How These Top 10 Project Management Tools Can Help You Streamline Your Workflow

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for project management specialists is predicted to grow by 7% between 2021 and 2031. It’s no surprise, then, that several aspirants want to enter this promising field. What every project manager needs, however, are the right tools to get the job done efficiently. And finding the right project management software for your team can be a challenging task, especially with the plethora of options available. To make your search a little easier, we have compiled a list of what we think are the top 10 project management tools for you to stay organized and for your team to stay on their tasks. 

In a world where remote work has become increasingly common and teams are spread out over vast geographical distances, a good project management software can mean the difference between teams working efficiently and total unorganized chaos. Project management software can help project managers and the team manage tasks, deadlines, and even budgeting. Let’s explore some of the best ones available on the market.

Types of Project Management Software

Before we get into the list of the top project management tools, it is important to know about the different types of project management software available in the market: 

1. Industry-Specific Project Management Systems

This software has been developed to reduce the customization needs of businesses upon choosing the tools. 

2. Integrated vs. Best-of-Breed Software

Best-of-breed applications specialize in a specific functionality such as task management or scheduling. On the other hand, integrated suite applications combine several functions like task scheduling, creating Gantt charts, and time tracking.

3. Free Project Management Solutions

Free software is usually available for home use or very small teams handling a few projects.

4. On-Site Project Management Software

On-site project management software is present on the company’s in-house servers and is managed by their IT employees. Companies purchase licenses for this software to be used on-site.

5. Online Project Management Software

Online project management software can be accessed as software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions using any Internet-connected device. 

ALSO READ: Interested in Project Management? You Need to Read These 5 Books

Top 10 Project Management Tools

Here is our list of top 10 project management tools, each bringing something different to the table. We will be exploring their features, advantages, disadvantages, and pricing. Consider each to make the best decision for your business.

1. Asana

Asana is a dynamic online project management software that helps you map out every minute detail of your project. 

Features:

• Has a Gantt-style view, the most common graphical representation used for project schedules
• Notifies employees in their personalized inbox
• Generates detailed progress reports

Pros:

• Provides project timelines 
• Offers several integrations
• Has a drag-and-drop functionality for tasks 

Cons:

• Free version is extremely restricted 
• Not meant for complex projects 

Pricing:

Free to $24.99 per month per user.

2. Teamwork

Teamwork is one of the best project management tools for teams working on client projects. 

Features:

• Unlimited clients can be added
• Progress tracking for teams 
• Visual representation options

Pros:

• Highly customizable
• Great invoicing tool
• Very user-friendly mobile app

Cons:

• Not great for complex projects
• The free plan is only good for small teams

Pricing:

Four types of plans are available—the Free plan, the Starter plan, which is $5.99 per month per user, the Deliver plan, which is $9.99 per month per user, and the Grow plan, which costs $17.99 per user per month.

3. Jira Work Management

Jira is an excellent tool which can accommodate every team in your business, including marketing, HR, finance, etc.

Features:

• Allows you to create and manage unlimited tasks
• Standardizes multiple options using automation
• Available as an open source for a few projects

Pros:

• Free for up to 10 people
• Easy to use

Cons:

• Limited number of software integrations
• Challenging to set up

Pricing:

A Free plan is available. Standard plans cost $7.75 per month per user. Premium plans cost $15.25 per month per user. Enterprise plans are also available and cost a minimum of $134,000 annually.

4. Monday.Com

Monday.com is an award-winning online project management tool that is good for projects that include resource and project management, time tracking, and reporting features.

Features:

• Great analytics and reporting
• Centralized communication and document management system
• Integrations like Dropbox and Google Drive

Pros:

• Custom integrations
• Detailed reporting capabilities
• Can add freelancers and third-party agents

Cons:

• Not good for complex projects
• No free version
• Poor mobile app

Pricing:

The Basic pricing model is $8 per month for each user; the Standard one is $10 per month for each user, and the Pro is $16 per month per each user.

5. Basecamp

It is one of the most popular project management tools that is especially suited for remote working.

Features:

• Message boards and to-do lists
• File storage
• Simple interface

Pros:

• Easy collaborations
• Customizable notifications
• Free plan

Cons:

• Pricing is not ideal for small teams
• No drag-and-drop user interface (UI) capabilities

Pricing:

Basecamp offers two plans—a free Personal plan and a $99 per month plan for Businesses.

6. Freedcamp

It is an intuitive project management tool popular in industries including architecture, interior design, IT, retail, telecommunications, etc. 

Features:

• Offers Gantt charts
• Large tasks can be split into subtasks
• Shared file management

Pros:

• Great UI
• Can be integrated with email
• Free plan 

Cons:

• Poor mobile experience

Pricing:

Freedcamp offers four plans: Free, Pro at $2.49 per month per user, Business at $8.99 per month per user, and Enterprise at $19.99 per month per user.

7. Wrike

Wrike is a project management tool that helps users collaborate better and contains several communication, collaboration, and document management tools.

Features:

• Tasks can be synced to Google Calendar and iCalendar
• Visual timelines using Gantt charts
• Provides clients with up-to-date information

Pros:

• Better task management
• Improved transparency
• Free plan for unlimited users

Cons:

• Mobile app needs to be updated
• Not user-friendly for beginners

Pricing:

Wrike has five tiers to choose from. Free gives unlimited users access to a limited number of features; Team, which is $9.8 per month for up to 25 members, and Business, which is $24.8 per month for up to 200 members. They also offer Enterprise and Pinnacle tiers. You can contact Wrike to find out about their pricing details.

8. Kantata

Kantata is a project management tool that is popular amongst professional service firms and helps users maximize resources across all projects.

Features:

• Real-time resource management
• Project portfolio view
• Time tracking

Pros:

• Offers integrated accounting and financial tracking
• Project transparency is improved
• Several third-party integrations

Cons:

• Needs a simpler UI
• Needs an issue management feature

Pricing:

Kantata offers a free trial and pricing starts from $59 per month.

9. Zoho Projects

This project management tool for businesses of all sizes is based on several third-party integrations. 

Features:

• Time tracking 
• Resource management 
• Team collaboration tools

Pros:

• Free plans for small teams
• Interactive Gantt chart
• Automated notifications

Cons:

• Requires additional templates

Pricing:

Free for up to three users. Their Premium plan is $4 per user per month billed annually for up to 50 users and their Enterprise plan is $9 per user per month billed annually.

10. HubSpot

HubSpot is an all-in-one Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool that provides a variety of features, ranging from marketing to sales, support, and project management.

Features:

• Collaboration boards
• Customer database
• In-depth analytics

Pros:

• Great dashboard
• Email tracking
• Easy to use

Cons:

• Random crashes
• Poor automation

Pricing:

It has a Professional Plan which starts at $800 per month, and an Enterprise plan which starts at $3,600 per month per user.

ALSO READ: What is Project Management and How to Become a Successful PM

How to Choose the Best Project Management Software

Ensure the project management tool you choose has the following offerings: 

• Advanced features
• Great user interface
• Online access
• Flexibility
• Safety
• Third-party integrations
• Good pricing

While our top 10 project management tools will help you streamline your workflow, there is more to it than just the software you choose. You will need the right skills to ensure that you can lead your team effectively. Check out some of the top project management courses from Emeritus to level up your skill set. 

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