A project management is practice of planning, organising, motivating and leading others to achieve specific goals. As with any profession, there are tools that help project managers (or anyone involved in projects) efficiently carry out their tasks. These ten free web-based tools are the best I’ve come across for Project Managers.
There are lots of project management tools on the Web today. They vary from simple to complex; from free to very expensive… and can you tell me, how many tools can I really trust? Even some of the most-recommended tools out there didn’t seem to cut it for me. So I started digging deeper and started testing my own tools – and here is a summary of my experience with several project management tools.
ClickUp
What if you had one project management tool that the whole organization could use…for free?
And what if the tool were one of the most highly rated project management software tools…for free?
Let us introduce you to ClickUp!
What you get in the free version of ClickUp:
Most companies demand premium prices for what ClickUp delivers for free.
You enjoy access to unlimited users, tasks, and multiple product features in the Free Forever plan. There are no limits to which task management options or which project management features you can use!
The result? An effective project plan, every time
- Customized views: Do you prefer to see your tasks on a Scrum board or a list? Organize and view your tasks in a List, Box, Gantt chart, Board, Table, or Calendar view. Additionally, you and your team can switch between different views with just a click. Select a view that works best for you, and quickly find the task you’re working on
- Workload Management: Easily allocate resources using Workload view and Pulse to gauge your team’s current workload. Recent studies show that nearly half of American employees feel burnt out. If you’re running a remote team, this can instantly boost your team productivity!
- Dashboards: Access high-level views of everything in your Workspace. With Dashboards, you can use Customizable Widgets to gain important insights on people, Sprints, projects, tasks, and more. Dashboards are also great for Agile project management and Agile product development
- Assign Comments: Do comments slip through the cracks? Assign Comments as a task, and set up specific dates and times to follow up. This feature makes remote project management super easy
- Priorities: Is your team unsure of which tasks are most important? Set up custom priority levels and collaborate on various tasks based on their urgencies and importance
- Reminders: Don’t let important tasks, start dates, and due dates slip from your memory with ClickUp’s Reminders. Need to save time? Create Recurring Reminders instead
- Goals: Set Goals for your whole team. Track Targets like numbers or a simple yes/no. You can also use this to set weekly sprint goals for your Agile and Scrum software projects.
- Mind Maps: Visualize your thoughts and ideas with Mind Maps
- Custom Fields: Set up project management the way you want it. Add columns for contact info, notes, budgets, etc.
- Custom Task Statuses: Create Custom Task Statuses to track project progress
- Gantt Chart view: Create effective project plans and manage dependencies with ease. Using Gantt Charts, you can also quickly schedule multiple small and complex projects
- Drag and Drop: This is a key feature, especially if you have multiple teams in ClickUp. Drag, drop, move, and re-assign tasks to people, clients, or Teams in just a few steps, no annoying menus required.
ClickUp is conscious of how work actually gets done, which sparked our motivation to obsessively create features to enhance productivity.
And because ClickUp interacts with so many essential team collaboration tools, your team will hum along as it’s always done… just faster and more efficiently on multiple projects.
It doesn’t matter if you’re an individual user or project manager, ClickUp has you covered. 😊
There’s a free plan available to your team, along with an upgrade to unlimited storage for just a few dollars more a month. Feel free to try out the free version with all the features, and upgrade to unlimited storage at any time.
Learn how to import a CSV file of your tasks into ClickUp.
What people think about managing projects with ClickUp:
“The ClickUp team is amazing. I have used just about every project/list management software in the market, and ClickUp blows them away.” – G2Crowd
“I love ClickUp! I did a TON of research on different project management platforms and tried them all out. ClickUp was by far the best. I then had to convince my team to switch over from our previous tool, and they all love ClickUp. Even my team member who thought Trello was the best system has been convinced. It’s a really nice tool and has helped my team to be more efficient and organized with all the various projects we have.” — G2Crowd
“Click up is highly customizable, which allows me to adjust the view according to my team’s needs. The interface is very contextual and intuitive. Despite the high complexity of the tool and the variety of options it gives, it is easy to use from the very first time. I like the ability to filter, the micro-interactions, the tone of voice and it is clear that the product designers of this tool were thinking out of the box when creating it.” — G2Crowd
Ready to try ClickUp? Get it for free here.
MeisterTask
Any Kanban board fanatics in the house? MeisterTask is the way to go for you guys. This project management software tries to make Kanban boards more practical.
Your tasks, comments, notes, due dates, etc, are all set up like Kanban boards in one place. It’s a flexible project board and cloud-based project management tool.
But is it flexible enough to fit your workflow?
Well, in MesiterTask’s free version, you can’t create any timeline or agendas.
*project management has left the chat*
What you get in the free version of MeisterTask:
- Unlimited projects and unlimited users
- Two integrations (Slack or Zendesk)
- Checklists, comments, tags, task and time tracking features
- User-friendly interface
- File sharing and attachments (up to 20MB)
What people think about managing projects with MeisterTask:
“The one thing I’m not really happy with is the inability to batch move tasks from one section to another. I don’t know why we can do that! You can only move one task at a time. Also, the scroll bar is pretty small and hard to click on because it’s pretty skinny. The free version doesn’t support recurring tasks, so that’s something to be aware of if you are not going to pay for it.” – Capterra Verified Review
Freedcamp is a feature-rich project management tool that’s designed for personal and professional use. Each project has its own tasks, milestones, files, discussions, and timelines, as well as an issue tracker and calendar. The dashboard gives you a clear, concise overview of what’s going on in your team, including activity, projects, and tasks.
Features include:
- Message-board discussion feed, with the ability to create and carry out discussions on any topic
- Powerful calendar view that lays out all upcoming events
- Third-party integrations including Google Drive, Google Calendar, Dropbox and more
Pricing: Free; $1.49/user/month (MInimalist); $7.49/user/month (Business); $16.99/user/month (Enterprise)
MindMeister: Features an online mind map editor
MindMeister is a mind mapping and project management tool that helps you with team collaboration and project planning.
The tool lets you share mind maps with your colleagues that you can edit in real time. MindMeister also offers a built-in presentation mode that turns your mind map into slideshows.
In addition, you can then turn your mind maps into agile project dashboards and visualize progress for multiple projects. It provides a note-taking feature during meetings and brainstorming sessions, and you can store individual and collective data in a central database and share it with your team.
MindMeister offers email, phone, and chat support. The tool has a mobile app for both iOS and Android.*Analysis accurate as of September 2021 MindMeister4.7 (199)Read reviewsVISIT WEBSITE
Key Features:
- Activity/news feed
- Brainstorming
- Collaboration tools
- Data import/export
- Evaluation management
- Presentation tools
Trial/Free Version:Free TrialFree VersionDevice Compatibility:
Asana
Asana, one of the most well-known project management solutions, has a clean and user-friendly interface. The all-in-one tool lets you create boards to visualize which stage your project is in, and use reporting to keep track of finished tasks and tasks that need your attention.
Features include:
- The ability to create templates to automate mundane tasks
- The ability to collaborate and share information across the team, privately and securely
- The option to set security controls and designate admins
- Over 100 integrations for a more efficient start-to-finish process
- The ability to create custom project fields, share documents, and filter tasks
- HubSpot integration for seamless syncing of workflows and contact activity
Pricing: Free (Basic); $10.99/user/month (Premium); $24.99/user/month (Business); Custom (Enterprise)
TeamWeek
Are data visualization and Gantt charts your thing? Then say hello to TeamWeek.
You can see important deadlines and due dates in a calendar form right when you log in.
What else?
You can use it as a resource management tool. If you’re curious about who’s overloaded or what someone’s schedule looks like, then TeamWeek will clue you in.
But here’s the thing, project management is so much more than planning. Once you start executing, you’ll need to conduct video conferences, create task templates, and jam with your colleagues in group chats.
And that’s when you’ll need something more than what TeamWeek offers.
What you get in the free version of TeamWeek:
- Unlimited projects
- Unlimited tasks
- Free mobile app
- Up to 5 team members/users
What people think about managing projects with TeamWeek:
“Good Project Management Tool that could use a bit more functionalities.” – Capterra
Monday.com
Monday.com, a project management tool that also offers HR and IT tools, allows you to create team member status updates so your remote and flexible teams know their coworkers’ schedules. It allows you to easily access project updates at-a-glance so that nothing falls between the cracks.
Features include:
- Customizable workflows to prioritize your team’s needs and take care of menial tasks
- Gantt chart for visualizing due dates and project timelines
- Integrations with popular tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Calendar
- Team member status updates for remote or flexible team members
- HubSpot integration so that everyone can collaborate on contact and deal management
Conclusion
Ah yes, we all know that tools and software are one of the most important aspects of managing a project, any project. Whether you’re organizing a group date night or designing a building, taking advantage of project management tools and software enables you to keep everyone on task and avoid any drama. Above are listed top Project Management “online tools” available. They can help make your job easier and help you get more organized.