick fashion.
- Bug recognition
The best free task management software helps QA teams and testers to efficiently identify bugs present in the source code.
- Creation of custom reports
This best task management software creates custom reports detailing project insights, resources allocated to a project etc.
Premium features
OpenProject premium version offers features such as hosting of cloud services on your servers, intelligent workflows and powerful search options.
Premium pricing
The price of OpenProject’s premium version starts from ₹439.19 per user per month.
Pros
- OpenProject is a visual best offers you tools such as the Gantt chart to organise your projects.
- You can manage your tasks as well as share documents and reports from this open source task management software.
- The software provides step-by-step assistance throughout the course of projects from conception and initiation to project closure.
Cons
Some users might find the open source software lacking in functions and tools.
- Do It Tomorrow
If you need a simple online to-do list, then Do It Tomorrow is the free task management software for you. With just two panels, one for today and the other for tomorrow; it is the perfect tool to manage personal tasks and resolve daily checklists.
Features
- Intuitive interface
This best task management software has an easy to use interface to schedule tasks for today and tomorrow.
- Checking off tasks
Using this online task manager, you can check off tasks one by one as you complete them and even delete tasks.
- Easy sync with web version
You can keep a tab on your to do list all the time by syncing it with the to do list software’s web version.
- Widget showing remaining tasks
This best free task management software has a dedicated widget listing tasks left for today.
- Multi device access
This best task management software works equally well on Android and iOS devices.
Premium Features
Premium features of this app are available for iPad users, which include better sync compatibility.
Premium Pricing
Premium version of this task management app incurs a one-time payment of ₹373.26.
Pros
- It is one of the most basic and easy to understand task managers.
- Do It Tomorrow can schedule your tasks daily.
- It is optimal for personal use and managing your own tasks.
Cons
Lack of proper customer support if the app encounters a bug.
- Toodledo
Toodledo is one of the most popular online task management tools available in the market. With Toodledo, you will be able to manage your work list, insert notes, monitor habits, and organise ideas with the help of lists.
Features:
- Organise projects into folders
With this free task management software, you can organise your to do list into folders. You have the option of hiding your folders from other team members.
- Automatically repeat tasks
Using this open source task management software, you can automatically repeat tasks on specific dates customized by you.
- Notification and alerts
This task management system gives timely reminders about pending tasks in a day through SMS, emails, pop ups, etc.
- Setting up of goals
Using this task management tool, you can set short term and long-term goals and monitor how your daily task list helps in the achievement of these goals.
- Free time utilization
If you have some free time and don’t know what to do, log into Toodledo project tracking software and it will tell you the best ways to use your time.
Premium features
Premium version of Toodledo is available which offers multiple collaborators, addition of unlimited items to list and full access to past tasks.
Premium pricing: Toodledo task management software price starts from ₹223.91 per month.
Pros
- Toodledo provides an estimated execution time for each task.
- It allows you to create the checklist for your team in order of importance or priority.
- You can keep work-related tasks separate from personal items.
Cons
Some users might find the functionality of its mobile app limited compared to web app versions.
- Podio
Podio, as a free task management software has an intuitive and friendly interface that allows you to manage personal and professional tasks seamlessly. Podio helps managers track progress of multiple projects under one platform.
Features of Podio
- Visualization and customized reports
By using this task management system, you can design the workflow as per your business need and even obtain detailed reports to track progress.
- Integration with third party apps
Podio online task manager offers seamless integration with apps such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Zendesk etc.
- Enhanced support services
Podio to do list software provides fast paced and quality support service to all your grievances.
- Mobile device compatibility
Podio is one of the best free task management software, which works seamlessly on Android and iOS devices.
- Better task management
This best task management software converts complex workflows into easily manageable tasks.
Premium features
Podio offers a premium version of its free task management software, which includes features like automated workflows, interactive dashboard and no cap on external users.
Premium Pricing
Podio premium version is priced at ₹539.17 per month.
Pros
- This task tracking software allows you to share files easily.
- It also lets you unify the contents and conversations of the members of your team.
- Podio has an app marketplace, where users can access user friendly modules.
Cons
Some users might run into difficulties while setting up the software.
- OmniPlan
OmniPlan is one of the most interactive task management tools with more than a hundred tools to assist teams and individuals. OmniPlan free task management software provides the option of keeping certain tasks private and accessible only to you. The best task management software is available for use in multiple languages.
Features
- Tracking team members
Managers using OmniPlan free task management software can monitor performance of various team members working on different projects
- Gantt diagram
OmniPlan provides Gantt diagram visualization feature that provides visual tools for execution of different tasks in a project.
- Easy delegation
Using OmniPlan to do list software, managers can easily delegate tasks among team members
- Enhanced functionalities
You can set time requirements such as due date and milestones for each project.
- Monte Carlo simulation
Monte Carlo simulation helps you set realistic deadlines for extensive projects.
Premium features
Premium features of OmniPlan include a dashboard with multi-project functionality, Omni automation and better analysis and support.
Premium Pricing
Price of OmniPlan’s premium version starts from ₹1496.94 per month.
Pros
- It allows you to manage projects from the IOS environment and mobile devices.
- You can export documents, perform intelligent task scheduling, filtering according to priorities.
- It provides a number of tools which make the work of project members easier, such as Microsoft Project Support, Resource Load Sharing etc.
Cons
Use of this task management system is currently limited to Apple users.
- Assembla
Assembla is known to be one of the most secure project management software platforms. It is available for on premise as well as cloud-based use. This task management platform offers services such as cardwalls and task boards for better handling of projects.
Features
- Secure source code
This open source task management software looks for key credentials and roots out vulnerable components of the source code.
- Risk evaluation and mitigation
This task management system provides ways to evaluate risk and offers techniques to mitigate them.
- Task management
Using this task management tool, you can add detailed description to a project, assign it to a team member and add deadlines.
- Change ticket views
You can choose to view tickets either in list form or cardwall view and even filter them according to date of creation, status etc.
- Milestones
Set milestones for different stages of a project to better track its execution with this project tracking software.
Premium features
Premium features of this best task management software include unlimited storage, unlimited users and hosting of users on servers.
Premium pricing
Price of Assembla premium version starts from ₹1098.56 per user per month.
Pros
- Assembla offers you the possibility of integrating your social network profiles.
- It helps you manage collaborative work among team members.
- It allows you to organize your agenda according to the urgency or complexity of the tasks.
Cons
Assembla mobile app is only available for iPhone users.
- Asana
Asana is one of the most popular project management and team task management software. It is preferred by companies of different sizes, handling multiple projects at once. Asana free task management system has an inbox feature that automatically stores all the updates.
Features
- Boards
This sticky note like feature of Asana helps you organise various tasks and track their progress at different stages
- Task assignees
Through this task management tool, you can assign tasks or parts of it to someone, making for easy delegation.
- Creation of custom fields
Asana project tracking software allows you to create custom fields for data privy to your workflow.
- Work request forms
This best task management software lets you design formal forms for obtaining work requests.
- Syncing of tasks
Repetitive tasks can be synced across projects to avoid recreation.
Premium Features
Asana’s premium version offers features such as advanced search tool, setting milestones in projects and data exportation.
Premium Pricing
Price of Asana’s premium version starts from ₹822.98 per user per month.
Pros
- It allows managers to communicate in real time with their team.
- It helps you search for your projects and set the estimated execution times.
- This online task management tool offers an intuitive interface.
Cons
Setup and getting used to the software might take time for some users.
Conclusion
As a part-time entrepreneur and open source developer, I spend a lot of my day tracking the things I need to get done. I do this so I can prioritize them and work on them one at a time. I’ve tried various personal task management tools—project management software, free project management software, and even how to organize tasks like an entrepreneur. However, there was always something missing that prevented me from really integrating these tools into my workflow and sticking to them.