
Businesses work on complex projects all the time.
Projects with countless moving parts and multiple contributors. If managed poorly, they can turn into a puddle of wasted efforts in no time.
That's where project management software comes in.
It helps managers break down complex projects into simpler parts and keep teams sprinting toward a shared goal.
But here's a pitfall to avoid: making the hunt for the right project management software more complex than necessary.
We're here to help with that.
Below is a list of the 26 best project management software tools, each with its pros, cons, and best use case.
So, read along, and find the tool that's right for you in 20 mins or less ;)

SmartTask helps you put all your work in one place, irrespective of your team size. It is built with two goals in mind:
Don't want to count your chicken before they hatch? Fair enough.
Here’s the feature set that helps SmartTask make teams 3X more productive: -
So, if you are:-

Monday.com positions itself as a complete work OS, a single source of truth to handle every workflow under the sun.
It now has dedicated apps for different use cases: Marketer, Sales CRM, Dev, and Projects being upgrades that stack nicely atop the core Work Management platform.
Do the upgrades come at an added cost? Affirmative.
We don't see that as a red flag because the core Work Management platform is sufficient for most SMBs. The bells and whistles on top are more relevant for enterprises.
Our two cents? Monday almost tastes perfection but is held back by underpowered team communication features.
We love it nonetheless.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Acquired by Citrix technologies last year, Wrike started as a bootstrapped venture in 2013.
From launching an enterprise version to refining its feature stack, the app has grown considerably over the years.
Its current version leaves little to be desired in terms of sophistication. With trademarked work intelligence tech, Wrike empowers project managers with AI-powered risk prediction and automation.
There's a lot to love here but not if the UI puts you off.
Pros
Cons
Best For

If you've been in the workforce for some time, we're betting you've heard of Trello.
At the outset, it is a simple Kanban-style project managing software that barely requires any learning to get started.
Users come to it for its attractive pricing and no-nonsense usability. To the tool's credit, it can support a fair amount of use cases, has useful automations, and most teams like using it.
However, it tends to be a gateway drug for project managers. Once they learn the ropes, most switch to more sophisticated options. Also, to track time in Trello, you need to rely on third-party integrations.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Founded by Dustin Moskovitz, the co-founder of Facebook, Asana had success written all over its face from the get-go. The 119,000 paying customers that it serves across 190 countries reflect the same.
It has a calming design and gets the basics right. But that's not where the buck stops for Asana. The tool also scales flawlessly and is laden with advanced features that most users discover gradually.
With mindfulness as one of the company's core values, we're certain careful consideration went into ensuring that Asana doesn't overwhelm newcomers.
Pros
Cons
Best For
💡 You might want to check out -

ClickUp is a tool that steals a mention in nearly every conversation about project management software and is one of the top project management tools. It isn't as seasoned as Asana or Monday, but it inarguably falls within the same tier.
Folks building ClickUp exhibit a clear commitment to improving their product as fast as possible. The sheer number of features they've raked up in a relatively short period exemplifies the same.
Even the pricing they offer is hard to contest. So, take it from us, ClickUp deserves the customer base it has built.
We'd have placed it higher on the list only if...
Using ClickUp without prior experience with project management software wasn't like being asked to run a marathon just because you have legs.
For better or worse, it has too much going on.
Pros
Cons
Best For
💡 You might want to check out -
👉 ClickUp Vs Trello: Which is the Best Project Management Tool?

Built by former agency executives, Teamwork is one of the best software for project management that nails team collaboration.
It is designed with client work in mind and gives you the power to add client users directly. How does that make your life easier?
Well, you don't need to invest in a separate client portal. Teamwork doubles up as one. Apart from that, it does task management just as well as our top contenders.
Does it justify its pricing? We're not sure.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Jira is two decades old software project management tool. It was conceived purely as a bug-tracking tool. Over time, it evolved to accommodate several other use cases.
Sure, you can give it features like time-tracking and invoicing using plugins, but that's not the same as having them out of the box.
Is it better at project management than the other tools on the list? Not for creative teams and agencies.
Even Jira knows that and positions itself as "the #1 software development tool used by agile teams".
Nonetheless, it's still great for ad-hoc task management and can fluently handle agile/scrum workflows.
Pros
Cons
Best For
💡 You might want to check out -
👉 Asana Vs Jira: Which is the Best Project Management Tool in 2024
👉 ClickUp vs Jira: Which One’s a Better Project Management Tool?

We know the name gives its way, but here's us saying it out loud.
Smartsheet is a project management platform best described as a superpowered spreadsheet.
Thanks to a well-thought-out task management system designed for scalability, Smartsheet can handle most use cases you send its way.
From planning to review, Smartsheet's feature set offers utility throughout the typical project lifecycle. It also boasts a respectable list of integrations.
Where it falls short is someplace unexpected. Smartsheet isn't nearly as intuitive as it sounds on paper. Excel experts may feel at home here, but we're not sure creatives will.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Basecamp is a different beast altogether. It shares little with the UI/UX of most project management software out there.
How little?
Well, it arranges all projects using six tools: message board, to-dos, schedule, docs and files, group chat, and automated check-ins.
Forget Gantt charts and bar graphs, Basecamp users track projects using hill charts.
Do you see the pattern here? Basecamp is its own thing. It isn't conducive to feature-by-feature comparisons with other tools in the market.
That's both a pro and a con. Several teams feel Basecamp is the most intuitive PM software out there. The rest? They think it's needlessly complex. A contrarian just because.
Pros
Cons
Best For

ProofHub, like Teamwork Projects, turns collaboration into the centerpiece of its product. For clients that deal with several visual assets (say a design agency), the proofing features are a big draw.
Even with task management, the tool is feature-heavy, yet everything is kept simple. Unique features like stickies (sticky notes to jot down impromptu thoughts) spice up the offering.
Multiple project views keep information digestible, and the ability to create sub-tasks and custom fields helps accommodate varying workflows.
There's little to dislike about ProofHub. We would have given it a better spot on the list if it featured a free plan.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Valued at $11 billion, Airtable is a veteran in the SaaS space. Project management is among its use cases, but we wouldn't call it its USP.
So, why add it to the list? Because it's a highly intuitive tool that gets bare-bones task management right.
You don't get features like native time tracking or an-built CMS here. Not ideal, we know.
However, it makes up for those shortcomings by being a heavy-duty relational database that can power no-code applications.
So, under the right circumstances, Airtable can help you kill two birds with a single stone.
Pros
Cons
Best For

GanttPro is a project management tool built around interactive Gantt charts. Does it lack other project views? No.
Does it have extensive reporting capabilities? Yes.
Is that enough? You tell us.
Pros
Cons
Best For

MS Project is old, like really old.
It looks similar to other Microsoft products, and a layperson might even mistake it for Excel.
Has it aged well? Yes, for the most part.
It has kept pace with modern project management tools and organizes info in three different project views: grid, board, and timeline.
Startups are better suited with the more modern options on the list, but hey... to each their own.
Enterprises, however, can use it to drive business intelligence with comprehensive reporting and data visualization. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The verdict? MS project may be old, but it still has gas in the tank.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Hive, apart from getting the name right, does multiple things well.
The UI is the right balance between fresh and familiar. You feel like you're using a project management tool, yet the experience isn't run-of-the-mill. The design has personality.
The tool itself is buzzing with features, with more in the pipeline. Information about the upgrades the Hive team is working on is accessible on their public online forum.
Where Hive misses out is its pricing. We wish it were more straightforward.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Borrowing a page from Monday's playbook (presumably), Nifty positions itself as the ultimate project management OS.
Nifty, however, isn't split into dedicated products for different use cases. It brings docs, chats, roadmaps, tasks, and other tools under one roof.
The result? A nifty project management software capable of managing everything from agile development to legal case management.
So, why isn't it higher on the list? Does it overwhelm new users with its capabilities? Nope. The onboarding experience is pretty great.
Nifty's Achilles heel, just like Hive, is an odd pricing structure.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Headquartered in Germany, awork is among the newer project tracking software in the market.
This tool doesn't feel like a copy of a copy. It looks and feels like a breath of fresh air and performs quite well.
If we were to describe it, we'd call it a younger, less sophisticated ClickUp (less overwhelming too).
Pros
Cons
Best For

Notion, like Airtable, is not a dedicated project management software. Then why is it on this list?
Well, two reasons.
A. It implements project management (via templates) quite well.
B. The minds behind Notion do a tremendous job at expanding its capabilities.
So, if your team likes Notion enough, it can become your company's knowledge base, project management tool, second brain for team members, and possibly even a way to build no-code apps.
That's an insane value to derive out of one tool.
Pros
Cons
Best For

LiquidPlanner specializes in dealing with uncertainty.
Powered by its intelligent predictive scheduling engine, it creates realistic forecasts for projects and helps businesses control risk in real-time.
It is an insights-heavy platform with powerful dashboard insights and is ideal for data-savvy teams.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Cash-strapped startups need capable project management software just as much as their comfortable (read well-funded) counterparts.
Tools like Zoho Projects fulfill that need. With affordable plans that give most small businesses just the amount of sophistication they need, Zoho Projects helps teams steer away from freemium rabbit holes.
Zoho's extremely affordable pricing also extends to enterprises. Its feature list, however, doesn't seem to keep pace.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Workzone looks like a forum from 2015 that went to the gym for years and transformed into a project manager software.
We're not saying that's a bad thing. Its simple-to-use interface houses robust capabilities that come to the surface over time.
Workzone also provides unlimited support and is ideal for teams that don't wish to figure things out alone.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Adobe Workfront is a collaboration-heavy resource management & project planning software that comes with advanced analytics & reporting.
It is a part of the Adobe Experience Cloud and integrates flawlessly with G-Suite, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Teams, and more.
It's geared towards enterprises and assumes experience with project management tools on your part.
Pros
Cons
Best For

ActiveCollab is a holistic project management system with built-in time-tracking, invoicing, budgeting capabilities, and more.
It can help teams manage work, resources, clients, and time. It even has handy collaboration tools, including an in-app chat.
What about integrations? ActiveCollab supports quite a few, which you can leverage to build deep workflows.
There's also a mobile version just in case you want to manage projects on the fly.
Pros
Cons
Best For

MeisterTask stands against the swiss-army knife approach to project management and proudly exists as a tool that *gets the job done*.
It optimizes team performance management — a category of its own in some right. But underneath that novel moniker is a simple, albeit limited, project management software.
That being said, the ease of use that MeisterTask embodies by trading off some advanced functionality is impressive.
It would’ve bagged a higher spot on this list if the free version was more powerful and custom fields weren’t pay-walled behind a price far higher than the industry average.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Height blends robust project management features with a refreshing, future-forward user experience.
It packs most bells and whistles you’re used to seeing in heavyweights like ClickUp and Asana, with some new features like code-to-task.
However, it’s still too young to survive the stringent approval protocols that enterprises typically have. That also explains why it lacks certain advanced features that seasoned project managers will miss.
Nonetheless, height deserves a spot on this list, for it seems like a disruptor in the making.
Pros
Cons
Best For

Plaky is a free project management software. Organizing and storing all your projects is easy and efficient with Plaky.
The platform is intuitive and user-friendly. Plaky allows its users to create boards to organize every project separately. You can also add cards with further information such as date, status, level of priority, type of project, and many more details that fit your project.
Plaky is perfect for beginners but also for those who have vast experience in project management.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Phew! That was a long list, wasn't it?
But you braved it, and now you're here, knowing plenty about the best project management tools in the market.
We're so happy for you if you found the right tool for your needs when reading the list.
But if you're still a little iffy.
Here's a final recommendation: try SmartTask out for one project.
Business legends like Amul, ABB, Adecco, and Ecolab, along with 20,000+ teams, love working with us. So can you ;)
Project management software is an essential tool for project planning, scheduling, resource allocation and change management. It allows project managers (PMs), stakeholders and users to control costs and manage budgeting, quality management and documentation. Project management software is also used for collaboration and communication between project stakeholders.
Yes, we have templates for all type of teams to get started with project management.
From estimating and scoping to assigning resources, briefing your team, and the all-important first meeting with the client, there’s a minefield of tasks that can shape how your project develops. You have to set the tone for success.
So, SmartTask has it all covered in project initiation guide to equip you with the right tools, steps, and all you need to start off your project the right way and hopefully ease the future path.
Scheduling is an important part of project management, as it ensures that all activities, deliverables, and milestones are accounted for. A schedule also typically includes a planned start and finish date, duration, and resources assigned to each activity. Having an effective schedule is essential for successful time management, especially for businesses that provide professional services.
Project scope management is the only weapon project managers can rely on to fight this creep-y nightmare. Having an effective project management process ensures that the project meets its intended purpose, goals, and scope requirements while escaping any unwanted changes.
💡 Some more interesting reads -
👉 25 Best Task Management Software for Work in 2024
Plan your resources smarter with one scalable client delivery management system.
Try it Live - It's FREE