What software is best for project managers? There are numerous solutions to choose from, especially SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms, but they all come with varying features and add-ons that can make it difficult to choose. So in this article, I’ve compiled a list of some great project management software and provided a brief overview. I walk you through the main features of each and help you choose the best project management software based on your business needs.
Are you looking for project management software? Are you looking for free project management software? Or something else entirely? You’re not alone. There are literally thousands of software packages you could install which means it can be challenging to choose. I’ve built my fair share of websites and tested many a software tool in the past. This has led me to creating my own list of go-to software tools.
Trello
Trello is a simple project management software. With Trello, you can manage projects using visual task boards. You can also visualize your projects as timelines, tables, and maps.
With Trello boards, you can create custom task workflows. Each board is divided into workflow stages. To change a task’s status, you simply drag and drop the task to the next workflow stage.
Tasks in Trello can have custom properties, one or more assignees, and color-coded labels.
In addition, you can visualize a Trello board in different ways by switching to the timeline, map, or table views.
If you don’t fancy Trello, you can consider other Trello alternatives as well.
Additional Features
- Add add-ons (called powerups) to improve a Trello board’s functionality.
- Set up automatic if-then automation rules to manage repetitive tasks.
- Integrate with other popular third-party applications.
Trello Pricing
With the free plan, you can manage unlimited personal boards and up to 10 team boards. And, you can add a maximum of one powerup for each board.
Trello’s paid plans range from $12.50-$17.50 per user per month. When you upgrade to a paid plan, you can manage unlimited team boards. Plus, you get access to automation rules, unlimited powerups, and board collections.
Kanban Tool
The next tool on our list is Kanban Tool. When it comes to simple task management, it’s similar to Trello. But does not come with all the bells and whistles that Trello offers.
Using Kanban boards, you can manage your projects using lean methods. Kanban Tool boards are customizable and can adapt to any workflow.
You can also add custom fields to tasks. Plus, add 30+ add-ons to improve a board’s functionality. Besides, you can also use Zapier to integrate with other third-party applications.
Kanban Tool comes with custom reports and dashboards to visually review project progress.
Additional Features
- Set work-in-progress limits to avoid multitasking.
- Collaborate on tasks with comments and file attachments.
- Get email notifications when things change.
Kanban Tool Pricing
With Kanban Tool’s free plan, you can manage up to two boards with two users.
Paid plans range from $5-$9 per user per month. Upgrading to a paid plan gives you access to file attachments, time tracking, and automation.
Notion
Notion is an all-in-one workplace software. It functions as a team wiki, notes, and document management solution. It also comes with simple project and task management features.
With Notion, you can manage projects visually using task boards. Besides, you can also use simple task lists to manage projects.
Task boards are customizable. You can easily customize boards to match your workflow. Besides, you can also set start and end dates and visualize your projects on a timeline.
Notion’s strength lies in its customizations. It comes with many different field types. So you can customize Notion any way you want.
Additional Features
- Document everything in one central location.
- Collaborate using comments and file attachments.
- Add tags, delegate tasks to teammates, set dues dates, and more.
Notion Pricing
Notion is free for personal use. You can manage unlimited personal projects and documents in the free plan.
Paid team plans start at $8 per user per month.
Hitask
Hitask is a simple project management software. It’s very similar to Basecamp. In addition, Hitask comes with a few more features, such as time-tracking and repeating tasks.
With Hitask, you can organize your work into projects, tasks, and events.
You can manage tasks using simple task lists. However, task workflows are not customizable. So, tasks can only be in the to-do or done state.
You can delegate tasks to your teammates. Also, you can get notified when the task’s status changes.
Team members can collaborate using file attachments and shared documents.
Additional Features
- Create tasks by sending an email.
- Manage daily, weekly, and monthly repeating tasks.
- Track time spent on tasks and generate timesheet reports.
- Integrate with Outlook and Google Calendar.
Hitask Pricing
Hitask is free for up to 5 users. You can manage unlimited projects and tasks with the free plan.
Paid plans range from $5-$20 per user per month. When you upgrade, you get unlimited file uploads, role-based access, and priority support.
Gantt Chart
It is open-source software that allows its users to identify problem areas in the workflow so that companies can set goals for themselves. These charts can also be used to track shifts or tasks, vacations, and all other kinds of out-of-office tasks.
Gantt Project or Gantt Chart is often compared with Microsoft Project both in terms of features and complexity. It is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule from the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. This management platform helps its users to quickly create a structured schedule for any project while offering task management and milestone implementation at the same time.
How Does It Work?
- It is created with a horizontal and vertical axis.
- The horizontal axis represents the period, timing, and sequence of the project.
- The vertical axis represents the tasks that make up the project.
Pros
- It organizes activities and lists tasks and subtasks into logical groups.
- Indicate dates for both the start and end of the task.
- It gives teammates and managers a visual overview of activities.
Cons
- Complex for large projects.
- No indication of task dependency.
Price
Gantt has four various subscriptions that include single user for $15 per user per month, $7.90 per user per month valid for five members, $6.90 per user per month valid for ten members, and the last $5.90 per user per month valid for 15 members.
AceProject
AceProject is a high-level web-based project tracking software that allows you to manage your tasks, timesheets, documents, and expenses. It was developed by Canadian company Web systems in 2001 as a free task manager and is distributed both as SaaS and on-premises software. Apart from Project Management, this software helps in portfolio management, expense management, document, and HR management. Currently, AceProject is available in English and French languages.
It is a complete project management solution best suited for individuals, teams, and business enterprises. Users can access the project dashboard that gives instant information with color-coded graphs and other details. Documents and files can be shared with all its members, and it is entirely safe to use AceProject on various mobile applications. Companies like AT&T, Goodyear, Panasonic, IBM, and Toyota are already using this application.
How Does It Work?
- It has a project dashboard that gives you instant information using color-coded graphs and details that helps you to stay on top of all the projects.
- With an intuitive interface, it allows you to create, assign, organize, and manage tasks with fewer clicks.
- You can create new projects from several templates and create custom reports.
- You can store and share documents and files with all the members.
Pros
- Fully-featured free version.
- It manages timesheet, projects, and tasks efficiently.
- Easy to use, collaborate, add a project, and assign tasks.
Cons
- The module is not similar to the PMBOK framework.
- No frequent updates.
Price
AceProject comes in flexible cost-plans starting from a 100 percent free package to $99 a month. It is available under various schemes namely, Basic (free), Standard ($19/month), Advanced ($39/month), Silver ($59/month), and Gold ($99/month).
ProofHub
ProofHub is a cloud-based project management tool used by leading organizations like Taco Bell, Accord, Fractal Fox. It has a swift interface that makes it easy to understand and helps the teams to collaborate efficiently. ProofHub is a valuable tool that lets you assign various roles to employees, and these various roles give employees specific access to the tool.
How Does It Work?
- It has a dashboard wherein you can easily organize teams and assign projects.
- By clicking a button, you can set status alerts that help you to manage your projects.
- It brings managers and decision-makers together to create notes, to-do lists, and to discuss plans.
- It enables you to track every progress of work at every level.
Pros
- It allows lots of customization, including color scheme, font.
- Compatible with operating systems like iOS, Android, and Windows.
- Handy trash can allows retrieving deleted project items.
Cons
- An issue with complex projects.
- Cannot tag people in comments.
Price
ProofHub comes in two variants – Ultimate Control and Essential. Essential has unlimited user access and comes at $50/month with 40 projects and 15GB storage. Ultimate Control also has unlimited user access but has unlimited projects, 100 GB of storage, custom features, and loads of additional core features at $99/month, billed annually.
ClickUp
Once you land on ClickUp’s homepage, you start to get a feel for how robust yet practical the tool really is. 200,000 businesses use it to keep their projects in check including Airbnb, Google, Nike, and Uber to name a few.
ClickUp offers you a world of endless project management capabilities no matter the size of your team or the scope of the projects you tackle.
Creating Gantt charts, spreadsheets, reminders, knowledge bases, custom statuses, recurring checklists, workload charts, and automations are only the tip of the iceberg of the tools it offers for streamlined project management.
To onboard your team successfully, it provides plenty of use cases, quick-start guides, on-demand demos, videos, and support articles in case you run into any bottlenecks as well as online support from its support team.
ClickUp’s simplicity bleeds over to how it’s priced too. Here’s a look at each tier:
- Free
- Unlimited – $5 per member per month
- Business – $9 per member per month
- Enterprise – Contact sales for a personalized plan
You can use their free forever plan, which comes with 100 MB of storage, unlimited tasks and unlimited members. Or you can start with their unlimited plan at $5 per member monthly, which offers unlimited storage, integrations, dashboards, and calendar views.
The $9 per member Business plan is more appropriate for larger teams who need custom exporting features, advanced time tracking options, or private and protected views. If you’re looking for a more robust enterprise plan you’ll have to contact sales to strike a deal.
We recommend you try the free trial for the tier you’re interested in to get a feel for how well it works for you. If nothing else, a free plan you can use for various projects is also a great place to start if you’re a small team.
If you’re ready to take the plunge, get started with ClickUp here to start managing all your projects.
Conclusion:
Tired of the same old meeting where everyone just talks about their problems? Ready to be a leader instead of a dude coming up with ideas? You’re in luck, because Project Management Software can help you become that project manager you’ve always wanted to be.