“We have access to software options for almost every conceivable task in today’s world. The big names like Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and Google Drive often dominate conversations about productivity, design, and collaboration. However, there’s an entire ecosystem of underrated software that doesn’t receive as much attention but can offer exceptional functionality, often outpacing its more popular counterparts. Here are some hidden gems you’ve probably never heard of, but should consider using.”
In Image: A Person using their Laptop
Taskade: A Versatile Productivity and Collaboration Tool
In Image: Taskade logo
In the crowded space of productivity apps, Taskade stands out for its simplicity and flexibility. Taskade is a dynamic tool that combines the features of a to-do list, mind map, and collaborative workspace. It allows users to organize thoughts, tasks, and projects in a visually engaging way. The software offers multiple views, including lists, kanban boards, and mind maps, allowing teams to tailor their workflow according to their needs.
One of the key strengths of Taskade is its real-time collaboration. Teams can chat, video call, and edit projects simultaneously. Unlike some other productivity tools that feel overwhelming with excessive features, Taskade maintains a balance between simplicity and functionality. The clean interface and ease of use make it an underrated alternative to more complex project management tools like Trello or Asana.
Moreover, Taskade’s free version offers an impressive range of features that are often restricted in other platforms, making it ideal for individuals and small teams looking for a robust yet intuitive solution.
Joplin: A Privacy-Focused Note-Taking App
“When it comes to note-taking apps, the likes of Evernote and OneNote usually dominate the scene. However, Joplin is an open-source alternative that offers impressive features while focusing heavily on privacy. Joplin is designed for users who value simplicity without compromising on functionality. It supports Markdown for rich-text formatting, allowing you to create clean, organized notes.”
One of the standout features of Joplin is its end-to-end encryption, ensuring that your notes remain secure across devices. The software is available across platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Additionally, Joplin allows seamless syncing with popular cloud services like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Nextcloud.
For those who are particular about data privacy and open-source software, Joplin is an excellent choice. It’s also highly customizable with plugins and themes, allowing users to tailor it according to their workflow.
Obsidian: A Second Brain for Knowledge Management
“If you’re looking for a tool that goes beyond traditional note-taking and enters the realm of knowledge management, Obsidian is an underrated gem. Obsidian is markdown-based software that creates a network of linked notes, turning your thoughts into a web of interconnected ideas. This is particularly useful for researchers, students, or anyone who handles large volumes of information and needs to draw connections between different concepts.”
Obsidian’s unique feature lies in its graph view, which visually represents the relationships between your notes. The software is highly modular, allowing users to enhance its core functionality with community-created plugins. Whether you’re a writer, academic, or professional, Obsidian serves as a powerful “second brain” for managing and navigating complex information.
Another significant advantage is that Obsidian is entirely offline, ensuring complete control over your data. You can also sync your vault across devices using third-party services without compromising security.
Notion: The All-in-One Workspace That’s Gaining Traction
“Notion is gradually gaining recognition, but it’s still underrated considering the breadth of its functionality. It’s more than just a note-taking app; it’s an all-in-one workspace that combines documents, databases, tasks, and wikis on a single platform. One of the reasons Notion stands out is its unparalleled customizability. Users can create pages, databases, kanban boards, and calendars, all within one interface.”
For teams, Notion is a dream come true. It eliminates the need for multiple apps by providing a unified space where everyone can collaborate, track progress, and manage resources. The flexibility extends to personal use as well, whether you’re managing a reading list, planning projects, or organizing your life.
Notion’s downside lies in its complexity—it can be overwhelming for beginners. However, once mastered, it becomes an indispensable tool for organizing both work and life. The ability to build relational databases and connect information across various pages makes Notion stand out as one of the most powerful, underrated software solutions today.
ShareX: A Swiss Army Knife for Screen Capture and Recording
“When people think of screen capture software, Snagit or the built-in options on Windows and macOS often come to mind. However, ShareX offers a comprehensive set of features that often go unnoticed. ShareX is a free, open-source screen capture and recording tool that’s perfect for those who need more than just basic screenshots.”
ShareX software allows you to capture your screen in multiple ways, including region, window, and scrolling capture. It also provides advanced annotation tools for editing images immediately after capture. But what truly sets ShareX apart is its automation features. You can create workflows that automatically upload your screenshots to a designated cloud service, copy the URL to your clipboard, and even perform additional tasks like adding watermarks or applying image effects.
The software also includes GIF recording, screen recording with audio, and even OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract text from images. Given its vast capabilities, ShareX is one of the most underrated tools for anyone who frequently works with screen captures and videos.
FastStone Image Viewer: An All-in-One Image Management Tool
“When it comes to image management, software like Adobe Lightroom or Google Photos usually dominate the conversation. However, FastStone Image Viewer is a hidden gem for those looking for a lightweight yet powerful image management tool. Despite its dated interface, FastStone is incredibly feature-rich. It combines image viewing, editing, and batch processing into one application.”
The software is known for its speed and efficiency, making it ideal for quickly browsing through large collections of images. It supports all major formats and includes handy tools like batch image conversion and renaming, image comparison, and basic editing functions such as cropping, resizing, and color adjustments.
For photographers or digital artists who need a fast, reliable image management tool without the bloat of more commercial software, FastStone Image Viewer is an excellent choice. Plus, it’s completely free for personal and educational use, which adds to its value.
f.lux: Enhancing Eye Comfort While Working Late
In Image: f.lux company logo
f.lux is one of those underrated tools that can make a significant difference in your daily routine, especially if you spend a lot of time working on screens at night. It adjusts the color temperature of your display according to the time of day, reducing eye strain by filtering out blue light in the evening. By tricking your brain into believing it is still daytime, blue light from screens can interfere with sleep patterns. By gradually warming up the colors as evening sets in, f.lux helps to create a more natural transition from work to rest.
The software works automatically, but it also allows customization based on your preferences. You can set different levels of warmth and choose your wake-up time so that the colors adjust accordingly. Although macOS and Windows have built-in night modes, f.lux offers more granular control and works across multiple operating systems, including Linux.
Everything: The Fastest Search Tool for Windows
In Image: Interface of Everything application
Windows’ built-in search function often leaves much to be desired. It can be slow and frequently misses files that are buried in deep folders. That’s where Everything comes in—an ultra-fast file search tool for Windows. As soon as you type in a search query, Everything instantly displays results, making it much quicker and more efficient than the default search function.
Everything’s speed comes from the fact that it indexes your files as soon as it’s installed. It also updates its index in real-time, so you don’t have to wait for it to catch up when new files are added or deleted. The tool is lightweight, easy to use, and highly configurable. If you deal with a large number of files daily, Everything is a game-changer.
Greenshot: A Lightweight Screenshot Tool with Advanced Features
“Greenshot is another underrated screenshot tool that often flies under the radar. Unlike more popular options, Greenshot is lightweight and quick while still offering a variety of powerful features. You can capture the entire screen, a window, or a region with ease. After capturing, Greenshot provides built-in annotation tools for adding text, arrows, and highlights.”
What sets Greenshot apart is its efficiency and integration capabilities. You can directly export images to various platforms like Imgur, email, or cloud storage, saving time when sharing screenshots. It also supports plugins for added functionality, including OCR for extracting text from images. Greenshot’s lightweight design makes it perfect for users who want a no-frills screenshot tool that gets the job done without hogging system resources.
Zotero: A Reference Manager for Academic Research
In Image: Zotero company logo
For students, academics, or anyone involved in extensive research, managing references and citations can be a daunting task. Zotero is a free, open-source reference manager that streamlines this process. It allows users to collect, organize, cite, and share research sources with ease. The software integrates directly with web browsers, enabling users to save references from research papers, articles, and websites with a single click.
Zotero’s standout feature is its ability to automatically format citations in various styles, including APA, MLA, and Chicago. It also syncs across devices, making it easy to access your research library from anywhere. The software’s group library feature is particularly useful for collaborative research projects, allowing multiple users to add and manage sources.
While popular tools like EndNote and Mendeley are often used for reference management, Zotero remains an underrated option that offers most of the features for free. Its active community constantly develops plugins and updates, keeping it competitive with more commercial alternatives.