- Free Project Management Software
- Project Management Software Systems
- Microsoft Project
- List Of Project Management Software
- Cloud Based Project Management Software
- Project Management Software Systems Group
- Project Management Software Systems Software
Project management software helps project managers and teams complete client requirements and manage time, budget, and scope constraints. However, with so many available options, choosing the right tool can be confusing, and people may not know just where to begin. Many small and medium-sized businesses across different industries are now using online project management software. This type of software uses cloud-based technology and is offered by application service providers as software-as-a-service (SaaS).
Sep 15, 2019 Project management software helps project managers and teams complete client requirements and manage time, budget, and scope constraints. However, with so many available options, choosing the right tool can be confusing, and people may not know just where to begin. Another project management tool worth looking into is Backlog, a feature-rich solution that is built specifically for app development teams. This cloud-deployed system is a complete project management solution, helping boost communication, collaboration and coordination between non-technical project team members and developers. The Best Project Management Software of 2019 Zoho Projects. Bottom Line: Zoho Projects has a low price, straightforward interface. Bottom Line: LiquidPlanner is an impressive online tool for managing projects, tasks. Bottom Line: When you need a project management. ProjectManager.com’s award-winning project management system combines powerful project planning and scheduling features with collaboration tools for teams. Plan large or small projects. Plan in sprints or plan waterfall projects on the interactive Gantt chart. Adjust due dates with easy drag and drop scheduling.
The Top 10
Nowadays, these applications are expanding their functions and crossing boundaries with their combination of features, and these complicate even more the user’s selection process. Are you planning to introduce a project management software among your employees? Below are ten PM software that are valuable in completing any kind of projects.
Project Management Software Guide
Project management software helps project managers and teams complete client requirements and manage time, budget, and scope constraints. However, with so many available options, choosing the right tool can be confusing, and people may not know just where to begin. We would like to explain what features cloud-based project management software should have.
Types of Project Management Software
- Online: Many small and medium-sized businesses across different industries are now using online project management software. This type of software uses cloud-based technology and is offered by application service providers as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Nowadays, these applications are expanding their functions and crossing boundaries with their combination of features, and these complicate even more the user’s selection process.
- On-premise: Typically resides in the company’s own server, which is located in the data center and managed by the company’s IT employees. An example of on-premise PM software is Microsoft Project.
Types of Online Project Management Software Industry
- Simple: A simple project management software may have fewer features that cover basic functionality, but this does not make them inferior, and may, in fact, be all that is needed by startups or small- to -medium-sized businesses. Features included in this type of software are task management, team collaboration, learning materials, email integration, and file management.
- Comprehensive: A comprehensive type has more features that cover core project management functions such as scheduling, resource management, and financial management on top of a more advanced task management feature. Using this type of software is also more expensive. However, it provides more accurate estimates, better control on dependencies, and real-time progress tracking. It is also more complex to use and require more time from its users. Larger organizations and project teams prefer them, especially for more complex projects.
Project Management Software Features to Consider
Classified features according to the degree of its importance in online PM software.
Really Important Features
- Task Management. This is the ability to create tasks and manage them during the entire process. Furthermore, the software should have the ability to set dependencies on the task, create and manage subtasks from larger tasks, set a task to repeat or recur at a specified time or date, and allow the assigning of more than one user to a task. The ability to import a list of tasks from an external file such as a spreadsheet should also be included in the task management feature.
- Team Collaboration. The feature that allows any number of team members to not only communicate but hold work-related discussion is a must. The application should provide virtual space for creating discussions easily, save its history and thread, create documents and share them, allows for alerts and notifications, as well as private messaging to one or many recipients.
- Learning Materials. The project management software should have adequate materials that can get any team member, regardless of level of computer proficiency, to hit the ground running. That means catering to all kinds of users, whether they learn well by reading articles, by watching videos, by participating in webinars, or by using the software as they go along. The software that can shorten the learning curve also allows users to devote more time quickly to performing their actual job.
- Email Integration. Email may be the most popular application, so a PM app that can integrate effectively with email is of high value. If the software can receive and send emails within the program, then it has significantly increased productivity by minimizing the time to switch applications. Email can be the source of status updates, and new tasks or progress reports can be sent by email to an already defined list.
- Document Management. This is the ability of the PM application to manage files and documents directly with or without using a third-party solution. The important features include the safe central storage of documents, the ability to attach documents to tasks, put notes and comments to uploaded documents, upload multiple documents using drag-drop, organize documents in folders and have version control over them. The online PM app may provide the storage space or integrate smoothly to a third-party solution that provides it.
- Mobile. Project teams do not usually sit behind desks all the time. Team members can be at a client’s site or a remote branch performing their work. Therefore, it is a key feature that the chosen PM software has the ability to be used with a smartphone. This means that the software should have APIs for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Fairly Important Features
- Third-Party Integration. Many organizations with their core business may already be using other systems. A PM application that can integrate well with existing third-party applications can be the main consideration for some companies. Some of the more popular ones are Google Apps, MS Outlook, Salesforce, and Dropbox. If it can integrate with many third-party systems, it is a plus.
- Customizations. A PM software that allows customers to have a certain amount of branding or customization within the application may appeal more to certain companies, such as those engaged with sales and marketing, or those that can change the language or cultural settings. This feature may not be sought out by everyone but could be a decisive factor for some.
- Reporting. Although this feature is extremely important, all PM solutions usually have this function. However, every organization has a different requirement and therefore may require more than just a generic catch-all kind of report. The software that can offer many kinds of reports or even customizable reports will have a definite advantage.
- Scheduling. This is the ability of a PM software to set schedules on tasks, create timelines and milestones, and determine dependencies and resources. For some, this is a core project management functionality and therefore essential. However, for organizations with simple projects, short-duration or recurring tasks, or small teams, this may not be as important.
- Time Management. This helpful feature may be more applicable to only some projects more than others. A PM software that can track actual project time of its resources, and have a certain degree of control in accepting submitted timesheets is valuable to project teams that have longer duration tasks or those that have many resources.
Project Management Software That Small Businesses Buy
According to a recent study done by Software Advice, about 46 percent of small businesses are still using manual methods in organizing and tracking their projects. Small businesses still occupy the majority of the economy compared to big corporations. For example, in the US alone, about 54 percent of all country sales come from small businesses. However, the study done by Software Advice from the interactions they have from 385 small-business buyers showed interesting information about the kind of project management software small businesses are looking to buy.
The Current Picture
According to the study, about 46 percent of small enterprises are still using different kinds of manual methods in managing their projects. Some of these methods are using pen and paper, email and spreadsheets. Business owners have realized that these methods are more prone to error, so they are now looking for project management software to replace these outdated methods. It is also interesting to note that about 9 percent of the respondents showed that they use non-PM software, such as accounting programs and time tracking applications. However, these do not address what they really need in order to successfully manage their projects, such as providing the needed overall visibility and analytical reports.
Web-based Preference
The majority of the small-business buyers that were interviewed, or about 75 percent, do not have a particular preference in how the project management software they need should be deployed. However, the one-fourth that indicated a preference explicitly chose to have a web-based deployment. The popularity of web-based software has risen notably over the last few years. Combining that with the simplicity of signing up for a monthly subscription, the choice of small-business buyers who do not want huge capital expenses is clear.
Integrated Suite Selection
Project management software available today can be generally classified as either a best-of-breed or integrated suite. A best-of-breed application is standalone that specializes in one particular thing, such as task management, for instance. Integrated suite applications are a set of applications offered that can have two or more functionality, such as task management, Gantt charting, and time tracking altogether. About 88 percent of the buyers would rather select an integrated suite to keep to a minimum the different platforms being used to manage projects. Consolidation overspecialization is given priority.
Top Reasons for Purchase
Buyers overwhelmingly want project management software, about 98 percent of the respondents. Time tracking software at 66 percent came a distant second. However, the reasons why buyers want PM software are more diverse. About 41 percent stated that an improvement in efficiency and accuracy is what they are looking for. Again, this is not surprising, considering that many are looking for an alternative to manual methods that are inefficient and prone to error. A close second of 32 percent of buyers are looking for greater functionality, which may indicate that the business has outgrown its tools for managing projects.
Buyers by Business Role
The study also differentiated the buyers by the role they have in their business. The chart showed that about 43 percent of the buyers have business leadership roles rather than project management role or IT role. Indeed, it was the senior managers, department directors, CEOs and owners that have shown interest to purchase PM software. But this is typical for small businesses that have fewer employees, but also a growing trend that not only project managers are managing projects. This also reflects a trend that PM software is now being used across industries. The chart also showed that the second-highest types of buyers are project managers, which are at 21 percent.
Buyers by Company Size, Annual Revenue, and Industry
The sample of 385 small-business buyers used by Software Advice is made up of a 64-percent majority with a company size of 1 to 50 employees. A business with fewer employees would want a higher degree of efficiency, so a web-based, integrated project management software is an ideal choice to provide a broad array of functions with the simplicity and affordability of online software. The next group of buyers has an employee size between 101 and 500, which can describe a company experiencing growth and expansion. In terms of annual revenue, 30 percent of the buyers report a revenue between 1 million and 5 million dollars. In terms of industry, 21 percent are in the technology sector, and 15 percent each come from the public service, the industrial, and the marketing/advertising sectors.
Study Methodology
Software Advice consultants help people find the right software for their organization. The original study was made by randomly selecting 385 of their interactions with small-business buyers. For a further discussion of their report, you can visit their website and contact the managing editor.
Conclusion
When you take the initiative to implement an all-important tool like project management software, not everyone’s going to be happy. Your employees are already used to a set of processes, so causing any disruption to this may trigger aversion. Even though it may take some effort for a few people to adopt, at the end of the day the software makes their work easier. So, make sure that you have a strong leadership backing your decision to introduce the software. It will boost the confidence of the employees, and any negative comments will go under the carpet. The anchoring team should be able to explain to their employees about the need for the software and how it will help their team in project completion. Despite your hard and tiring efforts to convince the team about the importance of the project management software, you might find one or two members facing adaptation issues. In most of cases, such problems are genuine and need to be addressed. However, there could be very few with a jaundiced eye. Such a situation has to be dealt with patience, and you shouldn’t completely ignore them or backfire at their comments. Listen to them carefully and make them feel their opinion matters too. If you find them genuine, you can try to solve the issues that are pointed out. Different groups in the project management industry predict positive growth in 2019. A project management software may have fewer features that cover basic functionality, but this does not make them inferior, and may, in fact, be all that is needed by startups or small-to-medium-sized businesses.
If you are looking for a task management software, we did a great article about this subject: Top 10 Best Task Management Tools.
If you are looking for a collaboration software, we did a great article about this subject: Top 10 Best Collaboration Tools.
All products and services mentioned on Reviews.com are chosen by our editorial staff. If you click on a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
Best Communication Tool | Best for Visual Thinkers |
How We Found the Best Project Management Software Programs
6 experts interviewed
The Best Project Management Software Programs
The best project management software accommodates every kind of project, from ongoing day-to-day work to big-picture initiatives. We looked for the software that can help any project thrive, with a wealth of reporting and scheduling features and an intuitive design. We spent a week testing 10 of the most popular options and found five top picks that can work with any team.
The 5 Best Project Management Software Programs
- Asana -Best Task Management Tool
- Basecamp -Best Communication Tool
- monday.com -Best for Beginners
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- Trello -Best Free Project Management Software
Asana
With an impressive number of tools and third-party integrations, Asana is a great choice for task-oriented teams.
Pros
Simple task management
Comprehensive reporting tools
Third-party integrations
Intuitive mobile app
Simple task management
Comprehensive reporting tools
Third-party integrations
Intuitive mobile app
Why we chose it
Simple task management
For a project management software’s most essential function — keeping your team on track and in step through every phase of a project — Asana did the best job of any product we tested. We appreciated how it balanced an individual’s workload with the bigger picture of the entire team. Your personal deadlines and tasks are always in view, but it’s also just as easy for managers to track the entire team’s progress with features like automated progress charts and team-wide task calendars. The way Asana breaks down huge projects into manageable and easy-to-follow pieces makes it the most intuitive task management system of the bunch.
Comprehensive reporting tools
Asana also has a number of tools that make it simple for managers to capture a bird’s-eye view of their team’s progress. One of the ones we liked the most was the ability to automatically export a project’s data into Google Sheets. Once there, the spreadsheet is already organized into practical sections like the number of overdue, completed, or in-progress tasks for all of your projects. Your report comes pre-loaded with two tools depending on what’s in your Dashboard — ours had two graphs showing the number of overdue, assigned, and incomplete tasks by project — but we found it simple to tailor to our specific needs.
Third-party integrations
One of the biggest talking points in reviews of Asana is how seamlessly it fits with other programs. We saw that clearly in our testing: Asana has the best collection of third-party integrations of any software out there. You can set up notifications or create new tasks in messaging apps like Slack and Hipchat, attach files from storage programs like Google Drive and OneDrive, and automatically create Asana tasks in development services like Jira and GitHub. It was the only software in our tests that offered integrations with all six of those popular apps. We also loved the Chrome extension, which allows you to create a task from any page with only a couple of clicks.
Intuitive mobile app
If you want to double-check your calendar or the status of your tasks while you’re away from your computer, a functional mobile app can eliminate a lot of headaches. Asana’s is one of the most well-received in the industry, earning a 4.8 rating on over 2,000 reviews in the App Store and a 4.3 on over 20,000 reviews in Google Play. That’s just about even with Basecamp and Trello, and well above monday.com and Casual.
It’s easy to see why. Asana’s interface translates incredibly well to a mobile screen; all of your tasks, messages, and projects are accessible with one click from anywhere in the app, so you never have to spend much time probing around. You won’t want to use it for everything — exporting data would be pretty cumbersome, for example — but it’s nice to have around for more basic functions.
Points to consider
Steeper learning curve
Because of Asana’s considerable project management capabilities, it can take a little more time to learn than other software, especially if your team is used to something more limited. It’s unclear at first how you should be using your Dashboard, for example: You must add projects in order to take advantage of its functions, meaning you’re initially presented with a blank screen.
Still, even if tools like these aren’t totally intuitive when you first start using Asana, the crucial aspects for most team members — task and calendar management — are front and center. Asana also has an enormous library of resources and tutorials for using the software, so most issues can be addressed without too much trouble.
It wasn’t immediately clear to our tester how to take advantage of tools like Asana’s Dashboard.
No direct messaging
While having a conversation with your entire team in Asana is incredibly simple, we couldn’t find any easy way to directly message our team members, something that was pretty standard on other software we tested. While there is a workaround — you can create a private project for messaging and invite each individual into separate conversations within the project — it’s enough of a hassle that most people will probably just stick with Slack or email.
Basecamp
While it doesn’t have a full suite of scheduling and task management tools, Basecamp is a great option for managers who want one place to track all of their team’s ongoing discussions.
Pros
Great for group discussions
Flat monthly price
Stellar apps
Great for group discussions
Flat monthly price
Stellar apps
Cons
Sub-par task management
Lacks reporting tools
Sub-par task management
Lacks reporting tools
Why we chose it
Great for group discussions
Basecamp’s biggest draw is that it’s a one-stop shop for all of your team’s communications, eliminating lengthy email threads. It functions like a message board — you can post a topic to your team’s page, and everyone with access can add to the conversation for as long as they want. You can also set up recurring prompts each week or month to spur conversations within your team. Questions like “What was a successful project you worked on this month?” might be cumbersome or awkward to to send in an email or Slack, but they work perfectly with Basecamp’s format. We also loved the ability to add email notifications to important topics, so team members won’t miss out on anything.
Flat monthly price
Basecamp has one of the simplest pricing structures of any project management software on the market at $99 per month, no strings attached. Granted, that’s a lot for smaller teams, but for anyone with more than a dozen users, Basecamp is an absolute steal. You can have as many users as you want, and you don’t have to commit to anything longer than a month.
Stellar apps
Because Basecamp excels as a communication tool, we appreciated that it has dedicated apps for any kind of device. Instead of getting an email for every new message (or being forced to check a browser periodically), you can set up Basecamp notifications on your phone or desktop for exactly what you need to know about — for instance, if you’re mentioned in a conversation or if a thread you’re following has a new comment.
We found both the desktop and mobile apps to be well-designed and intuitive, which was backed up by user reviews. Both apps are unanimously well-received, earning a 4.7 rating on over 15,000 reviews in the App Store and a 4.4 on over 2,500 reviews in Google Play. Along with Asana and Trello, that was the loudest endorsement we heard for any project management software out there.
Points to consider
Sub-par task management
It’s hard to imagine using Basecamp as your team’s primary task management system. Each user has a list of assignments, but they’re little more than a to-do list. We found it difficult to track all of the moving parts of a project at once, let alone several overlapping ones. When you open the calendar, you can’t see at a glance what everyone is working on and how much progress is being made on each project; it just shows you how many tasks are due each day. This works fine as a basic to-do list for your team, but we found it to be one of the more limited task management interfaces.
Lacks reporting tools
Basecamp also doesn’t include any tools to help you visualize what’s going on with your team. Unlike Asana, which automatically turns calendar and task data into useful visuals, Basecamp leaves that work to you. If you’re looking for advanced project management tools beyond team communication, you’ll be better suited to one of our other picks.
monday.com
For those new to project management software, monday.com has a library of easy-to-use templates to get you started.
Pros
Personalized design
Customizable templates
Shareable with outside clients
Personalized design
Customizable templates
Shareable with outside clients
Why we chose it
Personalized design
Out of all of the project management programs we tested, monday.com was the one that allowed us to really hit the ground running. Everything about this software is intuitive. The sidebar menu is divided into “Talks” and “Boards.” Within these, you can track ongoing “pulses”: specific tasks, entire projects, or even potential clients. We like how monday.com doesn’t force you into any one approach for tracking your tasks and projects; however you would naturally think about your work, it accommodates you.
Customizable templates
If you do need a little help getting started (or just don’t want to manually input all relevant labels for your projects), monday.com comes pre-loaded with 44 different templates, broken up into sectors like marketing, HR, and software development. This structured approach makes the setup process a little less painful, especially for people who aren’t used to working with project management software.
Once you do get used to the platform, there are still options to customize according to your team’s needs. Want to break down “task date” into a start date and a due date in the Team Tasks template? Just click the plus sign next to the task and choose “Date” for the new column type. No matter how we wanted to customize the template, it never took more than a few clicks to achieve.
Shareable with outside clients
If you want to keep people outside of your organization up to date on specific projects and timelines, monday.com was the only software in our tests that provided a “shareable boards” feature. This is especially useful for clients who want to monitor the status of their project, or for freelancers who would benefit from seeing an individual project’s calendar without necessarily needing access to the team’s entire workload.
Points to consider
Limited tools
The same thing that makes monday.com a great place for beginners might make it feel limiting for more detail-oriented users. Part of the reason it’s so easy to use is that it doesn’t have as extensive a collection of features and tools as software like Asana. Instead, it focuses on organizing your tasks and projects in the most intuitive way possible — something it does really well. It won’t automatically visualize data for you, it doesn’t have many financial management tools, and project managers raised on Gantt charts might miss that tool (although monday.com makes a pretty compelling case on its blog for abandoning them).
Expensive for small teams
If your team only consists of a few people, monday.com probably isn’t worth the price of admission. While most companies charge per user, monday.com uses eight different tiers of pricing depending on your company size. The smallest one is for five users at $39 per month for the Standard plan. For comparison, Asana costs $6.25 per user for teams with fewer than 15 users. For three-person teams, that’s about half the price of monday.com.
Casual
While it lacks some of the tools that benefit larger teams, Casual’s “mindmap” interface was the most visually pleasing in our tests.
Pros
Visual project maps
Storage compatibility
Affordable pricing for small teams
Visual project maps
Storage compatibility
Affordable pricing for small teams
Cons
Lacks tools for bigger teams
Subpar mobile app
Lacks tools for bigger teams
Subpar mobile app
Why we chose it
Free Project Management Software
Visual project maps
Casual has one of the most visually pleasing and intuitive interfaces of any project management software we saw. It works like a mindmap: The main page is an infinite grid that you can populate with tasks and arrange in whatever manner makes sense for your project. Within those tasks, you can assign multiple team members and a due date, plus upload any relevant files. And if a task requires multiple smaller steps to complete, you can convert it to a group, which creates a mini-project inside the task. We’ll be honest, most project management programs feel like work. Casual was the only one we tested that was actually fun to mess around with, taking us back to afternoons in computer class doodling in MS Paint.
Storage compatibility
For a smaller and more affordable project management system, Casual has storage integrations that rival much bigger names. You can import files from every conceivable cloud-based service: Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box are all built right into the system, allowing you to attach relevant documents, spreadsheets, or images to any task or project. Of our five top picks, Asana was the only other program to include integrations with these four main storage services.
Affordable pricing for small teams
Casual has one of the friendliest pricing structures for smaller teams that we saw. Companies usually charge one of two ways: per user (usually around $10 per month, with prices decreasing for more users) or a flat rate every month (anywhere from $45 to $99 per month). With both of these options, teams with only a few people end up paying more. Casual charges $7 for up to two users and $21 for up to five, ensuring you’ll never pay more than $7 per user no matter what size your team is.
Points to consider
Lacks tools for bigger teams
Casual’s intuitive layout and small team pricing does come with some drawbacks: It doesn’t have nearly the same level of functionality as an all-around tool like Asana. It’s a fairly bare-bones task management system, focusing on helping you get your projects done on time and in the simplest way possible. We missed the ability to communicate with our team members within the program, which would get especially problematic if you have a larger team trying to navigate one project. It also doesn’t come with a ton of third-party integrations. While the essential storage options are all there, Casual lacks support for communication apps like Slack and development products like Jira.
Subpar mobile app
While it wasn’t the worst that we tried (that distinction would go to Aha!), Casual’s appealing layout doesn’t translate well to its mobile app. Instead of the limitless grid we loved so much on our desktop, the mobile app gives you a basic list of tasks. It’s also worth noting that you can’t create a new account through the app; you can only log into an existing one. This was a big reason for Casual’s mediocre three-star rating on Google Play.
Trello
Best for individuals or small teams, the free version of Trello’s software is the most generous on the market.
Pros
Generous free version
Easy to learn
Highly rated desktop and mobile apps
Generous free version
Easy to learn
Highly rated desktop and mobile apps
Cons
No calendar view
10 MB file size limit
Limited integrations
No calendar view
10 MB file size limit
Limited integrations
Project Management Software Systems
*Price goes down for teams with 300+ users
Why we chose it
Generous free version
While a lot of free project management software limits you to a certain number of users, projects, and tasks, Trello's free version is completely unlimited in all of these areas. You can create as many boards as you need, assign tasks throughout your team, and take full advantage of Trello’s desktop and mobile app functionality. You also have access to the huge collection of templates and sample boards that are tailored to specific types of projects, a nice add-on that we didn’t see in any other free software.
Easy to learn
Trello has one of the simplest designs of any project management software that we tested. Like Asana, each project is its own board, with tasks divided into easily scannable phases; once a task is complete, you just drag it into the next phase on your board. It’s extremely intuitive and simple to customize. After a few minutes of playing around with it, we were just as comfortable setting up team projects for work as we were creating private boards for potential vacation spots.
Highly rated desktop and mobile apps
Along with Basecamp, Trello was one of the only project management programs we saw that has desktop apps for both Mac and PC in addition to mobile apps. They were also some of the most well-received, scoring a 4.7 on over 2,000 reviews in the App Store and a 4.5 on over 73,000 in Google Play. The desktop apps aren’t just glorified versions of the browser, either. You can customize your notifications for things like new comments on a task, when something is moved from one phase to another, or if someone uploads an attachment to a task you’re following. It's a nice middle ground for those of us who don’t necessarily need email notifications for everything but still want to stay up to date without constantly checking browsers.
Points to consider
No calendar view
The biggest obstacle to using Trello’s free software for most project managers is the lack of a calendar view. There’s no way to monitor your entire team’s workload automatically without this — managers have to manually track hours and tasks outside of the app. Calendar view is available through a “Power-Up,” but Trello only allows one of these in its free version.
10 MB file size limit
Another constraint Trello puts on its free version is a 10 MB size limit on files uploaded from your computer. When you upgrade to the cheapest paid plan, that size goes all the way up to 250 MB. 10 MB is roughly the size limit most email services use for their attachments, so if your team is already running into that issue, it might be worth upgrading to a paid plan or considering an alternate file sharing system.
Limited integrations
Trello only allows one third-party integration (which it calls a “Power-Up”) in its free version. This doesn’t apply to cloud storage services — Trello lets you attach files from Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive for free — but limits more specialized integrations with apps like Jira and Slack. These can be extremely helpful if your team is already relying on other software. If you want to get notifications in Slack when someone adds you to a task, for example, you would have to use a Power-Up. If you upgrade to the paid version of Trello, the number of Power-Ups you have access to is unlimited.
Guide to Project Management Software
How to get the most out of your project management software
Determine who will use the software
The size of your team tells you a lot about the software you need. A smaller team will want a simple system for organizing tasks and schedules, while a manager with dozens of employees will need a full roster of reporting tools and integrations.
Establish your team’s needs
“When you know what your business needs, you can draw up a shortlist of features that will help you narrow down the project management software products that will help your business take the next step,” project management expert Elizabeth Harrin advises. Poll your team and see what they’d like to get out of a new tool and where the current system is falling short.
Compare prices
Evaluate which products fit your budget. Team size also comes into play here: Companies usually charge either a flat monthly rate or a rate per user. In general, teams with more than 10 people will save by choosing a flat rate plan.
Pay annually
Microsoft Project
Aside from Basecamp, all of our top picks offer a hefty discount for committing to a full year rather than going month-to-month. A 20-person team using Asana’s Premium plan, for instance, would save $480 by paying for an entire year upfront. If you’ve tested out a few options and feel comfortable paying that initial lump-sum bill, you’ll see significant savings in the long run.
Test-drive a few options
Almost every software offers a 30-day free trial, and we recommend taking full advantage of it. Have your team schedule a project with each one and solicit their feedback on which they preferred, what kinds of problems they anticipate, and how it would impact their work. That way, when it comes time to fully rely on a new software, it won’t be completely unfamiliar.
List Of Project Management Software
Project Management Software FAQ
Project management software is a broad term for any program that’s dedicated to keeping projects on schedule, on budget, and on target. Most project management software includes features like time tracking, file sharing, communication, task management, and reporting tools.
Cloud Based Project Management Software
What's the difference between task management and project management software?
In general, task management software is designed more for individuals than teams. Products marketed for task management usually don’t have much in the way of communication tools or file sharing, instead focusing on keeping a single person on schedule. These are usually available for free, as they don’t have the breadth of tools you’ll find in most project management software.
How many project management software products should I test before buying?
We recommend trying out three options. According to research from Capterra, those who demoed three products reported being the most satisfied with their choice. Fewer than that didn’t give them enough information, and more proved to be too much. Every software has a learning curve, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed if you test too many products. Setting clear standards on what features you need and what budget you’re working with will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
What should I look for when testing project management software?
By the time you’re ready to test project management software, you’ve likely picked a few options that have all of the features and tools you’ll need. Here are some of the things you should look for in testing:
- An interface that’s intuitive to navigate and learn
- Responsive customer service that’s reachable by email, phone, or chat
- Functional mobile and desktop apps
- Integrations with other software that your team uses