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20 Best Mobile Apps for 2017

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There is still time to make 2017 your best year yet. The apps on this list will help you stay ahead of your goals (or catch up) no matter what they are or how far-fetched they’re starting to seem. No matter who you are, every single app on this list has the potential to improve your life whether you’re looking to start or expand a business, make more of your free time, or simply manage your day-to-day.

20 Best Mobile Apps for 2017

1. Wave – Manage Your Business

best mobile apps 2017

Wave is an app for small business. It helps you stay on top of things like payroll and cash flow while also making it easier to prepare your taxes or create invoices and receipts. Their base apps and software are free and help millions of customers annually. They make their money by charging a highly competitive fee for credit card processing. Works best for freelancers or businesses with smaller teams under 25. Available for Android, iPhone, and online.

2. Acorns – Save for the Future

Acorns is an app that takes your spare change and invests it for you. It’s free for active college students with a valid .edu email and costs just $1/mo until you have $5,000 or more in your account. It’s easy to make that back, even if you have less than $100 in your account.

Acorns works by linking to your credit cards. Then, when you make a purchase, it rounds up to the nearest dollar and deposits that into your Acorn account. The money in your account is invested automatically and typically results in much higher returns than you would get from a standard savings account, fee included. Available for Android, iPhone, and online.

3. Mint – Personal Finance Made Easy

Mint, by Intuit, can track every important personal finance metric you need it to. It can track when your bills are due and pay them automatically. It can help you track your spending and stick to your budget (or set one up.) It will even track changes to your credit score and suggests ways you can improve it. Available for Android, iPhone, and online.

4. Addappt – Stay Connected

Change phone numbers and emails frequently? Have friends or valuable contacts that do? Consider using Addappt. As long as you both use the app, whenever one of you changes your contact info, the other will be notified, and their info in Addappt will update automatically. Available for Android and iPhone. Free.

5. Slack – Communicate Efficiently

best mobile apps

Slack is like a better version of Skype that happens to be designed for businesses. You can set up a number of groups or open and closed channels. You can start a one-on-one or group call directly from chat, drag and drop files to share, and integrate a number of other critical technologies. No more switching from one app to another while communicating. Slack can handle just about anything. A top app maker, Bizness Apps, uses Slack to help their team communicate efficiently. It helps improve their customer service for their app maker platform. Available for Android, iPhone, and online. Free with limited features, pay for better packages.

6. MeetUp – Try New Things With New People

Whether it’s for business or pleasure, finding a place to make the right kind of connections can be challenging. Maybe you’ve moved, changed industries, or just have a different schedule than all of your current friends – MeetUp is there to help you fill in the gaps and make new connections. They offer a broad range of groups all over the country, even in less populous areas. Don’t see a group you like? Start your own. The app is available for Android, iPhone, and online.

7. Yelp – Find New Things to Try Yourself

Yelp is there to help you find better food, drinks, or local services and other amusements. Reviews tend to be relatively on-point, and their inventory of places is extensive. No matter what you’re in the mood for, chances are you can find it on Yelp. The app is available for Android, iPhone (and other Apple products), and online. Free forever.

8. Fitbit – Stay in Shape

Fitbit now has Mobile-Track. That means that you can get a lot of the basic Fitbit functions and benefits without the actual device – you just need the app and a compatible phone. If you’re willing to log additional information, the app can help you keep track of your sleep, food and calorie intake, hydration, and more. Free to try out. Available on the App Store, Google Play, and for Windows devices.

9. Weather Underground – Know What’s Going on Outside

No matter where you are, Weather Underground offers the most accurate weather forecast. That can be incredibly handy when you’re planning your day or making plans for the week. However, it becomes critical when there’s a potential storm, and you’re deciding whether it’s safe to stay in your home or not. Weather Underground, and it’s sister app Storm, will keep you updated with every relevant weather alert they can find, collected from over 200,000 personal weather stations as well as local agencies. Available on the App Store and Google Play.

10. Duolingo – Learn A New Language

best mobile apps 2017

Duolingo brings you an easy, visually appealing and gamified way to learn a new language. Completely free and offering over 20 fully featured language packs, this is an app that makes it easy to learn a new language with just a few minutes invested each day. Available for iOS, Android, and Windows.

11. Wunderlist – Keep Track of Your To-Dos

Have things you want to get done? Wunderlist is the to-do list app you need. It’s simple, clean, and even allows collaboration. You can create separate lists, subitems, set reminders, You can use it individually, for business, or both. It has both a free and paid versions, and it’s available in nearly every store and device from Android to Kindle.

Read our review: Reinvent Your Workflow with Wunderlist

12. LastPass – Never Forget a Password Again

LastPass gives you safe and secure passwords for all of your accounts. Then it remembers them and can fill them in automatically. It can do the same for most web form information. No more trying to guess at a secure password or trying to fit in a “special character” that you might remember. LastPass does all of that for you and works across multiple devices. Starts free, upgrade for only $1/mo. Available for iOS, Android, and Windows.

13. TripIt – Go Somewhere

TripIt will help you create and keep track of your master travel itinerary for every trip. The basic version comes with all the features you need to stay on top of your plans while frequently travelers can upgrade for $49/yr. The Pro version can get you better seats at no cost, give you flight alerts in real-time (sometimes before the official announcement) and even make rewards program suggestions or help you get a fare refund, if necessary. Available for iOS and Android.

14. Waze – Be Punctual

Waze is the last traffic app you’ll ever need. Tired of getting notifications for nonexistent traffic accidents or ending up on a gravel road in a new area? Waze will not only help you navigate in traffic and coordinate trips with friends, but it will also alert you to cheap gas prices and, soon, any nearby carpool opportunities. Available for iOS and Android.

15. Slice – Keep Tabs on Your Mail

top mobile apps

You will order things online. Now you have one app that can keep track of all those packages. Not only that, but it can keep track of recalled purchases and all of your receipts, too. And, if a price drops within a retailer’s price protection window? Slice will let you know you should ask for some cash back. Without any additional input from you. Available for iOS and Android.

16. RescueTime – Make More of Your Day

RescueTime is an app that allows you to block or restrict the time you spend on apps, certain websites, and other applications. If you need to change your technology use habits, this is the best app to help you do it. Even if you don’t use any active blocking features, RescueTime can track your activity and help you monitor your habits. Available for iOS, PC, and Android. Free and paid versions.

17. Feedly – Keep Up With What’s Relevant

Feedly is an RSS reader that collects and filters the content that you want to read. It also allows you to share or keep pieces of content through integration with Slack, Trello, Evernote, and more. Not only can it keep track of the media you tell it to, but you can also keep track of places that mention your name, brand, products, or other topics. Available for iOS and Android.

18. Pocketcasts – Learn and Listen Wherever You Are

Podcasts can help turn everyday tasks like driving or housework into time to learn and stay informed. Pocketcasts is the app you need to organize and keep track of the podcasts you love. Free app versions for iOS, Android, and Windows. $9 to use on the web.

19. Calibre Companion – Read All Those Books You Have

Chances are if you like eBooks, you have Calibre on your PC. The thing is, the best time to read eBooks isn’t always when you’re sitting at home. It’s in waiting rooms and on buses – places where you might want all those books but couldn’t bring them before. For example, if you come across an article you’re interested in on your computer like how to build a mobile app, you can save it to read it later on your mobile device. With Calibre Companion, it’s easy to transfer the books from your digital home library to your mobile device. Available for iOS and Android.

20. Overdrive – Find More Books to Get To

top mobile apps

So what if you need information on a given topic but don’t have a personal library? Well, it might be time to check out the digital offerings of your local public libraries. Overdrive isn’t just for borrowing eBooks, either. It has audiobooks, periodicals, and videos too. And it’s free. Like going to the library without having to actually leave your house. Available for iOS, PC, Windows, and Android.

More apps: Top iOS Fitness Apps To Improve Your Workout in 2017

This post was written by Andrew Gazdecki, founder and CEO of Bizness Apps — making mobile apps affordable and simple for small businesses. We’re a do-it-yourself iPhone, iPad, Android & HTML5 app platform that allows any small business to simultaneously create, edit, and manage mobile apps without any programming knowledge needed. Think of us as “WordPress for mobile app creation.” Many of our customers are mobile app resellers — marketing or design agencies that use our platform to cost effectively build mobile apps for small business clients.

Picture of Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

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