31 Best Apps for Digital Nomads To Work And Travel Like a Pro

Are you ever curious about how digital nomads do what we do? How we’re able to travel full-time, stay organized, and be productive?

I’m a bit of a snoop and I love hearing about what tools and apps other digital nomads and remote workers use to make their lives easier.

So in this post, I’m sharing the best tools and apps for digital nomads and remote workers. I’ve broken down the tools we use into different categories, beginning with the most important.

Best Tools and Apps for Managing Money

I’ve said this many times before – you don’t have to be rich to travel.

That being said, travel is much easier when you have a handle on your finances and budget. It also makes managing your finances easier if you’re self-employed with various sources of income.

Here are the tools we use to do that.

Trail Wallet – use this app to set a budget and track your spending. You get 25 free entries, then you’ll have to pay $5 to continue adding entries. Trust me, the money you spend on this app will pay itself back in savings once you know where all your money is going.

Tripcoin – This app does the same as Trail Wallet but it’s only available for iPhones.

You Need A Budget (YNAB) – Award-winning software to help you pay off debt and save more money. Sasha recently started using this and LOVES it! You can manage all your bank accounts and credit cards from one central hub and give your money a “job” so payments stop sneaking up on you.

XE Currency Converter – never spend time doing currency conversions in your head again!

Splitwise – Traveling with a group? This app helps you keep track of who paid for what and who owes what.

The best banks for digital nomads are ones that don’t charge any ATM fees. We use ​Charles Schwab Bank and highly recommend them to other people from the US. Not only do they not charge any fees, but they reimburse the fees charged by other banks at the end of every month.

rachel and sasha treehouse
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Working from a treehouse

Best Apps to Help You Travel Like a Pro

Timeshifter – Make jetlag easier to deal with! Timeshifter will help ease the pain of jetlag by giving you small steps to take daily before you hit the road to help you prepare for changing timezones.

Priority Pass – This membership gives you access to 1300 VIP airport lounges across the world. You’ll have peace of mind knowing you have a place to relax, get work done, or grab a quick bite or drink at the airport.

TripIt – This app organizes all of your travel itineraries and documents in one place. Simply forward your reservations to the app. You can view your trips on your computer and your phone with the mobile app and easily send your plans to your travel companions, friends, parents, etc.

PackPoint – Ugh, packing, amiright? It’s still my least favorite part of travel. But this app makes it easier. Input your travel destination, dates, and activities, and PackPoint will check the weather and create a custom packing list. Genius!

GlobeTips – Know exactly how to tip in 240+ countries around the world. It also includes a “split the bill” option.

Google Translate – Don’t let language barriers get in the way. I personally prefer this over other translator apps because of the camera function. You can translate any labels or signs in real time. You can also translate speech in real time. I’ve used this app successfully to visit the doctor in places where I don’t speak the language.

iTranslate – Very similar to Google Translate but has a free and pro version.

Google Maps – This might seem obvious but I know plenty of people with iPhones who only use the Apple Maps. Google Maps is much better than Apple and you can download it to an iPhone.

Workfrom – This app helps you easily find a place to work in any city. They’ve also started virtual coworking spaces for those who don’t want to go out in public but also don’t want to work alone.

rachel at sayulita coworking space
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Working from a coworking space in Sayulita, Mexico

Best Credit Cards For Travel Hacking

Admittedly, these are not apps. But you can use the credit card company’s apps to keep track of them. Plus, travel hacking is something I believe every digital nomad should be utilizing to save money on flights and hotels. We’ve saved thousands of dollars on flights and hotels thanks to travel hacking so I couldn’t not share these cards.

No idea what travel hacking is? Check out our travel hacking 101 post to learn some tips and strategies to get started.

Chase Sapphire Preferred – This is the perfect card to get started with.

Chase Sapphire Reserved – like the Preferred, but better. It definitely has the best perks if you can swing the annual fee. It includes the Priority Pass and a $300 annual travel credit.

​Southwest Rapid Rewards – The BEST budget airline in the USA. Through our travel hacking methods, we’ve each earned the Companion Pass, allowing one of us to travel for free and saving thousands of dollars!

best apps for digital nomads
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Relaxing in the lounge beats crowded gates any day!

Best Apps For Digital Nomads To Stay Organized and Productive

Having a routine is the best way to stay productive but that can be hard when you regularly move around. Staying productive can become difficult. These are some of the apps that keep me on track.

Google Drive – Amazing for creating and storing presentations, documents, spreadsheets, and more (it’s attached to your Gmail account). Having the app on your phone allows you to access your files on the go.

Time Buddy – Need to work with clients and team members across the world? This app is a visual world clock that makes scheduling super easy.

Asana – Online organizer for keeping track of projects and to-do lists. Nothing beats good ol’ fashioned pen and paper, IMO. So I’ll scribble out my plans and then add them to the app.

Trello – Another product management software similar to Asana but great for team projects.

Toggl – Easily track your time while doing client work and report your hours. Or just use it to see how much time you spend doing things throughout the day.

Best Apps For Staying Connected

WhatsApp – This is the best way to keep in touch with friends around the world and people back home while you’re traveling abroad. It connects to your actual phone number and allows you to make voice and video calls, send text messages, and voice messages.

Slack – Perfect for communicating with a team outside of your email inbox.

Best Exercise Apps for Staying in Shape On The Road

We used to join a gym almost everywhere we went. A gym is great if you want to use weights and weight machines but looking for a gym can be time consuming and they don’t always have suitable plans if you’re only staying for a short time. These apps help us stay in shape on the road without paying for a gym membership.

Ripped30 – The best exercise program for digital nomads. You can take it with you anywhere, no equipment required, and it works!

Bully Juice – Quick workouts to whip you into shape fast (free YouTube channel).

Yoga With Adriene – Our favorite YouTube Yogi.

Interested in learning how we stay healthy on the road? Click here to read our post about it.

keep fit as a digital nomad ripped30
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Staying in shape on the road is easier with a workout app

Best Apps For Blogging, Social Media Management, Email Marketing, & Course Hosting

These apps are a lifesaver if you run your own online business like a blog, digital course business, coaching program, e-commerce, or virtual assistant business. They’ll help you create graphics, design a website, post to social media, and build an email list.

Teachable – A software with everything you need to quickly create and sell your online course or coaching program. It’s the platform I use for my online course Teaching For Freedom.

WordPress – Content management system and website builder that gives your business an “internet storefront.” You’ll need to pay for your own hosting which I think is worth the investment because WordPress is more SEO friendly than free site builders like Wix and Squarespace (meaning your site will be more likely to show up in Google search results).

Astra – The theme we use here on GG (a theme is essentially a website design that’s pre-coded). There’s a free version that’s perfect if you’re just getting started.

Canva – The best app for easily creating graphics, sizing images, and making pretty lead magnets thanks to their gazillion template options.

Later – This app will ensure you never forget to post on Instagram. The pro version allows you to schedule stories too. Talk about a time saver!

Buffer – Quickly and easily schedule content to a variety of social media sites.

ConvertKit – The most efficient email service provider making it easy to build an email list thanks to their multiple opt-in forms and keep in touch with them.

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Working on the blog from various cafes in Lima, Peru.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are lots of different apps and tools to help you out. We use and recommend many of the apps on this list and the others come highly recommended by our nomad friends.

I hope this post has helped you find the best apps for your digital nomad lifestyle! Are there any others that I should add to the list? Leave a comment and let me know. Feel free to also drop any questions in the comments or head to our contact page to shoot me a message 🙂

Happy nomading,

Rachel (& Sasha)

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