When it comes to keeping yourself and your team on track, sometimes a good old pen-and-paper to-do list or Mac reminders simply aren't enough. This is where online project management tools come in.
Project management software can keep your workflow organized and give everyone on the team the ability to see what else is going on and be held accountable.
But identifying the perfect project management tool is a lot easier said than done.
When it comes to finding the perfect project management software, you're probably hoping it does a number of things, such as:
- Assigning and filtering tasks
- Mapping out project timelines and milestones
- Messaging team members and leaving feedback or comments
- Tracking the time your team spends working on projects
- Invoicing for your services
- Customizing your dashboards with useful widgets or add-ons
- Generating post-mortem project reports
Some solutions will have all the above while others will only include a few. You have to decide what is best for you, which is why we wrote this guide of the 50 best project management tools from A-Z.
In it, you'll learn what project management tools you should consider, whether you're just getting started or have been in the game long enough to need newer, sophisticated solutions.
Go ahead and explore.
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1. ActiveCollab
Cost: Starts at $11/month for a three-member team
Learn More: Features, Help & Support
ActiveCollab promises to bring all your work in one nifty place. Use the software to manage tasks, juggle between projects, tag a shared calendar, participate in collaborative writing/note-taking, track time, and even manage financial transactions such as invoices and payments.
Pros:
- Great features such as email/inbox integrations, project cost estimates, and themes.
Cons:
- There’s a free 30-day trial period but no free version.
2. Advantage
Best For: Ad agencies, creative consulting businesses, media companies, PR firms, digital marketing companies
Cost: Custom pricing
This end-to-end system is all you need to manage a creative agency in a digital world. Fully customizable to your business needs, Advantage has project management, collaboration, customer relationship management (CRM), corporate accounting, and media handling capabilities.
Pros:
- It's branded and designed as a one-stop solution for creative agencies.
- It has an excellent user interface with a stylish dashboard.
- Advantage comes with reporting and forecasting features.
Cons:
- You’ll never know how much it really costs until you request for a demo or ask someone from the vendor.
- What if you’re not an ad agency?
3. Aha!
Best For: Large teams taking on numerous complex projects at once
Cost: $59/user per month (startups with up to 5 users get heavily discounted rates)
While Aha! leans a little on the pricier side as far as project management software goes, it’s with good reason. Aha! doesn’t just help teams get their work done — it’s also a great system for planning out an entire project timeline before you get to work. After all, you don’t want to start assigning tasks without laying them all out and seeing how long each one will take.
Pros:
- Aha! can connect several teams at once in the same project management app, such as the product team, customer support, engineering, and more.
- New features come out every now and then.
Cons:
- It’s pricey.
- There’s a relatively steep learning curve.
4. Apptivo Projects
Best For: Businesses with a strong culture of timeliness and efficiency
Cost: Free for up to 3 users but with limited features; premium version starts at $8/user per month; ultimate version clocks in at $20/user per month
Track milestones and resolve issues with ease. Prevent workflow clashes, project delays and missed deadlines. With Apptivo Projects, you gain full visibility into and complete control of multiple projects and task dependencies.
Pros:
- It comes with readily usable templates to give you a headstart.
- Say goodbye to ugly and static Gantt charts with the software’s visually engaging and interactive versions.
- Apptivo comes with integrated billing capabilities.
Cons:
- Limited integrations with other apps and software.
5. Asana
Best For: Smaller teams
Cost: $10.99/user per month after 15 users
Learn More: Features, Blog, Quick Start Guide
Asana has been around for awhile, and with good reason. This to-do list software makes it easy for teams to plan out tasks, weeks and even months, in advance. Subtasks within a task break down complex projects into simple tasks that can be assigned to team members in seconds. What’s not to love?
Pros:
- It’s relatively inexpensive as far as software goes (especially because you won’t be charged until you exceed 15 members).
- It has several different views (like tasks and calendar) that allow people to look at their to-do lists in in a variety of visual ways.
Cons:
- Certain parts of Asana may feel counterintuitive at first.
- With large teams, using calendar mode or other features may be too overwhelming given the number of to-dos.
6. Assembla
Best For: Software development teams
Cost: Small companies ($19 per user/month) and enterprises (Custom per user/month)
Learn More: Product Overview, Integrations, Help
Assembla is the swiss army knife for software development teams. Stay nimble and well grounded at the same time as you code your way to unicorn-hood. Integrate and host your Subversion, Git, or Perforce data on the cloud, then enhance your repository with advanced search functions, top-of-the-line security protocols, and a flexible environment for collaboration and conversations.
Pros:
- You’re in good hands with a full backup function and data recovery features.
Cons:
- Comes with a comparatively hefty price tag.
7. Basecamp
Best For: Any organization trying desperately to make sense of the raging chaos within
Cost: $15 per user/month for businesses of any size; free for teachers and students
Learn More: How It Works, The Basics
Basecamp helps businesses organize projects, teams, and talent so that everything and everyone are at their optimum best. Achieve greater milestones by having full visibility and control of everything that’s happening in your organization. Move projects faster by getting your people on the same page and aiming for clear goals.
Pros:
- Easy to learn and use.
- Has everything you need to get a better handle on business: dashboard (HQ), work tracking tool, message board, chat room, calendar, and document repository.
Cons:
- Great bargain for medium and large organizations but a steep price if you belong to a teeny-weeny team.
8. Confluence
Best For: Teams that require extensive collaboration on content development
Cost: Free for up to 10 users; $6.05/user per month for 10+ on a standard plan
Learn More: Features
Developed by the same company that launched Jira, Confluence sets the perfect environment for your team to create, collaborate, and make ideas come to life. With Confluence, teams work in a central place to share notes, product requirements, plans, multimedia documents and other content, with the added benefit of automatic versioning, advanced search engine, instant previews, and pinned comments.
Pros:
- It has a simple and easy-to-use interface.
- It works seamlessly with Jira.
- There are great add-ons available (including calendar and email integrations as well as polls and leaderboards).
Cons:
- The search function may need some tweaking to generate better results.
- Limited text formatting capabilities.
9. Monday (formerly Da Pulse)
Best For: Teams that want everything in one place
Cost: Starts free for individual users, then at $8/user per month for teams
Monday is based on the idea that no team should be flipping between different pages on a project management app to figure out what they need to be doing. Hence, every part of the product is on a single continuous board, starting with high-level summaries and tasks and getting increasingly granular from there.
Pros:
- Every part of Monday is located in an infinite scroll board, so you’ll no longer have to flip between different tabs to find what you’re looking for.
- Team communications can easily take place within tasks.
Cons:
- The “one board” concept might be difficult to digest at first.
10. Deltek Vision
Best For: Professional services firms such as management consulting, market research, and engineering companies
Cost: Starts at $30/user per month
Learn More: Overview, Benefits
Manage client relationships and improve customer satisfaction by consistently delivering on time and within budget. Estimate project costs, track opportunities, monitor key metrics and set the standard for high performance.
Pros:
- It comes bundled with CRM, resource planning, project accounting, and billing functions.
Cons:
- It has comparatively steep pricing.
- The reporting features need an upgrade.
11. Easy Redmine
Best For: Software developers and other teams looking for a highly flexible project management and issue tracking solution
Cost: Starts at $5.90/user per month and has a business plan for $11.90/user per month
Easy Redmine is Redmine on steroids but delivered to you in a friendlier, mobile-enhanced package. On top of improved UI, this premium version of the popular open source tool also has upgraded collaboration, Gantt charts, time tracking, chat, document management and other features.
Pros:
- Extensible via a wide range of plugins, including those for resource management, Agile framework, help desk, and B2B CRM.
Cons:
- Limited personalization capabilities and various easily-fixed bugs reported by reviewers.
12. Everhour
Best For: Companies looking for a sensible and seamless way to track time
Cost: Starts at $5/month for a single user, tiered for multiple users (starts at $42.5/month a team of 5 users).
Learn More: The Basics, Case Studies
Trusted by more than 1,500 businesses around the world, Everhour helps you estimate project costs, rationalize budgets, and accurately track employee work-time for transparent invoicing and easy payroll management.
Pros:
- Readily integrable with Asana, Trello, Basecamp, Slack, Jira, and other project management platforms.
Cons:
- Lacks retainer feature in billing function.
- Limited language support.
- Mobile functionality still a dream away.
13. Evernote
Best For: Personal use
Cost: Free for the basic version, $15 month for the personal plan
Evernote is another classic software for project management that’s popular due to how flexible it is. You can truly do anything on this platform: Download graphics, add notes, create to-do lists, upload documents, and more. Even better, its clean interface is available on multiple devices, so you can take your work wherever you go.
Pros:
- Evernote is meant to be highly customizable with endless integrations so that users can make or upload practically anything on it.
- It has a free Basic version for personal use.
Cons:
- The app has random glitches within its mobile product and within specific integrations. Most get fixed relatively quickly, but depending on users needs, there may be some issues.
- Depending on your team and how you specifically want to use Evernote, it’s usually best for your own personal use as opposed to team use.
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14. Filestage
Best For: Creative teams that need to review different types of content in one place
Cost: The yearly plan starts at $49/month (10 active projects, basic project structure, 250 GB of secure storage)
Filestage is a creative project management tool that helps project managers to harmonize the review and approval process. Using the tool, project managers can invite internal and external stakeholders in just a few clicks. Those users can start clicking and commenting right away to leave insightful and accurate in-context feedback.
Filestage then creates an automatic to-do list based on those comments, ensuring that creative teams never miss a piece of important feedback.
Pros:
-
Very easy and intuitive to use
-
Speeds up and simplifies review and approval
-
Simple to track the status of projects
Cons:
-
A native mobile app is unavailable, for now.
15. Freedcamp
Best For: Teams
Cost: Free for basic collaborative projects with paid options for additional features
Learn More: Blog
Reason No. 1 to love Freedcamp: As the name suggests, it’s free! But another reason to love it is how simple and straightforward it is when it comes to managing your team. The software has four major sections (to-dos, discussions, milestones, and files), so you’ll still have a lot of tools to work with without the process getting overwhelming.
Pros:
- It’s free.
- Its streamlined interface means there isn’t a huge learning curve to get started, so it’s easy to use from day one.
Cons:
- It doesn’t include a Gantt chart (a common high-level view in project management software that allows users to see time breakdowns) or other ways to track tasks’ completion rates.
- Certain integrations and add-ons cost money.
16. Freshdesk
Best For: Customer-facing operations
Cost: Free for startups; starts at $15/month per agent for small teams being billed annually
Learn More: Features, Case Studies
Power up your customer support. Keep track of conversations, automate tasks, and collaborate with the team to resolve issues faster and more effectively. Comes with dashboards and a performance metrics system to help leaders consistently improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Pros:
- Has free version that includes access to app gallery, knowledge base, and support for email, call, and social media.
- Used by thousands of businesses small and large.
Cons:
- Many people find the UI/UX rather drab and unappealing.
17. FunctionFox
Best For: Creative teams looking for a web-based platform for time tracking and project management
Cost: Tiered (Classic, Premier, In-House) pricing with minimum cost for the first user. Classic starts at $35 for first user plus $5/month per succeeding user.
Learn More: Features, Benefits
Purposely designed for advertising, design, and other creative teams, FunctionFox provides a central place where you can manage clients, projects, budgets, talent, and time.
Pros:
- The basic version comes with decent features including time-tracking, project management, email alerts, budget tracking, and reports.
Cons:
- You can’t scale with just the Basic version. It lacks a ton of critical features including project scheduling, action assignments, and resource availability. However, these and more can be acquired with a service upgrade if you’re willing to pay $5 extra bucks.
18. GanttPro
Cost: Starts at $7.99 per user per month; all the features available on the free trial
Learn More: Features, Blog, Help center
This multi-awarded Gantt chart based project management tool offers opportunities for efficient work on all of your projects. Use it to have full control over your tasks (priorities, statuses, progress, duration & estimation, logged time, cost, assignees), collaborate with teammates and stakeholders, manage resources, cost and budget. GanttPRO offers an intuitive interface and a short learning curve.
Pros:
- GanttPRO collects everyone engaged in a project or portfolio in one place with all the projects’ details.
- It offers a slick user interface.
- Offering robust functionality, it comes more affordable in comparison to similar project management tools.
Cons:
- Limited integrations with other software.
19. Harvest
Best For: Invoice-based teams and projects
Cost: Free for one person and up to 2 projects; $12/user per month after one user/two projects when being billed monthly
If your business depends on tracking your time and billing hours, Harvest was made for you. The software helps you and your team keep track of where you’re at with any project, how much time you’ve spent on a project, and whether or not you’ve submitted your invoices.
Pros:
- In addition to being great for invoicing, the system also helps with team management and calculating billable hours.
- It syncs with other tracking systems like Quickbooks, which is vital to smaller teams and/or those that rely on invoices.
Cons:
- Harvest may seem pricey for some teams considering that its main function is helping with billable hours.
20. Hive
Cost: Free for individual users and $12/month per user on an annual plan. (14 days free trial)
Learn More: Features, Knowledge Base
Pros:
- Comprehensive analytics.
- It has a highly customizable interface - you can easily turn off features your team doesn't use so that it does not clutter your workspace.
- Reviewers have noted that the software is easy to adopt.
Cons:
- Integrations are limited at the moment.
- According to reviews, Hive can be slower than competitors at times.
21. Hubstaff Tasks
Cost: Free for up to 5 users, as low as $4.99/user per month for more than 5 users (with two months free)
Learn More: Overview, Pricing, Demo video
Hubstaff Tasks is the ideal project management tool for teams looking for an efficient way of accomplishing tasks. It keeps everyone connected, improves collaboration, and comes with several features that simplify work organization and progress tracking. With Hubstaff Tasks, you can easily see what’s going on with your projects from a single location, and ensure that there is a continuous flow of work.
Pros:
- Features easy-to-use, visual Kanban boards.
- Agile features (sprints) to get things done efficiently and for smoother mid-project adjustments.
- Powerful task management features: assign tasks, create checklists and labels, and notify team members.
- Free for teams of up to five people.
Cons:
- Integrations are limited at the moment.
22. Insightly
Best For: Client-driven teams or projects
Cost: $29/user per month after 2 users
If your work depends on customer relationships as well as project management, Insightly is a great tool to keep track of all of your client information while simultaneously dishing out tasks and projects to serve them. Now you won’t have to constantly copy and paste info from your database to your project management software and vice versa, or keep two different apps open at once.
Pros:
- It stores all of your client information in a single system.
- It allows for integrations with other software, like Evernote, Dropbox, G Suite, MailChimp, and more.
Cons:
- It can be a confusing system to learn at first; there’s definitely a learning curve to how the sections differ. Some might find it clunky to use at first given all of the different tables and products.
23. Jira
Best For: Tech teams
Cost: Free for up to 10 users, $8.15/user per month if being billed monthly
For software and tech teams, Jira’s considered one of the leading project management software apps because it combines several important features. Team members can see what needs to be done within individual tasks, get a high-level view of what needs to get done and track those projects throughout.
Pros:
- Jira has tech-specific features, like planning sprints and tracking bugs.
- Unsurprisingly, a tech product made for tech teams is free of glitches and runs smoothly.
- Integrates with third-party apps like Slack, Zoom, Zendesk, and Rewind (for automated Jira backups)
Cons:
- There's a learning curve.
24. Kanbanchi
Best For: Teams already nestled in the arms of Google (i.e., Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Calendar and other apps)
Cost: Free for limited personal use; starts at $13.97/user per month for businesses when being billed annually
Trusted by teams big and small from Netflix to Nielsen, Kanbanchi is a collaboration and agile project management tool which you can install, deploy and master in minutes. You can start small then steadily scale the features to support enterprise-grade organizations.
Pros:
- Works seamlessly with Gmail, Google Drive, Docs and other G Suite apps.
- Uses visually engaging Kanban boards like those in Trello.
- Comes with real-time messaging support for deeper collaboration.
- Advanced search (of course) and filter functions.
Cons:
- You’ll share more of your data but feel more indebted to Google.
- The mobile website is not perfect but mobile app versions for Android/iOS are reportedly in the works.
25. Businessmap (formerly Kanbanize)
Best For: Teams looking to bring higher transparency to their work processes and easily manage multiple projects.
Cost: Starting at $149/month. Free trial available
Businessmap is an enterprise-ready platform for Agile project, product and portfolio management. With Businessmap, users can achieve greater transparency across the entire business, manage team capacity, facilitate status reporting and more. Equipped with a powerful analytics module, Businessmap helps project managers bring higher predictability and efficiency to the management of their initiatives.
Pros:
- Kanban boards with multiple workflows.
- Timeline (with WIP Limits) for planning Project Initiatives.
- Business Rules (If-This-Then-That Runtime Policies).
- Email Integration.
Cons:
- There is a learning curve.
26. LiquidPlanner
Best For: Project-based teams, projects with strict deadlines
Cost: Free for up to 3 people, limited to 10 projects. $15/user per month for medium-sized teams
LiquidPlanner’s claim to fame is that it’s more geared towards the business side of a company than anything else, allowing users to see cross-project visibility as well as team member’s time availability in addition to task management and calendar views.
Pros:
- Projects are based on estimations, where users can give the best and worst case scenarios for when they’ll finish tasks and plan accordingly.
- The system also allows people to see how many hours team members each have available to take on more work, which helps with prioritization.
Cons:
- It’s not effective unless everyone on a team uses it effectively and keeps it up to date.
27. Mavenlink
Best For: Teams offering in professional services such as marketing, engineering, IT, and advertising.
Cost: Tiered pricing (Teams, Professional, Premier, Enterprise); starts at $19/month for 5 users.
Learn More: Features
Mavenlink brings together all the tools you need to plan projects, track workflows, share content, and collaborate within a convenient and supportive environment that improves process efficiencies, team performance, and financial results. Use Mavenlink to create timelines, assign tasks, and execute a winning game plan.
Pros:
- Robust knowledge base, training video library and 24/7 live support.
- Project plan templates to get you started fast.
- Gantt charts are interactive.
- Integrates with Google Apps/G Suite.
Cons:
- It has a steep learning curve.
- A text-heavy UI.
28. Microsoft Project
Best For: Businesses and project managers across industries
Cost: $10/user per month (Essential); $30/user per month (Professional); $55/user per month (Premium)
More than 30 years since its launch in 1984, Microsoft Project still retains a leading role and market share in the project and portfolio management ecosystem. It remains a dependable tool for project planning, tracking and collaboration.
Pros:
- Comes with industry-specific and best-practices-aligned templates so you wouldn’t have to start from scratch.
- Used by a plurality of project management professionals.
- Has more than 3 decades of development, upgrades and support.
- Industry standard whether you like it or not.
Cons:
- Can be bulky and unwieldy for agile and hip teams.
29. Notion
Best For: Agile teams doing creative or technical work.
Cost: Free version has limited upload sizes and number of blocks; More powerful and full-featured versions start at $8/user per month.
Learn More: Features
Drive project success by organizing tasks, notes and wikis in one place. Notion makes it ridiculously easy to 1) create and share content; 2) assign and track tasks, and 3) keep everyone informed and on the same page about stuff that matter.
Pros:
- It works like a dream with Slack.
- No more markup languages — just drag and drop and Notion will format things for you.
- It comes with a task board that provides full visibility in all aspects of your projects.
- Notion has an app for both iOS and Andriod.
Cons:
- Some reviewers have noted that there are limited integrations
30. nTask Manager
Best for: Agile teams who want an all-in-one solution for project management
Cost: Free for up to 5 projects, 5 workspaces, 10 members per workspace, and other interesting features. The paid plan is for $3 per user/month
Learn More: Features, Help & Support
nTask provides a multi-dimensional solution to all your project needs. A single platform to plan, collaborate, and monitor your project performance without switching applications. With nTask, you can get a holistic view of what lies ahead in your project lifecycle. You can also track and manage issues and risks associated with your projects without getting into any hassle of integrating an add-on.
Pros
- User-friendly interface and clutter-free distribution of features which makes it a go-to application for starters and professionals alike
- Tasks management, meetings management, issues and risks tracking- all in one application
- Budget friendly. Free forever version also available
Cons
- Kanban board for workflow visualization is missing (coming soon)
31. Paymo
Best For: Teams in need of an all-in-one project management system
Cost: Free (1 user limit), paid options start at $5.9/user per month, billed yearly
If you’re looking for a project management system that can do it all, look no further than Paymo. This project management system is all about customizable add-ons and integrations to make your workflow easier, and it also comes with standard collaboration, task management, accounting, and scheduling tools.
Pros:
- Considering how many tools come with it, it’s one of the more cost-effective systems.
- In addition to task and team management, Paymo has invoicing, accounting, and reporting features.
Cons:
- There are a lot of different tabs and tables to keep track of, which may make it difficult for everyone to use it efficiently.
32. Podio
Best For: Teams
Cost: Free for up to 5 users; Starts at $11.20/user per month
Learn More: Features
Teams love Podio because of how customizable it is. In Podio, it's easy to set up task management and workspaces, and communicate with your internal team. And you can integrate custom add-ons, like a CRM widget.
Pros:
- Podio’s interface is centered on team communication, so every feature is optimized for your team to share information.
Cons:
- Podio’s is notoriously known for not having the most aesthetically pleasing interface and not necessarily being the most intuitive tool at first.
33. Procore
Best For: Construction companies, subcontractors, architectural/engineering firms and similar businesses
Cost: Depends on package customizations after a free demo. Procore reportedly implements an annual licensing model.
Learn More: Features
Purpose-built for the construction sector, Procore is a full-featured, cloud-based application that covers all the elements comprising the entire lifecycle of a construction project. Boost field productivity and meet quality standards while keeping the build out on time and within budget.
Pros:
- End-to-end solution for the construction industry, with features for bidding, budget management, time-keeping, contract handling and document management.
Cons:
- Common observations among Procore users include a steep learning curve and relatively higher costs.
34. ProjectManager
Best For: For any project leader, team or organization in any industry who wants to get things organized, optimized, and done.
Cost: Starts at $13/user per month
Used by cross-industry brands such as NASA, the United Nations, and Volvo, ProjectManager is an online tool that provides all the things you need to consistently deliver excellent results within budget and on schedule. Get full visibility with dashboards, create streamlined plans, manage tasks, lead people, promote collaboration, and stay on top of multiple projects.
Pros:
- Has everything a project manager needs — from time tracking and resource planning to Gantt charts and status reporting.
- It has excellent add-ons and integrations.
Cons:
- Several users reported poor customer support/service.
- Ineffective/incomplete mobile version.
35. ProofHub
Best For: Any entity of any scale — from freelancers to global enterprises — looking for a single platform to run the core aspects of their business.
Cost: Starts at $45/month (unlimited number of users) for the Essential package.
Learn More: Features, Case Studies
ProofHub gets everyone and everything in a single empowered workplace. Use it to create projects, assign tasks, collaborate, meet deadlines, generate insight, and exceed expectations.
Pros:
- A wide range of features, add-ons, integrations, and support including white labelling, languages, and the ever-popular “Me-view.”
- Has apps for both Android and iOS devices.
Cons:
- Limited customization support for Gantt charts and notifications.
36. ProProfs Project
Best For: Any professional or business wanting to take full control of projects.
Cost: $39.7 per month billed annually; it $49.97 per month billed monthly
Learn More: Features
Missing deadlines and going over-budget more often than you care to count? ProProfs Project helps you gain full control of the entire project lifecycle, enabling you to lead optimized teams, detect workflow clashes, share documents, track progress, deliver excellence, and confidently bill clients.
Pros:
- It's an all-in-one project management solution.
- There are hundreds of integrations via Zapier.
- Native iOS and Android apps.
Cons:
- Some users reported significant limitations in the reporting function.
37. Quire
Best For: Individuals and teams willing to explore new project management solutions
Cost: Free for individuals and small teams; Starts $7.65/user per month when billed yearly
Quire is a sleek new take on what a project management tool should be: simple to use and designed to simplify projects, processes, and performance. Use Quire to collaborate, manage tasks, and get things done.
Pros:
- Intuitive interfaces.
- Gentle learning curve.
- Works well with Slack and GitHub.
Cons:
- Lacks some features and capabilities common in other project management apps.
38. ResourceGuru
Best For: Teams and professionals who need to create schedules by allocating the right talent and resources for every task in a project.
Cost: Starts at $2.50/user per month.
ResourceGuru makes it easy to match every task in a project with the right tools and talent. Formulate conflict-free schedules. Optimize your talent pool. Sync everyone on a shared calendar. Achieve more with less, faster.
Pros:
- Basic package entitles you to create an unlimited number of projects and engage an unlimited number of clients.
- Comes with metrics-driven reporting function to help you gain relevant insight into performance improvements or strategic planning.
Cons:
- There are limited integration capabilities.
39. Redmine
Best For: Teams that need to track and resolve product/service issues
Cost: Free (Open Source)
Learn More: Overview, Features
Teams handling multiple projects can use Redmine for issue tracking, time monitoring, document management, and wiki administration. Built as an open source, web-based project management tool, Redmine is free to use and provides a range of features including Gantt charts, per-project forum support, multiple database integrations, news feeds, and email notifications.
Pros:
- it's open source (free).
- There is an active developer community.
Cons:
- It lacks the support for agile planning.
Want to learn more?
Take your project management skills to the next level with our comprehensive (and free) ebook!
40. Retain Resource Planning
Best For: Service-oriented businesses including financial institutions, accounting firms and management consultancies
Cost: Available upon consultation with vendor
Learn More: Features, Customers
Favored by small teams as well as Fortune 500 companies, Retain helps you optimize resources, manage costs, and develop top-notch talent. Collaborate globally, integrate with enterprise apps, and generate high performance on any platform.
Pros:
- It's easy-to-use
- Multi-platform (MS windows, web-based, mobile, etc.)
- Supports both cloud and on-premises deployments.
- Robust customization features.
Cons:
- Opaque pricing model.
41. Runrun.it
Best For: Performance-based teams, projects with billable hours
Cost: Free for max. 5 users; Starts at $10/month billed annually
What’s difficult about other project management software is that while it’s easy to assign an unlimited number of tasks or projects, it’s hard to know how long each of those tasks will take.
One task may take three hours; five other tasks could take 10 minutes. With Runrun.it, teams can see what the estimated delivery times are and adjust accordingly to prevent overworking and burning out while also holding people accountable.
Pros:
- It’s helpful for teams to see an overview of how people are working as well as for each individual person to get a sense of his or her performance.
- It provides a granular look at how people spend their time.
Cons:
- The system can become overwhelming for admins overseeing large teams.
- The app lacks some integrations and can become clunky when adding others.
42. Saviom
Best For: Medium to Large enterprise-scale organizations looking to maximize resource efficiency through optimal workforce productivity.
Cost: Personalized on Request.
Saviom Software unifies the concepts of project portfolio, resource management and workforce planning to accelerate project and program delivery. Use custom-built dashboards, screens, and business intelligence reports to track project milestones. Detect and resolve project and resource roadblocks alike with intuitive Early Warning systems that ensure your portfolio stays the course.
Pros:
- Easy to use Gantt charts with simple drag-drop functionality, staff requisitioning, forecasting revenue reports, project cost estimates, timesheeting.
- Seamless integration with existing system infrastructure
- There’s a free 30-day trial period.
Cons:
- No free version.
- Limited multi-lingual support
43. Scoro
Best For: Organizations on the lookout for an all-in-one solution for their project management, time tracking, sales, and financial reporting needs.
Cost: Starts at $26/user per month (for the Essential bundle) with a minimum of 5 users
Scoro is a full-featured application that solves your financial reporting, work tracking, client billing, and project management challenges. Use Scoro to improve workflows and generate higher ROI.
Pros:
- Tons of features and functionalities including invoice automation and sales tracking.
- Generate data-driven insight to improve performance.
Cons:
- Limited synchronization capabilities with other popular tools.
44. Slack
Best For: Any organization — from three-person ventures to global conglomerates — that intends to take their collaborative efforts to the highest level.
Cost: Small teams can use Slack for free; Standard Slack for Teams costs $7.25/user per month; heftier price tags for Slack for Business Plus and Slack Enterprise Grid
Slack enables everyone to be more productive by streamlining processes, simplifying collaboration, and bringing every tool your team needs in one happy place. By obliterating ambiguity and clarifying what everyone needs to do, Slack helps businesses do things better and faster.
Pros:
- Thousands of integrations including the tools and software you love such Google Docs, Dropbox, Trello, and Salesforce.
- Multi-platform support (desktop, web, mobile).
Cons:
- Some integrations reportedly have glitches.
- The search feature can use extra accuracy according to some users.
45. Smartsheet
Best For: Any organization in any industry that intends to improve the way they manage projects and tasks
Cost: Starts at $7/user per month
Learn More: Overview, Training videos
Smartsheet is a multi-awarded online collaboration and task management tool that will help you save time, improve productivity, increase revenue, and make better decisions faster. Use Smartsheet to formulate winning plans, remove roadblocks to workflow, automate tedious processes, and generate impactful reports.
Pros:
- Proven ROI for adopters as reported by research giant Forrester.
- Targeted solutions for customer engagement, resource management, and budget planning.
- Ther is a comprehensive feature set for end-to-end adaptability.
Cons:
- It lacks real-time document collaboration feature.
46. TeamGantt
Best For: Project-based teams
Cost: $19/manager per month after 3 users
TeamGantt has a number of more mainstream features that other project management software does, but what really sets it apart is its visualizations. Users can create a collaborative “Gantt chart” that allows them to map out just how much time each project should take and break it down by user so people can see how their tasks are intertwined.
Pros:
- The platform is highly visual, making it easy to see how long each portion of a project should take as well as how far an individual has come in finishing a task.
- Out of the more all-in-one project management software, it’s considered one of those with the most bang for your buck.
Cons:
- While the interface is aesthetically pleasing, it’s not necessarily streamlined, but users can adjust their settings so that there aren’t so many integrations on any given page.
47. Teamwork Projects
Best For: Project-based businesses that experience different challenges in managing teams
Cost: Has free version; Starter version costs $5.99 per user/month billed yearly
Fragmented teams, files, and tools won’t bring you anywhere. Organize everything to get things done. By tracking tasks, enabling collaboration, and unclogging workflows, Teamwork Projects will help you drive productivity and profit margins.
Pros:
- There are native iOS and Android apps.
- It integrates with familiar tools.
Cons:
- The Gantt charts have limited customization capabilities.
48. TimeCamp
Best For: Any organization that needs to monitor time and rationalize their budgets such as recruitment agencies, consulting companies, and financial services providers
Cost: Free forever for solo users; Basic package costs $1.99/user per month
Learn More: Features, Knowledge Base
Making it easier to deliver high-quality projects on time and within budget, TimeCamp is the ultimate tool for ensuring project management success. Never go out in the field without its time tracking functions, cost accounting capabilities, and its ability to determine whether specific projects will generate acceptable profit margins.
Pros:
- Integrations with familiar apps such as Chrome, Evernote, Dropbox, and Quickbooks.
Cons:
- Many of the most useful options are accessible only via the paid packages.
49. Timely
Best For: Individuals and businesses who need to optimize their time investments on projects.
Cost: Single user starts at $25
Timely will show you exactly how each member of your team spends time working on a project. That means you’ll never need to spend ridiculous amounts of time trying to track time. You’re not a clock after all. Let Timely automate the process of managing timesheets, monitoring downtimes, and optimizing productivity whenever possible.
Pros:
- Growing number of useful integrations.
Cons:
- High on timekeeping, low on everything else.
Do you work remotely? Read Timely's 6 time management tips on the GoSkills blog.
50. Trello
Best For: Teams of any size and projects that require simple to-do lists.
Cost: Free (You can pay for more features)
Learn More: Features, Blog, Templates
There’s a reason why Trello is a beloved project management tool. Its design is meant to be fully customizable. You can use “cards” for virtually anything, from saving client contact information to building larger project tasks, and it’s just as easy to switch things up on the fly.
Pros:
- Trello's interface is meant to be simple so you can transform it into the project management tool of your dreams.
- Trello comes with loads of pre-made templates.
- Trello integrates with tons of other apps.
- Trello is easy to learn.
Cons:
- Because Trello's meant to be a more customizable system, teams need to activate "Power Ups."
- Trello can get messy quickly if you and your team don't have a method to your madness.
51. VersionOne
Best For: Any team of any size that practice agile methodologies
Cost: Free for single teams; custom pricing for cross-sectional or multiple teams available upon request
Purpose-built for Agile, VersionOne enables companies to streamline, improve, and speed up value delivery. Use VersionOne to visualize your plans, make better decisions, and scale your business.
Pros:
- Integration with Jira, Salesforce, and other apps.
- It's trusted by thousands of clients big and small.
- Market imprint and track record of more than 10 years.
Cons:
- Limited text formatting features.
52. Workfront
Best For: Enterprise teams that require extensive collaboration
Cost: Depends on user size and available upon request
WorkFront perfectly matches resources with requirements, resulting in higher productivity, faster timelines, and better project outcomes. Use Workfront to tap the right talent for each task, to automate tedious processes, and to streamline workflow. Optimize profit margins by ramping up efficiencies throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Pros:
- It has time-saving automation.
- Increases team’s workload capacity.
- Integrations with Google Drive, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Creative Cloud and other systems.
Cons:
- Opaque pricing model.
- Favors large cross-sectional teams over garage-scale startups.
53. Workzone
Best For: Digital marketing companies, design studios, ad agencies and other organizations that manage multiple projects and require robust inter-team collaborations
Cost: Starts at $120 per month for 5 users
Learn More: Product Tour, Blog
A full-featured project management tool, Workzone provides complete visibility into projects, and how these relate to individuals, teams, clients and other stakeholders. Streamline workflows, optimize talent, deliver excellence, and make customers happy.
Pros:
- Trusted by top brands such as Bose, Wells Fargo, UPenn, and Adidas.
- More than 15 years track record in a highly competitive market.
- Comes with all the features you’ll ever need including time tracking, reporting, Gantt charts, file versioning, and a lot more.
Cons:
- Lackluster mobile experiences
54. Wrike
Best For: Bigger teams, creative teams, visual projects
Cost: Free for up to 2 users; $9.80/user per month after 5 users
There’s no reason to have 20 different tabs open to manage all of the programs you use for your project.
Instead, use Wrike, which combines project management software with visual tools -- like workload management, budgeting, vision boards, and more -- to help you work with your team in real time.
Pros:
- Wrike makes it easy for admins to control who can see what and customize the look and feel of different dashboards.
- It’s also an easy product to use for remote teams, especially those with creative needs.
Cons:
- Wrike updates constantly, so getting started and maintaining the software requires upfront work and someone dedicated to staying on top of the latest changes.
- Additionally, new features can be clunky and difficult to use when they first come out.
55. Zenkit
Best For: Individuals and teams of any size who need a simple tool for tracking projects.
Cost: Free “forever’ for personal use; Plus bundle at $9/user per month; Enterprise option available upon requirements review.
Learn More: Features, Tutorials, Blog
Some tools force you to adapt to their features. Zenkit does the opposite. With its highly customizable modules, you get to forge the tools exactly the way you need them to be. So personalize your calendar and inbox to improve performance. Use to-do-lists, kanban boards, and labels to optimize your workflow. Configure activity tracking and notification to keep you primed not only to meet deadlines and budgets but to surpass expectations — even your own.
Pros:
- A simple and gentle learning curve.
- Excellent UI.
- Robust customization and personalization features.
Cons:
- It lacks Gantt chart function.
- The mobile app doesn't fully integrate into the mobile OS.
56. Zoho Projects
Cost: Free for 3 users, 2 projects; Pricing starts at $5/user/month
Learn More: Features, Case Studies
Zoho Projects is a complete solution for managing projects, assigning tasks, hosting documents, tracking progress, keeping teams in full collaborative mode, and achieving milestones.
Pros:
- It has a free version.
- Robust language support (for non-English users).
- Integrates with many systems including Slack, GitHub, Zapier, and Dropbox.
- Trusted by brands such as Daimler, Ikea, Timex, and Cornell University.
Cons:
- The free version only gets 10 MB of space! (seriously?)
- Moderately steep learning curve compared to simpler tools.
Time to pick your favorite project management tool
The most important thing you can do when it comes to finding a great project management software is to take the time to look at the features within each tool and assess if the price is worth paying to address your team’s needs.
Always look for alternatives but be sure to have the makings of a project management stack before you’re done. Remember, the nature of work is rapidly evolving, with more and more companies and professionals transitioning into a project-based business operating model.
To succeed in that economy, get the right technology tools on your side, brush up on your skills, and train to become a dependable project management practitioner.
This article has been updated from the original to keep it fresh and up to date, by Joseph Mapue.
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