Stressed out looking for the best project management software? Relax! Take in the results of our extensive research exploring the best project management tools on the market. Our top three, Wrike, Teamwork, and Smartsheet are great for most teams, but we’ve got more to share.
If you’re ready to get nerdy, then read on to level-up with insight on our research methods, areas of focus, and general buying criteria. We cover ROI, common pitfalls, and much more. Class is in session for aspiring experts in project management software.
Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
All companies, including yours, can benefit from the right project management software. It can drastically streamline the way you plan, track, and execute all sorts of projects, regardless of their complexity level. If you’re interested in acquiring a solution in this space but not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place!
We’ve put together this guide to break down everything you need to know about project management software, including the best vendors, key features, pricing details, pros, cons, and more to help you make an informed decision. Scroll down to get started.
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering.
User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
There are several project management software solutions in the market today, each with different features and price points. In this guide, we’ve listed the best project management software solution for businesses of various sizes and industries according to our research and expert council as of 2023.
Why we love it
:
Wrike was named a Forrester leader for a reason; their solution is robust and comprehensive enough to be used by large enterprises, and their pricing is reasonable enough for small and medium-sized businesses to use and derive value.
Wrike
Review:
Wrike is a powerful project management platform suitable for businesses of all sizes. With interactive Gantt charts, shared kanban boards, intelligent risk prediction, customizable dashboards, workflows, forms, and much more, Wrike has everything you need to execute projects efficiently, while maximizing productivity and collaboration both within and across different departments in your company.
Wrike
Customers:
Wrike
Pricing:
Wrike has four plans that are priced as follows:
Note: The prices shown above are billed on an annual basis. User licenses are sold in groups of 5.
Wrike has four plans that are priced as follows:
Note: The prices shown above are billed on an annual basis. User licenses are sold in groups of 5.
Best For
Wrike has plans for companies of all sizes.
Why we love it
:
Aside from basic features, Teamwork lets you set dependencies, tag at the task level, and see what your team’s workload capacity is. It’s made for client-based businesses, so the features match, such as invoicing, client views, and custom branding.
Teamwork
Review:
eamwork is a project management tool that is easy to use with its intuitive interface and client-based features. Invite clients to view projects in progress, send invoices, and collaborate on tasks and projects with your entire team. Teamwork doesn’t limit your tasks, and you can create subtasks that nest under main tasks. You can also apply tags to tasks or projects, which makes it easy to find what you need.
Advanced project management features include milestones, portfolio views, and burndown reports (these let you see how projects are going based on task completion rate trends).
Teamwork
Customers:
Teamwork serves several types of businesses, including ValPak, Cox Media Group, Salted Stone, Northwestern Mutual, and Infosys.
Teamwork serves several types of businesses, including ValPak, Cox Media Group, Salted Stone, Northwestern Mutual, and Infosys.
Teamwork
Pricing:
Teamwork offers five plans:
Teamwork offers five plans:
Best For
Teamwork’s client-minded features, like built-in time tracking and invoicing, it’s best for agencies and freelancers with clients. Although it’s scalable, it’s better for smaller teams, but cross-team collaboration tools could change that.
Why we love it
:
Smartsheet tackles project management by way of spreadsheets. Aside from basic PM features, Smartsheet includes WorkApps, a built-in platform that lets you build apps with no coding experience to help streamline your team’s workflows
Smartsheet
Review:
Smartsheet hints in its name that it’s a spreadsheet-based project management solution. It’s a flexible, customizable PM app that sets itself apart from the competition with its deceptively intuitive interface. As easy as it is to use the software right away, it’s actually a fairly complex platform that might be difficult to
master if you don’t have a lot of project management experience. If you do have the know-how or the time to devote to training, it can be an excellent choice for automating workflows and even building your own no-code apps to streamline your team’s work.
It may look like a Microsoft Excel copy, but it’s one of the few spreadsheet tools that’s collaborative, so you and your team members can work on sheets simultaneously. One of the unique features of Smartsheet is its ability to nest multiple subtasks under a single parent task (most PM apps only allow a single subtask). The built-in form builder makes it easy to create client intake forms, or bug submittals, which can then be easily added to a sheet for a future project.
Smartsheet
Customers:
Smartsheet is a popular project management platform for many companies including Uber, Alaska Airlines, Domino’s, Lego, Cisco, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Smartsheet is a popular project management platform for many companies including Uber, Alaska Airlines, Domino’s, Lego, Cisco, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Smartsheet
Pricing:
Smartsheet has three plans:
Smartsheet has three plans:
Best For
Any size company that needs collaborative, spreadsheet-based project management software that’s highly customizable should consider Smartsheet.
Why we love it
:
Trello’s project management app is described as a digital sticky note system and we think this description is spot on. It’s a visual tool that lets you create cards on boards, with a drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy for anyone to use
Trello
Review:
Trello is a visual project management tool that primarily uses the Kanban-style board, which is easy for anyone to use even without prior experience with PM software. Trello creators describe it as a sticky note system, but with added functionality. You can use it to track, organize, and manage personal projects or implement it for a team or across multiple teams.
There’s built-in automation tools that require no coding to set up. Simply choose a trigger and an action to reduce your need to perform tedious tasks (i.e., add a checklist any time you create a new card).
Trello
Customers:
Trello is used by millions and trusted by companies such as, Google, Coinbase, John Deere, Zoom, Visa, and Grand Hyatt.
Trello is used by millions and trusted by companies such as, Google, Coinbase, John Deere, Zoom, Visa, and Grand Hyatt.
Trello
Pricing:
Trello offers four plans:
Trello offers four plans:
Best For
Trello is simple project management software meant for anyone. From individuals managing personal projects to PM managers organizing work for a small team or multiple teams, Trello can be helpful.
Why we love it
:
Asana’s project management tool offers multiple views: See tasks in a list, calendar, a Kanban-style board, or Gantt chart. It’s built for managers who need the big picture (goals, objectives, projects) and teams that need to get granular (tasks, subtasks).
Asana
Review:
Asana is a flexible project management solution in that it can work for a variety of managers, employees, and C-suite execs, and for any industry. The multiple views (Kanban, calendar, Gantt, etc.) make it ideal for employees to see tasks, managers to efficiently assign tasks, and stakeholders to see a bird’s-eye view of how projects are going.
There’s no limit to file storage, number of tasks, or storage, so you may be able to use Asana’s free plan or a low-priced plan longer than you’d think. Upgrade only when you need room for more members or advanced features, such as custom rules and integrations with CRM.
Asana
Customers:
Amazon, Google, The New Yorker, AT&T, PayPal, Slack, Spotify all use Asana.
Amazon, Google, The New Yorker, AT&T, PayPal, Slack, Spotify all use Asana.
Asana
Pricing:
Asana has four plans:
Asana has four plans:
Best For
Whether you’re running a solo operation or a corporation, Asana offers a plan to fit all business sizes. Most industries can use Asana, including content creators, software developers, and product development.
Why we love it
:
Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management software that helps you plan your projects, track work efficiently, and collaborate with your team in real-time, no matter where they are. They have a free version for smaller teams with basic needs.
Zoho Projects
Review:
Zoho is a provider of all sorts of business solutions that are affordable yet on par with the market’s leading offerings. Zoho Projects is another good example of this, as it’s a feature-rich, intuitive, and budget-friendly team collaboration and project management tool.
Zoho Projects
Customers:
Stanford University, Dell, Vodafone, Edinburgh College, Tata Chemicals Limited
Stanford University, Dell, Vodafone, Edinburgh College, Tata Chemicals Limited
Zoho Projects
Pricing:
Zoho Projects has 3 pricing plans:
Zoho Projects has 3 pricing plans:
Best For
Zoho Projects can be used by companies of all sizes.Zoho Projects can be used by companies of all sizes.
Why we love it
:
ClickUp rivals the competition with its real-time chat and native time-tracking features, making it a viable project management solution for small businesses and agencies. Both of these features are available on all plans, including the free plan.
ClickUp
Review:
ClickUp is project management software for all types of businesses, offering more than 15 different project views, dashboards, and real-time reporting for all plans. In addition to basic project management, it offers automations, built-in chat and time tracking.
You can customize fields, views, reports, and workflows. ClickUp also includes a large list of templates to get you started with projects and lists quickly.
One of the more unique value adds from ClickUp is the ability to proof images and PDFs. It’s helpful for any team collaborating and it’s typically missing from basic project management software.
ClickUp
Customers:
ClickUp is used by some of the biggest names in technology and business, including IBM, Samsung, NPR, Wake Forest University, Booking.com, and San Diego Padres.
ClickUp is used by some of the biggest names in technology and business, including IBM, Samsung, NPR, Wake Forest University, Booking.com, and San Diego Padres.
ClickUp
Pricing:
ClickUp has five plans:
ClickUp has five plans:
Best For
Given ClickUp’s relatively affordable plan prices and collaboration tools, even the free and low-priced plan are good fits for individuals and small teams. It is scalable and very flexible, so it can work well for larger companies, too.
Why we love it
:
Unlike most project management software, Jira was built with software developer teams in mind. The visual boards are ideal for running sprints in an Agile-type environment. However, it’s flexible enough you can use Jira’s Kanban-style boards to manage any type of project.
Jira
Review:
While Jira is considered one of the best project management software options, it is a bit niche. It was designed to be a bug tracker for technical teams, so it works well for software developers, programmers, and IT professionals that are used to the Agile method of project management.
Even if you don’t run sprints though, Jira can work well as a project management solution for your team. The Kanban-style board is intuitive at first use, though the customization options may be a bit overwhelming to those not familiar with project management software.
Jira
Customers:
Some top-tier customers prefer Jira for product and project development, including Square, eBay, Pfizer, Cisco, and Visa.
Some top-tier customers prefer Jira for product and project development, including Square, eBay, Pfizer, Cisco, and Visa
Jira
Pricing:
Jira offers four plans:
Jira offers four plans:
Best For
Jira is ideal for software development teams that prefer to use the Agile method of project management. Its plans work well for any size team given its high user limit.
Why we love it
:
LiquidPlanner has intelligent features that predict potential problems and completion timeframes, automating a big part of how teams schedule, track, and manage collaborative work.
LiquidPlanner
Review:
LiquidPlanner is a project management software that streamlines the way you plan, track, and execute projects. Their platform stands out for having Planning Intelligence and a Predictive Scheduling Engine that runs thousands of simulations to detect potential problems before they occur and continuously provides the most realistic schedule forecast possible.
LiquidPlanner
Customers:
LiquidPlanner
Pricing:
When billed annually:
When billed annually:
Best For
LiquidPlanner is best suited for medium and large companies.
Why we love it
:
Unlike other project management software, Basecamp prefers simplicity in its platform. You won’t find dozens of views in Basecamp or many built-in features, but it’s easy to organize tasks, lists, and projects in a visual fashion similar to Kanban boards.
Basecamp
Review:
Basecamp is a user-friendly and versatile project management and team communication software. Companies use it to break up all of their work into separate projects, and each project contains the tools all teams need to work together. This includes message boards, to-dos, schedules, docs, file storage, real-time group chat, and automatic check-in questions.
Basecamp
Customers:
Basecamp is a popular choice of project management software for The North Face, NetSuite, California State University-Stanislaus, and Groupon.
Basecamp is a popular choice of project management software for The North Face, NetSuite, California State University-Stanislaus, and Groupon.
Basecamp
Pricing:
Basecamp offers two plans from which you can choose:
Basecamp offers two plans from which you can choose:
Best For
Basecamp is best for mid sized or large companies that require simple project management software for 20 or more users.
Using project management software allows you to:
Buying software should never be a hasty decision. Meticulous research is required to make sure you don’t waste your tech budget on products that don’t meet your needs. With that in mind, here are some of the most common mistakes businesses make when buying project management software:
The majority of project management software vendors structure their pricing between 2 to 5 tiers. This way, they ensure the most coverage for customers with various needs and financial capabilities. Those tiers often vary in terms of features and either cost a flat subscription fee ranging between $45 and $100 a month for an unlimited number of employees or have a per-employee-per-month pricing model, which could cost anywhere between $5 and $40 per employee per month.
Do be aware that in all cases, additional fees may still apply for on-demand services such as product setup, training, customization, dedicated account management, and cancellation. Such services may not be included in your monthly subscription. Consult your chosen project management software vendor on the exact breakdown of all their fees, both recurring and non-recurring.
Another thing to watch out for is whether or not your selected vendor has a minimum price commitment. Vendors with a minimum price commitment won’t let you subscribe to certain plans (usually their best-value plans) unless your total monthly or annual spending exceeds a certain amount.
For more information and to learn about our software pricing best practices, check out our ebook on getting the best pricing in HR tech.
As you’re researching and comparing different project management software products, we always recommend that you schedule demo sessions with the top vendors on your list to make sure their solution covers your needs. Here are a few questions you can ask when you get in touch with those vendors:
The shift to cloud computing has impacted many software types, including project management software. The majority of products in this space are cloud based, delivered through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) infrastructure. Getting started with cloud-based software is fairly easy. Once you’ve selected a vendor that meets your requirements and purchased a subscription, you can create an account and start configuring it right away (e.g. import your employee data, invite your employees to sign up, and start creating projects).
Though not many, there are some project management software solutions that are self-hosted (on-premise). Self-hosted solutions generally take longer to set up in comparison to their cloud-based counterparts. Depending on your chosen vendor, you may need to consult them regarding their product’s compatibility with your current company hardware. You may even be able to have them send a representative to install the product on your behalf, which is always recommended for you to get up and running with the system as quickly as possible.
Note: Most of the software vendors we’ve listed in this guide provide step-by-step video tutorials and help docs that assist customers in implementing the product. For more information, you can reach out to your assigned account manager or a customer support representative.
Project management entails the application of processes, skills, experience, and resources to achieve specific objectives within specific constraints, mainly time and budget.
A project management office (PMO) is a group or department that’s responsible for defining and maintaining project management best practices within an organization. They ensure projects are executed to the highest standards on time and within their allocated budget.
Agile project management (APM) is an iterative methodology to project delivery. It entails breaking projects into manageable tasks or iterations that are tackled in a meaningful order. Working in iterations enables project managers to continuously deliver value to key stakeholders throughout a project’s life cycle rather than just at the end. It also promotes continuous improvement, as project managers can easily make adjustments and incorporate stakeholder and end-user feedback with every iteration.
It’s important to have clear direction for any company or team undertaking to be successful. Good project management provides teams with a plan so their efforts are continuously geared toward the same goal(s). It also saves time and money, and it fosters teamwork.
Project management software is software companies use to plan, allocate resources, and effectively execute projects. It facilitates collaboration and can also be used to communicate updates with stakeholders, both within and outside the organization.
Named after its inventor, Henry Gantt, a Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that displays a project’s schedule. Teams use it to visualize where their tasks or events stand against a defined time period.
Scrum boards are relevant to software development. They’re often divided into three columns of To-Do, In Progress, and Done, and are designed to give teams a real-time picture of where their sprint backlog items stand. A kanban board is also made of columns and task-representing cards but is more flexible than a scrum board. The kanban method supports the continuous delivery of tasks without restricting them to sprints, as the scrum method does. Teams simply work on tasks as they come in and move them to the done column as they’re completed.
Project risk management is a process project managers go through to identify and manage potential risks that may affect their project as it progresses. Though not all project risks can be anticipated, the aim is to catch and have a solution in place for as many potential issues as possible to minimize their impact and achieve the best results possible.
Project management software commonly offers features for:
Project management software enables teams to plan projects better, execute tasks faster, and collaborate more effectively.
Besides ensuring a project management solution covers the features you need, make sure it is also easy to use, scalable, can integrate with the rest of your tech stack, and has a mobile app for on-the-go access.
Most project management software solutions are cloud based, meaning they are accessible through most web browsers (i.e. Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge), either on your Mac or Windows desktop or on your mobile device—no installation necessary.
The best FREE project management software solutions are:
Choosing a project management solution can be a difficult process, as the market is saturated with many offerings, but we’re confident you’ll make a good selection if you:
Thanks for reading our guide on project management software. If you’re interested in similar software solutions that boost employee productivity and drive up engagement, check out our guides on Remote Team Management Software, Objectives and Key Results Software, and Performance Management Software.
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