15 Best Project Management Software for 2024

If you’re managing projects and aren’t using software to help you plan, organize and track projects and communicate with your teams and stakeholders, you’re doing it wrong. If you’re unsure where to get started or which platforms to trust, our best project management software guide is for you.

Last Updated: 17 Aug'24 2024-08-17T17:29:28+00:00

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Key Takeaways: What Is the Best Project Management Software?
  1. monday.com — Simply the best project management software for most teams, thanks to a gorgeous interface, easy-to-use tools and affordable plans.
  2. ClickUp — The best choice for remote teams with robust real-time collaboration tools, powerful task management features and many project templates.
  3. Asana — An effective project management platform that’s built to connect with over 200 other apps, and it also offers one of the best free plans in the business.
  4. Zoho Projects — An easy-to-use and well-rounded platform that’s intuitive, affordable and expandable thanks to many first-party integrations.
  5. Trello — The best free project management software tool for large Agile teams who like using kanban boards to manage projects.
  6. Jira — The best software for software and product developers thanks to its kanban boards and backlog management tools.
  7. Wrike — Do-it-all project management software with plenty of task tracking tools and robust security and administration options that make it ideal for scaled projects.
  8. nTask — A wallet-friendly project management suite with tools for planning, organizing, tracking and scheduling.
  9. Leantime — The best software for leaders who need resource and project management tools, plus blueprints for planning simple and complex projects.
  10. Notion — The best software for managers and teams working in content creation fields, thanks to powerful real-time collaboration tools.
  11. Airtable — A highly customizable project management software suite that allows managers to create workflows for multiple projects.
  12. Smartsheet — Brings spreadsheets into the 21st century with powerful coding and task tools that are ideal for many project management methodologies.
  13. TeamGantt — Gorgeous, easy-to-use Gantt charts make this suite ideal for teams who use traditional project management methods like Waterfall and the Critical Path Method.
  14. Basecamp — One of the best project management platforms for teams who need extensive communication and planning tools.
  15. Freedcamp — An easy-to-use platform with simple tools that’s ideal for small teams who are new to project management.

I Tested Every Project Management Tool | 2024 Top 5 Project Management Apps

I Tested Every Project Management Tool | 2024 Top 5 Project Management Apps

Projects can be hard to manage, with their many variables and moving parts. Fortunately, project managers these days don’t have to use paper or whiteboards to manage jobs thanks to software that can help plan, organize and track progress. In this roundup, we’ll share the best project management software to use for your next project.

Below, you’ll see that we have listed the best project management platforms for modern managers. We cover what they can do, the tools on offer, how easy they are to use and how much they cost. We know you’re eager to see our recommendations, so we’ll jump right in and help you pick the right project management software for your team.

Meet the experts

Brett Day ( Writer, Editor )

Brett Day is an accomplished project management expert, with over a decade of experience in retail management, leading projects for major retailers like CVS, Old Navy, and Kohl’s. His proficiency in project planning and process improvement is augmented by a Six Sigma White Belt certification, demonstrating a commitment to enhancing business strategies and workflow optimization. With 13 years of writing experience, Brett’s insights have been featured on platforms like Yahoo and SmartBrief, highlighting his expertise in technology, software and strategic execution.

Aleksander Hougen ( Co-Chief Editor )

Aleksander Hougen, the co-chief editor at Cloudwards, is an expert in project management, specifically within the realms of software project management and technology. With a Bachelor’s and a Postgraduate Certificate in Software Engineering, he is adept at project planning, risk management, and efficiency optimization. His keen insights into Agile methodology and Scrum framework have shaped his approach to managing complex digital projects. His work as Cloudwards’ managing editor is informed by his deep understanding of the project lifecycle and resource allocation.

04/25/2023 Facts checked 06/05/2024 Facts checked

Cloudwards Editor’s Choice: monday.com

Our team of experts picked monday.com as the best project management software. monday.com is one of the easiest project and task management tools to use, thanks to its intuitive user interface and fluid tools that suit many work styles. Add a great list of integrations, powerful automations and affordable plans, and you have a strong project management suite.

You can try monday.com’s free plan, but we recommend using monday.com’s free trial of the Standard plan to utilize its best features.

How to Master Project Management
Even if You're New to the Field

How to Choose the Best Project Management Tool: Our Methodology

Our team of experts has spent countless hours testing project management software platforms that are used by small businesses and large enterprises. As we use the software, we carefully grade the platform’s features and how the software performs in critical areas before thoughtfully assigning each category a weighted score. Below are the categories we grade.

Features: We make sure that the software offers managers the views they need to track project progress, plus the tools needed for team collaboration, budgeting and resource allocation, risk management, task planning and more.

Pricing: We look closely at each platform’s plans and ask ourselves if there are robust free plans and paid plans that provide excellent value for money. We compare each platform’s plans against competing software before awarding a score.

User-friendliness: A project management suite that is supposed to help is no good if it’s challenging to use. We test every tool and feature, and spend lots of time with the software to see if the designers have created a user-friendly platform.

Security and Privacy: You can’t be too careful with data, so we dig deep into each piece of software to see what security and encryption tools are in place and what end-user security options are available. We also read every word of each platform’s privacy policy to see if they can be trusted with your data.

Customer Support: We ensure each platform has a support network to help customers in need. We check to see what contact options are available. We send help requests to see how long it takes to receive a response, and we thoroughly investigate help centers and knowledgebases to ensure they have the articles needed to help end users in a bind.

The 15 Best Project Management Tools

Now you know what we look for in project management software and what we grade it on, it’s time to dive into the meat and potatoes of this roundup. Below, we’ll cover the top 15 project management platforms for project managers.

1. monday.com — Best All-In-One Platform for Most Teams

monday dashboard

More details about monday.com:

monday.com is the best project management system for most teams, thanks to its friendly user interface. The tools — like the kanban boards, calendars, lists, Gantt charts and dashboards — are simple yet powerful due to the wealth of project information they can display. File uploads are easy to manage, and project portfolios help managers organize projects with ease.

Additionally, monday.com offers a knowledgebase that features easy-to-read articles, a community forum and the monday.com academy that offers various courses and classes, which again enhances the platform’s usability. Security and privacy are also excellent, especially in the medium to high-tier plans. Overall, monday.com is a robust platform that project teams will enjoy using.

monday.com Hands-On Testing: Features & Integrations

monday automations

Users will have no problems with monday.com thanks to well-designed menus, tools and templates that make managing projects easy. There are integrations and automations that can take care of time-consuming jobs, and they’re effortless to activate. If you want to hit the ground running, monday.com is the platform for you.

monday.com Pricing & Value

monday.com’s free plan is not great, and the Basic plan offers far too little for the price. However, monday.com excels when you move into the $12 per user per month (billed yearly) Standard plan and the $19 per user per month (billed annually) Pro Plan. You can use monday.com’s 14-day free trial and a pro-rated 30-day money-back guarantee. You can learn more in our monday.com review.

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