Project Management can be both daunting and wearisome at the same time, but even the slightest trace of inefficiency will result in all your hard work going down the drain. Managing the project manually is a no-no in this time and era, even if it is a small business. Ultimately, the aim is to scale up, and only exceptionally flawless work can help you there. Well, then, project management should be backed by technology to monitor, track, and produce impeccable work. Here’s where project management software comes into play.
Employing project management tools has worked like magic for many businesses, not just enterprises but SMBs too. It helps project managers seamlessly automate workflows and get notified of work updates. This has helped make project management not just easier but far more efficient, too.
What is a Project Management Software?
Project management software is used by companies all around the world to allocate resources, plan projects, schedule, collaborate, and streamline work. With such software in place, the project manager and the team members manage and track the quality budget and almost every activity while carrying out a project.
10 Best Project Management Software and Tools of 2023
Well, have you started looking for a software project management tool? Then, only settle for the best. Go nowhere. We have collated the 10 best project management software that the market of 2023 has to offer you. Take a look.
1. Trello
Best for Startups, Small Teams, and Individuals.
You are bound to stumble across Trello when you are looking for project management software, such is its popularity. Trello is unique when compared to its counterparts. It is based on an online Kanban card management system that delivers the visualization of your project in a complete single view.
With Trello, you can create cards for each task, move them around the board, and place them in the respective section as per the work status. Any of your project members can access it. Trello is one of the most intuitive and flexible project management tools that lets you properly track the status of your project by setting a specific due date, labeling priority, attaching relevant files, images, dropdowns, and much more.
Pricing: Starts at $9.99. Free Version Available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-Friendly: Intuitive interface. | Limited Features: Advanced features require upgrades. |
| Visual & Customizable: Easily tailored boards. | Less Scalable: May not suit larger, complex enterprises. |
| Collaborative: Supports real-time collaboration and is universally accessible. | Basic Reporting: Lacks inherent advanced reporting and task dependencies. |
Did you know you can trigger task-based surveys in Trello using SurveySparrow? From choosing a team for a project to rounding up volunteers for an event, the SurveySparrow-Trello integration lets you do all this, and more. Roll out employee engagement surveys, and employee net promoter scores, and gather employee feedback using 360 feedback and reports.
SurveySparrow offers a Forever Free plan with limited features, as well as a free trial for users to test out the product. Sign up below to try it out.
14-Day Free Trial • No Credit Card Required • No Strings Attached
2. Basecamp
Best for Integrations with iOS, Android, Mac, and PC.
Considered to be one of the best software project management tools, Basecamp is trusted by millions of teams worldwide. It has many efficient features that help you streamline and collaborate on tasks. The tool has an area for discussion where the members can leave behind suggestions and necessary details in the form of comments.
Discussions are also carried out via email, where a summary of the project updates and statuses are sent daily. As for finding a particular task, file, or message, you can always rely on the powerful search tool of Basecamp. The project tool also includes customizable notifications whose timing can be set according to your preferences.
Pricing: Starts at $99 per month.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple Interface: Easy to use. | Limited Customization: Fewer options to tailor use. |
| All-in-One Tool: Combines many features. | Basic Task Management: Lacks advanced task management options. |
| Collaborative: Promotes team interaction. | Pricing: May be costly for small teams. |
3. Smartsheet
Best for Low-Code Automation in Project Management.
Enterprise or SMBs, Smartsheet is a project tracking software that offers solutions to easily and efficiently manage any type of tasks and projects. The project management system serves 80,000+ brands across the globe. The most attractive features of Smartsheet include its intuitiveness, insightful dashboards, and real-time Gantt charts.
The other main features of Smartsheet are client portal, portfolio management, Kanban board, budget management, collaboration tools, milestone tracking, customizable templates, and time and expense tracking. You also don’t require any coding knowledge to work with Smartsheet. It is a flexible, no-code platform that indeed makes it one of the best project management software available.
Pricing: Request for a Quote. 30-day free trial available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Versatile: Adaptable to various project needs. | Complexity: Can be overwhelming for new users. |
| Integrative: Supports numerous integrations. | Pricing: Can be expensive for some users. |
| Advanced Features: Offers extensive tools and features for project management. | Learning Curve: Requires time to fully understand and utilize all features. |
4. Zoho Projects
Best for Simple Task Management and Ease of Use.
A widely favored project management software, Projects, is yet another tool from the maker of effective productivity tools, Zoho. From simple task management to complex project tracking, Zoho Projects offers you extensive solutions for project management. You can view the tasks in Kanban or any other traditional style, manage workflow, use Gantt charts, and try customized reporting features. But that’s not all.
You have an in-built time tracking system and a chat app to monitor the progress and contact team members to collaborate on tasks. You can also integrate this project management tool with Google and Microsoft, along with Zoho’s own suite of tools.
Pricing: Starts at $20 per month. Free version available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive Features: Offers a wide range of tools for project management. | Usability: Interface can be less intuitive for some users. |
| Cost-Efficient: Provides affordable plans with substantial functionalities. | Integration Limitations: Some users might find integrations to be less seamless. |
| Time Tracking: Efficient time logging and monitoring features. | Learning Curve: May require some time and effort to fully comprehend all features. |
5. Wrike
Best for Robust Visualizations and Analytical Dashboards.
Wrike is a free software project management software that helps teams to collaborate and streamline work systematically. It provides a single collaboration space, built-in communication, and other editing tools to help teams connect easily and maximize productivity. The project management tool helps your team make smarter data-driven decisions thanks to its robust visualizations and powerful analytical dashboards.
The features offered by Wrike include agile methodologies, cost-to-completion tracking, Gantt charts, Kanban board, time and expense tracking, collaboration tools, milestone tracking, budget management, and resource management.
Pricing: Starts at $9.80 per user per month.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Feature-Rich: Comprehensive project management tools. | Usability Issues: Interface may lack intuitiveness. |
| Affordable: Cost-efficient plans. | Integration Hurdles: Some integrations are less seamless. |
| Efficient Time Tracking: Allows precise time loggings. | Learning Curve: Navigating through features can be challenging. |
6. Asana
Best for User-Friendliness.
Asana is the next project-tracking software to make it to our list. This tool empowers you to work and cooperate with your project team anytime, anywhere. First, you can allocate tasks to your team members and receive work updates. By examining the intuitive dashboards, you can easily gather insights and conduct conversations with your team.
Asana’s standout features are the Team Pages, a space where team members exchange ideas, and the Smart Box, a feature allowing members to filter out trivial notifications and focus on the essential updates relevant to them. Moreover, this free project management software integrates seamlessly with popular tools like Google Drive, DropBox, Github, and MailChimp, enhancing its reliability and utility.
Pricing: Starts at $10.99. Free Version Available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-Friendly: Intuitive interface and user experience. | Pricing: Premium features require a subscription. |
| Versatile: Supports a range of project management needs. | Complexity: Can be overwhelming due to the multitude of features. |
| Collaborative: Promotes effective team interaction and communication. | Integration Limitations: Some users may find limitations in integration options. |
7. Monday.com
No Code Project Management Tool Best for Time Tracking.
Monday.com is gradually turning into a familiar name in the world of project management. The no-code project management software helps you orchestrate your work quite easily. Monday.com is a cloud-based platform that lets teams create projects, streamline the workflow, and run it efficiently.
The feature-rich tool has a lot to offer. The main features of Monday.com include time-tracking to manage the delivery of tasks at the assigned date and time, customizable workflow templates to align it with your personal requirements, rich dashboards to view and get an idea of work status at a single glance, and of course, seamless integrations with popular apps like Slack, Zoom, Zendesk, etc.
Pricing: Starts at $8 per user per month. Free trial available.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Visual & Intuitive: Clear, user-friendly interface. | Pricing: Can be expensive, especially for small teams. |
| Highly Customizable: Offers flexibility in workflow creation. | Complexity: Multiple features may lead to a steep learning curve. |
| Robust Integrations: Supports a vast array of third-party integrations. | Notification Overload: Users might receive excessive notifications. |
8. Microsoft Project
Ideal for Teams Operating within the Microsoft Environment.
Much senior to its counterparts, Microsoft Project has been helping out project managers for over 30 years now. This project management software, with its complex learning curve and steeper pricing, looks to serve mainly large sophisticated projects. Though it may not be very friendly for a novice, an experienced project manager may find it quite useful with its intricate details and solutions delivered for every task.
Microsoft Projects has a robust reporting system that includes pre-built and customizable reports. You can then export these reports to Microsoft PowerPoint with much ease. However, you cannot expect many integrations in the Microsft Project.
Pricing: Starts at $10 per user per month.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Advanced Planning: Offers sophisticated scheduling and planning features. | Complexity: Can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate for new users. |
| Integrated: Seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products. | Cost: Higher pricing, especially for advanced features. |
| Comprehensive: Robust set of project management tools and functionalities. | Limited Collaboration: May not be as user-friendly for team collaboration as other solutions. |
9. Airtable
Suited Best for Formulating Project Databases.
Airtable is an all-in-one work collaboration platform that helps you methodically streamline tasks the way you like it best. With an appealing and intuitive UI, Airtable lets you manage projects flexibly, even if you are new to the area. The project management software comes with a lot of product tours and guidance videos, making it much easier for newcomers to use the platform.
The main features of Airtable include Agile Methodologies, a client portal, cost-to-completion tracking, Gantt charts, Kanban Board, portfolio management, time and expense tracking, budget management, customizable templates, resource management, and milestone tracking. Airtable also has a very responsive customer support system that helps troubleshoot any issues almost instantly.
Pricing: Request for a quotation.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-Friendly: Intuitive interface and design. | Pricing: Premium features require a subscription. |
| Versatile Templates: Offers a range of pre-made templates for various needs. | Complexity: Advanced features may have a learning curve. |
| Integrated: Supports various integrations and automations. | Limitations: Some users may find limitations in customization and functionality. |
10. Workfront
Best for Streamlining Projects Effortlessly.
Plan, prioritize, and streamline tasks with Workfront‘s project management software. The platform is quite user-friendly, helps you eliminate silos, and improves productivity with the help of its excellent suite of features. You get a clear, detailed view of all the current tasks in progress, use a customizable dashboard, and leverage real-time reporting.
Workfront also offers you tools for project prioritization and capacity planning. It also notifies the team of work updates, lets everyone pitch in their ideas and suggestions through comments, and helps integrate workflow with other tools. Workfront is truly one of the best project management software when it comes to the richness of features.
Pricing: Request for Quotation
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive: Robust set of tools and features for project management. | Complex Interface: Can be overwhelming for new users. |
| Collaborative: Supports real-time collaboration and communication. | Pricing: Premium pricing for advanced features. |
| Integrative: Easily integrates with various third-party applications. | Learning Curve: Requires time to fully comprehend and utilize all functionalities. |
Winding Up
The aforementioned is our list of project management tools for you. After conducting some serious research, we have assembled the list, but we can’t pinpoint the best project management software out of the 10. The best tool varies from company to company depending on the complexity of their projects, project management requirements, goals, the number of team members, and many other aspects.
Here’s something you can do. Go through our list of project management tools, compare each tool with your goals and requirements, and find the ideal tool for your project.
Regardless of the tool you select, obtaining feedback from all stakeholders is crucial for successful project completion, and integrating a feedback tool like SurveySparrow is essential. For more information and to explore how it operates, sign up here for complimentary access.
14-Day Free Trial • No Credit Card Required • No Strings Attached
14-Day Free Trial • No Credit Card Required • No Strings Attached
