What’s the best project management software for 2024?
Project Management Guide
Without effective project management software, it’s likely your team or organization is struggling with the following challenges:
- You’re juggling spreadsheets, emails, and messaging apps to manage your work.
- You lose track of project progress and key tasks get overlooked or delayed.
- Your colleagues get frustrated as resources and information are difficult to find and access.
- You lack visibility over budgets, workloads, and project finances.
The best project management software helps you overcome these challenges. You can be more strategic with resources and get projects completed on time and on budget, every single time. In fact, in Wrike’s 2023 Efficiency Report, we found that 82% of over 1,000 business leaders said that investing in new project management solutions is the most effective way to improve efficiency.
But when there are so many project management apps and platforms out there, how do you choose? In this guide, we walk you through 25 top options. We’ll point you to the best choices for your type of organization and team, and give you a detailed breakdown of each tool, focusing on key features, integrations, security, and customer support.
Here’s a list of the project management software we review fully in this guide:
- Wrike, the best for cross-functional collaboration
- Asana, the best for attractive visuals
- Monday.com, the best for use case templates
- Adobe Workfront, the best for Adobe integration
- Smartsheet, the best for spreadsheet-style functionality
- ClickUp, the best for mind mapping
- Airtable, the best for data-centric teams
- Jira, the best for development teams
- Trello, the best for simple projects
- Notion, the best for document storage
- Hive, the best for user-led feedback
- Zoho Projects, the best for the real estate industry
- Teamwork, the best for teams who want to get started quickly
- Basecamp, the best for small businesses and teams
- GanttPro, the best for specialist gantt charts
Plus some extra options we feature here, including:
- MeisterTask
- Microsoft Project
- ProWorkflow
- TeamGantt
- Accelo
- ProjectManager
- Planview AdaptiveWork
- Scoro
- Confluence
- LiquidPlanner
Jump to the list of software to discover the details
If you’re already ready to get started with the most scalable and customizable project management platform out there, skip ahead to book a demo with Wrike.
How we selected the best project management software for this guide
In practice, the best project management software will give you everything you need to plan, manage, and deliver projects effectively. It should provide a single central platform where teams can assign tasks, share resources, communicate about work, and track project progress and metrics in real time.
The reality is that many of even the best-known tools for managing projects struggle in these functions. And the trouble is that you’re unlikely to know these limitations in advance.
That’s why, in this guide, we’ve selected each tool based on how they perform in these five functions:
- Project visualizations. How you physically see your projects affects how you manage and complete them. Does your platform have a timeline view, to help you meet deadlines? Do colleagues have a user-friendly dashboard where they can track their own individual work? How customizable is the software to your unique work structure? These are all critical questions you need answers to.
- Team collaboration. The best work management software should also streamline your teams’ communications by bringing it all under one roof. With instant messaging, commenting, shared editing, and even Scrum capabilities, you can dramatically reduce the number of emails you send. Choose the tool that has the communication functionality that’s right for you.
- Resource planning and management. Project management software should provide a single source of truth for your work. For teams, it’s crucial that it offers easy access to the docs, files, and assets they need. For project managers, it should provide tools to help track and plan for budgets and colleagues’ capacity, such as timesheets.
- Reporting and analytics. Project management tools should provide detailed information on how your projects are progressing and whether you’re on budget and on schedule. Many tools do this well, but the analytics they provide may be limited to individual projects rather than your whole portfolio. This may be OK for some teams, but others may want a more scalable solution.
- Workflow automations. Rather than just providing a platform for you to work, the most advanced tools can actually do part of that work for you, thanks to automation. For instance, with Wrike you can automate some repetitive work, such as assigning tasks and subtasks. If you’re serious about boosting organizational efficiency, this can be a hugely useful feature.
In the rest of this guide, we’ll consider how each tool shapes up against these five functions. We’ll kick off with Wrike, our own project management software.
The best 15 project management software in 2024
So, what’s the best project management software out there? Here, we’ll help you find the best fit for you.
We’ll consider the 15 best options, highlighting the main features and limitations of each tool. To help you on your way, we’ll also break down the pricing plans and customer ratings.
1. Wrike: Best project management software for cross-functional collaboration
Wrike is an industry-leading work management platform used by more than 20,000 companies — including Siemens Smart Infrastructure, Walmart Canada, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Sony Pictures Television — in over 140 countries.
We designed our platform to be as flexible and scalable as possible. It’s customizable to the way you want to work and it can handle the complexity and volume of projects that the very largest companies are working on. Plus, with a suite of tools for everyone from team members to project managers and marketing heads, Wrike caters to every department in your company.
In this section, we show you how Wrike performs in the five functionalities we mentioned above.
1. Wrike shows you your projects in whichever way you want to see them
Across your organization, there are potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of team members who want sight on what’s going on in your projects. Yet each colleague has their own perspective on the work that’s happening. Your project management software should show everyone what they need, without them having to trawl through information that’s not relevant to them.
That’s why we equipped Wrike with flexible dashboards and a huge range of custom project visualizations. This way, no one loses track of what they need to do — or what their colleagues are working on.
With Wrike, you can:
- Track task statuses with Kanban boards. Kanban boards are the cornerstone of project management. For those who like to use them, they offer the opportunity for quick and easy collaboration.
- Build detailed project timelines with Gantt charts. Gantt charts give you a much broader overview of your projects, deadlines, task dependencies, and milestones. They provide a bigger-picture view of your projects than Kanban boards. But luckily, Wrike has both.
- Use templates for every project use case. When working on multiple projects, project managers and other colleagues often find themselves repeating the same processes — or creating the same docs — over and over. With Wrike’s library of templates, including templates for meeting notes, software development, or product launches, you can skip the repetitive tasks and focus on more valuable work.
- Personalize dashboards for every team member. While everyone needs eyes on the entire project, team members also need a space to keep track of their own workflows. That’s what dashboards are for, where teams can see their outstanding tasks and priorities, and get notified about any updates that are relevant to them.
- Visualize how tasks relate across different departments and projects. In large organizations, some tasks have an impact on workflows across multiple projects. The trouble with most project management tools is that they don’t let you see these relations without duplicating the given tasks. Wrike overcomes this issue and stops your workflows from getting cluttered with cross-tagging.
2. Wrike gives you the team collaboration tools you need to streamline your communication
Too often, large organizations are using tens of different apps and tools to communicate, share files, and give feedback. Simply, this isn’t an efficient way of working. Resources get lost, teams spend time flicking between apps, and there’s no standardization across departments.
Wrike brings everything you need together, so you can work more effectively at scale. We built the platform so that you can:
- Communicate entirely through Wrike. Teams that have used Wrike have reduced the number of emails they’ve sent by 90%, while streamlining meetings and ensuring nothing gets lost. Chat through Wrike, or integrate messaging apps such as Slack into your workflows.
- Do your work — and give feedback on other people’s work — all within Wrike. You can write documents, work in Adobe Creative Cloud, or create new assets in Wrike. Then, to give feedback, all colleagues have to do is comment on your work, meaning no more back and forth over email.
- Get approval from external stakeholders, again within Wrike. Even if colleagues aren’t in your organization, invite them to Wrike and they too can give you feedback and approvals.
- Collaborate across tools thanks to Wrike’s unmatched range of integrations. We have integrations with over 400 different workplace apps. But if there’s another tool you want to work with, you can integrate it via our API.
3. Wrike helps you meticulously plan and manage your resources
Poorly planned projects are more likely to be over-budget, have overstretched staff, and miss deadlines. From the get-go, your project management tool should help you meticulously plan your financials, resources, and staff.
Wrike lets you do exactly that, so you can scale your projects and achieve maximum efficiency in your teams. With Wrike, you can:
- Plan what you need and when. Wrike also lets you understand your team’s capacity, work hours, and needs. If anyone’s overstretched or has space to take on more work, you’ll know immediately, so you can boost team efficiency and ensure staff wellbeing.
- Make it easy for team members to view and access resources. You can prioritize tasks to avoid the issues of underutilization or time spent on less important tasks, optimize performance with smart assignments, and hit your targets every time by channeling your resources effectively.
- Stay on budget with financial projections and analytics. Wrike’s budgeting feature sits alongside tools for task effort estimation, billable time setting, and time tracking. You’ll have everything you need to manage your project costs.
4. Wrike offers deep data analytics into all aspects of your projects
Reporting is often a secondary consideration in project management tools, even though it’s rarely a secondary concern for project managers. Without effective reporting, you’ll miss opportunities for greater efficiency — or the warning signs that projects are at risk.
Wrike has some of the most robust and scalable project reporting tools in the industry, allowing you to:
- Report over your entire portfolio. Some tools limit reporting to single projects. For larger teams working on multiple projects, this just isn’t useful. Instead, Wrike gives you visibility over everything that’s going on across every single project.
- Access the deepest analytics with business intelligence (BI). Wrike lets you integrate your BI tools directly into your project management system. But if you want a simpler solution, use Wrike’s native BI tools for deep analytics and automated reports.
- Forecast project risk with AI. Wrike assigns a color to every project to identify its risk level, based on budgets, deadlines, and more. Thanks to AI, Wrike can now also forecast risk, so you can ensure high-risk initiatives are properly resourced.
- Track key data in your OKR dashboard. Wrike gives you insight into how your projects are performing against your overall business goals.
5. Wrike is powered by AI automations, to make your work even more efficient
You shouldn’t have to do all your work yourself. Instead, let Wrike take some of it off your hands. Thanks to AI and our platform’s powerful automation, you can:
- Automate entire workflows, from start to finish. Setting up project workflows can be tedious, particularly when you’re doing it all the time. Wrike will do it for you. With dynamic request forms, departments can collect all the information they need for a project and Wrike’s automation will create and assign tasks and dependencies from ideation to approval.
- Automate repetitive tasks across your integrations. Say that every time you organize a meeting, you share that in Slack. Wrike can automate this process across your integrations so that you don’t have to spend time on these repeated tasks.
- Let Wrike help you identify which tasks to automate. While you work, Wrike will track your tasks to find additional opportunities for automation. It can help you flag areas where you can make efficiency gains.
Highlights of Wrike project management software
- Create custom workflows for every department.
- Track KPIs and OKRs with real-time analytics.
- Use Kanban boards and Gantt charts to manage tasks and visualize progress.
- Access dozens of templates to optimize day-to-day operations.
- View projects in different ways with customizable dashboards.
- Get stakeholder input with 360-degree visibility.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Fast, easy onboarding and learning curve | ✖️ Full capabilities require some training |
✔️ Advanced AI and automation capabilities | ✖️ Gantt charts available on paid plans |
✔️ Flexible and scales easily |
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✔️ Suitable for enterprise-level customers |
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Integrations
Wrike has more than 400 integrations so customers can toggle fluidly between the platform and other popular apps such as Google Drive, Zoom, Slack, and more.
Security
Wrike customers can enjoy world-class security and data protection, with double encryption, selective sharing, global server presence, and multiple privacy certifications.
Customer support
Wrike’s help center is renowned for going the extra mile. Choose the level of support you prefer, including callbacks, emails, and 24/7 access to qualified assistance whenever you need it.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Professional: $9.80 per user/month (billed annually)
- Business: $24.80 per user/month (billed annually)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for large teams (billed annually)
- Pinnacle: Custom pricing for teams with complex needs
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.3/5 (2,600+ customers)
Customers enjoy how Wrike lets them create custom workflows and improve the efficiency of their whole organization. For instance, Siemens Smart Infrastructure saw a 10% improvement in productivity across 14,000 users after partnering with Wrike. Even more impressively, Electrolux has reduced the amount of time spent on each project by 30% thanks to Wrike. BigCommerce also used Wrike to reduce the time spent on reporting by 50%.
Some customers noted that there’s a learning curve to get the most out of the tool’s features. We find that while you can certainly get quite a bit out of Wrike “out of the box,” this sentiment becomes true as users experience some of our more nuanced and complex features designed to conquer the more difficult challenges set forth by scaling businesses. As a result, the learning becomes well worth the investment.
2. Asana: Best project management software for attractive visuals
Asana offers a project management software platform for businesses of all sizes. Like most project tools, it combines standard features such as file storage, project roadmaps, personalized dashboards, and more, all in a single interface.
One of the standout aspects of Asana is how aesthetically pleasing it is. This shouldn’t be underestimated in a platform that your teams will be spending a lot of time in. However, there are some frustrations. For instance, recurring tasks are more tricky to organize than on other platforms.
Asana project management software features
- Workflow builder: Asana’s workflow builder feature offers users a visual tool for creating custom workflows and connecting team members. Workflows allow team members to approve requests, coordinate tasks, and benefit from integrations.
- Strategic goals: With strategic goals in Asana, project managers can provide direction to teams and set up metrics to track performance along the way.
Highlights of Asana project management software
- Workflow builder provides teams with a convenient way to collaborate on tasks and projects.
- Setting strategic goals within the app ensures all team members are on the same page.
- Gantt chart timelines provide an insightful overview of resource allocation and overall progress.
- Real-time data reports allow for course corrections before it’s too late.
- 200+ app integrations such as Google Drive help teams communicate, automate, and much more.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Feature-rich free plan | ✖️ Lacks BI-level reporting |
✔️ Attractive and easy-to-use interface | ✖️ Could be priced high for small teams |
✔️ Suits multiple use cases | ✖️ No phone support or live chat |
Integrations
With more than 200 app integrations, Asana customers can switch between the platform and their favorite apps, including Google Drive, Slack, and invoicing software.
Security
Asana protects its data and customers with platform-wide encryption, privilege access, and a “public bug bounty program.”
Customer support
Asana doesn’t have phone support or live chat, which might be a challenge for teams seeking fast answers to their queries. There is some training available, and “how-to” tickets can be raised if needed.
Pricing plans
- Basic: $0
- Premium: $13.49 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Business: $30.49 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 (12,500+ customers)
Customers praise Asana for how easy it is to keep team members informed and up to date with project information. Some customers claim that the interface can get hard to read, and it can be difficult to see who has access to information.
3. Monday.com: Best project management software for use case templates
The project management software Monday.com includes various project templates and tools to optimize operations and help your teams work toward higher productivity levels. For instance, Monday.com has some sleek automations that work across its range of integrations.
The software calls itself a work operating system (work OS). What makes it stand out is that it provides developer-level workflow customization without requiring any coding knowledge, which means you can adapt much of it to your specific needs. One weakness, though, is that it’s much less customizable at the space or department level than other tools.
The software displays a lot of information for teams, yet sometimes it can get lost at scale and in long chains of events. For instance, in the Enterprise plan, the software only reports on 50 boards at once, which can be limiting for larger organizations.
Monday.com project management software features
- Custom dashboards: Monday.com allows users to create custom dashboards and view project information from different angles. With these dashboards, project managers and team leaders can assess progress at a glance based on real-time data from timelines and budget information.
- Automations: Monday.com offers powerful automation features to streamline work processes. Tasks can be set up with automatic reminders close to due dates, and team leaders can create “if this, then that” scenarios to speed up progress.
Highlights of Monday.com project management software
- It offers access to over 100 different templates for smooth day-to-day operations.
- Custom dashboards and views allow managers and team leaders to gain crucial oversight into progress and performance.
- Monday.com offers 200+ integrations with popular tools, which extend the utility of the software.
- Automations help tasks move down the pipeline and eliminate bottlenecks along the way.
- Kanban boards allow for straightforward task management functionality.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Engaging, attractive interface | ✖️ Limited native proofing features |
✔️ Large number of ready-made templates | ✖️ Some stability issues reported |
✔️ Strong workflow automation capabilities | ✖️ Display can become cluttered or complex |
Integrations
Monday.com provides connections with all the most popular apps, such as Salesforce, Slack, and Google.
Security
All of Monday.com’s transmissions (including sign-on) are encrypted at 256-bit and hosted via Amazon Web Services (AWS). Additional security features are available at enterprise level.
Customer support
Customers hoping to talk to a human about any issues they’re having at Monday.com might find themselves out of luck. There’s no inbound phone line and callbacks are limited to billing-related queries.
Pricing plans
- Individual: $0
- Basic: $12 per seat/month (billed monthly)
- Standard: $14 per seat/month (billed monthly)
- Pro: $24 per seat/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 (4,700+ customers)
Customers appreciate the automation and ease of collaboration with Monday.com, as well as the ability to track progress. For some, the layout can be hard to follow and information is difficult to track.
4. Adobe Workfront: Best project management software for Adobe integration
Adobe Workfront is a marketing-focused project management solution. It focuses its own branding on marketing teams and it has a good reputation among this audience. While other functions can use it too, it may not support everything you want it to do.
Something else to be aware of is that Workfront was designed as a project portfolio management tool. It’s packed with features that are aimed at enterprise-level businesses. Yet many businesses say that it comes with a significant learning curve, while others point out that it’s not as customizable as it could be.
Other than this, it’s a sleek and very capable tool. It’s one to consider if you’re already an Adobe customer.
Adobe Workfront project management software features
- Scenario planner: You can create scenarios and run outcomes with Workfront’s senario planner to prepare for various situations.
- Strategic goal setting: Set concrete, measurable goals you and your team can work toward.
Highlights of Adobe Workfront project management software
- Set strategic goals for your team to follow.
- Detailed dashboards offer insightful analytics into business performance.
- Use the Scenario Planner to stay one step ahead.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Part of popular Adobe group | ✖️ Learning curve can be steep |
✔️ Suitable for enterprise-level customers | ✖️ Interface reportedly buggy or slow |
✔️ Useful scenario planner for projects | ✖️ Pricing could be expensive for small teams |
Integrations
Adobe Workfront is part of the globally known Adobe group. As you might expect, this means seamless integration with most of its sister platforms, including the ever-popular Creative Cloud. However, it’s not nearly as strong with other third-party integrations, which might be challenging.
Security
Adobe Workfront employs the tried-and-tested security functions of its parent group, including PCI DSS-approved encryption algorithms to encrypt documents and assets at rest.
Customer support
Without a free version or even free trial, users will struggle to really understand if the platform suits them before they sign up.
Pricing plans
Note that Workfront does not offer a free trial at all. All other plans are based on custom quotes.
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 (1,400+ customers)
Many customers comment on how Workfront has powerful analytics and collaboration tools. For some customers, Workfront doesn’t offer enough tools for organizing projects beyond assigning due dates.
5. Smartsheet: Best project management software for spreadsheet-style functionality
Smartsheet is a visual-focused project management platform. The software uses cloud-based spreadsheets and automated workflows to cater to different teams and contexts.
Fundamentally, Smartsheet works like a spreadsheet. If this is what you’re looking for, then it could be a great fit. But it’s likely that you’ll want more sophisticated visuals and more user-friendly formatting from your project management software. If you have many projects on the go, the software can get quite cluttered.
If you’re comfortable with handling data and technical processes, though, Smartsheet can be an invaluable tool. For instance, it has a robust control center feature that creates account-wide visibility and standardized processes. But there are some basic frustrations, such as the fact that it’s almost impossible to share data across multiple sheets.
Smartsheet project management software features
- Process management: With Smartsheet, you can view all your projects in one place, manage approval requests, and use blueprints to set up tailored workflows.
- Content management: For creative businesses that produce content consistently, Smartsheet offers tools such as task management, automated alerts, and dashboards that offer full visibility.
Highlights of Smartsheet project management software
- Data-rich dashboards allow you to visualize all project information.
- Set up automated workflows for your projects using blueprints.
- Create automated alerts to ensure deadlines are always met.
- Manage resources and assets and track them for performance.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Familiar to Excel users | ✖️ Limited views beyond a data table |
✔️ Multiple templates available | ✖️ Data not updated in real time |
✔️ Workflow automation available | ✖️ Add-ons are expensive |
Integrations
With more than 100 integrations available, Smartsheet has good connections to the most sought-after apps, as well as additional integration options via Zapier and Automate.io.
Security
While Smartsheet does provide enhanced security functions, Enterprise users might be surprised to learn there’s an additional cost to purchase local hosting in the US or EU instead of the AWS cloud.
Customer support
Smartsheet provides extensive training and comprehensive how-to guides to help users get to grips with its more complex UX, but users preferring phone calls or live chat may be disappointed.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Pro: $9 per user/month (billed monthly; max 10 users)
- Business: $32 per user/month (billed monthly; minimum 3 users)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 (3,200+ customers)
According to customers, Smartsheet is a great option for quickly creating forms and applying workflows. With the lack of transparency over the causes behind user errors, some customers believe it can sometimes be hard to know what went wrong.
6. ClickUp: Best project management software for mind mapping
ClickUp is a conventional project management software solution that suits most remote work environments. Teams can collaborate effectively with task management features.
ClickUp aims to be the “one app to replace them all.” As such, it’s absolutely packed with features, including a proprietary document tool, sprint features, roadmaps, and more. However, some customers find features are unreliable, buggy, and unintuitive.
That said, ClickUp’s basic features work well. And it’s known for being easy to set up and use.
ClickUp project management software features
- Document hub: Create internal documents, wikis, and knowledge bases to speed up the onboarding process and reduce overreliance on team leaders.
- Checklists: Add task lists to break down tasks into bite-size activities and more accurately track exactly where each team member is at.
Highlights of ClickUp project management software
- Use mind maps to plot out projects and tasks visually.
- The document hub can clarify details to save team leaders’ time.
- Checklists allow for granular task tracking.
- Task dependencies help you identify bottlenecks so you can eliminate them.
- Google Calendar integration allows for two-way syncing, so your team is less likely to miss deadlines.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Attractive, colorful UI | ✖️ Platform performance is slow |
✔️ Quick onboarding period | ✖️ Limited marketing functionality |
✔️ Useful mind maps for project managers |
Integrations
ClickUp has a wide variety of integrations, linking the platform with all the biggest third-party apps, including Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook, GitHub, and more.
Security
As ClickUp is hosted on AWS, it enjoys built-in end-to-end security and privacy features, including encryption.
Customer support
Like other competitors, ClickUp doesn’t have any phone support, which does limit users’ access to help. They can submit emails, but getting instant answers may be challenging without a user community.
Pricing plans
- Free Forever: $0
- Unlimited: $10 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Business: $19 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 (4,000+ customers)
Customers appreciate how ClickUp allows them to capture client feedback and track various tasks and projects. A common issue raised is how notifications can sometimes flood users’ dashboards and email.
7. Airtable: Best project management software for data-centric teams
Airtable brings all the utility of the spreadsheet to project management, combining it with powerful task management features. The result is a solution for storing and displaying data, collaborating with team members, and setting up custom automated workflows.
Airtable was born as a database and it still retains that character. As such, it will be much more appropriate for data-centric use cases, even though the company has worked hard to make it relevant to other use cases too.
One thing to be aware of is that the UI can get disorganized quickly at scale. That’s due to its spreadsheet-like visuals.
Airtable project management software features
- Various project views: With Airtable, you can shift your perspective on projects and tasks with calendar, Kanban, and gallery views for displaying information in a way that makes sense to you and your team.
- Custom workflows: Custom workflows are the lifeblood of many creative teams as they conform to the way you work and can factor in details important to your projects. Airtable’s workflows allow for automation, approval requests, and status updates.
Highlights of Airtable project management software
- Switch vantage points with calendar, Kanban, and gallery views to see your data in new ways.
- Set up custom workflows for each team so they can work to their strengths and adapt to each project’s specific requirements.
- Use approval requests to get the green light on projects before setting them in motion.
- Add status updates to inform others of risks, upcoming due dates, or other key information.
- Allocate resources more efficiently with access to data and reports.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Strong option for data-heavy organizations | ✖️ Time-consuming learning curve |
✔️ Familiar UX for spreadsheet users | ✖️ Limited training and resources available |
✔️ Customization available | ✖️ Integrations necessary for complex needs |
Integrations
Airtable has a limited amount of integrations — only around 30, compared to other competitors with 100+. However, more connections are available via programs such as Zapier.
Security
Although Airtable also uses AWS with its built-in security and privacy features, the data is hosted in the US only. It does not currently have a GDPR-compliant data center in Europe.
Customer support
Airtable does not offer phone support, and its chatbot function isn’t as useful as one might expect. Users can, however, get an email response in 1-2 business days.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Team: $24 per seat/month (billed monthly)
- Business: $54 per seat/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.7/5 (2,000 customers)
Customers praise Airtable for its features that allow for effective cross-functional collaboration between teams and departments. The UI can feel a little complicated to some users and makes it hard to find what they’re looking for.
8. Jira: Best project management software for development teams
Part of the Atlassian Group, Jira originated as a software development solution, but has since grown to include Jira Software, Jira Core, and Jira Work Management. These are all tools that help organizations manage projects, collaborate with colleagues, and deliver work.
Thanks to its origins in software development, it remains a good choice for Agile project management for teams in this industry. For instance, its Scrum features are designed for sprints, while it has useful tools for viewing development statuses.
Jira does have some surprising weaknesses though. For instance, there’s no analytics view. Plus, you need to purchase a third-party connector to link Jira Work Management with Jira Software.
Jira project management software features
- Dashboard view: Users can plan projects, measure progress, and track due dates using Jira’s dashboards.
- Search functionality: Jira Query Language and specific filters make searching for tasks and projects quick and efficient.
Highlights of Jira project management software
- Build customized work request forms using drag-and-drop functionality.
- Import and export data from other tools and spreadsheets with ease.
- Track the time spent on each task and project to gauge effort and capacity.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Advanced search functionality | ✖️ Best suited to IT teams |
✔️ Built-in form builder | ✖️ No native Gantt charts |
✔️ Strong on issue management | ✖️ Add-ons incur extra expense |
Integrations
Jira is part of the large Atlassian Group, which means it has a number of integrations with sister sites. It’s not as strong with other third-party apps outside of the group, though.
Security
The Atlassian Group provides robust security features, including Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), Single Sign-On (SSO), and the ability to specify where your data is hosted (via professional support).
Customer support
Because of its original ticket-based model, Jira is still strong on this type of support. Users struggling to familiarize themselves with the more complex facets of the platform can also access website-based resources.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0 per user/month
- Standard: $7.16 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Premium: $12.48 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 (14,000+ customers)
Many customers are happy with Jira’s wide range of integrations and note that it’s great for issue management. Some users have reported that advanced functions can be difficult to learn, though, especially if you are not experienced with these tools.
9. Trello: Best project management software for simple projects
Trello is a Kanban-based tool that allows for simple drag-and-drop project management.
The platform is excellent for optimizing team-based productivity in simpler projects. However, it perhaps falls short for department or company-wide project management, or teams who are working on more complex projects.
For these simpler projects, it’s supremely intuitive and easy to use. Yet this simplicity does sacrifice some of the more sophisticated features of other tools. For instance, there are no true resource planning features. Plus, you can’t communicate at a project level — you can only comment on individual tasks.
Trello project management software features
- Kanban boards: Trello is one of the best Kanban board tools for simple project management.
- Custom cards: Add due dates, comments, and more to individual task cards to pass on all the relevant information to other team members.
Highlights of Trello project management software
- Enjoy fast team-based project management with drag-and-drop Kanban boards.
- Create custom task cards to minimize bottlenecks.
- Use workflow automation to free up time.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Attractive, customizable Kanban boards | ✖️ Integrations necessary for complex needs |
✔️ Part of popular Atlassian Group | ✖️ May not suit large, complex projects |
✔️ Short learning curve for new users | ✖️ Phone support is limited |
Integrations
Over the years, Trello has established more than 200 integrations with the most commonly used work platforms, including Google, Slack, and more.
Security
Although there have been some concerns about public boards over the years, Trello does feature Atlassian-standard security, including AWS hosting and 128-bit advanced encryption.
Customer support
Trello offers email support, but only during normal business hours from Monday to Friday. Users do find the community forum helpful, though, especially if they have a problem during the weekends.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Standard: $6 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Premium: $12.50 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: $17.50 per user/month (billed annually)
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 (23,100+ customers)
Many customers praise Trello’s straightforward Kanban task management and ease of use. For some customers, Trello can be limited compared to other project management tools.
10. Notion: Best project management software for document storage
Notion is a workspace platform that allows teams to build custom dashboards and workflows from the ground up for different contexts. It’s best for design and engineering teams that value creativity and customization as core pillars of project management.
Notion is primarily used as a documentation tool, where you can store company wikis, shared resources, and knowledge bases. Plus, it has a nifty AI assistant that you can ask questions in natural language and receive an answer.
While it offers many customization options, Notion’s collaboration features can be limited for teams that require constant communication on recurring tasks. Plus, as it’s more of a documentation tool, the project features themselves are not as robust.
Notion project management software features
- Sidebar index: One of Notion’s key project management features is its sidebar index, which acts as a quick reference point for every important task and project on your plate. You can customize your sidebar index to reflect your priorities and switch tasks and context easily.
- Internal knowledge base: Notion allows users to build a comprehensive internal knowledge base so that all relevant information to the team or department is indexed and searchable.
Highlights of Notion project management software
- Custom Gantt and Kanban boards let you stay on top of tasks.
- The sidebar index shows you your most important tasks or projects at a glance.
- Search relevant information with an internal knowledge base.
- Create custom wikis to share with your team, including any pertinent information for a particular client or project type.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Comprehensive free plan | ✖️ Security strongest on Enterprise plan |
✔️ Customizable Gantt charts available | ✖️ Lacks advanced project management tools |
✔️ Well suited for note-taking tasks | ✖️ Collaboration features could be improved |
Integrations
Notion has over 80 integrations, with more available through third-party options such as Zapier. It features all the most popular platforms, including Figma and Slack.
Security
Like Asana, Notion offers security protection that includes encryption, limited access, secure software development, and what it also calls a “public bug bounty program.” Some functions are only available on the Enterprise plan.
Customer support
Notion doesn’t offer telephone support, which means users will have to use email or chat or join a community group to get the answers they need.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Plus: $10 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Business: $18 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.7/5 (2,100+ customers)
Customers enjoy using Notion for all the customization options and layouts it offers, allowing for fully personalized workspaces and workflows. The lack of collaboration features, especially for recurring tasks, can make it tricky for users to stay in touch for ongoing projects.
11. Hive: Best project management software for user-led feedback
Hive is a project management tool that combines messaging, time tracking, and automation with standard task management features. The platform is regularly updated with features requested by its users in the Hive community forum.
A hive of activity at times, the software can sometimes border on information overload with notifications and requests. However, other information — such as reporting and analytics — is quite hard to access. That’s because Hive’s reporting dashboards are only available in the Enterprise plan, and even then they’re siloed from the rest of the platform.
Hive project management software features
- Time tracking: Hive allows team members to track the time they spend on individual tasks, while project managers can assess the overall time spent by the team.
- Messaging: Hive offers an in-app messenger and integrates with Gmail and Outlook.
Highlights of Hive project management software
- Messaging is quick through the in-app messenger or email integration.
- Feature creation is community-inspired, based on user feedback.
- Hive offers time tracking for the whole team.
- There are various project overviews for data at a glance.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Six different work views including Gantt | ✖️ Lacks built-in resource management |
✔️ Messenger facilitates easy communication | ✖️ Doesn’t offer portfolio-level reporting |
✔️ HiveMind AI capabilities |
Integrations
While more connections are available, Hive lists just native 12 integrations, comparatively low when considering competitors’ offerings (Wrike, for example, has 400+ available integrations).
Security
Progressive user authentication, validated access control, and 256-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security are among Hive’s various security features.
Customer support
While instant chat is available, most of Hive’s customer support is provided via email, which may be frustrating if users would like to speak to a human.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Starter: $7 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Teams: $18 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 (200 customers)
Hive facilitates all-in-one project management, and many customers comment on how easy it is to access everything in one place. For some, notifications and requests can get lost in all the information.
12. Zoho Projects: Best project management software for the real estate industry
Zoho Projects falls within the Zoho suite of tools, which includes a CRM, recruitment system, and sales platform. It’s a useful project management solution for current Zoho users as data can be synced easily between the various tools for cross-functional collaboration.
The software specializes in task management and automation, allowing project managers to oversee projects and team members to collaborate on individual tasks. It’s primarily geared towards the real estate industry, with a host of tools to facilitate optimal real estate management.
According to customer reviews, adding data to multiple custom fields can prove difficult with the lack of a multiselect option, and code often appears alongside the data.
Zoho project management software features
- Blueprints: In the real estate industry, tasks can quickly get out of hand and require the input of many teams. Zoho Projects’ blueprints let you set up tasks that require approval to move along the pipeline and allow for notifications once the approval has been granted.
- Issue management: With Zoho Projects, you can easily identify and flag issues in your work. Add custom views to highlight the most important or time-sensitive bugs to address.
Highlights of Zoho project management software
- Use Gantt charts to identify and assign critical tasks with baselines to ensure consistent progress.
- Create dependencies to map out relationships between tasks and complete them in a specified order.
- Track tasks with drag-and-drop Kanban boards the whole team can use.
- Identify and address key bottlenecks with issue management.
- Map out complicated tasks using clear blueprints that require approval and issue notifications once approved.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Strong mobile app available | ✖️ Limited integrations on lower plans |
✔️ Low price per user | ✖️ Adding data can be time-consuming |
✔️ Automations available on all plans |
Integrations
It doesn’t have as many integrations as many of its competitors, but Zoho does connect to the big third-party platforms like Google and Microsoft.
Security
Zoho Projects offers a variety of security functions, including encryption, single sign-on, and multifactor authentication to add extra reassurance.
Customer support
Zoho Projects offers telephone support on weekdays, but users must pay extra for 24-hour access. It also offers additional resources such as a knowledge base, FAQs, and tutorials.
Pricing plans
- Free: $0 up to 3 users
- Premium: $5 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: $10 per user/month (billed monthly)
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 (500+ customers)
Customers praise how the software helps teams break down tasks and its suitability for more technical projects. Some customers noted that adding data could be cumbersome, with no multiselect option and lines of code appearing alongside data.
13. Teamwork: Best project management software for teams looking to get started quickly
Teamwork is a project management platform designed specifically for client work. So, if you’re in marketing, creative, or professional services teams, it could be a good fit.
One thing that teams like about Teamwork is its short learning curve, which helps users get started with the intuitive platform really quickly. However, it doesn’t rate quite as strongly as other options for its collaboration functionality.
Something to look out for is its customer service. Reviews regularly point out that it’s not as responsive or effective as perhaps it should be.
Teamwork project management software features
- Billable and cost rates: Because it’s built with clients in mind, Teamwork has strong time and budget management features, including the ability to set rates for each team member or project.
- Burndown reporting: This feature calculates the rate at which tasks are completed, helping to measure if a task is on track for on-time completion.
Highlights of Teamwork project management software
- Set up a custom domain for your team, along with custom logos for a site or project.
- Lean on prebuilt templates or create custom templates with additional fields.
- Grant unlimited access so clients can view, edit, and comment on tasks.
✔️ Useful task burndown tracking | ✖️ No native statuses or workflows |
✔️ Built-in budget management | ✖️ Limited proofing features |
✔️ Free plan for up to five users | ✖️ No phone support available |
Integrations
Although Teamwork offers more than 2,000 integrations, such as with Dropbox, many of these are provided via third-party solutions such as Zapier.
Security
All of Teamwork’s data is encrypted and hosted by AWS within the US and the EU.
Customer support
Teamwork.com’s support team is available via email and live chat, although only Monday to Friday, with what the company calls “limited weekend cover.”
Pricing plans
- Free: $0
- Deliver: $13.99 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Grow: $25.99 per user/month (billed monthly)
- Scale: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 (800+ customers)
Customers are fans of Teamwork’s ease of use and ability to keep track of multiple projects, programs, and portfolios. Some customers feel that it is still lacking in some advanced features, though, compared to other project management solutions.
14. Basecamp: Best project management software for small businesses and teams
Basecamp is a digital HQ that works well for small teams seeking complete project management functionality. The company itself was originally a web design agency that created this platform when it couldn’t find a tool that matched what it wanted.
Overall, it’s a basic, easy-to-use tool. However, at scale, it lacks core features for cross-functional collaboration between teams. Other key features you expect from other project management tools — such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, or subtasks — are also lacking.
Basecamp project management software features
- To-do lists: Set up to-do lists for different projects with notes and file attachments.
- Message boards: Message boards allow team members to stay in constant communication regarding a particular project.
Highlights of Basecamp project management software
- Communicate according to context or specific projects with message boards.
- Use to-do lists to break projects into achievable tasks.
- Schedule future projects with due dates and calendar integration.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Easy onboarding process | ✖️ No native Gantt charts or Kanban boards |
✔️ Centralized message boards | ✖️ Limited ability to scale |
✔️ Strong basic project management | ✖️ No phone support available |
Integrations
Basecamp provides a limited amount of integrations with third-party apps that can provide additional software development, project management, and reporting capabilities.
Security
While Basecamp provides extensive encryption, it doesn’t currently offer SAML or SSO as part of its standard plans. Their data centers are also located in the US only.
Customer support
There is currently no phone support available at Basecamp, although its site does promise to respond to enquiry form questions within one hour.
Pricing plans
- Basecamp: $15 per user/month
- Basecamp Pro Unlimited: $349 per month (billed monthly; unlimited users)
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.3/5 (14,400+ customers)
Customers appreciate how Basecamp acts as a digital hub for them and their teams to track and complete projects. For some customers, the various versions of Basecamp can make things complicated.
15. GanttPro: Best project management software for specialist Gantt charts
GanttPro is project management software that uses Gantt charts to display relevant data and help you organize tasks among teams. As its name suggests, it’s a specialist in Gantt charts, allowing you to plan your roadmap, set up milestones, and assign tasks.
As a result of being a niche platform, it doesn’t provide many sophisticated communication tools or customization options.
GanttPro project management software features
- Budget tracking: You can use GanttPro to set a budget for individual projects and ensure you stay within your spending limits. Track labor and material resources, and set values per item, per hour, or by cost.
- Custom displays: View tasks and projects in Gantt charts, grid view, board view, or portfolio view for a holistic perspective on your progress.
Highlights of GanttPro project management software
- There are various ways to visualize your data and assess team progress.
- Budget tracking reduces the risk of overspending.
- Real-time data syncing allows you to collaborate effectively with coworkers.
- Track time in the platform as a valuable performance metric.
PROS | CONS |
✔️ Dedicated Gantt chart software | ✖️ Limited integrations |
✔️ Easy-to-navigate user experience | ✖️ Lack of customization options |
✔️ Ready-to-go Gantt chart templates |
Integrations
GanttPro has very limited native integrations (including Slack and Jira), although others are available via platforms such as Zapier.
Security
GanttPro uses MS Azure cloud to host its data and also offers encryption, SSO, and two-factor authentication to enhance its own security.
Customer support
Email and phone support is available, and there are additional resources and guides available via its learning center.
Pricing plans
- Basic: $9.99 per user/month (billed monthly; minimum 5 users)
- Pro: $15.99 per user/month (billed monthly; minimum 5 users)
- Business: $24.99 per user/month (billed monthly; minimum 5 users)
- Enterprise: Custom
Customer ratings and reviews
Capterra rating: 4.8/5 (400+ customers)
Customers appreciate the visual aspect of GanttPro and how it allows them to see their data at a glance. Many customers note that the browser-based version can suffer from refresh rate issues.
10 additional PM software options
1. MeisterTask
MeisterTask offers users a Kanban system for straightforward drag-and-drop project management. The platform is excellent for simple project management needs yet doesn’t provide comprehensive data and analytics for advanced use cases.
2. Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is the project management tool that’s part of the Office suite. It can be useful if you’re already using the rest of the suite. In fact, it relies on the fact that you are, as its own functionality is quite limited.
3. ProWorkflow
ProWorkflow is a solution for managing tasks and customizing workflows according to your business and brand needs. The tool allows for external and internal collaboration, though navigating projects and showing clients where to go can be time-consuming.
4. TeamGantt
TeamGantt offers Gantt chart visualization for planning and managing complex projects. It’s a powerful data visualization tool, even if it’s a little pricey.
5. Accelo
Accelo offers project management features tailored to your business needs. It offers a wide range of features, making it well suited to businesses with several departments and perhaps less so to individuals and SMBs.
6. ProjectManager
ProjectManager serves up a plethora of features, from planning to tracking projects. It caters to many business needs, though its integration options are limited.
7. Planview AdaptiveWork
Planview AdaptiveWork offers a suite of tools for enterprise-level project management. The software has many planning features, yet not as many integrations as some other tools.
8. Scoro
Scoro is project management software that provides detailed project breakdowns, including milestones and real-time data. Scoro’s pricing is better suited to big businesses and could be too steep for SMBs or freelancers.
9. Confluence
Confluence, an Atlassian product, is designed for knowledge management and project management and mostly caters to the DevOps space. The software is ideal for technical use cases, though there aren’t many ways to export data effectively.
10. LiquidPlanner
Now part of the Tempo Group, LiquidPlanner is a predictive project management and resource management tool that helps businesses control and manage risks across multiple projects. Many customers report that it has a steep learning curve, however.
Choose Wrike for customizable and truly scalable project management software
In this guide, we’ve shared 25 options for project management software. We’ve reviewed some of the biggest names in the industry against functionalities such as project visualizations, workflow automation, and reporting and analytics.
Different tools will work better for different organizations. But if you’re looking for software that’s customizable, truly scalable, and proven to boost your team’s efficiency, try Wrike.
Already, global organizations have used our software to do what they do even better:
- Aerotek has reduced the number of emails sent by up to 90% and shaved 1.5 weeks off its planning cycle.
- Granicus has increased time tracking compliance by 20%, while eliminating manual paper tasks.
- Fitbit cut 400 hours of meetings annually and spends over 50% less time on project management tasks like timeline building.
- Marketing Architects now completes projects 25% faster.
Try Wrike and experience these benefits for yourself. Book a demo today.
FAQs
What is project management software?
Project management software helps organizations and teams plan and deliver projects, manage their resources, and work together more efficiently. Having an effective project management software like Wrike can be the difference between meeting deadlines and staying on budget — and not. Typically, it makes that difference by providing a single space where you can manage your work.
Take the example of Syneos Health, a global health brand with 28,000 employees in over 110 countries. Before using Wrike, the company’s teams were juggling a growing workload through emails, Excel, in-house proprietary task management systems, manual organization, and a network of disconnected systems. As Syneos scaled, this system was no longer holding together.
“We needed something that provided us real-time visibility into project pipelines, detailed status updates, and a unified management system that allowed us to map out each step of our work processes from ideation to execution,” says Sherrie Besecker, Creative Technology Manager at Syneos Health.
That’s why Syneos found in Wrike’s platform. But project management software can do so much more. It can help you automate tasks, plan your resources and budgets, and manage your team communication too.
Who should use project management tools?
Anyone who manages projects can benefit from project management software. Even if you don’t run formal projects or have the title of “project manager,” project management software can still be useful.
Many companies that don’t run formal projects use software to plan, organize, track, monitor, and execute their work. For instance, some of your plans may be simple processes that only involve you and another person, while others can take multiple teams months (or even years) to complete.
That’s why tools such as Wrike are completely scalable. For a single user, Wrike is completely free forever.
How should you choose the best project management software for your business?
There are so many project management software options out there. While we’ve selected 25 here, there are in fact many more. It’s vital you choose a solution that solves your biggest challenges, improves your way of working, and actually gets used by your team.
To avoid the headache of onboarding your whole organization onto a tool only to find a few months later that it lacks the features you need, first explore why you need project management software. With this in mind, there are three basic steps to take when selecting a software:
- Identify the core needs of each department. Discuss and summarize the main pain points experienced by different teams. There’s a good chance the issue of communication will be raised — for instance, with siloed resources, too many channels, or unclear reports. If this is a central pain point for you, this should guide your market research.
- Explore the options. Go into the research process with a list of criteria for you and your teams. There’s a wealth of content online compiling and comparing project management tools out there, with high-authority sites that pit solutions against each other a good place to start. Once you’ve zeroed in on a handful of viable options, get hands-on and test them.
- Make the most of free trials. Many project management solutions will offer either a free trial or a freemium model, so you can get a feel for them. During the trial, actively ask yourself questions about how these tools perform:
- How long does it take to get familiar with the main features?
- How is communication within the software?
- Do silos and bottlenecks persist when you use the tool?
- Is there a way for stakeholders to see what’s going on?
- What data can you view, and can you download it into digestible reports?
- Does the task management system speed things up or make it more difficult?
What are the key features when selecting a project management software?
Your team may need a tool with some specific features as they adopt project management workflows. Here are a few things to look for:
- Real-time collaboration: Project management software should allow for real-time collaboration between team members and stakeholders. Users should be able to access and make changes to the system at the same time.
- Sharing and storing documents: Your project management software should allow you to store and share documents, providing a knowledge repository for your projects.
- Cost management: Your software should help you track and report costs as well as monitor for potential overruns.
- Reporting: Customizable reports and dashboards allow for real-time reporting. You should be able to filter and format based on the criteria that are important to you.
- Ease of use: It’s not a feature, but it’s still critical. If the system is too complicated, your team won’t want to use it.
- Template creation: You should be able to create and customize templates so that you’re not building each project and activity from scratch.
- Warning flags: The system should trigger alerts or warnings when things go off track, such as when an activity is late.
- Scheduling: You’ll want a software system that allows you to create a schedule baseline and monitor your actual schedule against it.
- Time management: Actual time worked will need to be tracked in the system to monitor progress and manage both labor costs and resources.
- Resource allocation: You should be able to assign resource roles and individual people tasks in the system.
- Customization: The software should be flexible enough to adapt to both your organization’s various projects and processes as well as your team’s way of working.
- Controls and governance: While versatility is essential, a system also needs to have sufficient controls and restrictions to ensure data is secure and approvals are tracked and recorded.
- Integration capability: The software should integrate with other business systems, such as your financial management system.
- Unique calendars: You’ll want calendars that can be changed to reflect your working days and hours and updated to reflect any shutdown periods or vacations.
What are the different types of project management software?
We can identify four types of project management software: individual, collaborative, integrated, and cloud-based. Of course, each one has its own merits, suitable for different types of people and teams.
Individual project management software
For one person who needs lightweight, web-based software to manage their projects, individual project software is a great fit. It has fewer features than more comprehensive solutions, but it’s also suitable for managing a project portfolio. If you require only basic project management features, it’s a good place to start.
Collaborative project management software
A perfect option for large teams that need a low-tech solution. It allows all team members to access, view, and collaborate on project tasks easily. However, it may be insufficient for large teams with diverse projects. Productivity can suffer if members can’t link data from different projects.
Integrated project management software
An integrated solution works best for companies with large portfolios or different teams for various projects. It provides a centralized database of information, digital assets, and workflows. Users have permission-based access to data and information, and they can track time and task dependencies and use messaging functionality, all in an intuitive dashboard.
Cloud-based project management software
The most popular type hosts services and data in the cloud, allowing remote access from anywhere with an internet connection. It offers security and flexibility with customization.
You can use project management software for any of the following:
- Project planning and project scheduling
- Resource allocation and capacity planning
- Project portfolio management
- Business process management
- Workflow management
- Quality management
- Creating and publishing project reports
- Tracking the actual time spent on project tasks
- Analyzing trends and forecasting
Wrike combines all four types of project management software in one, providing a platform suitable for individuals to large enterprises. It features real-time collaboration, scalability, and cloud-based data storage that’s protected by enterprise-grade security. Wrike is the solution you can use, no matter what your needs are.
Why use project management software over Excel?
While it’s possible to use spreadsheets for project tracking, it requires a lot of time and effort. For the rest of the team to see the update, the spreadsheet has to be resaved and reuploaded to a central location. Other issues project managers can have with spreadsheets are:
- Multiple versions of the same file existing, leading to confusion over which is the most accurate and up to date
- Trouble syncing information so people can work together in real time
- Potential security issues due to spreadsheets being uploaded and downloaded multiple times in multiple places
- Difficulty in recording developments and updates promptly
- If you have multiple projects, a single spreadsheet can become unwieldy, while it’s impossible to share data between multiple sheets
Project management software overcomes all of these issues by providing an intuitive place for real-time collaboration. Tools such as Wrike let you:
- Collaborate in real time on the same piece of work
- See live statuses of what other people are doing
- Centralize all your resources into a single source of truth
- Chat, give feedback, and approve work all in the same place
- Organize tasks without fiddly formulas and spreadsheet formatting.
Overall, project management software makes life easier, both for you as a project manager and your teams.
Which industries benefit most from project management software?
Project management software can benefit every type of project and every size of project management team. It makes the process smoother, more streamlined, and ultimately more successful. Let’s look at how the software and its features might benefit you and your industry:
Marketing agencies
A versatile project management solution is a key component of a marketing agency’s toolkit. Marketing project management helps teams collaborate on digital assets, centralize communication, assign tasks, and track campaign progress. Using personalized dashboards, marketing teams can also monitor social channels, get a 360-degree view of all campaigns, and track results for each client.
Construction
Construction projects for roads, rail, buildings, and utilities can take months or even years to complete. Every construction team lays down its goals, plans tasks, creates estimates, and controls its costs. All construction projects, such as commercial, residential or industrial, can benefit from using construction management software. With a reliable project data source, teams can access accurate information, automate repeatable actions, and work more efficiently.
IT
Project management software is a game changer for IT. IT projects can vary widely in their design, scope, and scale. IT project management software allows teams to use Kanban boards, Gantt charts, customized reports, and personalized dashboards to manage risk, scope creep, and frequently evolving client needs.
Law
Legal project management solutions replace spreadsheets and paper trails to help teams organize paperwork, meet business goals, and make their clients happier. With all legal data, contracts, and information stored in a centralized database, teams can securely and accurately prepare for negotiations, court trials, or company audits.
Event management
With the rapid adoption of online events and the return of offline conferences, having event management software is a no-brainer for event professionals. It’ll help you plan, organize, and execute successful events and can also easily be integrated with other software for customer relationship management, marketing automation, payment gateways, or accounting and finance.
Engineering
Engineering projects are varied and complex. Engineering project management software lets teams define project scope and work on milestones in collaboration with other stakeholders. You can optimize your workflows with premade templates for project schedules, complex projects with phases, and tools such as Gantt charts.
When should you invest in project management software?
It makes sense to invest in project management software when you see deadlines missed, processes falling apart, and miscommunication occurring. But, at that point, it may already be too late, and the result can be missed contracts, reputational damage, and reduced morale.
Instead, invest in software before it becomes critical. Here are three signs that it’s time to invest.
- Your business is growing. When teams grow, projects multiply, and you start operating out of multiple locations, project management software is a good idea. But it’s smarter to have it in place before you start to scale. It will reduce barriers to growth and help you maintain an Agile methodology at all stages of your business.
- Your business is changing in structure. Even when your organization is not growing, changes in functional structures or physical locations can signal the need for project management software. For instance, communication and integration become more challenging if you start employing contractors or remote workers. And, in this case, management and oversight can quickly become difficult without the right processes in place.
- You’re seeking greater efficiency. Project management software reduces the need for manual and repetitive tasks, freeing up your team for more analysis and big-picture planning. This functionality also helps ensure they aren’t overloaded and that people are engaged and happy. If your team members are struggling with increased workloads — or you’re simply looking to reduce labor hours — it’s time to invest in project management software.
How much does work management software cost?
The price of project management software, or work management software as it’s sometimes called, varies. Factors include:
- Software vendor: Costs vary widely across companies. Return to each tool above to see their pricing.
- Pricing plans: Most vendors offer a range of different plans, from basic free options to more sophisticated, custom packages.
- The size of your business: Project management software costs vary depending on the number of users and the volume of storage space required.
While there are free project management software options on the market, these often come with hidden costs. Many free options don’t offer training and support, for instance, which means you’ll need to spend more on implementing and maintaining the system.
It’s also important to consider the costs of not having project management software. Teams that use Wrike, for instance, make substantial efficiency gains that lower their cost.
Wrike offers so many features, benefits, and automations that it’s a no-brainer if you’re comparing project management tools. Sign up for a free trial today, and see for yourself why Wrike is the best project management tool for 2024.