Top 10 Project Management Tools For Your Business

It can be difficult to choose a project management tool that works for you when there are seemingly countless options out there. But before you randomly pick a tool out of frustration or lack of time to research, consider these top ten project management tools. Keep in mind that the best one for you will depend on your organization’s particular needs and resources.

In this article, you’ll see how these project management tools work, their pros and cons, and finally, what they cost. All of the software listed in this overview has a free tool version allowing you to take it for a spin, so to speak.

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Project Management Tools

1. Trello

Trello is a favorite pick in the project management world. It’s visually appealing and is known for its fun use of cards, lists, and boards. Trello is an easy, free, flexible, and visual way to manage your projects and organize anything, and is trusted by millions all over the world.

How Does It Work?

• You make a project board, name it, and invite others to collaborate. 
• Next, you form lists to create steps in a custom workflow.
• Then you set up cards to sort the information or for creating tasks.
• Once the set-up is done, tap or clicks on the card to add information like attachments, comments, checklists, and due dates. You can also assign members to tasks.
• Finally, you can track your progress by moving task cards across lists.

Pros

• When you open your board, the project information is available right in front of you, everything from the due date to the team’s comments.
• If you’re new to the basics of project management software or aren’t sure how to set up a board, Trello has easy how-to guides to get you started, as well as free inspirational templates created by fellow managers and CEOs. They also consistently update and share helpful blog content on subjects like managing, working remotely, and productivity tips. 
• App integrations known as Power-ups mean you don’t have to discard the tools you’re currently using that work. 

Cons

• Flexibility and focus on customization can be a problem for some users who are used to more structure in their work applications. In other words, people sometimes get lost in too many choices.
• Trello lacks the ability to generate reports. 

Price

Trello is available as a free tool, which is great because it includes unlimited personal boards, ten team boards, and automation. The Business Class tier is $9.99 monthly per user, has additional admin and security features, and allows attachments up to 250MB per file. They also have an Enterprise tier for larger teams. 

2. Asana

Asana is the perfect project management software to check out if your priority is organizing a team effectively. Asana is a leading platform that helps teams organize and manage all of their work, from small projects to strategic initiatives. The business has more than 60,000 paying organizations across 195 countries.

How Does It Work?

• Asana organizes your project information through the sidebar (your workspace), portfolios (groups of projects), teams, projects, and tasks. 
• Projects can be presented as a board, calendar, list, or even a timeline. 
• You can create a project from a template or a blank slate. 
• Asana allows you to put tasks together with columns or sections. 
• The project management tool has a sorting and filtering system based on custom fields. 
• Creating a task is as easy as making a task name, but you can also add an assignee, instructions, comments, dates, and attach files. 
• Collaborate with others by adding followers and mentioning.

Pros

• The tool offers a plethora of resources, from guides to in-depth videos to community forums. 
• With this option, there’s a large focus on tracking.  
• Asana forms to-do lists that can manage full-fledged projects. 

Cons

• Compared with other project management software, the Kanban view is limited. 
• The tool lacks clear security features. 

Price

Asana comes with four tiers: Basic, Premium, Business, and Enterprise. Each tier unlocks more robust project management features. Basic is a free tool, while Premium is $10.99 per user per month with features like timeline, private teams, and projects. Business is $24.99 per user per month and adds convenient features such as Adobe Creative Cloud integration and portfolios. Enterprise is the biggest tier, but you have to contact them directly for pricing.

3. Basecamp

Basecamp is considered a veteran among project management software offerings and is a reliable tool for large projects. It is a good option if you’re interested in software that’s tried and true. Basecamp is an elevated way to work. Teams that switch to this tool become better teams, more productive, and better organized.

How Does It Work?

• You can form to-do lists, designate tasks, and create due dates. 
• Rather than sorting through tons of email, message boards make conversations easy. 
• Projects come with schedules for every collaborator to see. 
• You can store files and documents in one place. 
• The project management tool comes with a real-time group chat for a more efficient project management experience. 
• The Check-in feature automates status updates. 
• If you choose to, you can give clients the option to collaborate as well. 
• Hill Charts allow you to track progress, and Reports give you up-to-date knowledge. 

Pros

• Everything is in one place. No more searching for documents in one app, messages in another, and through scattered to-do lists.
• Group chats mean you don’t have to work with a separate messaging software in addition to your project management tool. 
• Basecamp has an excellent reputation and is a trusted tool.

Cons

• While there is a free, limited version, the Basecamp Business plan could be a bit pricey for small businesses.

Price

Basecamp has a free tool option that allows you to work with the project management software in a limited capacity. The Basecamp Business tier is $99 per month, but it includes unlimited projects, users, clients, and contractors, along with 500GB of storage and other powerful features.

4. Wrike 

Wrike is a cloud-based, versatile collaboration and project management tool, a robust tool that allows you to collaborate better and communicate easily across teams in any business. It was designed by Wrike, Inc., a project management service provider in California.

How Does It Work?

• Wrike consists of features in two categories, i.e., project management and team collaboration.
• Project management feature - allows teams to track dates and dependencies associated with projects, manage assignments and resources, and track time. It includes the workload view, Gantt chart, and a sortable view that you can customize to store data.
• Collaboration features enable asset creation, conversation, and deciding by teams. You can edit and track their changes.
• Wrike allows you to navigate quickly and communicate. 
• You can monitor projects, deadlines, and schedules.
• Prioritize tasks and work together with other multifunctional teams.

Pros

• Available free for a team of 5 members.
• It is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Portuguese languages.

Cons

• Everything is broken into tasks, and there are a lot of files and comments that build up in a task, and there is no further option to break them. .

Price

Wrike is available free of cost for small teams up to 5 users and comes under Professional subscription for organizations that need project planning and collaboration ranging from $49 to $99 per month. However, pricing for the Enterprise version is available upon request, and it primarily depends on the size and needs of the enterprise.

5. 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.

6. 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).

7. 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.

8. ClickUp

ClickUp is another project management tool that is built for all industries and teams of all sizes. It focuses on efficient task management. It is a fully customizable tool that makes it a must-have tool for organizations that want to keep design and development in one place. 

How Does It Work?

• ClickUp has four different views - box, calendar, list, and board.
• You can use any of the ones for your dashboards.
• It allows you to add statuses to the projects to keep everyone updated.  
• You can add someone to address a comment whenever required. 
• It allows you to create detailed mind maps before starting a project to visualize the opportunities. 

Pros

• It comes with Gantt charts to manage task dependencies. 
• It provides detailed reports.
• Able to assign comments.
• Powerful and easy to access to-do lists and reminders.
• Add anyone with custom access rights.

Cons

• The internal chat function is unavailable.

Price

ClickUp has two pricing options - Free and Premium. The Free version comes up with unlimited users, unlimited tasks but allocates 100MB storage. The Premium version comes at $5/month with unlimited users, tasks, integrations, and advanced reporting.

9. WorkZone

WorkZone is a tried and tested tool that is direct in approach to project management. You can access all your projects and check the status from the dashboard. It is all about functionality, and it is in the market since 2000.

How Does It Work?

• It has a dashboard wherein you can add all your projects.
• You can access the dashboard, open any project, and check the status and sub-tasks.
• You can standardize the process and save time by creating templates.
• Also, it gives you a notification for project deadlines.
• You can create custom forms that allow people outside the team to make project requests.

Pros

• It can filter by task and project.
• Email notification every morning with the pending tasks.

Cons

• Limitations to project requests from the builder.
• Templates are editable and viewable only by the administrator

Price

Workzone has three pricing options - Team, Professional, and Enterprise. The price varies within as it has multiple options for you to choose, such as several users (1-4, 5-9, 10-24, 25-99, and 100+) and months (1-3 or 3+) in each category. So, depending upon your requirements and features available in the category, you can choose the desired plan on WorkZone. 

10. Scoro

Scoro is a cloud-hosted business management tool that is designed for all sorts of business in the field of IT, consulting, and advertising. It has a user-friendly interface with all the features you need in a project management software, i.e., team collaboration, projects, and tasks, billing, contact management, quotes, and reporting. 

How Does It Work?

• It has a real-time KPI dashboard.
• You can add, manage, and track projects at the same place using the dashboard.
• It gives you a real-time overview and automated reports.
• You can also integrate the tool with Outlook and Mailchimp for emails.
• You can add tasks anytime and save a lot of time. 

Pros

• All information is stored in one place.
• Streamline your entire work progress, so no need for other tools for different tasks.
• Users can organize the dashboard as per their needs.

Cons

• Automation of filling the form takes a lot of time.
• It is missing the Kanban board and burndown charts.
• Deactivated users show up in the user's list.

Pricing

Scoro comes with a free trial, plus for $22/month, the premium for $33/month, and the ultimate plan for $55/month. Initially, you can go for the free trial to understand the software, and later on, you can move to the desired plan that consummates your project or requirements.

Enroll in our PMP Certification Training Course today and develop a strong foundation in the principles of project management.

Some of the Evergreen Project Management Tools

Google Docs

Google Docs is another heavily used tool in Project Management. Google Docs enables its users to make presentations, spreadsheets, and text documents while covering almost all the features of MS Office. The best part about this software is that you can share files and edit documents from virtually anywhere provided you have an internet connection. It frees you from sending and receiving emails containing long and bulky attachments. With the advent of Google Docs, USBs have become extinct. With cloud-based software, approximately 58% of the Fortune 500 companies are using Google Docs regularly. Google Apps are available under flexible and annual plans depending upon your specific storage needs.

MS Project

Microsoft Project or MS Project is one of the most popular Project Management apps developed and sold by Microsoft. It is the most sought after desktop tool by Project Managers as it helps in managing tasks and timesheets, and aids in collaborating and identifying issues and risks from virtually anywhere.

MS Project is available in two editions: Standard and Professional. The Professional version comes with the ability to connect to the Microsoft Project Server, plus has more features like team collaboration, etc.

MS Project generates budgets taking into account assignment work and resource rates. It enables Project Managers to quickly analyze progress and antedate resource requirements with elaborate and customizable out-of-the-box reports. It also allows you to define business drivers, measure the strategic power of competing ideas, make the right funding decisions, and view project and resource status across the business.

Conclusion

You can also check out Simplilearn’s PMP Certification Training Course to get an in-depth insight of the project management processes, project management framework and prepare yourself for the role of a project manager by placing greater emphasis on strategic and business knowledge.