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The Top Free Business Apps of 2020

By Ben |  Mar 18, 2020 (5 min read)

Ecommerce | Marketing | Trends

When apps were first created, they seemed like fun distractions. But today, you can name any function of a business and there is probably an app that makes it easier.

It’s incredible that most businesses can manage their day-to-day operations from a phone with a few essential tools from the app store.

While you probably already use most popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote your business, there are many more apps to help grow your business. For some of your business needs, there are free apps that you can take advantage of.

Of course, the app market is flooded today. Mediocre apps that promise a lot but don’t deliver are common. Due to the volume of choices, it’s hard to determine which apps are worth your time and can help with your business’s needs. 

That’s why we have compiled a list below of our favorite Top Free Business Apps (available for both Apple and Android) in the market as of 2020.

List of Top 15 Best Free Business Apps of 2020

GoodBudget

Category: Budget
Price: Free, $5/mo, $45 annually.
For: Apple and Android

Why spend money to manage your spending? GoodBudget is a free app that helps you keep your spending under control. 

GoodBudget allows you to create “envelopes” of your expenses, then you record your transactions and GoodBudget allocates them to a specific envelope.

The app has a simple design, yet gives you a detailed oversight of your spending. It doesn’t sync to your financial accounts so you will need to manually input your transactions, but there is an automatic schedule feature.

 

Wave

Category: Accounting
Price: Free, Varies
For: Apple and Android

Wave is a completely free accounting software app with no limitations. They also offer paid options for payroll or payment processing. 

The app helps with all your accounting needs, from receipt scanning and sending invoices, to unlimited income and expense tracking. For these reasons, we rate Wave the top free accounting app for your business needs.

 

Sortly

Category: Inventory
Price: Free, $39/mo, $99/mo
For: Apple and Android

One of the very few inventory tracking apps that is completely free. Sortly has glowing reviews on the Apple App Store and for good reason.

Sortly has a very generous free version that allows you to track up to 100 entries, offers barcode scanning in-app and you can attach photos and custom notes to each entry. The layout is simple and user-friendly for easy navigation.

Perfect for small businesses and as you grow you can always upgrade to one of their paid plans.

 

 

Square Point of Sale

Category: POS
Price: Free plus processing fee per transaction
For: Apple and Android

Used by millions of businesses, Square is an all-in-one payment system making it easy for businesses to accept card transactions.

The app is free to download and use. Square charges a small flat rate per transaction, but they send you a free magstripe reader when you sign up that plugs into your phone to start swiping cards.

The app features easy receipt printing or email/text, adding a tip and even tracking inventory. If you want to start collecting money without spending much then Square is a great choice.

 

Slack

Category: Communications
Price: Free
For: Apple and Android

Slack is a free app making communication and productivity in the office better than ever before!

Send instant messages to your coworkers, including files, links and even funny GIFs. The app features direct messaging and multiple channels that can be set to private or public and even a desktop app, allowing you to sign in with multiple devices.

No need to hold unnecessary meetings or get buried in more emails, when you can just ‘slack’ your coworkers.

 

Trello

Category: Planning
Price: Free, Varies
For: Apple and Android

Trello is a project management app that offers an impressive free version, with paid business options as well.

Your team can easily view projects and details on ‘boards’ and then assign tasks or ‘cards’ to each team member. This includes members involved, task checklists, discussions and comments.

The app makes navigating through projects extremely easy which should boost productivity!

 

 

Asana

Category: Planning
Price: Free, Varies
For: Apple and Android

Another great project management app focusing on workflow is the free app, Asana.

The app features a list and board-view of projects that include assignees, due dates, and calendar views. The app can be slightly complex to set up but does offer project templates. 

A unique feature is the real-time view allowing users to see everyone’s lists as they are being made in Asana. Perfect for video conferencing.

 

Toggl

Category: Planning
Price: Free, $10/mo, or $20/mo
For: Apple and Android

Toggl is a team-based timekeeper app that can be used to record billable hours and keep track of where your time goes. 

Simply click start to track your time on a particular project, or if you forget just edit your time later. Toggl makes collecting timesheets easier than ever before.

The app features integrations with project management tools like Trello and Asana so you can specifically track each ‘board’ or task. 

Here at Brandastic we have a profound appreciation for Toggl and use it to track all our internal and client projects.

 

MailChimp

Category: Marketing
Price: Free, $10/mo to $300/mo
For: Apple and Android 

From email campaigns to weekly newsletters, MailChimp is a free email tool now offered in an app form. 

The free version allows you to send up to 10,000 emails to 2,000 contacts a month with templates making it easy to craft your emails.

Advanced features like retargeting ads and custom-coded templates can be available if you want to upgrade to paid versions. Yet, the generously free version can be enough for most businesses.

 

Later

Category: Marketing
Price: Free, $19 to $49/mo
For: Apple and Android

Later is a free app for social media management. It has an emphasis on Instagram but also works with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Later allows you to schedule and publish social media posts across multiple accounts with an easy drag-and-drop feature to add pictures from a media library to your posting calendar.

The free version allows one profile on each platform and offers scheduling only for photos. If you need more options, Later has paid plans that allow multiple profiles, as well as scheduling videos and even Instagram Stories.

If you are a digital marketer or just want to grow your business’s social media presence then Later is one of the must-have apps.

 

Pocket

Category: Organizational
Price: Free, $5/mo
For: Apple and Android

Information is constantly flashing before your eyes and you may not always have the time to soak it all in.

Pocket is a unique app that integrates with your phone so you can save any interesting links, articles, videos or other content from any site or app to look at it later.

Pocket neatly organizes all the content you saved so you can go back and find it easily within the app. Featuring an offline mode to view the content without the internet.

If you ever find yourself scrolling through your history trying to find that one page then you should think about adding this handy app to your every-day schedule.

 

Pocket Casts

Category: Informational
Price: Free, $0.99/mo
For: Apple and Android 

Podcasts are more popular than ever before and one of the main topics is business. Pocket Casts is a free app that allows you to sort, search and listen to your favorite podcasts all in one app.

Pocket Casts offers an easy-to-navigate design to search podcasts with filters, it integrates with Alexa to play over your speakers and even trims the silence in podcasts to utilize your time.

While some reviews imply problems with recent updates, this app is a great free option for keeping up to date with podcasts.

 

Kiwi.com

Category: Travel
Price: Free
For: Apple and Android

Going on a business trip? Even if your company is paying, you can find a good deal on Airline Prices with the Kiwi.com app.

Kiwi is a free travel app that scours billions of flight combinations to find you the best deals. 

The app features a search radius for airport prices and cheap price alerts, as well as a guarantee that you will get to your destination despite cancellations, delays, changes, etc.

When thinking about booking your next business trip, you should check out Kiwi.com for some of the best deals.

 

Grammarly Keyboard

Category: Writing
Price: Free, $30/mo
For: Apple and Android

The professional world is no place for grammatical errors, but with a busy work schedule, they can easily happen. Grammarly Keyboard is an excellent tool to help you be more grammatically correct. 

Grammarly allows you to use a special keyboard right on your phone that automatically scans and corrects your writing. Grammarly is completely free and works in any app on your phone.

If you want to present a professional image with error-free grammar (and improve your writing at the same time) then this app is definitely worth checking out.

 

Canva

Category: Graphic Design
Price:
Free, $10/mo
For: Apple and Android

A graphic design tool at your fingertips. Canva makes it easy to create and edit professional photos or logos right on your phone. 

Canva features drag-and-drop functions with professional layouts and custom-built templates. From adding texts on photos to creating new business cards, Canva has a variety of features all for free. 

No need for graphic design experience with this user-friendly app.

 

When running a business, the cost of technology can start to stack up quickly. With these tools, you can greatly improve your business, directly from your phone at no additional cost.
Of course, every company is different and some apps may or may not be the right fit, but test out the top ones and see what works for you.

Have another app you think we should add to the list? Let us know!

Want to grow your business through better marketing? Brandastic is a digital marketing agency based in Orange County, with offices in Los Angeles and Austin. We help companies expand their online reach and grow sales through better SEO, PPC, and Social Media Marketing. Contact us today to see how we can help you. 

 

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