Task Automation Software of 2024: Your Complete Guide

Just how much time can task automation software really save you?

Automation software has become super accessible in recent years, and there's a lot of hype surrounding it. But if you have a fairly comfortable day-to-day work routine, automation tools might seem a bit unnecessary. Are they really worth all the fuss?

Start scrutinizing your workflow, however, and you might notice a lot of repetitive tasks, like sending follow-up emails, entering data, and working out the best time to schedule meetings. In fact, McKinsey research has found that approximately one-third of sales tasks can be automated, which, if you put it that way, would save quite a lot of time. 🤔

Once you start exploring use cases and different tools, you might discover lots of tasks to automate. To help you start saving time and be more productive today, we’ve put a list of the seven best task automation tools together. 

What is task automation software? 

Task automation software is a broad category that covers tools that automate repetitive tasks, helping you save time, improve productivity, and make your day-to-day life easier. While workflow automation software focuses on automating entire workflows, task automation tools focus on specific tasks and actions. 

For example, let’s say you spend a fair bit of time scheduling meetings, because finding a time that works for you and your customer requires a lot of back and forth. A task automation tool like Calendly automates this process by letting your customer see when you’re free, so that they can choose a slot that works for both of you. 

Task automation software helps teams work better and be more productive, and combining task automation tools with workflow automation software can deliver even better results. 

What to look for in task automation software

When choosing task automation software, it’s important to be mindful of the following:

1. The pricing and plans

Some task automation tools offer generous free plans that are perfect for individual needs. But team plans (and more robust features) can cost you some big bucks. 

Bear in mind that pricing plans aren’t always straightforward—and tools can cost more or less depending on your use case. 

For example, some software might restrict advanced automation features to a higher plan, whereas another tool may provide these features in their free plan. The tool with the free advanced automations, however, might restrict the number of automations you can use for free! (Sneaky.)

So, when comparing different tools to automate tasks, scrutinize the plans and carefully consider exactly how you’re going to be using the software.

2. Integrations and flexibility

To automate tasks across different apps, you typically have two options:

1. Task automation software that supports integrations.
2. Task automation software that works independently of integrations.

If you’re looking at the first option, it’s important to make sure the software integrates with the apps you already use. Otherwise, you may wind up with a completed task that nobody even knows about because it’s disconnected.

3. Features and customization

Some task automation tools offer more automation capabilities and room for customization than others. For example, task dependency tools, which guide the order in which tasks are performed, help structure your automations. And some tools let you automate tasks across different platforms, while others do not.

4. Team size (and needs)

If you’re part of a larger team, you really ought  to be coordinating your activities and understanding what each individual’s automation needs are. For example, if different team members manage various social media channels, a single social media automation management tool can help automate tasks across all of them. 

Plus, task automation tools help improve both individual and team workflows, so it’s important to choose software that fulfills both needs. Scraping tools and text expanders, for example, help team members individually, while project management suites help entire teams coordinate better.

Laying the foundation for task automation

To get the most out of task automation, there are two important questions you’ll want to ask yourself:

• Which are the tasks that can be automated—and which ones are worth automating? This will typically include repetitive, rules-based tasks, like automated email follow-ups or data entry activities.
  
  
• What do your everyday activities or current workflows look like? Make a clear outline, and have this info on-hand to help your task automation software cater to as many of your activities as possible.

Some of the best task automation software helps you outline workflows and discover repetitive tasks, too. A great example is project management software that supports integrations and automation.

7 of the best task automation software to consider

Ready to start automating repetitive, boring tasks? We’ve put together a rundown of the seven best task automation software for various needs and use cases.

1. IFTTT (If This, Then That)

Best for: Automating different tasks across your apps. 

IFTTT is one of the most popular, versatile tools for automating personal and professional tasks. It has both a web and mobile app, which means you can automate your tasks across your devices. It also connects to smart devices and voice assistants, making it useful for automating smart homes, too. (Never turn on a light switch the old-fashioned way again!)

IFTTT lets users automate tasks with applets—a very small app that performs simple functions. The tool comes with loads of ready-made ones, and you can also create your own custom applets. The software’s free plan lets you use as many existing applets as you want, but you’ll need to upgrade to the pro plan ($5/mo) to create more than five custom applets. 

IFTTT is an excellent option for people looking to automate tasks across different apps and platforms. For example, you can use it to automatically send reminders in Slack before a meeting starts. The paid plan also lets you create tasks with multiple steps.

2. Magical

‍Best for: Automating everyday tasks without relying on integrations. 

Magical is a no-code task automation software that works on its own, meaning there’s no need for any integrations. It can help you fill out forms, create spreadsheets, and send messages much faster. For example, while sales pros use Magical to transfer prospect data to their CRM, customer service agents use its text expander feature to respond quickly to customer queries. 

Magical lets users customize shortcut templates with tags like {First Name} or {Date}. And you can even share task automations and templates with your teams to help  sales, HR, and customer service teams collaborate better.

3. Calendly

‍Best for: Automated scheduling.

Setting meetings is one of the less exciting parts of professional life, but it’s a necessary evil. Unfortunately, if you’re corresponding with prospects or even colleagues, finding a time that suits all parties can require a lot of back and forth. (“Tuesday at 10am?” “Sorry, I have a conflict. How about 11am?” “That won’t work. Let’s try for Wednesday…”) Or, it did, until scheduling tools like Calendly solved the problem.

Calendly supports two-way scheduling, which means that someone can view your availability from your unique Calendly link and book a meeting in real time. This prevents scheduling conflicts and saves both parties a lot of time.

Calendly’s free plan allows for one calendar connection, meaning it’ll link to one calendar associated with a particular email address. The paid plans start at $8/month. 

4. Asana

‍Best for: Automating project management and tasks.

There are loads of good project management tools, and one might be a better choice than the others depending on your specific needs. We’ve listed Asana here because it’s one of the most well-known, mature project management tools and because it offers a very generous free plan. 

Asana lets teams compile, organize, and manage all their projects in one centralized platform. The great thing about the software is it supports automation at task level, meaning individuals can use Asana to automate their own tasks and project activities.

Asana’s free plan supports up to 10 users and includes the platform’s essential features. For more advanced features, including more robust automation capabilities, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid plans.

Other worthy mentions: If you’re looking for a good project management tool to automate tasks, Trello, Basecamp, monday.com, and Notion are also worth checking out!

5. ActiveCampaign

‍Best for: Email automation.

Email is one of the best channels for engaging with customers, applicants, and professionals in your business. So, naturally, email automation has become an important part of nurturing leads and growing your audience.

ActiveCampaign is a powerful email automation and customer relationship management software. The platform lets you create welcome sequences, automate email responses, and send emails based on specific triggers and user behavior. 

ActiveCampaign’s paid plans start at $29/month for the Lite plan, which gives you access to the platform’s email automation features and offers unlimited email sends. The email automation provider also offers a free trial. 

Other worthy mentions: If you’re looking for ActiveCampaign alternatives, MailChimp and Sendinblue are great options with generous free plans. GetResponse is also a popular alternative. 

6. Buffer

‍Best for: Social media management automation.

Social media management comes with a boatload of repetitive tasks. And publishing regularly across different channels, approving posts, engaging with followers, and monitoring progress takes up a lot of time. Fortunately, social media automation software like Buffer helps you skip ahead to the strategic stuff.

Buffer lets users connect all their social media pages and accounts to one platform, making it easy to manage everything in one place. You can automate post scheduling, see engagement metrics across various channels, gather reporting, and thoroughly track and manage analytics. 

Buffer has a free plan that gives you access to basic publishing features. The advanced features are available in the paid plans.

Other worthy mentions: Buffer’s plans start at $5/month per channel, which is reasonable, but the costs add up as you upgrade to higher tiers. ContentStudio is a more affordable alternative, and Hootsuite is another great tool that’s worth checking out.

7. PhantomBuster

‍Best for: Automating tasks across social media.

While tools like Buffer are great for automating social media management, sometimes you need software to:

• Automatically send messages, like when you need to get back to multiple applicants for a job, or are conducting outreach.
• Scrape loads of information, like applicant or prospect data, and export the information as a CSV file.
• Collect details on your competitors’ followers. 

In cases like these, PhantomBuster is an excellent task automation software to consider. The platform has loads of pre-built automations called Phantoms for a variety of platforms, ranging from Google to Facebook to GitHub. 

PhantomBuster offers a free 14-day trial that gives you five slots (i.e. five automations can be run at a time) with an execution time of two hours (this is how long the automations have to carry out their tasks, per month). Its paid plans start at $48/month. 

8. Wrike

Best for: Automating work management processes.

Wrike provides a universal work management process, allowing for the creation and configuration of workspaces, folders, projects, tasks, and subtasks. This helps in streamlining the intake process and increasing efficiency in your processes. 

It gives you lots of customization options, enabling users to tailor their workspace with custom item types, dynamic request forms, and templates. This feature helps in creating a more productive and efficient workflow tailored to specific team needs.

Wrike offers a free plan. Their paid plans start at $9.80 per user per month for the Team option and $24.80 per user per month for the Business option. 

9. Alfred

Best for: Automation for Mac users

Alfred is a free workflow automation tool that's made specifically for Mac users. It integrates well with Mac specific apps and programs so if you don't have a Mac, then this product won't be useful for you.

Alfred 5 includes a new feature called Automation Tasks, which allows users to build complex workflows without coding. This includes a growing library of actions for various tasks, such as changing wallpapers, opening Safari tabs, manipulating text, and more.

Alfred is free to dowload but also offers a paid option (contact sales).

10. LeapWork

Best for: Testing automation

LeapWork is a no code automation tool that offers an AI-powered visual test automation platform. LeapWork uses a visual language and smart recorder to automate functional UI tests. Users can easily capture and define UI elements and turn their test cases into flows.

This tool has the ability to support web and desktop applications built on any platform.  LeapWork supports testing across multiple physical devices, allowing tests to be run on the Cloud or through local machines and remote computers.

LeapWork offers tailored price quotes upon request.

11. Tallyfy

Best for: No code automation tasks

Tallyfy is a no code automation tool that allows you to automate repetitive tasks easily, without flowcharts.  It's designed to be user-friendly, aiming to eliminate stress and inefficiency at work by automating tasks and improving processes.

Tallyfy allows unlimited, free assignment of tasks and forms for automating data collection from external clients. These features help in creating streamlined client experiences with custom branding and a single, consistent link for client interactions.

Tallyfy is free to try, then it's $5 per member per month for Tallyfy Docs and $30 per member per month for Tallyfy Pro.

12. Kissflow

Best for: Desktop and mobile automation tasks for large companies.

Kissflow is a versatile workflow and process management platform offering a wide range of features to automate and streamline tasks across various business functions. It provides tools for creating fully functional apps using low-code and no-code methods, making it accessible for users without extensive technical knowledge.

The platform enables the development and deployment of both simple and complex workflows swiftly. Users can create workflows that suit their specific needs using an intuitive interface.

Kissflow is quite pricey starting at $1500 per month for basic.

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Ready to start automating?

Using software to automate repetitive tasks can help you win back time and escape the boring parts of work. But before you get started with task automation software, it’s important to lay the foundation for automation. 

Consider what tasks can be automated, and outline your workflows to make it easy to identify opportunities. It’s also important to chat to your team members and make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Some of the more powerful tools we’ve covered, like ActiveCampaign and Asana, help teams put crucial activities on autopilot. But if you’re looking for a simple task automation tool that works where you do, it’s worth trying Magical out. Add it to Chrome for free today. 

What else are people asking? 

Here are your other burning questions answered. 

1. Is any software that can automate a task?

Yes. There are lots of tools to help you automate repetitive tasks. We’ve reviewed seven exceptional ones, including IFTTT, Magical, Calendly, Asana, ActiveCampaign, Buffer, and PhantomBuster.

2. Which is the best software for automation?

It depends on your needs, but IFTTT is a very well-rounded task automation software that supports various use cases. 

3. How do I automate tasks on my computer?

You can automate tasks using task automation software. That’s kinda what this whole article has been about. 😉Go back to the beginning of this article to find out more.