Confluence Review: Pros, Cons, and Ratings

Confluence logo

Project managers often struggle to find the one software that will fill their needs. It’s not uncommon for team leaders to try out one software, only to migrate to another one. In this Confluence review, we analyze the project management software so you can find out if it’s the right fit for your team. 

Screenshot of Confluence homepage
Source: Confluence

Our Verdict

Confluence is a remote-friendly workplace collaboration software that enables teamwork, participation, and knowledge sharing. It keeps track of a team’s discussions, decisions, and information. Confluence serves as a company’s primary knowledge management software tool to organize, capture, and preserve your most important assets.

  • Integrates with major software (Google Docs, Jira, Microsoft Teams)
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Supports simultaneous edits of documents
  • Free version allows the creation of unlimited spaces and pages
  • 75+ page templates all organized according to team roles
  • Supports data encryption both in transit and at rest
  • No updates in real-time when documents are being edited
  • One standard view of projects
  • Users cannot chat in real-time unless they integrate an app like Slack

Confluence at a Glance 

The primary feature Confluence offers is its collaborative editor. This tool gives you the power to create project plans, meetings notes, and product requirements. Other users can edit the file simultaneously and view all of your changes. 

Other notable features include Confluence’s accelerated feedback loop, collaboration tools, best-practice templates, and organized workspaces. In terms of pricing, Confluence offers four different plans depending on your team’s size and which features you want. 

Confluence is used by all types of functional departments of any team size. From project management groups and marketing teams to HR, legal, and finance, all teams can use Confluence to collaborate and succeed.

Who Confluence is Best For 

Confluence is for teams of any type and size. The software is dynamic and adaptable to optimize the workflow of all teams. From those with critical, high-stakes projects to those that want to build a strong team culture, Confluence is perfect for both teams. Confluence helps your team make quick decisions, engage openly with one another, and align on the same page and direction.

Screenshot of Confluence website homepage- why confluence
Source: Confluence

Pricing 

Confluence is completely free for individuals and teams with under 10 users. Free users have access to many features, including unlimited spaces and pages, page trees, version control, and unlimited files. However, they cannot access page permissions, page archiving for future reference, and insights.

Confluence logo

Plan

Free (up to 10 users)

Standard

Premium

Enterprise

Price

$0

$55/month and $5/user per month

$105/month and $10.50/user per month

Starts at $97,500/year at 801 users

Unlimited spaces and pages

Apps and integrations

Page insights

Analytics

Team Calendars

Atlassian Data Lake

Alongside the free version, Confluence offers the Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plans. The Standard plan costs $5.50 per user monthly, while the Premium plan costs $10.50 per user monthly. They cost $4.58 and $8.75, respectively, when billed annually. The Enterprise plan is customized, billed annually, and begins when you add more than 801 users. You’ll have to contact sales to get an Enterprise pricing plan.

These paid versions of Confluence have access to almost all of the features, but only the Enterprise has the Single Sign-On feature included by default. The Standard plan does not have access to bulk page archiving, page insights, admin insights, testing strategies, and automation.

Confluence offers a seven-day free trial during which you enjoy all the features that come with the plan you chose. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Confluence Features

Team Management

Confluence provides a way for teams to keep track of what everyone is doing. The basic model in Confluence is Spaces and Pages, which create hierarchy lists in terms of priority.

A space is created for a team or a project. In that space, a page is created to describe tasks. Creating a task is simple, almost like writing a post-it note and sticking it up on a board. It involves mentioning a team member, writing their task, and adding the due date. A team member can find their tasks by visiting team pages, their profile, or full task reports.

Confluence has resource filters that help team managers decide who to assign and how much work to assign to them. The filters are teams, users, and roles.

Confluence pages can be personal or public. Team members on a page can see when tasks are assigned to everyone, comment on current projects, and share the company’s documents. Users with the proper permissions can easily update internal documentation. Also, team managers can publish blog posts and create a notification system.

Lightweight Project Management

Confluence is one of many project management tools that does not track time by default, unlike Jira. Instead, the team manager has to install any of the apps in the Confluence marketplace for successful tracking.

The main way to manage projects is to create pages and assign these as tasks to team members with due dates. To map workflows or dependencies, you’ll need to install third-party apps from the Confluence marketplace.

There is only one standard view of pages, but installing macros can present them from slightly different perspectives. To view projects as mind maps, tables, or Gantt charts, install macro functionality from the Confluence marketplace.

Risk & Issue Management

Risk and issue management in Confluence are done by using the Page Properties macro and labels. When you are creating or editing a page, you can use the Page Properties macro to decide if issues are high, medium, or low impact. The macro doesn’t have any custom fields except the Page Properties ID field so that you can label a page to detail potential risks or issues.

Reporting

There is one default Confluence project view—the page view. To be able to view projects in different ways, you have two options. Either build a View page using page properties macros or install a macro from Confluence marketplace. For this reason, Confluence is not the most visual project management software option out there.

Building a view page involves labeling all the pages in your Confluence space and then creating another page that organizes pages using the table functionality according to their labels and page properties. 

Confluence offers users a global dashboard that all team members can see. Team managers can customize the dashboard to show the latest announcements, graphics, Gantt charts (if they have an installed macro), blog posts, and so on. A team admin can even modify the layout of their dashboard, although they lose those modifications and have to reapply them if they upgrade their Confluence plan.

The Confluence dashboard is user-friendly. On the left-hand side is the navigation menu where you move to new updates or assigned work, and on the right is all your project information. It’s not possible to have multiple dashboards, but a team member can select a particular page as their dashboard when they first open the app.

Confluence has a project status report template, but it works in conjunction with Jira. To create a project status report, you must create a new page and select the Status Report template. Embed your Jira Report to fill in the details automatically. If your team doesn’t use Jira, you’ll have to build a new page using the Page Properties macro.

Finance Management

Finances are a critical part of project management. Confluence does not create and send invoices by default, but it does integrate with Jira Core to cover the financial management of a company.

With Jira Core, the financial team manager creates invoices and assigns tasks to those invoices. You can then set the due date and track their progress. 

Jira Core creates financial project reports in tabular forms. There are also budgeting apps available in the Confluence app store.

Communication and Collaboration Platform

Screenshot of Confluence communication and collaboration feature
Source: Confluence

It’s easy to drag and drop files on the same page in Confluence. While adding a file to a Confluence page, you decide who to share the file with. All team members who have access can view and download them. 

In Confluence, files are versioned so that you can see all the steps taken in each file. The default file size limit is 100MB, but the limit can be modified.

For all the Docs articles and Word files used, team members can view, edit, or comment directly in those files. For image files and PDF file types, users must comment on the Confluence page they’re attached to. A good benefit of the software is that multiple users can work simultaneously on the same files.

The only default chat feature is the comment option on pages. For real-time communication, Confluence integrates with apps like Slack and Google Hangouts.

Confluence also integrates with Zoom for video conferencing. You can embed Zoom links in Confluence pages so that team members can join meetings or watch recordings.

Team managers control permissions to decide who gets added to a page, who is assigned a particular task, and who can edit a file. You can invite guests or clients to take a look at certain projects in your Confluence space, and they will have limited access to information. For instance, they can’t search for users or mention someone in the comments on the same page.

Confluence is web-based, but there are free mobile apps for Android and iOS. There is no native PC application, but you can use Confluence FX to install a desktop app.

Integration With Other Apps

Screenshot of Confluence integration options
Source: Confluence

One of the reasons Confluence stands out from other collaboration tools is the deep integration opportunities. Integrating with many apps is important because it increases customization abilities, making the software the only app a team needs to run a project from start to finish.

The first option is Jira—Confluence was originally built for Jira teams. Confluence also features integration with Google apps and multiple MS software like Office 365, and Scroll Word Exporter. It works with Gliffy and Draw.io for charts and diagrams, and other apps that Confluence integrates with include Google Analytics, Command Line Interface, Advanced Tables, Presenter, Trello, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Polls, and Asana.

Artificial Intelligence

Confluence has several AI-powered tools that automate the ordinary tasks of users. One example is the smart search functionality, a search engine AI that improves searching algorithms within Confluence to achieve accurate search results. 

Another is the intelligent filter feature. It decides, based on past activity, which filters a user is more likely to select. According to Atlassian, users choose to use these filters 89% of the time.

Usability

Confluence is intuitive, and the web interface is easy to navigate. A user can see what tasks are assigned to them, and the availability of so many documentation templates allows a user to create a page tailored to their role.

Templates available on Confluence
Source: Confluence

However, new users have a steep learning curve to fully understand creating pages, installing macros, and assigning tasks. For users who have no coding experience, some training and box solutions may be required.

Luckily, Confluence has an in-depth guide and solution documentation. There are hundreds of help articles that detail everything you need to know about managing teams on the software. There’s also a forum where people ask questions, and approved Confluence moderators or fellow users answer them, and a YouTube channel with tutorials.

Support 

Confluence offers a variety of customer support options—a huge library of knowledge base, email support, community support, 24/7 phone, and live chat services. 

Free users have access to just the community, and Standard plan users can only reach customer support during business hours. Premium and Enterprise users have 24/7 access to more complex support.

Privacy

Confluence is GDPR compliant and respects your data and privacy. Your data is secure with data encryption and password policies for all users of the platform, free ones included. The SSO and SCIM policies make the platform extra-secure, but only Enterprise users have included access to these policies; other plans have to pay to subscribe.

Methodology Suitability

Confluence is a fairly cheap project management software that uses the Agile methodology. In particular, it operates the Scrum framework. This is because Jira operates using Scrum, and Confluence was initially built for software development teams.

The most basic features on offer, such as project plans, meeting notes, knowledge bases, and endless templates, make Confluence an ideal workspace for an agile team.

Alternatives to Confluence

Other tools and web-based project management apps similar to Confluence include:

What the product is

ClickUp is a comprehensive project management suite. It allows you to track project progress at a glance, create custom workflows, and view a visual representation of workloads.

Who the product is best for

Teams of all sizes use ClickUp, from startups and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. It helps to organize your team’s tasks and optimizes project management.

How it compares to the product being featured here

ClickUp is a multi-functional platform that has project management and team collaboration capabilities. ClickUp’s free version is more comprehensive than Confluence’s.

Pricing

  • Free Forever: Free
  • Unlimited: $9 per user/month ($5 if billed annually)
  • Business: $19 per user/month ($12 if billed annually)
  • Business Plus: $29 per user/month ($19 if billed annually)
  • Enterprise: Contact sales department of ClickUp
  • Unlimited tasks and members even on the free tier
  • 30-day satisfaction guarantee
  • Two-factor security on all tiers
  • API for wide customization
  • Some useful integrations not available on the free tier
  • Pay per workspace or project

What the product is

Asana is a web and mobile application that helps teams track, organize, and manage their work. It used a Kanban-style list-making 

Who the product is best for

Asana has a broad feature set and is ideal for small teams following agile project management. It offers several management styles such as task lists, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards.

How it compares to the product being featured here

Asana shouldn’t be confused with a full-scale project management platform like Confluence. This is because Asana doesn’t offer resource management tools.

Pricing

  • Basic: Free
  • Premium: $10.00 per user/month
  • Business: $24.99 per user/month
  • Enterprise: You need to contact Asana
  • Offers workload management
  • Smart project-focused interface
  • Various management features
  • No financial management tools
  • Assigns tasks to one user only
  • Steeper learning curve

What the product is

Trello specializes in organizing tasks into forums. Trello offers an extensive view of who’s working on what, which responsibilities are ongoing, and which tasks are complete. 

Who the product is best for

Smaller teams that are looking for Kanban-style project management. 

How it compares to the product being featured here

Trello is more task-oriented than Confluence. Confluence offers more collaboration and engagement among team members. 

Pricing

  • Free: $0
  • Standard: $5 per user/month
  • Premium: $10 per user/month
  • Enterprise: $17.50 per user/month
  • Very simple to use
  • Visual project progression
  • Easy to onboard new members
  • Offers basic management features
  • No financial management tools
  • Not viable for large projects

What the product is

monday.com is a cloud-based platform that allows companies to create their own applications and work management software.

Who the product is best for

monday.com is ideal for teams who want an evolved version of collaborative spreadsheets. You can imagine monday.com as Google Sheets in the hands of a genius designer. 

How it compares to the product being featured here

monday.com is more similar to Asana and Trello than Confluence in terms of project management capabilities.

Pricing

  • Individual: Free (2 seats maximum)
  • Basic: $6 per seat/month
  • Standard: $10 per seat/month
  • Pro: $22 per seat/month
  • Enterprise: Contact monday.com for pricing
  • Unlimited boards and docs on the free tier
  • Wide range of common integrations
  • Customizable automations
  • Several ways to view info
  • Free tier limited to two users

What the product is

Basecamp is an online collaboration app that allows users to manage their work together and communicate with one another.

Who the product is best for

Basecamp is ideal for teams that need a tool to collaborate and engage with each other.

How it compares to the product being featured here

Basecamp is extremely similar to Confluence because of its focus on communication. However, Confluence also offers more project management tools.

Pricing

  • Personal: Free
  • Business: $99/month
  • Extremely easy to set up 
  • Flat monthly price for unlimited users
  • Supports integration with many apps and services
  • Communications feel slightly siloed
  • Limited reporting functionality
  • No proofing tools

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Confluence Review

Below we answer commonly asked questions about Confluence.

Bottom Line on Confluence Review

Confluence is a solid tool that teams of all sizes can use to work together on projects and internal processes. The number of apps that Confluence integrates with makes it possible to customize forms, dashboards, meeting notes, and pages at great lengths. To get the most out of it, Agile teams may want to use Jira alongside it.

How to Use a Gantt Chart in 9 Steps

Gantt Chart Template

Gantt charts are a popular and time-tested way of visualizing project workflows. But they’re not just for any project. This project visualization approach aligns with the waterfall methodology that focuses on completing a task or process before the next one can begin. 

A Gantt chart lets you organize a project’s timescale and create an overview of team members, resources, and essential ideas in one place. While it’s a powerful method used by veteran project managers, you can easily overcomplicate things if you’re new to it. 

How Does a Gantt Chart Work?

Gantt charts as we know them today were created by engineer Henry L. Gantt in the 19th century. It’s a horizontal bar chart with project tasks on the vertical axis and a timeline on the horizontal axis. The chart depicts summary elements, milestones, and task dependencies all in one place.

Gantt Chart Template

If it’s the first time you’ve come across Gantt charts, they can look like a stack of bars and arrows. Before moving forward, you need to understand the structure of a Gantt chart and what each bar, its length, and arrow represents. 

A Gantt chart is made up of three elements: tasks, task durations, and task dependencies. 

  • Tasks: Each horizontal bar on a Gantt chart represents an individual task in the project. These are the basic building blocks of a project.
  • Task duration: The length of each bar represents the duration of each project. The starting point of each bar, in relation to the x-axis at the bottom of the chart, represents when each task will start.
  • Task dependencies: The arrows leading from one bar to the next represent a task dependency. It means the task at the tail of the arrow must be completed first for the task at the head to start.

Key Concepts of a Gantt Chart

The explanation of the three features above is enough for you to have a clear understanding of what a Gantt chart represents. But to have a better understanding of how Gantt charts work, you need to understand a few underlying concepts: the critical path, milestones, dependencies, and resource management. 

The Critical Path

The critical path provides an overarching order to your project, establishing a baseline for you to follow. Arguably, the critical path is the most important part of a Gantt chart’s layout. It represents the journey of the project from start to finish. 

Every essential aspect of the project is represented in the critical path, which is usually highlighted, for example in red, to symbolize its importance in the project. Any delays in the critical path tasks will lead to inevitable delays in the project.

Milestones

Typically represented as a symbol or shape interposed at certain intervals in the project, a milestone depicts the key goals in the project. Unlike tasks, they are set points in time that give you an idea of what things you need to have completed at what time. Not only do milestones emphasize both minor and major goals within the project, but they also help to create depth in the timescale, breaking it down into manageable pieces. 

Dependencies

Dependencies show progression in the chart. These tasks tend to be represented with arrows between one another, highlighting the necessary progression of tasks to reach a goal. This is particularly effective both for providing an overview of a project and so that team members can understand how their particular task fits into place. 

The benefits of dependencies include improving collaboration and productivity because when everyone understands their job and their responsibility within the group, they can work towards achieving the collective goal.

Resource Management

One of the greatest benefits of using a Gantt chart is the ability to accurately map out the resources you need, whether that be people or products. You can easily assign tasks to team members according to their strengths. This way, you maximize your team’s efficiency. 

Similarly, material resources can be simply distributed using the timescale. This makes ordering and coordinating resources a process that can be managed according to the details on the chart. No more dithering with forms and running out of essential supplies, keeping track of what is needed becomes simple on a Gantt. 

Now that you have a better understanding of what Gantt charts are and their underlying principles, let’s move on to the interesting part. 

Obviously, you need to learn how to create one before you can learn how to use a Gantt chart. This is why we’ve divided this guide into two parts: creating a Gantt chart and using one. That said, the entire Gantt project management process is pretty simple. The goal is to not overcomplicate things. Follow this principle and you should have a pretty well-planned project schedule on your hands.  

How to Create a Gantt Chart in 4 Steps

Creating and using a Gantt chart can be slightly different with different project management tools. We’ll use a generic approach to make this guide easy to understand and follow no matter which project management tools you use. 

Step 1: Define Project Outcome and Time Range

Gantt charts are based on the waterfall model which emphasizes clearly defining your project outcome and time frames up-front. You should have a clear understanding of what you or your client wants at the end of the project. This way, it’s easier for you to define the critical path and all the associated individual tasks you need to complete to get there. 

You also need to define the time range so your Gantt chart project has a clear start and end date. This timeline will form the foundation on which you build your project Gantt chart.

Step 2: Identify all Essential Project Tasks

The next step is to break down your entire project into smaller, more manageable bits. This is a two-fold process where you first divide your project into subprojects and then identify individual tasks in each of those projects. But this is for larger, more complex projects. If you’ve got a smaller project, you can jump to identifying individual tasks and arrange them chronologically. 

Step 3: Identify Relationships between Tasks

This is where you use arrows between tasks and set dependencies. You need to identify the relationships between tasks and decide which task is dependent on which and in what way. Setting dependencies is as easy as drawing an arrow between two bars.

Simply put, there are two types of relationships between tasks: successor and predecessor. But you have four types of dependencies you can set between tasks. 

  1. Finish to Start – Can’t start the successor task until the predecessor finishes.
  2. Start to Start – Can’t start the successor task until the predecessor starts.
  3. Start to Finish – Can’t finish the successor activity until the predecessor starts.
  4. Finish to Finish – Can’t finish the successor activity until the predecessor finishes.

Step 4: Add Dates, Resources, and Milestones

Once you’ve identified tasks and identified the relationships between them, your Gantt chart is almost ready to go. All you need to do is add some dates, assign tasks to team members, and set important milestones and you’ll have a ready-to-go Gantt chart. 

Finalize when a task starts and when it should be completed. This will help you identify tentative deadlines for your sub-projects and add milestones to the critical path. If your project is already underway, you can start assigning tasks to team members. This completes the creation of the Gantt chart.

If you’re using suitable project management software, creating a Gantt chart would be easy. But if you’re going with conventional spreadsheets, you will have to create and format a chart manually. Once your chart is created, remember to update it as things change. It’s important to review your chart at least once a week to reflect on progress and other changes to your project.

How to Use a Gantt Chart to Plan a Project

Once you’ve created the chart, it’s now time to use it to manage your project. But before we begin, let’s check out a stat that emphasizes the importance of using Gantt charts for project planning.

Approximately 39% of projects fail due to a lack of planning. This is where Gantt management comes in. Project managers can map out the complete project, determine deadlines, and manage your team and resources effectively using Gantt charts. Here are the rest of the steps you need to follow to use a Gantt chart to plan a project. 

Step 5: Conduct Workflow Analysis

Gantt charts let you conduct your project’s workflow analysis with ease. This means you can view not only the timescale of work to be performed but chart who is doing that work and what resources you need to put towards certain tasks. 

Workflow analysis is a great tool for managers who wish to see, both at a glance and in greater depth how a project is progressing and how resources are being allocated. This makes coordinating teams easier and provides information on progression for each individual as well as on the team. 

Using project management software often allows you to utilize additional features which can build upon your workflow analysis within a Gantt chart. Due to the graphic nature of the chart, using it for statistical modeling and further graphing is a beneficial way of understanding project and team workflow.

Step 6: Identify Critical Path

By identifying the critical path in a project, it also becomes simpler to identify priorities and areas of focus for teams and individuals. Because all team members can view this information, everyone has the same level of awareness of the tasks at hand, their deadlines, and the milestones the team is aiming for. 

Allowing total transparency in accessing the Gantt chart has many benefits, but access to the critical path is a paramount example. Collaboration and work towards milestones are both improved by improving awareness of the tasks at hand. When a whole team is aiming toward the same goals, there is a greater sense of cohesiveness. 

Step 7: Make Your Project More Manageable

Another benefit of the graphical representation of projects through a Gantt chart is that it breaks projects down into more manageable chunks. Through both critical paths and dependencies, it is clear which bar represents which task and the chain of work that is required to progress a project. 

As a result of this, each project becomes a set of smaller tasks that can be delegated and sourced out to team members, so everyone has a manageable role within the process, and nobody needs to feel overwhelmed by taking on the project as a whole. The simplistic formatting of the Gantt also allows for fewer meetings and briefings, saving time. 

Step 8: Meet Deadlines

The Gantt chart also presents a methodical and automated depiction of a project, so deadlines become more accurate and reliable. Due to dependencies and the following of a critical path, everything runs smoothly according to a plan. Should work get delayed, it is easily amended on the chart.

Deadlines are both easier to follow and easier to correct on a modern Gantt chart. Because the progress of each task is visible, and optionally the progress of individual team members too, keeping on schedule is the priority of everyone as an individual and as a collective. Seeing which tasks to prioritize also enables resources to be better allocated in line with goals.

Step 9: Monitor Project Progress

The final step in managing your project with a Gantt chart involves keeping a close eye on both the Gantt chart as well as those carrying out the project, adjusting the plans as the work progresses. 

Maybe a piece of equipment will break down that will set back the start date. Or perhaps the team will take on another project that takes precedence. There could be changes in funding. Or maybe the client will change their mind? 

Change is inevitable, but luckily, modern-day Gantt charts don’t require that you start from scratch. By using some elements of the agile methodology, you can make the adjustments as necessary and keep your team up to date. 

To monitor project progress, all you need to do is to check the completion level of each bar or team member. This is especially helpful for project managers, especially in industries like marketing, where different strands of a project come together, such as creative tasks and writing tasks. 

Top 3 Gantt Chart Software for Project Management

The era of paper and pencil Gantt charts is long gone. So is the time of creating Gantt charts on spreadsheets. Today’s fast-paced work environment demands creativity and swiftness in project management methodologies which is made possible by project management software. 

Creating and using Gantt charts becomes much easier when you use Gantt project management software, also known as Gantt chart software. Here are our top picks for the best project management software for Gantt management. 

Launched in 2010, TeamGantt, a PM tool with time tracking feature, is a Gantt chart creator that makes it simple for you to schedule, manage, and track project tasks and resources. It helps you organize all your documents, conversations, and tasks in one central hub.

It has a powerful drag-and-drop feature that lets you start planning your projects in minutes. TeamGantt is one of the simplest project management software as it is fairly easy to use with customizable Gantt chart templates. It also offers a free plan for small, three-member teams.

  • Built-in Gantt view
  • Risk assessment templates
  • Built-in time tracking ability
  • Limited features
  • No integrations.
  • Lacking customer support

Pricing

  • Free: Free for 3 users
  • Standard plan: $24.95 per month for 1 user + unlimited guests
  • Advanced plan: $29.95 per month for 1 user + unlimited guests

GanttPRO offers affordable pricing plans and an intuitive interface along with advanced features, making it a great choice for SMBs. With GanttPRO, you’ll be able to plan your project timelines and oversee individual tasks, resources, and your team efficiently. 

Features like importing and exporting options, history and baseline mode, and custom and pre-configured templates make it an attractive choice for Gantt management. GanttPRO also offers integrations with common software like Jira Cloud, Slack, and Google Drive.

  • Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
  • Affordable and simple pricing structure
  • History and baseline mode let you save and return to previous project versions
  • Limited reporting options
  • Basic integrations only
  • Limited customer support

Pricing

  • Individual: $15 per user month (billed annually)
  • Team: $8.90 per user month (billed annually)

monday.com offers a range of simple but powerful features for small, remote teams. With its easy-to-use interface, this tool makes it simple to design project workflows and handle day-to-day project tasks.

monday.com offers Gantt chart views in all of its plans and customizable workflow templates for different kinds of projects. It offers integrations with a range of other apps so you can streamline your management with ease. Read the full monday.com review for greater insight into it.

  • Modern user interface (UI) is easy to use and navigate
  • Highly customizable features 
  • Ideal for managing ongoing work for multiple projects
  • Confusing pricing of plans
  • Slow customer support 
  • Best features only available with upper tiers of paid plans

Pricing

  • Basic: $10/user per month
  • Standard: $12/user per month
  • Pro: $20/user per month
  • Enterprise: Inquire for price

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How to Use a Gantt Chart

Here are some frequently asked questions about how to use a Gantt chart to plan a project.

Bottom Line – How to Use a Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are a powerful project management tool that lets you map out your project efficiently and have a clear overview of project progression. Creating and using Gantt charts to plan a project is pretty simple and doesn’t involve a lot of technical skills. 

Remember that you want to keep things as simple as possible. It’s easy to overcomplicate things with Gantt charts and this is where it starts going downhill. A quality project management software, also known as Gantt chart software, like TeamGantt, GanttPRO, or monday.com can help you use Gantt charts with ease.

15 Best Project Management Conferences in 2023 

Businesspeople in a project management conference

Every year, project management conferences come with a promise of learning and networking opportunities for project management professionals. The good news is that this year is no exception. If you have been looking forward to the next big event, here is a comprehensive list of the top project management conferences in 2023.

Interest in Project Management? You should try these tools!

 

1. Project Summit Business Analyst World

Date: June 12 to June 14, 2023

Venue: The Westin Arlington Gateway, Washington DC, USA

Estimated Turn Out: 500 to 1,000 delegates

Website: https://www.pmbaconferences.com/

Project Summit Business Analyst World is arguably one of the most significant project management events in North America. The speakers that will grace this conference are leading professionals in their respective sectors. Attendees can expect to have an illuminating learning and networking experience.

2. Project Management Symposium

Date:  May 5 to May 6, 2022

Venue: Virtual

Website:  https://pmsymposium.umd.edu/

Due to the pandemic, organizers of some project management events have moved online. The Project Management Symposium is one of these conferences. Fortunately, professionals from all over the world can attend this incredible symposium virtually.

If you attend the Project Management Symposium of 2022, you stand a chance to earn 44.25 PDUs which will go a long way in helping maintain your PMI certification. Even though this event favors certified professionals, the discussion will offer something for everyone.

3. Global Scrum Gathering

Date: June 5 to June 8, 2022

Venue: Denver, Colorado, USA, and Virtual

Website:  https://www.scrumalliance.org/

The pandemic has prevented the Scrum Alliance from organizing a physical project management con since 2020. But now that health professionals have contained the situation, the organizers are hosting the Scrum Gathering in Colorado this year. However, they have considered people who may not want to travel to Colorado by providing means for them to attend virtually.

Many speakers from the agile environment will be sharing their knowledge and experience at this event. The topics of the event will go beyond project management software. They will touch on other broad aspects of running a successful business.

4. ACMP’s Annual Conference

Date: June 28 to July 1, 2022

Venue: Virtual

Website:  https://www.acmpglobal.org/page/GC2022

The Association of Change Management Professional conference is around the corner. Due to safety concerns, the event will be virtual. The focus theme will be “Embracing th

e Changing World: Diversity, Technology, and Adaptability.” ACMP is determined to spearhead change in the practice of project management.

Attendees will learn about evolving project management aspects and how to embrace the change. And since ACMP is an authoritative champion for professionalism in project management, the participants will undoubtedly have an invaluable learning experience. They will also get an opportunity to mingle with like-minded professionals and enrich their contact lists.

5. 10th IPMA Research Conference

Date: April 22-23, 2023

Venue: Nanjing, China

Website:  https://www.ipma-research-conference.world/

The International Project Management Association boasts of having over 72 member associations across the globe. Their 10th IPMA Research Conference will focus on the value of co-creation in project management. The organizers described the upcoming event as a symposium for professionals to exchange ideas. One of their objectives is to encourage dialogue and discussions between the participants.

Emerging trends in project management, business projects, digitalization, and project society will be some of the significant issues that will take center stage at the conference.

6. Agile 2022

Date: July 18 to July 22, 2022

 Venue: Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Website:  https://www.acmpglobal.org/page/GC2022

Agile Alliance is one of the leading global non-membership associations built on the Agile Software Development Manifesto. The anticipated annual conference will focus on progressiveness in agile principles and value, innovation, and exploration in project management. Read about agile project methodology here.

The conference seeks to assemble various agile communities so that they can brainstorm, network, and share their professional experiences. This event is for all global practitioners interested in emerging practices, strategies, and ideas in agile software developments. 

Innovators and agents of change from various parts of the world will attend. This conference welcomes both members and non-members of the Agile Alliance, and participants with membership will get a discount upon registration.

7. Future PMO

Date: October 26, 2023

Venue: London, England

Website: https://www.futurepmo.com/

The Future PMO will be a one-day conference for all project management and PMO professionals. Its organizers welcome attendees from all over the world. The speakers for this event will include PMO and project portfolio management experts. In addition, the event will be a social event encouraging networking.

The organizers of this project management event have set “Retro Gaming” as this year’s theme. And the conference will feature Laura Barnard, a top consultant and trainer on PMO strategies, as the keynote speaker. Federico Vargas, the CEO of G360, will be the other notable contributor to the conference.

8. Project Delivery Conference

Date: April 27 -29, 2023

Venue: Chicago, USA, and Virtual

Website: https://builtworlds.com/2022-project-delivery-conference/

Last year Builtworlds had to cancel the project delivery conference due to the pandemic. But there’s good news because the event will go down this year in Chicago. The best part is that you can participate virtually if you are unable to get there physically.

Global construction experts will share and exchange ideas and this will be an invaluable growth opportunity for rising talents interested in managing construction projects.

The highlights of this conference will revolve around innovative technology around building projects. Attendees will also learn how to manage risks in construction projects.

9. 20th European Pharma and Medtech PPM Conference

Date: May 18 to May 19, 2022

Venue: Basel, Switzerland

Website: https://whysummits.com/ppm-summit-basel-2022/

This year’s main focus for the 20th European Pharma and Medtech PPM conference is portfolio management in the biotech and pharma industry. Organizers have already picked “New Ways of Working “as the event’s theme. The conference presents a remarkable learning experience for all project management professionals in the medical technology field.

 Other areas the event will cover include:

  • Leveraging new approaches to working, such as digital tools and agile
  • Building formidable cross functional teams
  • Collaborating with external shareholders
  • Incorporating mature products into project management

10. Women in Project Management (WiPM) Summit

Date: May 26, 2022

Venue: Westbury Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

Website: https://www.pmsummit.global/about-wipm

The WiPM Summit is a project management conference that seeks to empower women in project management. It is an event that will enable attendees to add to their portfolio of skills, network, and connect with their peers.

The organizers are still recruiting keynote speakers for the event. There was a similar event last year, and here is what the event had to offer.

 11. PGCS Project and Program Management Symposium

Date: Aug. 22 to Aug. 24, 2023

Venue: Canberra, Australia, and Virtual

Website: https://www.pgcsymposium.org.au/

The PGCS conference is taking place for the 10th time and has found much success in the previous years. This year’s theme will be “Success is Never an Accident.” The organizers have advertised this conference as an occasion that will bring program and project management foundations together—they aim to help professionals work towards the successful execution of projects.

The event will cover the following topics:

  • Putting together successful teams for projects
  • Risk management
  • Structuring organizations to execute projects successfully

Delegates who will attend the event physically will have unlimited access to the live content and in-demand virtual content after the symposium. Virtual attendees also stand to gain immensely.

12. 33rd IPMA World Congress

Date: Nov. 19 to Nov. 25, 2022

Venue: Tokyo, Japan

Website: https://worldcongress.ipma.world/

This year’s IPMA world congress will tackle the role of project management in building a sustainable future. The ultimate objective is to explore the prospects of the digital age and its challenges. Participants will then try to develop solutions to the problems resulting from the ever-changing digital landscape in project management.

The program committee consists of speakers from America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Most of them are heads of large corporations, practitioners from various fields and disciplines, and leading scientists.

13. Kanban Global Summit

Date: June 28 to June 30, 2023

Venue: San Diego, CA, USA

Website: https://resources.kanban.university/events/

The Kanban Global Summit is a resourceful conference featuring leading experts. The keynote speakers will share groundbreaking information on the Kanban methods during this event. Those in attendance will learn how to leverage various proven Kanban techniques to benefit their organizations.

Professionals will also participate in social receptions, coaching clinics, workshops, and insightful learning labs. The learning labs will encourage participants to focus on specific topics and ask questions. If professional and personal development is one of your goals in 2022, the Kanban Global Summit will be a great project management conference to attend.

14. Bridge PM  & PMO Conference

Date: September 21-23, 2023

Venue: Vilnius, Lithuania, and virtual

Website: https://www.pmconference.org/

The Bridge PM and PMO Conference will be a hybrid event. Virtual attendees can participate in the event live via the Airmeet platform. The conference will feature thought leaders in various fields.

These will include Gilbert Silvius, the current HU of the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, Netherlands. He is a renowned expert in the area of sustainability in project management. The other notable speakers for the event include Dr Inga Popovaite, Joel Carboni, and Tajuana M.Taylor.

15. Agile & Beyond

Date: May 24 to May 25, 2022

Venue: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Website: https://agileandbeyond.com/2022/

Agile continues to champion excellent practices in the project management field. Agile and Beyond is another one of its many project management cons that will be seeking to sharpen practitioners’ skills. It will allow professionals to listen to maestros in project management and interact with like-minded talents.

The sessions in the events will revolve around agility, lean business practices, and software engineering. A typical day will revolve around insightful speeches from keynote speakers. Later, attendees will get the opportunity to interact and connect before calling it a day.

Read: Best Project Management Blogs to Follow

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Project Management Conferences

Final Thoughts on Project Management Conferences

Project management conferences are instrumental in the professional development of practitioners. Participating in these events will expose you to the industry’s leading think tanks. You will get the opportunity to acquire tremendous professional knowledge in a few days.

Microsoft Project vs GanttPRO: Head-to-Head Comparison

Work colleagues arguing about Microsoft project vs ganttPRO

If you’re comparing Microsoft Project vs. GanttPRO to decide which is best for your project, you may not have an answer yet. Both products offer excellent tools you need to successfully plan and organize your project, including project scheduling and planning; views for Gantt charts, boards, and grids. But they also vary in substantial ways.

Microsoft Project logo

Microsoft Project: Best for Enterprises

From $10

Microsoft Project is a powerful project management software product that has all the standard features you’d expect as well as some advanced tools that are geared towards larger enterprises. It has a more comprehensive feature set than GanttPRO and is geared toward users who are experts in project management and work for larger companies. The trade-off is that Project is more difficult to use and pricier. 

You’ll probably also want to be a user of Microsoft’s other suite of paid products, like Word, Excel, Teams, Dynamics, to get the full benefit from it. Microsoft also offers a desktop version of Project, but you’ll have to be running a version of Windows to run it.

Project has tools for project scheduling and planning; views for Gantt charts, boards, and grids; task, time, and team management; and collaboration and reporting tools. The higher tiers Plans 2 and 3 provide resource management tools, and give you the option of installing a desktop client. Finally, Plan 3 provides advanced portfolio selection and optimization tools, demand management, and enterprise resource planning and management.

Features

Microsoft Project

Project planning

Task management

Time management

Resource management

Yes, but only on Plans 2 and 3

Team management

Budget tracking

Reporting tools

Pricing

$10 to $55 per user per month

  • Powerful advanced tools that larger enterprises might require
  • Smooth integration with the Microsoft product family
  • Desktop option provides up-front pricing
  • Steep learning curve
  • More expensive than GanttPRO
  • Limited integrations outside of other Microsoft products

Pricing

Microsoft Project has multiple pricing options. The cloud-based solution has three tiers. Project Plan 1 is $10 per user per month. You’ll pay $30 per user per month for Plan 2. For Plan 3, the cost is $55 per user per month. Plan 2 has everything in Plan 1, plus a resource management feature and a desktop client. You’ll get everything in Plans 1 and 2 in Plan 3, plus portfolio selection and optimization, demand management, and enterprise and resource planning and management.

There are on-premises solutions that are stored locally. Project Standard 2021 is $679.99 and has features similar to cloud-based Plan 1. There is also Project Professional 2021, which is $1,129.99. It adds resource management, the ability to sync with a server, and timesheet submission. Finally, there is Project Server, which is a flexible, scalable on-premises solution that gives demand management and advanced analytics features. The pricing for Project Server is by quote only.

GanttPRO logo

GanttPRO: Best for Small and Midsize Businesses

From $8.90

GanttPRO’s project management software offers affordable pricing and an intuitive web-based interface while still offering advanced features, making it an excellent choice for small and midsize businesses. Businesses using GanttPRO will be able to plan their project timelines, oversee tasks, resources, and team members, as well as enable users to collaborate on their work. 

Like with Project, you’ll get grid view, board view, and Gantt chart view. There’s also a portfolio view, which provides a high-level overview of your projects and quick access to resource management and progress tracking.

There are nice features in GanttPRO, like a history and baseline mode, importing and exporting options, and custom and pre-configured templates. GanttPRO also integrates software commonly used by small businesses, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Jira Cloud, as well as an API for custom integrations.

Features

GanttPRO

Project planning

Task management

Time management

Resource management

Team management

Budget tracking

Reporting tools

Pricing

$8.90 to $15 per user per month

  • Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
  • Affordable and simple pricing structure
  • History and baseline mode let you save and return to previous project versions
  • Limited reporting options
  • Only integrates with Slack, Google, Jira, and an API

Pricing:

Individual: $15 per user month (billed annually)

Team: $8.90 per user month (billed annually)

MS Project vs GanttPRO: Pricing & Features Comparison

When comparing GanttPRO vs Microsoft Project, you’ll see that both have features like project planning and scheduling, task management, team management, resource management, time tracking, portfolio management, and budget tracking. However, the implementation of these features differs between the two products in some ways. 

Project planning

Yes, with Gantt chart view, grid view, and board view

Yes, with Gantt chart view, grid view, board view, and portfolio view

Task management

Yes

Yes

Time management

Yes

Yes

Resource management

Yes, but only on Plans 2 and 3

Yes

Team management

Yes

Yes

Budget tracking

Yes

Yes

Reporting tools

Yes

Yes

Pricing

$10 to $55 per user per month

$8.90 to $15 per user per month

Project Planning Breakdown

Creating, planning, and monitoring projects is at the heart of project management software. These features relate to the overall management of the project, such as viewing the project, making estimations of time, and identifying key tasks toward project goals.

Microsoft Project

Project gives you a home area where you can create new projects, access important information about existing projects, and open projects. Project allows you to create and manage multiple projects at the same time. Once inside of a project, you can see them in either a grid view, a board view (where tasks are divided up into buckets), or a Gantt chart. 

The interface is quite bare-bones, like an Excel spreadsheet, and it doesn’t give you a lot of information at a glance. In each of these views, you’ll be able to see a list of your tasks, people involved in the project, and any filters you want to be set up around deadlines, progress, or custom labels. There’s a zoom slider that lets you change the date range you are looking at from months down to days.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO’s main project page has multiple views, including Gantt chart, board view, a grid or “workload” view, and a people view. The Gantt chart mode is the default setting where you can get an overview on your project tasks and people involved. You can vary the timescale on the Gantt chart from hours to days to weeks, all the way up to years. 

The main screen also has buttons for filters, exporting charts, and identifying any overdue tasks. There’s a project calendar which lets you set up days with set hours and breaks. GanttPRO has a feature that lets you save a snapshot of your project known as a baseline, that you can use for later reference. You’re also able to look back in the history of the project and revert to previous versions.

Winner: GanttPRO gives you more views, easy access to tools, and an intuitive interface.

Task Management Breakdown

Tasks are the building blocks of projects. Project management software allows you to create and manipulate them in various ways.

Microsoft Project

Once you are in a project, you’re able to add tasks, give them deadlines, and connect them to other tasks via dependencies. The interface is bare and minimalist, though it is interactive and clicking on various tasks brings up information about them. Tasks can be given deadlines and dependencies, which are connections between tasks.

GanttPRO

Like Project, GanttPRO’s project planning tools allows you to create tasks, modify tasks, and remove tasks. You can add tasks through dependencies which are indicated through lines and arrows. Related tasks can be put into groups that lets you organize them visually. You can set deadlines, attach users to the tasks, add related, so-called “sibling tasks,” and track their progress and status. You can set up custom columns about each task with information such as who it’s assigned to, progress made, current status, or end date.

Winner: GanttPRO offers more customization of tasks, including creating subtasks and attaching users to various tasks.

Time Management Breakdown

Time management allows users to keep track of hours spent on tasks using timers and logs and attach those hours to specific tasks.

Microsoft Project

In Project, you’re able to capture project and non-project time on payroll, invoicing, and other business tasks. With the timesheet submission feature, team members are able to submit their timesheets for approval. 

GanttPRO

GanttPRO has a task time tracker tool, which allows team members to track their time either using a timer or with a time log report.

Winner: MS Project lets you track time more easily and apply it appropriately.

Resource Management Breakdown

Resource management allows users to keep track of the various resources used in a project. This typically includes physical resources but also other kinds of resources like shipping costs and labor resources.

Microsoft Project

Only the Plan 2 and 3 tiers of Project have resource management. In Project, there are three kinds of resources: working resources, material resources, and cost resources. People and machines are working resources and require time in Project. Material resources are things like steel, wood, or glass. Finally, cost resources are things that must be purchased, like travel or shipping costs.

GanttPRO

You can track three different types of resources in GanttPRO: labor, materials, and resources with a fixed cost. You can set values to these resources by the hour, item, or a flat cost. These resources can then be assigned to different team members and people. You can assign as many resources to one task as you need. Virtual resources can also be assigned. All of these resources can be tracked and logged. 

GanttPRO has several advanced features when it comes to resources. These include systemic resource request, which lets you use Resource Engagements to request and lock in resources. Another feature are visual heat maps, which allow you to view how resources are used with Capacity heat maps and quickly identify resources that haven’t been optimized. Finally, there are resource analytics, which let you compare resources across standard data and also forecast projected usage.

Winner: GanttPRO wins here simply because it includes resource management as a standard feature for all users, rather than locking it in a higher-priced plan.

Team Management Breakdown

People are a key part of any project, and project management software lets you track what they’re doing and how much time it is taking them.

Microsoft Project

People can be added to projects and assigned tasks. You can then modify their work calendar to take into account working time, vacations, and sick time. People can be shared across tasks using a resource pool that is created under master projects. People can also be given costs.

GanttPRO

With GanttPRO you can add members to your team, set roles for them such as owner, admin, or member, set values for them, and create personalized working calendars. You can then attach members to tasks and give permissions according to their roles and responsibilities.

Winner: Tie. Both MS Project and GanttPRO offer useful team management tools.

Budget Tracking Breakdown

Keeping tabs on your budget is an important part of management. Budget tracking allows you to monitor how much money is being spent on your project based on the cost of tasks and resources.

Microsoft Project

You can make a budget in Project by creating and entering cost values for budget resources that are assigned to the project summary task. Project also has cost tracking, which allows you to compare original cost estimates, actual costs, projected costs, and see the variances between costs at any time and at any level of detail. 

GanttPRO

With GanttPRO, you calculate the cost of your project based on the cost of tasks and resources using a clear visual reporting format.

Winner: MS Project. Although GanttPRO offers a good budget report, Microsoft Project gets more granular with cost tracking.

Reporting Tools Breakdown

Reporting tools are necessary for any project management software, as they give you clear views on a project’s time, budget, tasks, and people. Reports help you ensure your project stays on track and on time.

Microsoft Project

Project has extensive reporting tools, including built-in reports that let you track progress on your projects, resources, programs, and portfolios. There is a Project Overview report that combines tables and graphs to give information about each phase of the project, upcoming milestones and tasks that are late. There are dozens of other kinds of reports that you can use to gather information about specific areas of your project.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO also has reports, but they are more limited. You can create reports for budgeting with details like projects, tasks, assignees, time, cost, and actual cost. There are also time log reports for people in your team, with the same kind of details as with budgeting.

Winner: MS Project offers far more built-in reports than GanttPRO, so you can view project details over a timeline from almost any angle.

Customer Service

Customer service is the service provided by the maker of the project management software, whether that be online resources, chat, email, or telephone communication.

Microsoft Project

Project has extensive online resources that help provide you with the basics of using the software. There are also guides to help you build a project, share and assign resources, or install the desktop hardware. Through their Microsoft 365 business product line, Microsoft also offers technical support through chat with an upgrade option to purchase phone support.

GanttPRO

GanttPRO offers support through a live chat system on their website and through email. You can find documentation on GanttPRO’s website, along with video demos and tutorials to guide you through use of features.
Winner: Tie. Both services provide tech support via live chat and email, and although MS Project provides tech support by phone, it costs extra. GanttPRO doesn’t offer it at all, so it evens out.

Alternative Project Management Options

Still unsure which project management software is best for you after reading through our comparison of GanttPRO vs MS Project? There may be a better option for you.

If you want to stick with the waterfall methodology and are looking for another Gantt project management software, TeamGantt is another amazing option. This PM software is designed to help you monitor project progress and have a clear overview of which tasks are dependent on others. TeamGantt also offers task management and collaboration features. 

If you’re looking for a free Gantt chart software, you’re in luck because TeamGantt offers that! But remember that the free version will only work best for smaller projects with no more than a few people. If you’ve got a bigger team, you might want to look at its paid versions.

  • Great at making exportable charts
  • Drag and drop interface
  • Easy collaboration and organization tools
  • Lacks invoicing tools
  • Lacks budgeting tools
  • Reports lack features of some competitors

Pricing:

Free to $24.45 and $29.95 per user per month

Wrike is a well designed project management software with lots of useful features. Although it’s on the more expensive side, it’s one of the best project management software for startups

Wrike also offers a free plan for small projects. If you want more professional tools, you’d have to pay a small cost. With its recently updated interface with more information visible on the default view, Wrike has made things much more organized and easy to use. You can see your inbox, to-do list, and all current tasks directly without clicking any buttons. 

It offers numerous project templates you can use to get different types of projects started. You can also make custom templates. Read the complete Wrike review to find more about it.

  • Strong customization options
  • Real-time information sharing and updates
  • Premium security features
  • Complex pricing options
  • Limited tasks for free tier.
  • Deployment services cost more

Pricing:

Free to $24.80 per user per month plus an Enterprise plan that needs custom pricing

Zoho Projects is an easy-to-use and affordable project management solution for SMBs. It gives you features like project scheduling and budgeting. This allows you to define project tasks, assign them to respective teams, estimate costs and follow up task progress with ease.

This PM software solution lets you automate revision tracking, access control and search and retrieval tasks. Zoho Projects also offers document management which helps you share documents with your team easily. Project managers can also resolve errors in project tasks with its issue management features.

  • Affordable Pricing
  • Mobile apps included
  • Integrates with the Zoho suite and many third-party products
  • Lacks some enterprise-level features
  • Project templates must be custom built
  • Unusual resource management view

Pricing

$0 to $10 per user per month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Microsoft Project vs. GanttPRO

Microsoft Project Vs GanttPRO Bottom Line 

Overall, we prefer GanttPRO to Microsoft Project. GanttPRO has an easier-to-use interface, more features directed at small and midsize businesses, and a more affordable pricing structure. With that said, if your business already uses the Microsoft suite of products and needs advanced features like demand management or enterprise resource planning and management, then Project might be a better fit.

monday.com vs Asana: Versatility, Affordability & Features Comparison

Monday.com vs Asana Versatile & Affordable

Project management has become so much a part of business that comparing tools like monday.com vs Asana require you to see them more as work operating systems. They bring all of project management’s sophisticated tools to bear on your daily schedule. We compare monday.com vs Asana to see which is a better fit for your work life.

Monday.com logo

monday.com: Best for Small Teams Working Remotely

From $10

3.0

monday.com is a code-free, cloud-based project management software geared with a spectrum of sleek features for small teams working remotely. It makes it simple for you to design workflow apps for your project. You can use these apps to handle day-to-day operations and responsibilities.

monday.com comes with workflow templates you can easily customize to manage your project. It helps you reduce your manual administrative work by automating key tasks. You can also integrate monday.com with other tools to streamline project management. Read the full monday.com review for greater insight into it.

  • Modern user interface (UI) is easy to use and navigate
  • Highly customizable features 
  • Ideal for managing ongoing work for multiple projects
  • Confusing pricing of plans
  • Slow customer support 
  • Best features only available with upper tiers of paid plans

Pricing

  • Basic: $10/user per month
  • Standard: $12/user per month
  • Pro: $20/user per month
  • Enterprise: Inquire for price
Asana logo

Asana: Best for Flexibility and Customization

From $13.49

3.5

Asana is one of the most popular project management software out there. It’s easy to use and offers some of the most powerful management tools available. It’s a versatile software that suits small teams but can also scale to larger companies. Asana lets you divide tasks into themes and time-related segments so you can manage your workflow with ease. 

With a much broader feature set, Asana is a great choice for agile project management. You can use multiple management styles including Gantt charts, task lists, and Kanban boards with this project management software. Read the complete Asana review for greater insight into it.

  • Offers workload management
  • Smart project-focused interface
  • Various management features
  • No financial management tools
  • Assigns tasks to one user only
  • Steeper learning curve

Pricing 

  • Basic: Free 
  • Premium: $13.49/user per month
  • Business: $30.49/user per month
  • Enterprise: Inquire for price

Pricing & Features Comparison

Key Features

Pricing

3/5

3/5

Team Management

3/5

4/5

Project Delivery Management

4/5

5/5

Agile Methodology Suitability

3/5

4/5

Waterfall Methodology Suitability

3/5

3/5

Risk Management

4/5

3/5

Reporting

4/5

4.5/5

Finance Management

3/5

3/5

Collaboration and communication

3/5

4/5

Integration With Other Apps

2/5

4/5

Usability

3/5

5/5

Support

3/5

3.5/5

Privacy

3/5

3.5/5

Pros

  • More price options
  • Customized views
  • Templates help you set up project
  • Larger teams on free tier
  • Attractive Status Updates
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Limited integrations and automations
  • More expensive

Overall Rating

3/5

3.5/5

monday.com vs Asana

Putting monday.com vs Asana means comparing two well-known project management software options. Both have fairly good reputations, while also being somewhat more expensive than competitors. 

The similarities don’t end there. Both also focus on task management, using tasks as a starting point to build out your project. There is a standard set of popular project management tools that both provide. 

However, the two platforms are far from clones of each other. While the tools may be similar, the presentation and usability can be leagues apart. Follow along to discover which is the best fit for you.

Pricing

monday.com and Asana have similar, straightforward pricing plans that will be familiar to anyone who has used project management software recently. Both offer a free version for a Basic plan best used to manage simple projects, limited in users and functions. Pay tiers offer more with each step up in price.

monday.com

monday.com is slightly less expensive, with four pay tier options:

  • Basic: $10/user per month
  • Standard: $12/user per month
  • Pro: $20/user per month
  • Enterprise: Inquire for price

monday.com offers unlimited boards even at the free tier, but pay tiers offer more reporting options and more seats. Depending on the tier, you may also be limited in integration actions, automations, or a few other things.

Asana

Asana offers three different levels beyond the free tier, including:

  • Premium: $13.49/user per month
  • Business: $30.49/user per month
  • Enterprise: Inquire for price

Each of the pay tiers offers unlimited projects and many reporting options. Some of the most powerful tools, such as portfolio management, require a Business or better subscription.

Winner: Tie 

Although monday.com is less expensive, its limiting API calls and other actions can be a real problem for some users. Asana offers a lot of important tools even on the least expensive pay tier, though the higher cost puts it on par with monday.com.

Read: Best 6 Free Project Management Software

Team Management

In terms of team management, Asana, and monday.com both focus on managing teams through task management. In fact, like most examples of this type of project management software, everything starts when you create tasks and then assign tasks to team members. The details are slightly different between the two options. However, they both allow you to add details, due dates, define task level priority, and more.

With that foundation, you can bring a number of powerful team management features to bear. Both Asana and monday.com focus most resource management tools on the time commitment of each team member, offering a Workload view to track team level, though Asana’s is a bit easier to use. For both platforms, it’s an option that is only available with the more expensive tiers.

Additionally, task progress tracking is straightforward with both platforms and each has an easy-to-find action log.

Winner: Asana

While both platforms allow you to filter tasks by specific team members, as well as track workload, it’s much simpler to do in Asana. monday.com helps you construct a sort of spreadsheet to do the same thing, which is much more involved.

Project Delivery Management

Some of the most important tools in a project manager’s toolbox are designed to keep everything on track and moving in the right direction. When it comes to Asana vs monday.com, they seem to offer some similar tools for tracking project statuses. 

Gantt charts are easy to set up, with task dependencies requiring no more than a drag-and-drop, providing a look at project workflow management. Both options also provide a way to monitor several projects simultaneously, balancing resources and workload. 

The two options also provide a list view, breaking down steps and making it easy to see both project plans and project schedules. However, monday.com’s list is easier to read and can contain more information.

Winner: Asana

While monday.com’s list view is easier to read, Asana has one big advantage. Information from all your projects is collected in the Portfolios tab, where it can be visualized in a few different ways. monday.com requires you to set up a separate Portfolio Management board.

Methodology Suitability

Comparing Asana vs monday.com, is one more suitable for waterfall methodology or Agile methodology? Both can be used for either method used to manage projects, though it might not be surprising that they offer some tools exclusive to the Agile approach. Read our review on waterfall vs agile methods.

Asana has a Board view that serves very well as a Kanban board. monday.com also provides Kanban boards for all your projects, as well as for your overall portfolio. In both cases, it’s possible to drag and drop tasks into the appropriate column. Asana’s Boards offer some automation options that Monday doesn’t, however. 

Additionally, Asana’s Update feature is much more comprehensive, including a painless method of automatically generating graphs, and works great for Sprint reviews. 

Winner: Asana

A few features, such as automations in Asana’s Boards, edges it out ahead of its competition. 

Risk Management

There are no native features for bug or issue tracking in either option. We’re contrasting Asana vs monday.com, but realistically they do have a lot in common. Unlike a project management tool like, for example, Jira, they aren’t focused tightly on software development. However, both integrate with apps that can perform those functions. 

Asana offers a way to mark a project as On Track, Off Track, or At Risk, as part of a status update. monday.com can mark projects automatically as part of its Overview widget, based on the number of tasks team members have completed, versus tasks still outstanding. Note that the Overview widget is only available to Pro and above accounts.

Winner: monday.com

Asana’s project status tool is used for communication, telling people something you already know. monday.com’s feature offers an analysis, offering more information on the health of your project, though it comes with a higher price tag.

Reporting

Managing projects is a complex business, which graphs, charts, and other visualizations can help keep straight. Both options offer a number of ways to visualize projects, from variations on a basic project management tool like Gantt charts, to the status reports we’ve already mentioned.

Reporting options for portfolio management are also available, allowing you track the progress and resource use of multiple projects. monday.com offers a wider range of reporting for your portfolio, allowing you to set up a Gantt chart of project dependencies, rather than task dependencies.

Winner: Asana

For reporting, Asana vs monday.com is close to a tie. monday.com does have a few more options. However, Asana offers a user interface that moves a lot of information for you. Check out your portfolio and all the information you entered in each project is already there. monday.com wants you to enter portfolio information again, separately.

Finance Management

Few things are more important to a successful project than finances. However, it’s an area that most cloud-based project management platforms leave for integrated apps, rather than handling natively.

monday.com doesn’t have any tools for tracking expenses exactly, though it doesn’t rely on integration for those functions. In many ways, monday.com’s platform can be thought of as a specialized spreadsheet, which you can customize to your needs. A Numbers Column can be easily added to track how estimated costs compare to the actual project plan, or how much your team members’ time costs.

Asana has the List view, which is similar to monday.com’s spreadsheet layout and can perform the same functions, allowing you to track, quickly add up, or compare numbers. However, both also offer integrations to add more tools.

Asana has specifically partnered with Power Bi for finance management and reporting, though it integrates with other options as well. Time tracking, on the other hand, has to be handled by integration, with Asana partnering with Harvest for that need. 

Winner: Tie

Yet again, Asana vs monday.com is a close comparison. In this case, the tools offered by both options are similar enough that it’s tough to choose between them. Additionally, they both integrate with many of the same third-party apps.

Collaboration and Communication

One key responsibility for project management software in modern business is as a set of collaboration tools, used for workflow management when a team may be physically distant from each other. 

The first step in team collaboration is team communication, so both platforms offer lots of different ways to send messages. Communication and task management features have been combined, as both allow you to comment on individual tasks. Comments can also be added to projects and files, including a mark-up tool for the free file storage.

Asana offers a team page that allows each team member to track all the projects they’re working on. A shared team calendar makes it easy to track due dates and progress. Additionally, a Chrome extension allows team members to pull ideas from around the web into the workspace to share.

monday.com can offer a similar calendar, as well as a board designed for project requests. Both platforms also offer iOS and Android apps for free. monday.com also has workdocs, a document shared with and edited by the whole team.

Winner: Asana

monday.com’s workdoc is a nice feature, but nothing you can’t find in Google Docs or many other places. Asana offers the chance to focus comments on specific tasks, while also seeing the big picture.

Integration With Other Apps

Even the most powerful project management tool won’t have every feature you need for your perfect workflow. Integration allows you to reach out and add those missing features to your pool of task management tools.

Both Asana and monday.com have libraries of integrations for anything you might need, from tracking team members’ time to managing customer requests. Some big names include Google Workspace, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Microsoft Teams. Both platforms also offer an API.

Winner: Asana

Both Asana and monday.com have wide libraries of integrations to choose from, including all the most commonly needed apps. However, Monday limits the integration and automations on most tiers.

Usability

There is no such thing as a perfect project management tool and everyone’s experience will vary. However, a user-friendly tool for project management with a gentle learning curve can save your mental health, your company’s money, and hours of aggravation.

Both platforms focus on task management, with a number of features that have become semi-standard for this sort of software. The task manager allows you to assign team members, attach documents, define dependencies, and many other things. The user interface includes drag-and-drop functionality and most basic functions can be understood with a little experimentation.

monday.com’s user interface is practical and straightforward. It may not be attractive, but all task information is visible in the main table. It’s easy to add Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and more. It’s also easy to find automations for repetitive and mundane tasks, as well as integrations.

Asana has a slicker presentation, but is just as easy to use. The team page makes for a good base, which is helpful as it can be easy to get lost among the different views. However, workflow management is greatly aided by only having to enter information in one place.

Winner: Asana

The user-friendliness of Asana vs monday.com is ultimately a personal choice. However, a few of Asana’s features stand out, such as easily formatted Status Updates and a single tab that collects all of a project’s files.

Support

Support for either option, comparing Asana vs monday.com, boils down to a web form. You describe your issue and wait for a service rep to get back with some help. However, both also offer many additional resources to help you figure out solutions for yourself.

monday.com offers real-life content examples from users, which you can peruse to get some ideas for your own project management style. There is also a range of video tutorials, webinars, and support docs. The only upgrade is if you’re an Enterprise customer, which gets you a dedicated support manager.

Asana has a similar set-up, similarly offering project managers video tutorials, webinars, courses, and so forth. They have a wider range of walk-throughs, which can be helpful. Additionally, business tier customers can get priority support, moving their help requests to the front of the line.

Winner: Asana

Asana has a bigger library of tutorials and courses. The option for priority on support for the Business tier of service is also nice.

Privacy

Project management systems can contain a lot of very important, very private information. It’s therefore not surprising that both Asana and monday.com make promises to keep information in your work operating system secure. 

Both say that they don’t share information with third parties, the exception being when you elect to use an integration. Additionally, both monday.com and Asana have made commitments to 99% uptime.

Asana has a couple of neat offerings, such as the ability to choose where in the world your data is stored. However, that’s a feature only available to Enterprise clients.

Winner: Asana

It might take an expert to compare some aspects of Asana vs monday.com, and their security. However, Asana also helps you secure your data by offering admins the ability to require 2FA security, limiting access, and a number of other tools.

Alternative Project Management Software Options

Wrike gives you greater flexibility and works for teams of all types and sizes. You get a wide range of project management features. Wrike’s price may be a bit higher than others, but the range of features is worth it. Read the ultimate Wrike review for a more detailed analysis.

  • Specialized marketing, creative, and services delivery team packages
  • Offers in-built time tracking 
  • Analytics tool generates charts automatically
  • Costlier than other PM software
  • Templates can’t remove all options
  • Can’t prioritize tasks

Pricing

  • Free version.
  • Professional Plan: $9.80/user/month.
  • Business Plan: $24.80/user/month.
  • Enterprise Plan: Inquire for price.

ClickUp is a leading project management platform. It’s scalable for teams of all sizes. ClickUp is excellent for remote work. Creating spaces for different projects and adding teams to them is pretty easy. To learn more about this tool, read our ClickUp review.

  • Lower cost
  • Better support options
  • Free version offers a lot of features
  • Slows down when you use too many ClickApps 
  • Complicated interface
  • Lacks workflow management

Pricing

  • Free
  • Unlimited: $5/user/month
  • Business: $12/user/month
  • Business Plus: $19/user/month
  • Enterprise: Inquire for price.

Microsoft Project is one of the oldest project management software. It has been the go-to PM tool for many industry-leading companies for many years. But it comes with a steep learning curve and is not ideal for beginners.

  • Offers projections, baselines, and other features
  • Review all your projects at once
  • Advanced project management features
  • Expensive
  • Steep learning curve
  • Slow customer support

Pricing

  • Plan 1:$10/user/month
  • Plan 3: $30/user/month
  • Plan 5: $55/user/month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for monday.com vs Asana

Don’t have time for the in-depth review? Check out the most commonly asked questions.

monday.com vs Asana Conclusion

Both monday.com and Asana offer some of the best project management tools available at the moment. However, small differences add up, pointing to a clear winner. Asana comes out on top due to a more attractive and intuitive user interface. It’s also easier to manage tasks when all the task details move from view to view automatically. 

Additionally, the difference in price disappears when you compare feature availability. monday.com is high-quality software, but Asana is just a bit better.

Anything can be a project, if you want to look at it that way. With that in mind, it’s possible to use all the methods of project management to keep your own life organized and on track. That might have been an intimidating prospect even a few years ago. Today, quality platforms like Asana and monday.com make it easy.

Best 6 Free Project Management Software – 2023

Business team contemplating on what free project management software to use

If you’re running a small business and need help managing your team and projects, free project management software can help you dramatically. Manually managing your projects is both headache-inducing and highly inefficient. Luckily, there are plenty of options for free project management apps.

Best Free Project Management Software

  • monday.comBest Overall for Building Custom Workflows Across Teams
  • ClickUpBest for Fully Customizable Dashboards & Task Management 
  • HiveBest for Collaboration & Messaging
  • GanttProBest for Gantt Chart Creation & Project Planning
  • Easy ProjectBest for Visual Project Management for Large Teams
  • Microsoft ProjectBest for Microsoft Based Businesses

Software

Price

Free Trial Available

Storage Included at Price Listed

Members Included at Price Listed

Time Tracking Included at Price Listed

Support Included at Price Listed

From $0 monthly per user

Yes

500 MB

Up to 2

No

24/7 customer support

From $0 monthly per user

Yes

100 MB

Unlimited

Yes

24/7 customer support

From $0 monthly per user

Yes

Unlimited

Up to 2

No

Self-serve knowledge base

From $8.90 monthly per user

Yes

5 GB

1

Yes

Personal account manager

From $24 monthly per user

Yes

100 GB

1

Yes

Email & live chat support

From $10 monthly per user

Yes

Unlimited

1

No

24/7 customer support

Monday logo

monday.com: Best Overall Free Project Management Software

Pricing: Free (2 seats) to $27 per seat

4.95

monday.com offers the most features out of every free project management software. Along with project management tools, you’ll also find HR tools with the ability to clearly organize and see others’ availability.

With more than 125,000 companies on its roster, monday.com is one of the more popular projects management tools today. Used by big names like Zippo, Unilevel, Hulu, and Uber, monday.com offers intuitive dashboards with hundreds of customizable templates to depict project status, estimates, priority, and resources by start and end dates. You can view data in the calendar, timeline, Kanbatt, Gantt, and map formats.

Why we chose it: We chose monday.com as the best overall free project management software because of the number of features included in the free plan. With the free plan, you get unlimited boards, unlimited docs, 200+ templates, and customizable notifications. monday.com is great for any size business.

  • Tracks assignments for multiple people per project
  • Sends updates and reminders via email or Slack, depending on your preferences 
  • Offers multiple views for boards so you can manage up to C-suite level
  • Limited reporting functionality
  • Lack of a built-in chat function (can integrate with Slack)
  • Higher learning curve as you dive into more features

Pricing: As for cost, monday.com offers five pricing plans – Individual, Basic, Standard (most popular), Pro, and Enterprise. Individual plans (free) allow up to two team members. The Basic plan ($8 per user per month) includes Individual features plus unlimited free viewers, unlimited items, and a dashboard with one board.

Standard ($12 per seat per month) and Pro ($27 per seat per month) plans add additional views (e.g. Timeline & Gantt) along with up to five boards and up to 250 automation and 250 integrations per month.

Lastly, the Enterprise plan features all of monday.com’s bells and whistles, including enterprise-grade security, advanced reporting, multi-level permissions, and premium support with the fastest turnaround times.

Clickup logo

ClickUp: Best for Fully Customizable Dashboards & Task Management 

Pricing: Free “Free Forever” plan that lasts forever and allows unlimited members

4.91

Most project management software demand premium prices for what ClickUp offers for free. With ClickUp, you can enjoy 11 different task views and 20 different dashboard widgets.

Over the past several years, ClickUp has made serious waves with its project workflow tools. Calling itself “one app to replace them all,” ClickUp works with the concept of “Spaces,” which are fully customizable dashboards based on a team’s needs. It also integrates non-project management-related items into the dashboard, such as emails (sending and receiving directly within the app) and document creation with a full-on document editor available within, easily replacing similar apps like Confluence, Evernote, and Google Docs.

Why we chose it: In short, ClickUp touts itself as a one-stop-shop where using separate apps like Google Docs, Smartsheet, Jira, and countless others is no longer necessary. Teams that rely tremendously on four or five third-party apps may decide to choose ClickUp over other free project management software options for this purpose. ClickUp is fully customizable for every type and size of team.

  • Ability to create different views to track tasks/projects due in a specific time period
  • Email integration for notifications and chat integration with Slack
  • Ability to create multiple spaces or folders for simple organization
  • Lack of dashboard customizability options
  • Time tracking feature needs improvement
  • The Free Plan features a limited amount of storage and goal-setting options

Pricing: With pricing, ClickUp is one of the more affordable options we’ve covered. There is a free version and an Unlimited version, costing $9 per user per month (paid monthly) and $5 per user per month (paid annually). The free version is good for 100MB of storage, unlimited tasks, unlimited members, and two-factor authentication. The paid version offers unlimited dashboards, storage, integrations, and dashboards along with the ability to invite guests.

There are also two higher-tier plans named Business and Business Plus. Business costs $12 per member per month (paid annually) and $19 per member per month (paid monthly. Business Plus costs $19 per member per month (paid annually) and $29 per member per month (paid monthly. The Business plan is for mid-sized teams whereas the Business Plus plan is best for multiple teams.

One of the most impressive features of ClickUp is its sheer number of available views. It offers more than 15 views in total, with list, board, box, and calendar views being the most popular.

Hive logo

Hive: Best for Collaboration & Messaging

Pricing:  Free “Hive Solo” plan that lasts forever and allows up to 2 seats

4.85

Hive is the best project management software for collaboration and messaging because of its native email and group messaging features. Effective file sharing and resourcing capabilities enhance the collaborative nature of software even more.

Like monday.com, Hive offers a centralized workflow management system with powerful project and action templates for all kinds of tasks. It offers project calendar, Gantt, Kanban, Portfolio, calendar, and summary views, each customized to a work style preference (e.g. heavy drag-and-drop with powerful visuals over simpler linear formats).

Why we chose it: Hive is a beginner-friendly project management software that offers a robust amount of features in its free plan. These include unlimited storage, task management, project summary views, Hive calendar, and reporting. However, the easy-to-use communication and collaboration tools makes Hive stand out among all the free project management services. 

  • Integration with 1000+ apps
  • Especially user friendly and built for beginners
  • Ability to turn any action into a task
  • Needs improved reporting functions
  • Inability to create dependent tasks within project actions that recur
  • Difficult to track edits and modifications made by users

Pricing: Hive has three pricing plans – Solo, Team, and Enterprise. Solo is free and is for individuals and small teams of up to two users, with unlimited storage, community support, and a robust list of project management and collaboration features. Teams ($12 per month per user) allows for unlimited users, phone support, and flexible a-la-carte options for an additional fee per user per month, such as reporting and analytics, approvals reporting, single-sign on (SSO), enterprise security, and controls.

The Enterprise version offers all of the benefits of Solo and Teams, plus a dedicated customer success manager, ongoing coaching/adoption training, and specialized offerings such as security contract & legal review.

GanttPRO logo

GanttPro: Best for Gantt Chart Creation & Project Planning

Pricing: No free plan but offers a free trial

4.81

GanttPro gives teams the flexibility to organize complex tasks in a convenient and intuitive way that’s easy to understand. True to its name, GantPro’s main function is to provide effective project planning through Gantt charts.

Dubbed the “Online Chart Maker”, GanttPro is based on Gantt charting. Used by more than 700,000 project managers around the world across well-known brands like Booking.com, Sony, Intel, and Amway, it relies on the highly popular Gantt system, which uses stacked bar charts to show resources, schedule status, and task/subtask activity dependencies.

Why we chose it: GanttPro is an excellent project management app for small teams that need to visually enhance their project planning process through Gantt Charts. Although many project management apps include Gantt charts, GanttPro takes them to the next level with a heap of customizability options and features.

  • Convenient and intuitive user interface
  • Easy to track the progress of the team, the workload of each member and the total budget spent
  • Ability to share and export data
  • Mobile version needs improvement
  • Exceedingly large projects with lots of tasks can get difficult to show on the screen
  • Kanban view has limited column options

Pricing: As for pricing, GanttPro offers three packages—Individual, Team, and Enterprise. Individual costs $15 per user per month. Chosen by roughly 74% of businesses, the Team feature offers unlimited functionality for $8.90 per user per month, whereas the Enterprise version offers advanced management and security features such as AML Single sign-on & 2FA, increased API limits, and priority level support.

Both the Individual and Teams plans have the option for a free trial.

Easy Project logo

Easy Project: Best for Visual Project Management for Large Teams

Pricing: No free plan but offers a 14-day free trial

4.76

Easy Project is the best free project management software for large teams because of its in-depth resource planning and reporting features. This allows managers to monitor employee and team workloads efficiently. Counting IBM, HP, and CenturyLink amongst its users, Easy Projects is one of the more popular project management tools today.

Like most elite project management software, Easy Projects offers all types of views, such as Table, Gantt, Kanban, and calendar views. Each offers its own benefits, in terms of visual layout with different ways of viewing task hierarchy, critical paths, and start/end dates. Its Kanban board is arguably the most intuitive, using quick drag and drop motions to move tasks from one phase to the next (updating team members in the process)

Another area Easy Projects is strong in is Integrations. It allows data, information, and files from 2000+ third-party apps such as Outlook, Slack, and Jira to become centralized in one place.

Why we chose it: One of our favorite features with Easy Projects is its robust machine learning suite. It uses a proprietary algorithm that processes all historical data to determine how likely a project is to come to completion, highlighting all pre-emptive corrective actions earlier in the process to make task, resource, and dependency changes. This software is ideal for companies with 100+ employees because of how easy it is to keep track of and organize different projects and portfolios.

  • Auto notifications to keep projects on track
  • Helpful and friendly customer support 
  • Effective charting and reporting features
  • The user experience isn’t as strong as other free project management software
  • Lack of documentation for different features
  • Not very effective for small tasks

Pricing: Unlike Monday, Hive, and GanttPro, Easy Project’s pricing structure is a lot simpler, only offering the choice of Team and Enterprise options. The Team pricing tier ($24 per user per month) comes with most of its project management tools, including Kanban boards, milestone setting, time tracking, and portfolio management

The Enterprise pricing tier offers add-on project management features, such as resource loading simulations, payroll reports, and enhanced integrations and API functionality (e.g. 200+ integrations via Workato), and webhook compatibility. It also offers additional security and business intelligence services for larger businesses. No pricing is offered for Enterprise plans; a custom quote can be requested using its contact form based on your organization’s needs.

Microsoft Project logo

Microsoft Project: Best for Microsoft-Based Businesses

Pricing: No free plan but offers a free trial

4.74

Microsoft Project is one of the most widely used project management software in the world. It is an excellent choice for businesses already integrating other Microsoft products into their workflow, such as Microsoft 365. Our favorite Microsoft Project features include its centralized home screen, support for multiple project management methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, and customized), and multiple views such as Kanban boards, and Gantt charts.

Why we chose it: Microsoft Project is one of the most powerful project management tools out today. In the right hands, this software is an excellent way to manage various company projects. However, the steep learning curve means that it isn’t for beginners. 

  • Offers customizable features and well-documented APIs 
  • Ability to select specific tasks or summary tasks for the timeline to see an overview of the project
  • Great integration with Microsoft Office products and tools
  • Advanced features require training
  • Could improve its network diagram features
  • Overall user interface needs improvement

Pricing: In terms of pricing, it offers an on-premise (software) or cloud-based solution, where projects can be managed using a web browser like monday.com and Hive. All plans include a Project Home centralized view per user, an ordered list of tasks in three views (Grid, Board, Gantt), and several collaboration tools for a flat fee per user per month with additional portfolio optimization, demand management, and enterprise resource planning tools.

There are tiered packages, starting with Project Plan one ($10 per user per month) up to Project Plan 5 at $55 per user per month.

Methodology for the Best 6 Free Project Management Software

We looked at 6 main criteria as we created this list for the best free project management app. In essence, we prioritized software that had user-friendly interfaces with additional features that improve productivity, communication, and organization. Let’s take a closer look at each essential rating criteria.

Scheduling and planning projects 

The primary function of any free project management software is to plan and schedule projects. Each software on our list is equipped with comprehensive team and individual dashboards. Dashboards will state all assigned tasks, as well as start and end dates. For example, monday.com features more than eight view options and ClickUp offers more than 15. The scheduling and planning function of each software heavily impacted its rating and overall usability. 

At a minimum, your free project management software should incorporate a minimum of three views (Kanban, Gantt, calendar). Kanban is a highly visual, drag-and-drop interface board that separates tasks into different categories, labeling them as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Complete” to oversee a continuous workflow. Gantt Charts are much more conventional, using a horizontal axis to depict the project timeline and a vertical axis to depict where individual tasks should occur. Each view offers outstanding benefits as it pertains to project management.

Integrations 

Integrations allow third-party apps to work within the project management software’s ecosystem. For instance, monday.com allows 1000+ app integrations, including examples such as Dropbox, Slack, and Outlook. App integrations provide even more convenience to your team in terms of managing emails, files, and important information. The best free project management software should act as the only place you and your employees need to visit on a daily basis because of the integration capabilities. 

User Interface (UI) 

User interface is the design, functionality, and intuitive nature of a free project management app. Effectively designed user interfaces require minimum effort on the user’s end to receive the maximum desired outcome. The best free project management app has easy-to-understand dashboards, a high-level view of project statuses, assigned team members, start, and end dates. This extends itself to a healthy mix of view and chart types (e.g. calendar, box, Gantt, Kanban). Interfaces should also be uncluttered and visually pleasing on each page.

Monitoring

Successful project management does not rely on a “set it and forget it” approach. In reality, effectively run projects require constant monitoring. Although monitoring is frequently overlooked, it’s an essential part of a project’s lifespan. The best project management software should allow you to create systems for monitoring and evaluating projects, including the ability to organize all data in a centralized view, keep track of different project phases (e.g. Initiation, Planning/Execution), assign responsibilities, and record project bottlenecks. 

Another related aspect to monitoring is the ability to pull reports to measure performance against key performance indicators such as time spent, money spent, or resources dedicated. It’s the best way to understand why project deadlines might not be met.

Reporting

All excellent project management software features real-time reporting capabilities, allowing quick exports of every success metric imaginable from time spent expenses, project budgets, overrun forecasts, and deadline completion percentages by team members. Many of the best project management apps already have pre-defined reports to choose from with lots of customization options.

Cost

Each software on this list has a free plan that offers limited functionality or a free trial. However, most economic options range from $5 to $9 per user per month with the potential for additional a-la-carte style add-ons such as enhanced security/encryption, reports, and the ability to create and access an unlimited number of dashboards. Paid plans usually fall under Standard, Pro, Enterprise, or a combination of these payment types and allow for many more users. Some offer a 14-day free trial, with the ability to extend in some cases with a quick note to the customer support team.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Free Project Management Software

Here are a few common questions we frequently receive about project management software.

Bottom Line on Free Project Management Software

With the rise of remote teams and collaboration, you need project management software to accompany your business. The right free project management software can quickly change a disorganized and dysfunctional business into an optimized and effective one. 

The best free project management software are monday.com and ClickUp. These two services provide a heap of free features that usually require a paid subscription. You’ll have more than enough tools to manage your team and business with these these two free project management software options.

The Best Project Management Software for Startups

The Best Project Management Software for Startups

Managing projects in a business of any size is no simple task. For startups, having the right project management tools can spell the difference between success and failure. In this article, we’ll look at the best project management software for startups and how to select the one you need to take your startup to the next level.

Quick View

Software

Price

Task Management

Personnel Management

Collaboration

Reporting

From $0 to $22.50 per user per month with custom options

Several tools, including Kanban lists and templates

Can see employee availability and quickly assign tasks

Proprietary software that offers transparency and customizability

Profitability charts, time management, billing

Free to $24.80 per user per month, custom plans available

Customizable dashboards, workflows, request forms, and more

Prioritize projects, Gantt charts

File sharing, tasks, and reports instantly

Track projects in real-time with 360° visibility

Free to $17.50 per user per month

Customizable cards using the Kanban boards system

Gantt charts for tracking how far along people and projects are

Every single part of cards can be shared with teammates

New dashboard view offers insights into projects

Free to $25 per user per month, custom options available

Multiple views and automated tasks

Time tracking to follow workloads and billable hours

Discussions to facilitate ideas and take action

Overview and detailed management tools

Free to $30.49 per user per month

Multiple views to sort projects, assign due dates and personnel

Workload charts to show how each user is working among projects

Chat windows available within project tabs

Charts and graphs to pull in any data from any team

Free to $12 per user per month

Collaborative tools between $500 and $2000 per month

Simple, clutter-free, tailor-made interface

Attendance and project tracking tools

Private and group chat, channel posts, events

Prebuilt or custom reporting tools

Flat rate of $45 or $89 per month

Kanban and Gantt charts, calendar, file hub

Timesheets, custom roles, request forms

Discussions section to keep chat content in one place

Detailed resource and project reports in a single click

Free or a flat $99 per month

To-do lists, scheduling, priorities, Gantt charting

Automated check-in questions, time tracking, can create teams and groups

Group chat, instant messaging, message boards

No tools available

Free to $14.50 per user per month, custom options available

Kanban and scrum boards, roadmapping, automation tools

Time and budget planning

No internal integration options for other software

Agile reporting through multiple charts

Free to $10 per user per month, custom options available

Timelines, roadmaps, to-do lists, Kanban lists

Payroll, expense tracking, daily and weekly limits, scheduling, and attendance

Limited to Kanban lists

Easy, customizable report charts

Quick Verdict 

Best Overall – Teamwork. Teamwork offers a range of features that help it find its place in any size business. The software makes it easy to schedule and keep tabs on teams and tasks. With several plan options, Teamwork will scale with you as your company grows.

10 Best Project Management Tools for Startups

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 10 best project management tools for startups currently available

Teamwork logo

Teamwork

From $0 to $22.50

4.5

As the name implies, Teamwork is a project management tool your team members can rally around to get work done.

Teamwork effectively manages projects through tools such as Kanban task boards and templates with several custom fields. The number available depends on your membership level. The downside to all these project management tools is that team members can’t make changes while offline.

The software makes it easy to see what your entire team is working on at a glance. In the Workload section, you can scan how many different projects each individual is working on and quickly assign team members new tasks as needed.

As a project manager, you can gather information from ongoing projects to study things like profitability, time tracking, and billing. As you manage tasks, these tools are essential in discovering where you’re making the most impact.

Teamwork has team collaboration tools that allow team members to discuss project tasks and share feedback from one convenient location. Collaboration comes in the form of a software add-on included in Teamwork’s paid plans.

Small teams of fewer than five users can make use of Teamwork’s most basic features at no cost. As your group grows, Teamwork can scale with your business by offering more features that cost $12.50 or $22.50 per user on a monthly basis. To test things out, project managers can test Teamwork’s premium features for 30 days without cost.

Bottom Line: 

With access to it all, it’s no wonder that Teamwork is one of the best project management tools out there.

  • Suitable for companies of all sizes.
  • Quick and easy task assignment.
  • Project management templates.
  • Intuitive and flexible.
  • Can’t make changes in offline mode.
Wrike logo

Wrike

Free to $24.80

4.0

Wrike offers stellar project management software for startups and small businesses that grow with your team.

Startup companies can take advantage of Wrike’s free plan that opens the door for unlimited users to make use of limited resources. It’s easy to jump to higher-tier plans at $9.80 or $24.80 per user per month to access the best project management tools the platform has to offer.

Each project management tool has a layer of customization that you can use to fine-tune your team’s specific needs. Once dialed in, it’s possible to view multiple tasks with Gantt charts or a Kanban task board. With so many options, it can be overwhelming at first to overcome the learning curve.

The software makes streamlining team collaboration a breeze by sharing files and tasks in one central location. While team members can chat within the same project, there are no other ways to communicate.

Wrike stands out with its reporting, as project managers can follow project progress in real-time. Detailed reports show project performance and team productivity that help facilitate effective project management.

Bottom Line: 

Wrike scales with enterprise companies to deliver the project management software needed at any stage of the game. Read the complete Wrike review for in-depth analysis.

  • Task tabs allow for team discussion.
  • Suitable for all business sizes.
  • Quick file sharing.
  • Detailed reporting.
  • Steeper learning curve.
  • Limited chat options.
Trello logo

Trello

Free to $17.50

3.6

Trello’s project management system revolves around cards representing task progress that can be grouped into boards for different projects. Users can communicate on each card while providing updates and setting task status. This card approach makes it a breeze to manage tasks individually.

The fact that you can have unlimited cards even on the free plan makes Trello one of the best project management software for startups or small businesses. If you need more task boards or to access Trello’s new views, you’ll need to shell out $6 or $12.50 per user per month.

Speaking of views, Trello now offers the means to monitor progress via timelines, dashboards, and even a calendar to check current and upcoming tasks. The timeline view helps with time tracking, and dashboards are great for reporting.

If you’re going to use Trello, you’d better be a fan of the card system. It’s the only way to view tasks in this particular project management tool. Although tasks can be grouped into different boards, Trello doesn’t allow you or your team members to create subtasks.

At the premium level, the software allows the use of its Butler. Feed Butler your recurring tasks, and it will automate the processes for you. There’s no knowledge of coding required to make use of this service.

Bottom Line: 

Trello is one of the best visual PM software options available with an easy to create and update card system. However, this management software does have limitations that businesses can outgrow.

  • Simple interface.
  • Excellent Kanban tools.
  • Scales well with company growth.
  • Can automate tasks.
  • Limited ways to view projects.
  • Can’t create subtasks.
Nifty PM logo

Nifty

Free to $25

3.9

Nifty’s neat project management software package offers its suite of core features to an unlimited number of team members for free. As sweet as that sounds, you’re limited to just 100 megabytes of file storage and just two projects.

To tap into tools such as time tracking, automation, and unlimited projects, you’ll need to upgrade. Successive tier plans come at $9, $16, or $25 per user every month.

One of Nifty’s star features is the ability to integrate with your other favorite apps such as Slack, Google Calendar, and the Microsoft Suite of products. You may even be able to import tasks from other startup project management software. What Nifty can’t do, one of these other applications should be able to fill in the gaps.

As Nifty is one of the newest project management tools for startups, it still lacks on the feature front. While it offers time tracking, there’s no way for a project manager to look deeper into how different team members are doing without going task by task.

There are also limitations on how much you can customize the projects and the dashboard. The project management tool does have an excellent discussion section for team communication and collaboration.

Bottom Line: 

Although new, Nifty already has some solid task and team management tools. You’ll just need to look past the lack of flexibility to make use of these features.

  • Direct messaging on projects.
  • Multiple project view options.
  • Pricing for businesses of all sizes.
  • Seamlessly integrates with other popular apps.
  • Still new, lacks features.
Asana logo

Asana

Free to $30.49

3.9

Asana is one of the best project management software for startups, with several features available even at the free level. For startup companies of 15 people or less, you’ll get basic reporting, three views, and unlimited projects, tasks, and activity logs.

The most prominent benefits for upgrading to either the Premium plan at $13.49 or the Business plan at $30.49 are automated workflows, advanced reporting, scaled security, and priority support. These benefits make Asana appealing to software development teams.

You can streamline processes and manage multiple projects through up to six viewing options. Each task has a chat option that team members can use to converse. The platform also allows flagging urgent tasks that need immediate attention.

Asana may be a miss for enterprises with just a handful more than 15 employees, as prices escalate quickly. Being able to customize the calendar and view may soften the burn.

Similarly, Asana gives project managers the chance to generate charts and graphs from any team or task to aid in project planning. For on-the-go users, Asana features a convenient mobile app.

Bottom Line: 

Asana makes working with teams a snap with clear resource allocation, unlimited essential tools, and streamline communication.

  • Can assign due dates and priorities to tasks.
  • Create custom calendars and views.
  • Chat option within each task.
  • Uses Kanban view.
  • The price may be high for small teams.
Kissflow Project logo

Kissflow Project

Free to $12

4.0

Kissflow Project enters the mix with simple project management software for startups that’s a joy to look at and surprisingly clutter-free. Newer companies may eat this up, but mid-sized organizations may find the interface a little too basic.

The software platform starts out free to unlimited users while still offering all but the most advanced features. A paid plan to get endless custom views, limitless storage, and advanced reporting will run $5 per user per month. The extra security from the advanced plan will set you back $12 per user monthly.

Besides Project, Kissflow has other products such as Digital Workplace, Procurement Cloud, and Community tools. These integrate seamlessly with Project but come with a significant additional price tag.

In particular, the team collaboration software is some of the best out there, with private and group chat, channel posting, and events. Unfortunately, you’re looking at an extra $500 minimum per month to use it.

The service was known for an abundance of bugs in the past, but many of these are now under control. That won’t stop the occasional error message from appearing, though.

Even so, there are plenty of prebuilt tools for analyzing project timelines, tracking team attendance, and viewing tasks.

Bottom Line: 

Kissflow Project’s simple interface saves time and energy by making the data and information you need easy to locate.

  • Prebuilt tools and automated tasks.
  • Clutter-free interface.
  • On the cheaper side.
  • Kissflow has several other products besides Project.
  • Collaboration tools cost extra.
  • Occasional bugs.
Proofhub logo

ProofHub

$50 or $99

4.2

ProofHub doesn’t have a free option for startups but does offer a relatively uncommon flat rate for its services. You can get access to core features for $50 per month, but ProofHub’s complete package runs $99 per month no matter how many users work with you.

A flat-rate option can speak to companies with a more extensive staff. As most other project management software companies charge upwards of $10 per user for advanced tools, even a business of 10 users can save some money here.

Depending on your needs, just the core features of the project management tool may suffice. The core package includes time tracking, discussion tools for collaboration, project templates, a calendar, announcements, and more. While announcements are a way to share achievements, they can quickly become overwhelming if used too often.

Some of ProofHub’s top features revolve around file sharing and proofing. Files are easy to transfer and remain in a central place for everyone to view. As the team reviews documents, ProofHub adds file versions to track updates.

Custom roles allow the project manager to create an organizational workflow, limiting what users can access. Tasks are visible in either Gantt or Kanban format depending on each user’s preference.

Bottom Line: 

ProofHub shares its features for one flat rate per month while simplifying tasks and working off uploaded documents.

  • Unlimited projects and users for one flat rate.
  • Project proofing.
  • Easy file transfer and storage.
  • Custom roles.
  • Discussions section.
  • Notifications can be overwhelming.
  • Limited customization options.
Basecamp logo

Basecamp

Free or a flat $99

3.5

Basecamp prides itself on being a one-stop-shop for all of the tools your company needs to succeed.

For $99 per month, Basecamp’s entire portfolio of features is made available to you and your team. This one flat rate allows the creation of unlimited projects without placing a limit on the number of users you can have. The rate doesn’t increase no matter how many people you enlist, making Basecamp affordable for large and small businesses alike.

There’s also a free but minimal free version available. You can access basic features with up to 20 users, but all advanced tools are blocked.

The software itself really excels with collaborative tools. Within the platform’s umbrella, your team can chat in real-time privately, in groups, or on a message board.

With the ability to create an unlimited number of projects, you can structure or organize tasks any way you see fit. To-do lists, Gantt charting, and priorities make it easy to see which items need to be addressed first. The downside here is that Basecamp doesn’t allow the creation of task dependencies.

The software doesn’t offer any charts for reporting but provides the means to group your crew into specific groups and teams. With automated check-in questions, you can get updates straight from the source.

Bottom Line: 

Basecamp strives to incorporate everything you’ll need to manage your business at one flat monthly price. For a more comprehensive analysis of Basecamp, read the ultimate Basecamp review.

  • To-do lists.
  • Task history.
  • Flat rate per month.
  • Can assign project priority.
  • No reporting tools.
  • No customization options.
Jira logo

Jira

Free to $14.50

3.7

Jira sets the bar high when it comes to staying on top of timelines and tracking progress. The project management software lets you create a seemingly endless number of reports and charts to ensure goals are being met. Best of all, you can bring all these reporting tools together in a single view with Jira’s dashboard tool.

All this reporting comes at the cost of collaborative tools. Jira lets you assign your staff to different projects using either Kanban or scrum boards, but there’s no way for those users to talk to each other. There are options to integrate with other programs, however.

There’s a free plan available for groups of 10 users or less that comes with basic management tools and limited storage. Jira’s Standard plan at $7.50 per user per month and Premium plan at $14.50 per user per month allow up to 20,000 users and get cheaper with the more team members you have. The number of features grows as you shell out the dough for the higher-tier plans.

In addition to reporting, Jira has an abundance of roadmapping and automation tools to make project management as stress-free and efficient as possible. You don’t need to be a programmer to excel at these features, as everything is handled through a drag and drop method.

Bottom Line: 

Jira’s reporting tools are second to none and marry well with roadmapping features to save you time.

  • Roadmaps for project planning.
  • Bug and issue tracker.
  • Powerful agile reporting.
  • Integrates with many third-party apps.
  • No native collaboration tools.
  • The interface can become cluttered.
Hubstaff logo

Hubstaff

Free to $10

4.0

Hubstaff’s base software is built around time tracking, payroll, and reporting for your team. The system logs hours worked based on activity levels and takes occasional screenshots of employees’ screens.

All this data is viewable through Hubstaff’s detailed and actionable time reports. It’s possible to track individual users or follow the progress of specific tasks your team is assigned to.

Businesses likely won’t benefit from the free option, which only allows for one user. Other plans start at $7 or $10 per user per month, depending on the features you need.

Hubstaff Tasks introduces Kanban lists, roadmaps, automated workflows, and more to make project management that much more straightforward. You’ll even be able to customize the dashboard to see what’s most important to you.

Bottom Line: 

Hubstaff has many impressive features split over multiple platforms, adding significantly to cost.

  • Impressive resource management tools.
  • Personnel scheduling.
  • Screen monitoring.
  • Customizable dashboard.
  • No live chatting.
  • Resource and task management each have monthly costs.

How To Choose Project Management Software for a Startup

Here are the six most important things to consider when choosing a startup project management software:

  1. Scheduling and task management tools
  2. Monitoring
  3. User interface
  4. Cost
  5. Integrations
  6. Resource management

Scheduling and Task Management Tools

Each project management software out there brings its own set of tools to the table. It’s important to factor in how your project management methodologies and business processes match what’s available.

Find something that’s large enough for your team now and in the future while ensuring the tools for both project scheduling and task management live up to your needs.

Monitoring

How much of your team’s progress do you need to see? Some platforms dive deeper into reporting than others with more complex charts and graphs. If preset reporting tools aren’t enough, consider project management software that allows customizability.

User Interface

All the information in the world won’t mean a thing if you can’t make sense of it all. Some project management software for startups provide simple, straightforward, intuitive interfaces that are easy to understand and navigate through. Others offer a more comprehensive approach for those needing to see a lot of data in short order.

Cost

Cost is always a heavy factor when considering the software you choose. Many platforms offer free-to-start plans but often limit available features. No matter where you start, ensure that the free software can scale with your business, both in terms of functionality and price.

Integrations

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you already have tools you enjoy using and are comfortable with. If you’re not aiming to replace those programs, it’s worth picking out a project management system that will integrate seamlessly with what you already use.

Resource Management

Tracking tasks is only half the battle. It’s just as important to be able to see what each team member is working on to ensure they’re sufficiently loaded with work and have the tools they need to succeed. The best project management software knows this and will allow you to effectively lead your team.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best PM Software for Startups

Below we tackle some of the top questions about project management software.

Conclusion: Best Project Management Software for Startups

Having the best project management tools at your fingertips can boost your company’s productivity while saving you time in one fell swoop.

Before making a purchase, ensure the software you’re considering meets your needs both now and in the future. We landed on Teamwork as the best project management software available with a large number of features and collaborative tools.

The 10 Best Project Management Tools

The Best 10 Project Management Tools

The best project management tools are the ones that meet your needs. However, the range of options and factors to consider can often be overwhelming. We’ve boiled down some of the most used and best options to help you make an easier, yet still informed decision.

Quick View

Product

Price

Features

Services and Support

Customization and Integrations

Mobile friendly

Free tier, or $13.49 and $30.49 per user per month pay plans.

Generate easy to read graphs, easy to use, lots of collaboration tools

Large library of tutorials and support docs

A range of integrations are available, including particular partnerships with Harvest, Power Bi, and others

Free Android and iOS apps

Free to $17.50 per user per month. Custom options available

Part of Atlassian App Ecosystem. Easy to use drag-and-drop interface, automatically generate reports and charts

Library of help article and tutorials, community help, Premium and Enterprise users get priority support

Lots of ‘Power-Up’ options to connect apps, integrate with Atlassian products

Free Android and iOS apps

Basic tier is free, paid tiers are $9.80 and $24.80.

Time tracking and timesheets, workload charts, branded Workspace

Help docs, video tutorials, submit help tickets

Large library of common integrations

Free Android and iOS app

Free version, Unlimited for $9, Business for $19, and Business Plus for $29 per user per month

Unlimited file storage, branded views, time tracking

Library of docs, tutorials, and videos. Free one-on-one live coaching

Long list of integrations, some reserved for higher tiers. API for custom integrations

Free Android and iOS apps

Free tier and paid tiers for $10, $12, and $20 per user per month

Collaborative documents, workload view, project health status

Library of support docs, videos, and tutorials

Long list of integrations, some limited to higher pay tiers

Free Android and iOS apps

Free plan, pay tier at $16 with optional add-ons or customizable tier

Time tracking and timesheets, collaborative docs, automated risk tracking

Library of support docs and intro webinar.

Short list includes commonly used apps

Free Android and iOS apps

Free or Essentials for $4 per user per month

(Additional features require Microsoft 365 subscription)

Screen sharing, breakout rooms, meeting recordings, and transcripts

Microsoft support

Part of Microsoft 365, integrates with a long list of apps

Free Android and iOS apps

Basic is $8, Plus is $12, and Pro is $18 per user per month

Real-time chat, ‘Catch-up’ action log, add new tasks via email

Sparse library of videos and docs, email support

Handful of integrations, more through Zapier

Free Android and iOS app

Starter is $19, Business is $65, and Professional is $129 per user per month

‘Roadmaps’ to organize projects, reviewers can provide feedback, customer feedback portal

Training videos, help docs, live-chat support

Integrates with AzureOS and Jira, API for custom integrations

No mobile app

Free or paid plans at $5.50 or $10.50 per user per month

Plan projects in collaborative ‘pages‘, track page history, embed Jira roadmaps

Large library of guides, videos, and tutorials. Message support

Integrates with Atlassian apps. Loads of integrations and apps

Free Android and iOS apps

Quick Verdict

Best Overall – Asana. It’s easy to use with a range of valuable tools. Among the highlights are easy to create charts with status updates and a wide range of support options.

The 10 Best Project Management Tools

We’ve reviewed some of the best project management software options out there so you can find the right one for your business.

Asana logo

Asana

$0 to $30.49

4.4

There are few project management platforms that tend to show up a lot, Asana being one of the most common. It’s not just a coincidence. Asana is easy to use and offers some of the best project management tools available. It can work for small teams or scale to larger companies.

One of the most useful tools to the average project manager may be the Status Update feature. With it, you can easily generate graphics detailing project progress, workload, and a number of other key factors. You can also share them with team members, clients, or whoever you choose.

Bottom Line:

While a bit more expensive than some options, Asana can help keep control of even the most complex projects. Read our Asana review to learn more about its features and pricing.

  • Automatically generate attractive graphs and charts
  • Easy to use
  • Large library of tutorials, courses, and other support docs
  • Relatively expensive
Trello logo

Trello

Free to $12.50

4.2

Visit

Many people may be more familiar with another Atlassian project management offering, Jira. Trello isn’t as heavyweight an app, primarily offering a Kanban-style board with some additions. It might work best for small project teams that follow an Agile approach, but don’t need all the bells and whistles to keep things organized.

The features Trello does offer are useful and make it easy to see a project’s status at a glance. In particular, automations are easy to use and set up. 

Bottom Line:

Trello offers a streamlined project management app suited for small projects.

  • Kanban board-based design
  • Labels help organize at a glance
  • Easy to use automations
  • Limited tools
Wrike logo

Wrike

Free to $24.80

4.0

Wrike just updated their interface, moving more information to the default view. As a result, you can see your inbox, list of to-dos, and current tasks all without clicking a button. It may sound overwhelming, but it’s actually nicely arranged in an easy-to-understand format.

Otherwise, Wrike follows a pretty standard model for online project management software. There are plenty of reporting options, including resource management, project planning, and tracking time. One nice Wrike feature is the ability to track time to specific tasks, making this the best project management software with time tracking on our list.

Bottom Line:

Wrike is well designed, with lots of useful features, though on the more expensive side. Read the Wrike review if you’re interested in this software.

  • Easy to navigate
  • Customizable reports
  • Track time on specific tasks
  • Pricey
Clickup logo

ClickUp

Free to $29

4.0

ClickUp is loaded with a number of helpful task management features, including native time tracking on tasks. One nice feature is the ability to create collaborative docs and wikis within the app, building a knowledge base for your project. 

Options for collaboration include proofing and document editing, and recording videos in-app. Other features are fairly standard for project management software, including project templates, task management, tracking, and analytics. To know more about its pricing and features, check out our ClickUp review.

  • Lots of support options
  • Create a wiki for your project
  • Onboarding guides and services
  • Limited uses of some features on lower tiers
Monday logo

monday.com

$0 to $20

3.8

Monday is one of the better-known and well-established project management apps out there. It offers a number of features like to-do lists, collaborative documents, and task assignments that can help keep complex projects organized. There are also options for communicating with team members either in groups or across your organization. 

However, a lot of useful features are reserved for more expensive tiers, like unlimited users, integration, dependencies, and others. While it may seem less expensive than a competitor like Asana, you’ll actually pay about the same for similar levels of service. As a result, it probably makes the most sense for larger teams that both need and can afford those costs.

Bottom Line:

Monday.com offers high-quality, if standard, features for a slightly higher cost. Read the monday.com review if you’re interested in going for this tool or the Monday vs Asana article.

  • Well established
  • Lots of useful tools
  • Multiple ways to view info
  • Useful tools reserved for costlier plans
Hive logo

Hive

$0 to $16

3.5

Hive has a reasonably simple interface, though as with most project management tools, there is a learning curve. The basics include assigning ‘actions’ and mapping out deadlines with Gantt charts. There is also a collaborative document that can be used for brainstorming and to-do lists, among other things. 

Additional features can be added with apps and integrations. The number of integrations is quite small, but the ones on offer connect painlessly to your workspace.

The downside may be the pricing structure. There’s only the free Solo plan, paid Teams plan, and the Enterprise plan. Some Enterprise features can be added to a Teams subscription ala carte, and there is a small additional fee for each one. That could allow you to tailor your cost to your budget, but also pressure your project manager to do without and save money.

Bottom Line:

Hive is a nice platform with an unusual pricing structure, but a great advantage is that you can pay for individual services to tailor features to your needs.

  • Tracking time options included
  • Lots of features included with Hive Solo
  • Tools for deliverable proofing and approval
  • Complicated pricing structure
Microsoft Teams logo

Microsoft Teams

Free

3.4

Microsoft is ubiquitous in the business world, which can make using their product a no-brainer. While the brand name can prompt a few rants, the approach to software is already very familiar to most people. However, Teams isn’t a set of desktop and online project management tools. Microsoft Project fills that slot. Instead, Teams is a platform for teleconferencing and collaboration.

Despite that, Teams can work as a PM platform, as it integrates with a lot of common tools and also provides storage for project data through OneDrive.

Bottom Line:

Teams is an industry-standard for collaborating with team members, but may not have all the features a business needs in a project management platform.

  • Easy to use teleconferencing
  • Screen sharing, file sharing, and transcripts
  • Part of Microsoft 365
  • Doesn’t offer a number of project management features
  • Focused on team communication
Flow PM favicon

Flow

$8 to $18

3.3

Several project management software options have updated their offerings in the last few years, including Asana and Wrike. Flow X, the newest iteration, was released in September 2021. It includes useful additional features like task priority and deadlines to help manage project timelines. Messaging and other new project management tools for collaboration have also been added.

Bottom Line:

Flow was once a personal productivity app that has grown into a full-blown project management platform.

  • Workload by employee, team, or company
  • Lower cost
  • 30-day free trial
  • No free tier
  • Fewer support documents
Roadmunk logo

Roadmunk

$19 to $129

3.0

Many other project management software options try to remain flexible, while Roadmunk specializes in product management. It offers project management tools focused for that type of business, including a portal for customer feedback and tools for prioritizing new ideas.

The software offers plenty of team collaboration features and schedule visualization tools. Project managers can rank tasks according to priority, and manage teams by assigning permission levels to each member. 

Bottom Line:

Roadmunk offers a complete project management system for creating, releasing, and updating software products.

  • Chrome extension
  • Tools for idea prioritization
  • Handles customer feedback
  • No mobile apps
  • Expensive
Confluence logo

Confluence

Free to $10.50

3.0

The standard, modern project management tool focuses on tasks and uses those as building blocks. It makes sense, but Confluence has a different take on how to manage projects. The project is the basic unit, with a page detailing the goal and steps along the way. Graphics, to-do lists, and other features are added to the page by team members with a range of easy-to-use tools.

For some teams, it might be a confusing way to work. However, it may work well for many projects, particularly creative tasks. 

Bottom Line:

Confluence takes a holistic view of a project that may work well for creative teams. Read our in-depth review on Confluence to find out if it’s the right choice for you.

  • Based on pages rather than tasks.
  • Spaces, sub-pages, and page trees keep things organized.
  • Easy to use automations.
  • Dedicated IP address.
  • Unusual format.

Key Features of a Good Project Management Tool

While the offer to help you manage unlimited projects is a little grandiose, comprehensive project management software can actually make successful projects more likely. All the features they offer can help you manage tasks, track dates, and allow project tracking in a way that once required a large staff and reams of paper. 

Most platforms put their attention on project tasks, but it’s how those tasks are used, discussed, and reported that makes a quality project management tool.

Team Management

Most project management tools focus on managing your team to some degree. Whether you’re trying to communicate with your entire team, assign tasks, or manage their time with resource allocation tools, figuring out how to best use their talents is what makes a project a success. 

Project Delivery Management

Managers often have to take a larger view, as part of their job may involve project portfolio management. As a result, tools that aid in project planning and balancing multiple projects are vital. 

Methodology Suitability

Agile development has taken over in many sectors of business, while in others, traditional project management will probably always be on top. Many organizations are embracing hybrid approaches of one sort or another. Whatever your preference, the best project management platform is one that offers features for the methodology you use.

Risk Management

Risk can mean different things, like issue tracking in the software development process or production delays in manufacturing. Whatever it means to your project, good project management tools don’t just track progress, they help interpret project details and understand the causes of risk.

Reporting

One of the most important project management features is the ability to display information in a clear, understandable way. Gantt charts are often just the start. A quality project management tool can help you understand project progress, resource use, and a host of other factors that are required for informed decision-making. 

Perhaps even more importantly, good reporting tools help you communicate those factors to stakeholders and team members. 

Finance Management

Perhaps surprisingly, many project management platforms don’t include specific tools for expense tracking, billing, and other financial tasks. In many cases, it’s possible to use different project management tools instead. However, you may find that some platforms integrate with financial tools that you already use, making them more efficient and attractive options.

Collaboration and Communication

Good project management software in modern business requires far more than just task management. It is also often a key collaboration tool, serving as a meeting place and method of communication. Generally speaking, the more team collaboration tools a platform offers, and the easier they are for project team members to use, the better.

Integration With Other Apps

Even the right project management software, the perfect option for your needs, might not have every feature you’d like. The easiest way to pull in a new project management tool is often an integration. Additionally, you may find that some platforms work with apps you already use.

Usability

The ease of using a project management tool is obviously important, though a certain degree of complexity may be inevitable. Perhaps more importantly is whether the tool helps your team complete tasks by fostering team collaboration, reminding them of recurring tasks, and a host of other day-to-day features.

Support

The support offered by a platform is often an important factor for project managers to consider. Managing projects is hard when your PM software keeps going down. A team member flailingly trying to understand a feature is a drain on time and resources. Both ends of the support spectrum are important to keep in mind.

Privacy

Great project management software isn’t so great if your information isn’t secure and under your control. In an age of cloud computing, adequate security is important to everyone.

Choosing the Best Project Management Tool

A project manager often has to use whatever online project management tool their company has chosen. However, when you get the chance to make that decision, follow a few simple steps to find the best project management tools for you:

  • Shortlist features that are important for you
  • Define what good project management is for your team
  • Consider costs and fees

Shortlist Features That Are Important for You

A good project management app will have the features that meet your team’s needs. The best tool for software development teams may not be the best project management software for startups, for example. The best construction project management software would probably be different than either of those.

Define What Good Project Management Is for Your Team

Project managers often have their own approach to problems and it’s important to find a platform that reflects that approach. Are you looking for an option for business process management software, or do you need help herding cats on a creative project?

Consider Costs and Fees

Consider the size of your team and your project planning needs. For individuals and smaller projects, the free plan for project management software tools may be all you need. There are also a range of price points for PM software, so look for one that meets your needs and budget.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best Project Management Tools

Conclusion: Best Project Management Tools

It would be nice if free project management software covered all the bases, but just about all of the most important tools come with a cost. Managing that cost and choosing the platform that fits your needs is the first step to successfully managing a project. 

The Ultimate monday.com Review – Pricing, Features & More

Monday.com logo

Work operating system (OS) monday.com is popular among companies because it improves the way teams manage and monitor projects. It focuses on project management, which is critical to the success of any business. 

monday.com is a potential option for you and your team if you wish to level up your project management methodology, especially if you need a user-friendly, customizable platform to complete multiple business projects. It is well known for its excellent collaboration and integration features.

This project management tool empowers you and your team to complete long-term and short-term projects in an organized, operational efficiency way. Learn about the product’s features, advantages, and disadvantages in this monday.com review.

Our Verdict

Monday logo

monday.com at a Glance

Free to  $22+ per seat/month

monday.com is an adobe creative cloud based OS which is mainly used for project management. Since it is code-free, it makes it simple for you to design workflow apps for your business. These apps can be used to handle your daily routines and responsibilities.

This tool includes workflow templates you can customize to manage your projects with ease. It reduces the manual work of your team by automating some of your key task management. Plus, this flexible platform may be adjusted based on the evolving needs of your business. You can even integrate it with well-known tools and apps to speed up your operations.

monday.com grants you the opportunity to collaborate with your team in a joint workspace. You can use it to track the time of your employees so you can motivate them to meet deadlines. The dashboards provide insightful data which gives you an overview of the progress of your multiple work projects.

monday.com is one of the best options in the global IT project and portfolio management market, a thriving industry which gained a total estimated revenue of $3.88 billion in 2019. At present, over 100,000 teams all over the globe use monday.com to streamline their work processes. After reading this monday.com software review, you can decide for yourself if this product is a perfect fit for your team or not.

  • Modern user interface (UI) is easy to use and navigate
  • Highly customizable features 
  • Ideal for managing ongoing work for multiple projects
  • Confusing pricing of plans
  • Slow customer support 
  • Best features only available with upper tiers of paid plans

Who monday.com Is Best For

monday.com is best for business teams, managers, and owners who want to become more productive and efficient in the workplace. It is recommended for you if you need to manage several long-term projects that are in progress, not just short-term projects. It can guide you in setting your group project goals and in planning how to achieve these goals through specific tasks. 

It is also advisable for you if you would like to establish a culture of openness and transparency among your employees because its multiple project view feature keeps everyone updated on the progress of the whole team. monday.com is a smart choice for you if you needa project management work OS that is easy to use yet feature-packed at the same time.

monday.com Pricing

monday.com offers five plans that vary in terms of pricing and features. Compare the different project management plans to find the right one that matches the budget and needs of your business.

Monday logo

Individual

Basic

Standard

Pro

Enterprise

Price

Free (Up to 2 seats only)

$6 per seat / month

$10 per seat / month

$22 per seat / month

Contact monday.com for pricing

Project Tools

  • Unlimited boards
  • Unlimited documents
  • Unlimited boards
  • Unlimited documents
  • Projects, viewers, and shareable forms
  • Unlimited boards
  • Unlimited documents
  • Projects, viewers, and shareable forms
  • Gantt charts
  • Unlimited boards
  • Unlimited documents
  • Projects, viewers, and shareable forms
  • Gantt charts
  • Unlimited private boards
  • Unlimited boards
  • Unlimited documents
  • Projects, viewers, and shareable forms
  • Gantt charts
  • Unlimited private boards
  • Tailored onboarding

Automations

N/A

N/A

250 actions every month

25,000 actions every month

Enterprise-scale automations

Integration Actions

N/A

N/A

250 actions every month

25,000 actions every month

Advanced integrations

Integration Compatibility

Android and iOS apps

Android and iOS apps

  • Android and iOS apps
  • Outlook or Gmail email
  • Google or Outlook  calendar
  • Android and iOS apps
  • Outlook or Gmail email
  • Outlook or Gmail  calendar
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Slack
  • Todoist
  • Android and iOS apps
  • Outlook or Gmail email
  • Google or Outlook  calendar
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Slack
  • Todoist
  • Salesforce
  • Jira

Analytics and Reporting

N/A

N/A

Basic analytics and reporting dashboards

Powerful analytics and reporting dashboards

Advanced analytics and reporting

Project Portfolio Management

N/A

N/A

Simple project portfolio management

Advanced project portfolio management

Advanced project portfolio management plus Premium Support

To be realistic, the pricing of monday.com can be slightly confusing because the monthly cost of each plan can fluctuate depending on how many team members will be using it. Make sure to read the terms thoroughly so you can properly compute the estimated cost if you are interested in subscribing to a plan.

Check out the summary of the monday.com packages so you can select the plan that works best for your business:

  1. Individual: It is ideal for professionals who wish to keep track of their individual work.
  2. Basic: This is suitable for teams who would like to collaborate on simple projects and shared weekly tasks.
  3. Standard: It is widely used among groups that require visual tools and automation for intermediate project planning and monitoring.
  4. Pro: We recommend this for teams that need professional and analytical tools and automation to manage complex projects.
  5. Enterprise: It’s best for teams that can benefit from enterprise-grade business workflows and analytics combined with Premium unlimited support.

monday.com Features

Let’s take a closer look at the key features of the work OS in this monday.com project management review. We will discuss the user interface, multiple project views, time tracking, customizable templates, integrations, customer support, automation, and customizable dashboards features of monday.com. 

User Interface

The UI of monday.com showcases building blocks which enables business teams to create or customize project plans in a visual way. It has adjustable tabs and color-coding options which let you organize your tasks into groups. Transferring and arranging data is a breeze because you can drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste content from table to table. Plus, this UI has a modern, trendy design that is aesthetically pleasing. 

Multiple Project Views

monday.com lets you view multiple projects at the same time so you can stay updated on your team’s progress. You can create a central timeline which gives you a handy overview of team members, activities, project details, deadlines, and milestones. The broad visibility options also make it possible for you to assess your projects through the Kanban board, Gantt chart, workload, or calendar.

Time Tracking

The time tracking feature of monday.com makes it possible for you to evaluate how much time each team member spends on specific tasks for particular projects.It can be used to measure boost productivity of employees in the office, but it is especially useful in gauging the efficiency of remote workers. This data can give you insight into how to streamline your work processes in the future.

Customizable Templates

The customizable templates are one of the foundational features of monday.com. You can adjust these ready-made guides for your business based on its size and type, as well as the industry you belong to. These templates can be helpful for various workflows, such as project management, marketing, design, software development, HR, sales professionals, and CRM.

Personalized templates make it possible for you to organize your existing contacts, gain new leads, and monitor sales within one central location. These tools motivate you to conceptualize and brainstorm marketing and advertising campaigns through visual techniques. The templates also allow you to oversee your content initiatives through a single calendar.

Integrations

Integrations are one of the notable advantages of monday.com. Aside from being highly functional in its own right, it grants you the opportunity to tap into a vast pool of features of multiple software programs. Its ability to integrate with more than 50 different applications is crucial since you need the combined power of a variety of systems to start and complete work projects.

Connect monday.com to simple programs you use daily to complete basic office tasks, such as Google or Outlook calendar and Gmail or Outlook email. It can also sync with certain Android and iOS apps on your smartphone even when you are on the go. You can use it to coordinate with your team through Slack, Todoist, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, or Jira. Just take note that while basic integrations are available for all packages, advanced integrations are only accessible for plans with premium pricing.

Customer Support

monday.com offers 24/7 support to customers. Nevertheless, the speed of customer support may be considered as slow-paced by modern standards. On average, the support team of monday.com typically replies in less than an hour. However, you may need a quicker response because  technical difficulties can hinder your work productivity.

Automation

monday.com lets you save time by automating some of your work tasks. As soon as one of your team members submits a project idea, the approval group gets a notification. Once the project budget is approved, the project owner gets informed right away. Your entire team gets a notification when the due date finally arrives, while the project owner is alerted in case a task becomes overdue.

Customizable Dashboards

The customizable dashboards of monday.com can be tweaked according to the requirements of your business projects. You can gain insights and big picture through the data that is strategically displayed via the dashboards. You can transform these insights into concrete actions by making informed choices that are based on solid facts, not just on intuition. It will be more convenient for you to access your data by consolidating them into a single, secure platform.

monday.com Customer Reviews

Overall, monday.com has fairly positive customer reviews from G2 and TrustRadius. G2 reviewers commend it for its task prioritization, due dates, and project creation features, although they acknowledge its limitations in terms of critical path and resource allocation. TrustRadius reviewers approve of its board sharing and information sharing capacity, while pointing out its lack of features and adoption features for some apps.

Alternatives to monday.com

You might be interested in other alternatives to monday.com if you are looking for project management software with a lower pricing. Discover how monday.com stacks up to the competition.

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is a project management app that is suitable for business teams who need to manage simple and complex projects. monday.com has an edge over Microsoft Project because it is more affordable and it has more collaboration features.

Pricing: $10-$55 per user / month

Wrike

Wrike is a project management software that is appropriate for entrepreneurs that require a simple UI, accurate time tracking, and customizable feature sets. Wrike has a broad range of features like monday.com, but the work OS is less expensive than Wrike.

Pricing: Free to $24.80+ per user / month

ClickUp

ClickUp is aproductivity platform that is ideal for professional teams with team management who wish to simplify the way that they handle work anytime projects. ClickUp is a competitor to watch out for since it has more functions than monday.com, plus it has a lower pricing scheme too.

Pricing: Free to $19+ per member / month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for monday.com Review

Find out the answers to the most frequently asked questions about monday.com.

Bottom Line on monday.com Review

Overall, monday.com is a work OS with impressive project management features, although it has a few limitations as well. You and your business teams create workflow apps and may consider monday.com as a viable option if you are serious about enhancing the way that you manage and keep track of your multiple work projects. 

Trello vs Asana: Pricing, Features & Ease of Use Comparison

Trello vs Asana

It’s the clash of the titans as we weigh Trello vs Asana, two giants within the project management industry. If you’re searching for the right project management software, it’s virtually impossible to not come across the two. 

Trello and Asana are popular among a range of world-renowned companies. Both can be pretty attractive options with their remarkable user-friendliness and enticing free plans. This makes your choice all the much more difficult. But relax, we’ve done the research for you. Continue reading as we bring Trello vs Asana head-to-head to find which of the two is the better choice. 

Trello logo

Trello: Best for Kanban-style Project Management

Trello offers Kanban board-based project management where you can organize tasks and collaborate with your team with ease. It has a very simple and easy-to-use interface but it lacks advanced management features

Trello is a great choice if you want to visualize your project operations on a large board with multiple lists and cards. It offers a range of integrations as well as automation options to streamline managerial tasks. Creating automation rules is relatively easier too.

  • Very simple to use
  • Visual project progression
  • Easy to onboard new members
  • Offers basic management features
  • No financial management tools
  • Not viable for large projects

Pricing

  1. Free plan
  2. Standard plan starting at $5/user/month
  3. Premium plan starting at $10/user/month
  4. Enterprise plan starting at $7.38 to 17.50/user/month
Screenshot of Trello pricing plans
The Enterprise plan calculator gives you an accurate estimate of what it’ll cost for your company.
Asana logo

Asana: Best for Flexibility and Customization

Asana uses a basic, task-based approach to project management. It lets users manage their workflow with ease by dividing tasks according to themes and in time-related segments: Today, Upcoming, and Later.

Asana has a much broader feature set and is great for small teams following agile project management. It offers multiple management styles including task lists, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards. This project management software also comes with ready-made templates you can use to design your project and also lets you create custom templates.

  • Offers workload management
  • Smart project-focused interface
  • Various management features
  • No financial management tools
  • Assigns tasks to one user only
  • Steeper learning curve

Pricing

  1. Basic plan – free 
  2. Premium plan starting at $10.99/user/month
  3. Business plan starting at $24.99/user/month
Screenshot of Asana pricing plans
Asana’s features are worth the price tag.

Trello vs Asana – Pricing & Features Comparison 

Trello uses intuitive drag-and-drop functionality to move cards between lists and boards. You can comment on cards, assign them to users and automate functions with rules. It’s cheaper than Asana but lacks advanced management features. 

Asana, on the other hand, is a bit more expensive but its price is justified with the range of powerful features it comes with. It offers a great user experience, greater flexibility, and comes with basic reporting features. Being a complete project management suite, Asana trumps Trello in most departments.

Plan

Trello logo

Trello Free

Trello logo

Trello Standard

Trello logo

Trello Premium

Trello logo

Trello Enterprise

Asana logo

Asana Basic

Asana logo

Asana Premium

Asana logo

Asana Business

Price

Free

$5/user/mo

$10/user/mo

$7-17/user/mo

Free

$10.99/user/mo

$24.99/use/mo

Free trial

N/A

14-day

N/A

30-day

30-day

No. of users

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

15

Unlimited free guests

Unlimited free guests

No. of boards/projects

10 boards per workspace

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Ease of use

Easiest PM software to use. Intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Easiest PM software to use. Intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Easiest PM software to use. Intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Easiest PM software to use. Intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Easy to use. Has a powerful and refined interface.

Easy to use. Has a powerful and refined interface.

Easy to use. Has a powerful and refined interface.

Storage

Unlimited (10MB/file)

Unlimited (250MB/file)

Unlimited (250MB/file)

Unlimited (250MB/file)

Unlimited (100MB/file)

Unlimited (100MB/file)

Unlimited (100MB/file)

Kanban boards

Gantt charts

Calendar

Reports

Messaging

Time tracking

Color coding

Integrations

Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Adobe XD and 100+ others

Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Adobe XD and 100+ others

Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Adobe XD and 100+ others

Slack, Salesforce, Google Drive, Jira, Adobe XD and 100+ others

Jira, Zoom, Salesforce, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and 100+ others

Jira, Zoom, Salesforce, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and 100+ others

Jira, Zoom, Salesforce, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and 100+ others

Customer support

Online forum support

Phone and concierge support

Phone and concierge support

Phone and concierge support

Support Tickets

Support Tickets

Priority phone support

Winner: Asana – It takes the lead when it comes to advanced project management. Asana is a better project management software than Trello in terms of features, flexibility, customizability, and dependency management.

Asana vs Trello: Ease of Use

A smooth UX is crucial for any project management software. The software solution you choose should be easy to operate so that you and your team can get quickly down to the real deal. Asana and Trello are known for their amazing user experience. That’s probably why they’re at the top when it comes to the best project management software. But which of the two is easier to use?

Trello – Simplest Project Management Software

Experts consider Trello to be the easiest to use among the many project management software. Since it uses a highly intuitive Kanban board style, you can easily understand how everything works from the get-go. But that’s also because Trello doesn’t offer a lot of advanced features. One could say that its ease-of-use stems from its simplicity.

Example of a Trello board
Trello gives you an accurate visual representation of your project’s progression
Source: Trello

It’s easy to move cards around using the drag-and-drop function. Other features like comments, assigning users, and setting due dates are all easily accessible. When it comes to automation, Trello attempts to simplify its architecture so everyone can create custom rules. But that’s not always the case, as there’s a limit to what you can automate. 

Asana – Incredible UX with Powerful Features

It’s not easy to combine advanced management features with an easy-to-use interface. But that’s exactly what Asana has managed to do. It uses a traditional project management software layout but makes sure users can use all functions with little or no training.

Asana User interface
A power-packed interface.
Source: Asana

Asana puts much more effort into keeping things simple and smooth. It’s not as visually-oriented as Trello, but it tries to keep things as it gives you a range of task management views to select from when planning your project. This makes it convenient for managers who want to work on different projects. 

Winner: Trello – a great tool for beginners and simple projects. 

Trello vs Asana: Dependency Management

This is a crucial feature for you if you want to follow the waterfall methodology with your project. Some projects require tasks to be completed in chronological order. This means you can’t start on the next task before the previous one is complete.

Trello Dependency Management

Trello doesn’t do very well in this department. It doesn’t have a built-in feature to manage task dependencies. You can add a dependency management feature to your Trello boards with a power-up (integration), Hello Epics. But this comes at an additional cost.

Asana Dependency Management

Dependency management is an area where Asana works better than Trello because you can specify which tasks need to be completed before others can begin.

Screenshot of Asana dependency management
Asana lets you draw dependencies between tasks.
Source: Asana

The timeline view helps identify any bottlenecks or problems where people are idle waiting for other tasks to get done. Asana actually lets you organize these dependencies to solve such problems.

Winner: Asana – Asana has built-in dependency management features while Trello doesn’t. 

Trello vs Asana: Project Management Views

Project management views offered by the software matter a lot when you have a specific management style. Ideally, you should be able to switch between different views to suit different projects.

Trello PM View

Trello’s free and standard plans offer the traditional Kanban board view only. You can add additional views with power-ups but at an additional cost. The premium and enterprise plans offer a range of management views including dashboard, timeline, workspace table, calendar, workspace calendar, and map views. 

Asana PM View

Asana offers a greater range of built-in project management views with its free plan. You can visualize your project with a board view, list view, or calendar view in the basic plan. The premium plan comes with a timeline view, forms view, and a few others. 

Winner: Asana – It has a range of PM views while Trello offers a Kanban board view only.

Asana vs Trello: Integrations

3rd party integrations are of core importance when evaluating a cloud-based service. The better it integrates with the software you already use, the more useful it is for you. Let’s see how Asana and Trello match up in terms of integrations. 

Trello Power-Ups

Trello integrates with other software tools through Power-Ups. It has recently made its Power-Ups unlimited to all users. With more than 130 integrations with different apps, Trello lets you streamline your work operations. Some of its most popular integrations include Jira, Time Tracker by TimeCamp, Crumble, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Google Drive, and Slack.

Screenshot of Trello Power-ups page
Oh! There’s an Asana + Trello Power-Up too!
Source: Trello

Trello’s Power-Ups often come at an additional cost which keeps adding up to the total project management cost.

Asana Integrations

Asana integrates with more than 200 apps. These cover a range of software categories including productivity, communication, finance, reporting, and human resources. Some of the most popular Asana integrations are Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, Vimeo, and Canva.

Visual representation of Asana integrations
Asana has plenty of integration options.
Source: Asana

Winner: Tie – Both Trello and Asana have a healthy number of integrations with different apps. 

Trello vs Asana: Sharing & Collaboration

Sharing and collaboration are what project management tools are built for. The right software should let all members of your team collaborate with ease. It should also let you share your project with guest users in case you want clients to be able to monitor the progress.

Trello

Trello gives you a basic collaboration ability. It lets you assign tasks to users and add comments to cards. The comments feature lets all members of the team participate in co-creating a deliverable. You can also add an unlimited number of users to a board even if you have the free plan. 

You can also invite an unlimited number of guests to your Trello boards. But a lot of users or guests is not always practical because there’s a limit to what Trello can handle. It’s not a great management software for larger, more complex projects so you might never need more than 10-15 members on board. 

Asana

Asana’s free plan lets you work with a maximum of 15 users with the basic plan. You’d have to purchase the premium plan if you need to add more members. It lets you share your entire team and projects externally. The premium and free plans let you add unlimited free guests and reporting across multiple projects to easily share progress reports with clients. 

Winner: Asana – It lets you share and collaborate on a larger scale than Trello.

Trello vs Asana: Customer Service

Although both management tools are pretty easy to use and there’s very little chance you’d find yourself stuck while using them, customer service is still an important factor. A responsive customer support team matters, no matter what software you’re using. 

Some teammates may find it tough to use specific features such as automation rules on Trello or syncing another app with Asana. You wouldn’t want your work operations to come to a halt just because you can’t seem to figure out how a feature works and the support team is taking too long to respond. 

Trello Customer Support

Trello has an online forum for free users. While the forum is a valuable resource, it’s not always the quickest way to find a solution. Paid users get phone and concierge support to get their issues resolved by the support team and are only available during office hours, Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

Asana Customer Support

Free and Premium users can get in touch with the customer service team through support tickets. This means you submit a form or email to communicate your issue and this is not always the fastest option. Only enterprise users get priority phone support

Winner: Tie – Both Trello and Asana’s customer service teams have a similar performance. 

Customer Reviews

Customers are always a great source of information when reviewing a project management software. Customer reviews give you first-hand information on what a software is good at, where it needs improvement and how it has helped their team. Here’s a brief overview of Trello and Asana’s customer reviews from some of the top software reviewing platforms. 

Trello Customer Reviews

Trello scores a healthy 4.4/5 average rating for its 12,500 reviews on G2, and an 8.4/10 with 2000+ reviews on TrustRadius. A vast majority of customer reviews share positive feedback on the software, especially for its interface and ease of use. 

Asana Customer Reviews

Asana has a 4.3/5 with 8000+ reviews on G2 and a TrustRadius score of 8.5/10 with 1800+ reviews. Although it hasn’t been as widely reviewed as Trello, we can consider the customer reviews to be a tie among the two. Customers mostly praise Asana for its ease-of-use, flexibility, and team management features.

Winner: Tie – Both Trello and Asana share similar customer review scores. 

Trello & Asana Alternatives

Wrike gives you greater customizability and works for all types and sizes of businesses. It offers a wide range of project management features. Its price may be a bit higher, but the functionality is worth it. This in-depth review on Wrike summarizes all you need to know about it.

  • Specialized marketing, creative, and services delivery team packages
  • Offers in-built time tracking 
  • Analytics tool generates charts automatically
  • Costlier than other PM software
  • Templates can’t remove all options
  • Can’t prioritize tasks

Pricing

  1. Free version.
  2. Professional Plan: $9.80/user/month.
  3. Business Plan: $24.80/user/month.
  4. Enterprise Plan: Inquire for price.

ClickUp is a leading project management platform. It suits teams of all sizes and is excellent for those working remotely. You can create spaces for different projects with ease and add teams to them accordingly.

  • Lower cost
  • Better support options
  • Free version offers a lot of features
  • Slows down when you use too many ClickApps 
  • Complicated interface
  • Lacks workflow management

Pricing

  1. Free
  2. Unlimited: $5/user/month
  3. Business: $12/user/month
  4. Business Plus: $19/user/month
  5. Enterprise: Inquire for price.

Microsoft Project is one of the oldest PM software out there. It has been the go-to management tool for many industry-leading companies for decades. But it’s not as easy to use. MS Project is best for experienced project managers.

  • Offers projections, baselines, and other features
  • Review all your projects at once
  • Advanced project management features
  • Expensive
  • Steep learning curve
  • Slow customer support

Pricing

  1. Plan 1:$10/user/month
  2. Plan 3: $30/user/month
  3. Plan 5: $55/user/month

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Trello vs Asana

Bottom Line on Trello vs Asana

Asana is a better project management software than Trello in terms of features, flexibility, customizability, and dependency management. Trello is much more limited in the management features its offers, but its simple Kanban board interface makes it a popular choice for beginners and simple projects. 

Choose Asana if you have a larger team and want to work on different projects with different management styles. The cost is a bit higher but its features compensate for it. On the other hand, if you prefer visual organization and like a board-based management style, Trello can prove to be an excellent choice.