Whether you are working on a multifaceted project with a small team of coworkers or dozens across several departments, you need a way to make sure everyone is on task. In addition to evaluating services based on ease of use, features, and value, we also consider what kinds of teams or projects work best for each. Our Editors’ Choice winners are great for beginners, Teamwork for client-based work, and Zoho Projects for growing teams. But those aren’t our only top choices, so read on to figure out which works best for you. And note that not everyone needs an expensive project management app. If your team focuses on work that isn’t very complex or intertwined, you can save a lot of money and get a better tool by looking at the best project management software instead.
What Is Project Management Software?
Project management software, sometimes called PM software, is a type of online collaboration tool. All the people working on a project log in and see what they’re supposed to do and when. These workers also record their progress on those tasks and add relevant details, such as notes about any changes. With the appropriate permission level, people can also learn more about what everyone else is doing, what requirements must be met for them to get it done, and when.
For the project manager and any stakeholders, the project management app gives a clear overview of each project’s progress, including the work breakdown structure within each project when relevant. Are all the tasks on track to finish on time? If one task is late, how does it affect the projected deadlines of other tasks and deliverables? Is someone available to pick up an urgent task if the person assigned to do it is ill? Furthermore, if the project management app supports tracking finances, the app will also tell the people in charge whether the project is running on budget.
1. Trackeach
Trackeach is a Trac Cloud Service Provider. We have also enhanced and extended Trac. Track, manage and update everything out of the box at one single place.
Trac was first released in 2006. Not much younger than JIRA, Trac is an open source project management and an issue tracking system that has been adopted by a number of organizations, including WordPress, OpenStreetMap, and Django. It uses a minimalistic approach to web-based software project management and has an integrated wiki and convenient reporting facilities.
Issues in Trac are referred to as “tickets,” and Trac’s ticket management system can be adopted for defect management as well. The online collaborative track platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere!
2. Teamwork
Why We Picked It
Before Teamwork became focused on organizations that take on client work, it was already a superbly designed project management platform. If you are new to project planning, you could spend a bit of time using Teamwork and watching some of its excellent video tutorials to learn enough to use it in practice.
Who It’s For
If your small business takes on projects for clients, then Teamwork is one of the best project management apps you’ll find. It comes with billing and invoicing included, so it’s easy to track hours worked on a project and know what to bill.
3. GanttPro
Why We Picked It
With reasonable pricing, an interface that anyone can learn to use, and a good balance of features, GanttPro is one of the best project management tools. We also appreciate that it includes custom fields for tasks, a kanban board view, a critical path feature, and a save history that allows you to do multiple undos.
Who It’s For
GanttPro is one of the best project management apps for beginners. That also means it’s an excellent pick for teams, especially small teams, that need to organize work and get projects done when they don’t have a dedicated project manager on staff. However, GanttPro does not have customizable reports and dashboards that larger teams may need.
4. Wrike
Why We Picked It
Wrike is a powerful tool not only for project management but also for use as collaboration software. Now owned by Citrix, Wrike supports team collaboration, work management, and project management. It continues to grow by adding new work intelligence features that can, for example, predict when a project is at risk of falling behind and call attention to possible causes.
Who It’s For
Wrike has a few paid plans targeted to very specific types of teams, namely marketing, creative industries, and professional service teams. Wrike is very good at what it does, so long as you put in some time to pick the right plan and learn its features—expect to work with Wrike’s customer support on this process, rather than merely paying for an account and setting up the app on your own. In that sense, Wrike is for larger teams that have the time and resources to dedicate at least one person to work with Wrike during setup.
5. Smartsheet
Why We Picked It
If you’re willing to put in the time to learn what Smartsheet can do and customize it to your needs, it’s very powerful. It might become your go-to tool not only for project management but also for other collaborative business.
Who It’s For
Smartsheet is the project management app for people who like to increase productivity through automations. That means you’re willing to put in the time to set up “if this, then that” type commands that Smartsheet carries out for you automatically. For example, you might have an automation that says, “When someone marks a task as blocked, and the task status is ‘in progress’ or ‘for review,’ then alert the person assigned as the manager for that task.” Most other project management apps don’t have automation options built into them, though sometimes you can create them using third-party tools such as Zapier. One note about Smartsheet: Not all the tiers of service come with time tracking, budgeting, and resource management for free, though you can pay for the companion software that adds them.
6. Zoho Projects
Why We Picked It
We picked Zoho Projects as one of the best project management apps because it offers excellent value. It’s easy to set up and navigate, offers deep configuration options, and includes the option to track time worked. You can make your own project templates in Zoho Projects, but the app does not come with its own set of templates.
Who It’s For
Zoho Projects is a low-cost project management app with an array of helpful features, which makes it an attractive option for small and growing businesses. Its tiered pricing, with attractively low rates, is also targeted at organizations that are on a budget and those that expect to grow quickly.
7. TeamGantt
Why We Picked It
TeamGantt has lovely interactive Gantt charts that are incredibly easy to learn to use. The app has exceptional tutorial content to help you learn anything you don’t know. We also love a feature that automatically corrects any errors created among dependencies.
Who It’s For
TeamGantt is for beginners, because it’s so easy and intuitive to use. If you don’t know anything about Gantt charts, you will quickly and painlessly learn while using TeamGantt. We like this app best for small teams who may not have a dedicated project manager on hand. TeamGantt doesn’t have budgeting or invoicing tools, which is another reason it’s better suited to small teams rather than large ones.
8. ProofHub
Why We Picked It
ProofHub aims for simplicity without skimping on core project management features. It’s also competitively priced for small teams. This app is surprisingly easy to use, making it great for teams that don’t have dedicated project managers.
Who It’s For
ProofHub is a project management app for teams that include proofing stages as part of their workflow. In other words, if your team evaluates or critiques visual materials—whether ad campaigns or mobile app designs—ProofHub has tools that other project management apps lack to help you through those processes. More specifically, it has markup tools you can use to draw on PDFs and image files while you give feedback or otherwise collaborate on them with your team.
9. Celoxis
Why We Picked It
Celoxis is reasonably easy to use with a short setup time. Medium to large businesses will like that it includes time tracking, budgeting, and resource management tools. Celoxis offers two plan types, a cloud-hosted one and an on-premise option that comes with custom pricing. You need a minimum of five users for any plan type, and the company now provides custom price quotes for potential customers. It used to cost $25 per person per month, which is a good price. The company formerly sold the on-premise plan for a flat per-person-per-year rate but no longer does. We still believe Celoxis offers high value among project management apps for medium and large organizations.
Who It’s For
Celoxis is one of the best project management apps for medium and large organizations. This app provides ample reports and other tools that give decision-makers and business owners value. For example, you can use Celoxis to not only work most efficiently by adjusting project schedules, but also to forecast revenue.
The Best Project Management Tool for Your Team
Choosing the right project management software can take time, but it’s worth having as much nailed down as possible before rolling the solution out to an entire team. Project management apps typically have a significant setup cost. Even when they are simple to learn to use and let you import project data, it still takes time to fine-tune the app to do what you need it to do and then get everyone on board using it.
It’s also important to consider what kind of work your team does, how many people are in the organization, and how you want to run your business. There are a lot of excellent options to fit every budget.
With a reliable project management solution, people can collaborate more easily on project-based work. Small business owners and team managers can gain useful insights into how their teams work, whether projects are on track, and how to guide them back to success when they slip.