Project management software helps you effectively manage tasks, projects, portfolios, resources, and offers transparency to team members and stakeholders. But, if you choose the wrong tools, you risk facing missed deadlines, spending more, frustrate stakeholders and damage the team morale.
Not just IT, but project management software is used in many industries like manufacturing, telecom, BFSI, healthcare, government, construction, engineering, etc. I am not surprised about the market size forecasted by Grand View Research to reach $20.47B by 2030.
As remote and hybrid work is the norm, picking the project management tools which offer remote team collaboration, secure sharing, communication, automation, and AI capabilities are crucial for team success. To help you choose the right one, below, I’ve listed the best project management software for your business needs.
Project Management Software Review Methodology
Geekflare tested the core project management features through free plan and taking a trial. We evaluated essential features and calculated a combined overall rating for each. To ensure an unbiased review, we gathered factual data from official websites and analyzed user feedback from various sources to provide comprehensive insights and detailed reviews.
Project Management Software Comparison
I’ve summarized key features, best for by team size/type, AI capabilities, mobile app availability, integrations, pricing, and overall rating for each software.
200+ | 400+ | 125+ | 1,000+ | 200+ | 100+ | 100+ | 100+ | 1000+ | 50+ | 100+ | 40+ | 3000+ | |
$9 | $10 | $9 | $7 | $5 | $10 | $10.99 | $15 | $20 | $45 | $10.99 | $4 | $7.53 | |
SMBs, Startups | SMBs | SMBs | Small team | Small team | Micro, Startups | SMEs | Small team | Small team | Agencies | Client service | Micro, Startups | IT, Development | |
Geekflare’s editorial team determines ratings based on factors such as key features, ease of use, pricing, and customer support to help you choose the right business software. | |||||||||||||
Project Management Software Reviews
Below, I’ve reviewed each software in detail, highlighting why you should use it, its pros, cons, integrations, and project management-related top features, and given an overall rating.
1. monday.com
Best for Small to Medium Businesses
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesAssistance, Summarize, Translation, Categorization
Why monday.com
monday.com has gained tremendous popularity recently. And there is a reason for it. With over 245 ready-made templates for marketing, sales, PMO, design, HR, real estate, construction, CRM, startups, operations, and nonprofits, it serves everyone from small to medium-sized businesses.
Use monday.com work management platform to manage projects, tasks, business operations, resources, workflows, portfolios, assets, marketing content, campaigns, and digital assets. You can visualize projects and tasks in 10+ views, including Gantt, Kanban boards, charts, and tables.
What I like about monday.com is the ease of use, intuitive dashboard, no-code automation, and AI workflow. With monday AI, you can sort massive data in seconds, summarize content, translate to communicate with your international team, understand the sentiments, and get actionable suggestions. Only caveat is, the AI feature is available on the Pro or higher plan.
monday.com Pricing
– Free: good for up to 2 users with basic features.
– Basic: starts at $9/user monthly, recommended for micro businesses.
– Standard: starts at $12/user monthly, recommended for startups, small businesses.
– Pro: starts at $19/user monthly, recommended for small to medium businesses and agencies.
monday.com has more than 225,000 customers, which is a great sign of trust, and I don’t see any reason for you not to try.
monday.com Features
Customizable templates
50+ widget & apps to use on the dashboard
Docs for team collaboration
No code workflow builder
monday.com Pros and Cons
Genuine free forever plan
24/7 support
Marketplace to integrate with 200+ business apps
Collect data using custom forms
Setup project approval process
AI features only available in Pro plan
No in-app chat
Paid plan requires subscribing for 3 users
2. Wrike
Intelligent work Management Platform
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesRisk prediction, Task summarization, Content creation
Why Wrike
Wrike is an enterprise-ready work management platform to manage workflows, resources, events, campaigns, product lifecycles, and projects. With the help of AI and automation, you can automate routine tasks, get suggestions on what to automate, get reminders, change status, and get insights. I was amazed by the AI mobile feature, which lets you delegate actions through voice commands.
Wrike has 75+ ready-made templates for marketing, creative agencies, agile development, operations, professional services, HR, finance, legal, and PMO teams to get you started quickly. And you can visualize projects in standard views like boards, tables, Gantt, calendars, charts, or create your own custom view.
You can integrate Wrike with your favorite apps like Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Google Sheets, Miro, QuickBooks, and more. And if needed, you can extend the integration using Wrike API.
Wrike Pricing
– Free: good for solopreneurs who need basic task management and reporting.
– Team: starts at $10/user/mo, best for startups and small teams with up to 15 users.
– Business: starts at $24.80/user/mo, best for small to medium businesses with up to 200 users.
– Enterprise: best for global large businesses that need advanced security, automation, and unlimited users.
Wrike Features
Dynamic request forms to collect data and automate
Inbuilt proofing with real-time collaboration
Spaces, folder, projects, tasks, and subtasks to organize work
Generative AI to make you more efficient
Budget and resource planning
Wrike Pros and Cons
Cross-tagging and cross-functional project visibility
Two-way synchronization with GitHub, Jira, and other apps to ensure your project statuses are up-to-date.
24/7 multilingual support
2FA and Single Sign-on security
AI risk prediction, Proofing is available on Business and higher plan
Less number of templates compared to monday.com
3. Smartsheet
Best for Workflow Automation
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesBuild assistant, Projects insights, Generate formulas
Why Smartsheet
Smartsheet offers comprehensive project and resource management tools, such as Gantt chart, timeline view, grid visualization, workflow transformation, task automation, proofing, and more.
With the help of inbuilt dashboard features, you can build powerful widget-based displays and customizable reporting to share actionable data with stakeholders. The best part is it can source live data from external sources like Tableau and Google Docs.
Smartsheet has 95+ templates in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Japanese language for strategic transformation, planning, product development, IT operation, marketing, and finance teams.
I really like custom workflows that allow you to automate business processes across sheets. One thing I hope Smartsheet catch up on soon is by making AI features available in the Pro plan.
Smartsheet Pricing
– Pro: starts at $9/user/mo, suitable for micro businesses.
– Business: starts at $19/user/mo, suitable for small businesses.
– Enterprise: custom pricing, best for large businesses that need AI, company-wide security, WorkApps, etc.
Smartsheet Features
File sharing, proofing, library to collaborate on docs
Track workload for better resource and capacity planning
Project performance benchmarking against goals
Smartsheet Gov for government bodies
125+ integrations with business apps
Smartsheet Pros and Cons
Robust analytics features (e.g. incurred hours, available hours, and target utilization)
Visualize projects in Grid, Gantt, Card, Calendar views
Multilingual capabilities: English, French, Japanese, and others.
EU region data centers
Create formulas and functions
No free plan
AI feature is only available on the Enterprise plan
4. ClickUp
Work App for Small Businesses
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesAnswers, Transcription, Team updates, Task summarization
Why ClickUp
ClickUp is fairly new in the project management market but has become popular among startups and small businesses as one app to replace many. I like their powerful packed features, which allow you to track team time, create tasks, collaborate on documents, have real-time chat, create whiteboards, maintain wikis, run sprints, and visualize entire projects in boards, Gantt, or Kanban boards.
I like the idea of using a single work platform for easy licensing and management. Ex, you can use ClickUp to replace the following tools:
Slack for real-time chat
Google Docs for document collaboration
Notion for task management
Miro for whiteboards
Loom for screen recordings
Clockify for team time tracking
To set the right expectation, you can replace the above only if you use their basic features. Since they offer a FREE plan, I would strongly suggest you start with that or take a FREE trial of the paid plan.
The Unlimited plan, which is best suited for remote startups and small businesses, starts at $7 per user, monthly. However, if you need Google SSO and advanced automations, you can go for the Business plan, which starts at $12/month/user.
ClickUp Features
ClickUp Brain helps you to write and get instant answers
Single platform to manage projects, resources, knowledge base, and workflows
Visualize ideas using Mind Map and brainstorm over Whiteboard
Pre-built automation to automate routine work
ClickUp Pros and Cons
Unified work management platform
AI-powered knowledge management
Use as desktop and mobile app or through browser
Extensive help documentation
Too many features create confusion
User experience is not great
Many Reddit users reported buggy interface
5. Trello
Best for Visual Task Management
- Gantt ChartsNo
- AI FeaturesWriting assistance, Brainstorming
Why Trello
Trello was founded in 2011 and is now owned by Atlassian. You can use Trello to visualize your tasks on Kanban boards, lists, and cards.
While Trello’s free plan used to offer unlimited users, as of April 2024, it now allows a maximum of 10 boards per workspace. However, it still retains core features like Kanban visualization and a calendar view. Trello also offers various templates for customizing workspaces and allows file/folder attachments within cards.
What I don’t like is that AI features are only available on the Premium and Enterprise plans. And overall, the platform lacks advanced features when I compare to Monday.com or Wrike for example. I would recommend Trello FREE plan or Standard plan to small teams that need basic task and project management.
Trello Pros and Cons
Unlimited cards in the free plan.
Limited features but it works and reliable.
Two-factor auth, even in free plan.
Integrate with over 200 business apps.
Offers basic reporting.
Doesn’t offer a sheet like Smartsheet.
6. Notion
Best All-in-One Workspace
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesFind answers, Generate content, Analyze PDFs
Why Notion
Notion offers an all-in-one workspace to manage team tasks and supercharge collaboration. Founded in 2013 by a team of innovators, Notion has become a go-to solution for teams looking for a unified platform to manage docks, tasks, wikis, and projects.
Notion stands out with its robust task management and rich collaboration features. Easily tag team members in pages and cards, track page analytics for data-driven insights, and organize information. Enjoy a vast library of free templates and versatile visualization options like calendars, lists, and boards. You can embed tables, images, Google Drive, and other elements within the page for a truly customizable workspace.
Notion’s free plan allows up to 10 guests, while Notion Plus expands to 100, and Notion Business caters to larger teams with up to 250 guests. If you are a solopreneur, the FREE plan should be sufficient, and as you grow, you can upgrade to the Plus plan, which starts at $10 per user, monthly. The Business plan starts at $15/user/month, which allows you to integrate with SAML SSO, have private teamspaces and have a 90-day page history.
Lately, Notion has introduced AI, which works well to search information from Notion databases, but I don’t like getting reminded to use it everywhere within my teamspaces. It is like they are pushing hard, so everyone uses it, but it is annoying to me.
Notion Features
Wiki and Docs to organize internal knowledge base and notes
20,000+ templates to get you started in minutes
Manage end-to-end projects, tasks, sprints
Use Notion Docs to publish as website
Forms to capture custom data
Supercharge your meetings with Notion Calendar
Notion Pros and Cons
Trigger-based automation
Integrates with GitHub, Slack, etc.
Customize elements to show on views
Create sub-tasks and dependencies
Easy to learn and use
Slow app performance at times
No way to view all database’s tasks at central place
7. Jira
Best for Agile Development
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesFind issues, Projects insights, Summarization
Why Jira
Jira is a preferred choice to manage development projects and popular among IT and software development companies. You can use Jira to track issues, manage IT support, plan resources, and get full visibility across projects.
When you have multiple teams working on a single project, it becomes crucial to know the backlog for prioritization, and Jira does that pretty well. It supports 3000+ integrations, and since it is part of Atlassian, you can extend with Confluence to refer to it as a support knowledge base.
Jira is powered by Atlassian intelligence, and 77% of their users have saved time using the AI search feature. I would suggest using Jira to manage large and complex projects. However, if you are running a small project, you can go for Trello or Notion.
Jira Features
Mange projects in Agile methodologies like Scrum, sprints, and break down work.
Manage tasks, dependencies, and backlogs
Track project on boards and dashboards in real-time
Trigger rules through no-code workflow automation
Extend using APIs or plugins
Jira Pros and Cons
Templates for Scrum, Kanban, bug tracking, DevOps, etc.
Role-based permissions
Improve team performance using real-time insights
Mitigate risks by getting a big picture of projects
AI is unavailable in Free and Standard Plan
Lacks collaborative docs and proofing
8. Asana
Collaborative Work Management for Large Teams
- Gantt ChartsYes
- AI FeaturesWorkflow builder, Status updates, Progress visualization
Why Asana
Asana is an enterprise-ready work management platform, used by 85% of Fortune 100 companies like Dell, Accenture, Spotify, Zoom, PayPal, etc. This shows the platform’s credibility and capacity to manage large and complex projects, company-wide.
Asana doesn’t just focus on enterprise but also offers solutions for small businesses. The Starter plan starts at $10.99/user/mo, which gives you standard features to manage projects and tasks, and you can invite to unlimited guests. If you are into the publishing, media, or other industry where you work with a lot of freelancers or consultants, the unlimited guests feature is as excellent as you don’t have to pay for them to view your projects.
The recent Asana release allows you to automate portfolio workflows, chat with your data, get insights on Slack, and, generate AI-powered charts.
On top of managing projects and tasks, you can use Asana to create a content calendar, manage goals, onboard new hires, plan product launches, manage inventory, track compliance, and much more. To get you started, they got 145+ templates for marketing, HR, IT, customer support, operations, sales, and the design team.
The best thing?
They offer a forever free plan, perfect for individuals and micro businesses.
The bad thing?
Time tracking, portfolio management, proofing, and advanced reporting are only available in the Advanced plan, which starts at $24.99/user/mo.
Asana Pros and Cons
Centralized tasks view
Smart chat to get instant answer from projects
Apply processes across projects, useful if you manage multiple projects
Team management
Use Rules to automate tasks
24/7 support is only available on the Enterprise plan
Starter plan lacks advanced features like formulas, goals, approvals, time tracking, AI studio
9. Zoho Projects
Cheap Project Management Platform
- Gantt ChartYes
- AI FeaturesTranslation, Search, Insights
Why Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is one of the cheapest project management software with decent features to satisfy micro businesses and startups needs. It makes sense to use if you are on a tight budget, require basic work management features, or integrate with the Zoho suite of products.
I’ve used many Zoho products, and one thing that I don’t like is that they offer too many options on the dashboard, which makes the UI look very congested and bloated. First, I thought it was my minimal design likeness, but I see many others in their community and Reddit complaining about it.
I would strongly suggest you try the FREE plan, and if you are fine with the UI, upgrade to the Premium plan, which starts at $4/user/mo or Enterprise at $9/user/mo. The big difference between Premium and Enterprise is Zoho AI (Zia) and custom fields.
Use Zoho Projects for task management, automation, team collaboration, time tracking, project reporting, and integration with Zoho suites of products like Sprints, CRM, People, Books, etc.
Zoho Projects Pros and Cons
Task roll-up
Custom domain for your projects
Chat using the Discuss module
Business rules to automate tasks
Workflow rules to trigger emails, call third-party apps
Project budget tracking
Basic AI features, even in Enterprise plan
Bulky user interface
10. Basecamp
Inbuilt Communication Platform
- Gantt ChartsNo
- AI FeaturesNone
Why Basecamp
What I like the most about Basecamp is simplicity and the Pro Unlimited plan at $299/month, which allows unlimited users. If you have more than 30 users, you will save a lot compared to other products with similar offerings like ClickUp. However, for a small team, you can go for a monthly plan which is $15/user/mo.
Basecamp is popular among startups and small businesses and used by over 75,000 companies, worldwide.
Basecamp is a centralized platform for communication, collaboration, and task management. It is well-suited for small businesses who value simplicity and want an all-in-one solution. It offers essential features like:
– Project scheduling
– Progress meter
– Real-time group chat
– Store files
– Kanban boards
– Run automatic team check-in
If you are a nonprofit, you get a discounted rate and in free for teachers and students.
Basecamp Pros and Cons
24/7 customer support
Share with is needed with clients
Message board to see all notifications
Get bigger picture of project on Mission Control view
Integrations with time tracking, accounting, marketing, contracts software
No AI assistance
No free plan
11. ProofHub
Remote Team Collaboration Software
- Gantt ChartYes
- AI FeaturesNone
Why ProofHub
ProofHub offering is similar to Basecamp, and in fact, pricing also follows the same style, like the Unlimited Control plan is at $89 per month, which lets you manage unlimited projects and have unlimited users. If you need to manage less than 40 projects, you can go for the Essential plan at $45 per month.
Based on the features they offer, I would suggest ProofHub to agencies like marketing, software development, consulting, and helpdesk.
ProofHub Pros and Cons
One to one or group chat
Annotate, feedback and approve docs and media files
Collaborate with external parties
Project views in table, boards, Gantt and Calendar
Time tracking and timesheets for team
Available in 11 languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch
Expensive for micro business
No free plan
12. Airtable
No-code Business Apps Platform
- Gantt ChartYes
- AI FeaturesWorkflow automation, Data insights, Route tasks
Why Airtable
Airtable is not a project management tool, but you can use it to manage tasks and projects if in the marketing, product, or operations team. You will like it more if you are a spreadsheet lover, as the base data resides in sheet view, and from there you can visualize however you like.
You can choose templates for Gantt chart visualization, OKR tracking, event planning, resource allocation, content tracking, SWOT analysis, and more. For collaboration, you need to rely on commenting using @mentions and real-time updates notifications.
To use Airtable to manage projects, you should go for the Team plan, which starts at $20/user/mo. Considering the higher cost compared to Monday.com, Notion, and Smartsheet, I would only suggest Airtable if you need to work on spreadsheets like data, build custom apps, or visualize data from external platforms.
Airtable Pros and Cons
No-code and low-code apps integrations
1000+ extensions to get data
Interface designer to create and automate workflow
ProductCentral to manage product development
Limited projects and tasks management features
Airtable AI is an add-on which increases Team cost to $26/user/mo
13. Teamwork
Best to Manage Client’s Projects
- Gantt ChartYes
- AI FeaturesYes
Why Teamwork
Teamwork is for client services businesses like agencies, professional services, consulting, financial, and legal. Their offering aligns perfectly with what you need to manage your clients. Ex:
Timesheets and native time tracking to bill accurately.
Create invoices to get paid.
Manage workload and schedule resources.
Set milestones, project intake.
Clients view dashboard to get a clear picture of the client’s budget, tasks, and profitability.
Track expenses occurred on a particular project
They also offer other products like Desk to manage support mailboxes, Chat for team communication, and Spaces for wikis and knowledge base.
Bottom line: if you are into client services and looking to manage projects, billings, and expenses, go for Teamwork.
Teamwork Pricing
– Deliver plan starts at $10.99/user/mo, best for micro agencies
– Grow plan starts at $19.99/user/mo, best for agencies with minimum 5 team members
– Scale plan starts at $54.99, best for growing client businesses
Teamwork Pros and Cons
Time tracking and billing
Project budgeting
Collaborate with freelancers
Custom branding, great to showcase clients
Create tasks and sub-tasks with custom fields
No free plan
No AI summarization or writing assistance
In-app Chat would be nice in the Teamwork.com plan, without paying add-on
Beyond Our Top Picks
During my research and testing, I also came across the following other project management tools which deserve mentions.
- Hive – suitable for small teams, offers a free plan.
- ProjectManager – for small to medium size teams, starts at $13 monthly.
- Celoxis – for small teams, starts at $25 monthly.
- Hubplanner – for small team to manage resources, starts at $7 monthly.
Have you used any of the above project management software? Please share your experience with us.
What is Project Management Software?
Project management software helps teams plan, organize, manage projects and tasks. For example, companies can use project management tools to manage business operations, onboard clients, run campaigns, manage team tasks and a lot more. Many project management solutions offer third-party app integrations, while some have native apps. Project management tools often have desktop and mobile apps for on-the-go productivity.
Explore More Project Software Guides
How To Choose the Right Project Management Software?
The best way to choose project management software is by listing down your requirements and trying the relevant platform mentioned in this buying guide. Many of the software I’ve listed offer FREE plan and Free Trial, so you don’t need to commit to buying until you are satisfied. Choose your preferred project management software based on what you need and which software matches the requirements.
Don’t go with what they offer, but what you need and if that is available. On top of the basic features, look for scalability, customer support and a user-friendly interface.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zoho Projects start at just $4/mo, making it affordable for startups and micro businesses.
Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp, Wrike, Trello offer decent features in free forever plan.