17 Free Project Management Tools to Try in 2024

Updated Aug 6, 2023.

Are you searching for the best free project management tools to help you achieve your goals?

Check these out.

Monday icon

Monday.com

Monday.com is the obvious tool for teams looking for a solution they can tweak to fit their unique workflows.
Clickup icon

ClickUp

ClickUp enables teams to work together and measure how their efforts contribute towards achieving project goals.
Teamwork Projects Icon

Teamwork

Teamwork is the ultimate project management tool for teams that need close collaboration with their clients.
Smartsheet icon

Smartsheet

Smartsheet provides enterprise teams with the ability to manage complex projects through a familiar interface.
Asana icon

Asana

Make project management easy with powerful features for tackling complex project requirements

Our work is supported by affiliate commissions.

Many free project management software tools have a bad rep. They either lack essential functionality or are too buggy to use.

Fortunately, there are free project management apps that are usable enough to run whole projects. This is possible because they give you all the core features for free.

Although they’re limited compared to their paid versions, these tools provide the project management features you need to plan and manage projects. They also enable you to track work progress and keep your team aligned.

What Are the Best Free Project Management Tools?

Most project management tools provide either of two things for free: a free forever plan or a free trial of the paid plan.

Although free trials are time-limited, considering their premium features, they can be useful in running a quick project with a client.

In this review, for every free project management tool discussed, we’ve indicated whether it offers a free plan, a free trial, or both.

Read on to know which of these tools is right for your needs.

1. Monday.com (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Software for Customized Workflows

Pros
  • Free tools for project risk management
  • File versioning system
  • Free version
Cons
  • Rigid pricing plan
  • Limited onboarding support
Monday icon
Monday.com
4.6
Editor’s Take

If you’re looking for a free project management app that you can customize to fit your working style, this is it. Monday.com is flexible and versatile enough to handle custom workflows while providing numerous templates to start and manage your team’s projects. Its collaboration features are also helpful for working with teams.

Best For
Customized workflows
Price
$0 – $16 per user per month
Annual Discount
18%

Monday.com is a project management tool that offers a free plan with unlimited docs and 200+ customizable templates.

With this free project management app, project managers can automate tasks, collaborate, and use analytics to optimize processes for increased profitability.

Monday’s free tool can also forecast project needs, track budgets and mitigate project risks.

Key Features

Workdocs

this free project management software enables users to create docs, collaborate on editing, and turn the text into action items. You can create workflows from these action items and delegate tasks from the doc. You can also assign document ownership, attach files, and tag teammates.

Work management platform

use one platform to organize all your work. Using Monday.com, you can monitor the progress of your projects on Kanban boards or a scrum board. You can also create custom workflows, build teams, integrate with third-party tools, and get real-time status updates.

Automation

eliminate repetitive work and improve productivity by using automation. You can create automations on the code-free platform and automatically notify team members of the tasks’ progress. You can also send reminders for due dates and track time to understand project performance.

Dashboards

Monday gives you a visual overview of your project’s progress using highly customizable dashboards. Project managers can monitor timelines, use charts to visualize trends, monitor their team’s capacity, and access any details they need.

Digital asset management features

make your digital assets easily accessible to facilitate collaboration. You can review asset briefs, manage edits using the versioning system, post comments on files, and control asset access and editing.

2. ClickUp (Free plan)

Best Free Project Management Tool for Team Collaboration

Pros
  • Unlimited tasks
  • Google workspace and slack messages integration
  • Free version
Cons
  • Can be slow
  • More customization options needed
Clickup icon
ClickUp
4.4
Editor’s Take

I love that ClickUp emphasizes team collaboration to achieve project goals. I was able to set up and organize goals inside folders and create automation rules to handle manual work. With the ability to create team goals and track measurable targets, this project management app proved perfect for cross-team collaboration.

Best For
Team collaboration
Price
$0 – $19 per user per month
Annual Discount
45%

ClickUp helps you create project forecasts and track progress in achieving goals.

With unlimited tasks, team sharing and mind maps, this free project management software easily powers your team for success.

You can set up conditions to automate repetitive tasks, use widgets to customize your dashboards, and review team performance.

Key Features

Collaboration

even without the paid version, team management and collaboration are possible. You can bring your team together to brainstorm ideas on whiteboards and create project workflows. Users can assign comments, share documents, invite clients to participate as guests, and communicate through email and real-time chat.

Goals

ClickUp helps you to define project goals and track them to stay focused. With the free version, project managers can share goals, organize them in folders, and have complete control over access. They can also visualize work progress using percentages and set up numerical, monetary, and true/false targets.

Automation

improve efficiency using ClickUp’s free project management tool by automating recurring tasks and processes. You can create and assign tasks, post comments, create 50+ automation actions, and include third-party apps in your automation rules.

Project planning and management

create project plans, communicate scheduled work using the Google calendar integration, and work with your team to achieve your goals. You can also create time estimates, define task dependencies, track time, and monitor workload to avoid burnout.

Reports

get an overview of your project’s progress on a Kanban view and dig into the data for insights. You can identify performance issues, monitor work progress, and use 50+ widgets to customize dashboards. And if you are an agile team, you’ll love ClickUp because it can help you manage sprints.

3. Teamwork (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Software for Collaborating With Clients

Pros
  • Powerful Google Chrome extension
  • Time-based automation triggers
  • Unlimited free client users
Cons
  • Limited customization
  • Limited mobile app functionality
Teamwork Projects Icon
Teamwork
4.2
Editor’s Take

Teamwork is my preferred project management solution for managing projects involving frequent client interactions. Such projects require either allowing clients to view progress or giving them room to provide input and direction. Whichever the case, Teamwork makes it possible to improve client satisfaction while keeping project costs at a minimum.

Best For
Client management
Price
$0 – $17.99 per user per month
Annual Discount
29%

Teamwork is a great client collaboration tool that allows you to invite an unlimited number of client users.

Using this free project management software, you can add deadlines to sub-tasks, re-distribute workload, @mention teammates in group chat, and track profitability.

Teamwork also offers features for creating sub-teams, filtering records, and saving projects as templates.

Key Features

Task management

create a task list from the project tasks, set due dates, and track progress using task views. Project managers can create and assign sub-tasks, and plan and distribute workload across high-performance teams. They can also set privacy rules, automate tasks, monitor progress using the Kanban view, and track time.

Client management features

Teamwork empowers you for maximum client collaboration and helps you improve business relationships. As a project manager, you can invite client representatives, onboard them using a template, and set access permissions.

Collaboration

increase transparency among team members and create custom workflows. You can @mention teammates in comments, re-distribute work, add task followers, and chat with individuals and teams.

Resource management

this premium feature allows you to allocate resources across multiple projects and proactively address resource availability challenges. You can track your team’s work, re-assign tasks, filter data, and create templates for effective resource management.

Reports

Teamwork helps you identify process bottlenecks and optimization opportunities. Project managers can report on project and portfolio profitability and monitor timelines on the calendar view. They can also track progress on Kanban boards and build customized dashboards.

4. Smartsheet (Free trial)

Best Free Project Management App for Enterprise Teams

Pros
  • Has project and work management features on one platform
  • Detailed reports
  • Customer-managed encryption keys
Cons
  • Non-intuitive user interface
  • Could take time to learn
Smartsheet icon
Smartsheet
4.1
Editor’s Take

Despite Smartsheet looking like an upgraded spreadsheet program, it has powerful project management features that make it ideal for enterprise teams. This tool can easily scale to handle large and complex projects while providing in-depth reports that help monitor progress. Moreover, you can build custom apps to help you successfully deliver your team’s projects.

Best For
Complex projects
Price
$7 – $25 per user per month
Annual Discount
21%

Smartsheet simplifies your project workflows through a familiar spreadsheet-like interface.

This free project management software lets users add conditional logic into web forms, track sheet changes, and publish dashboards.

With Smartsheet, you get a visual editor for developing automated workflows. You can also forecast project resource needs and use templates to build custom business apps.

Key Features

Project management

plan your project using tasks and sub-tasks and set dependencies to guide your workflow. Smartsheet lets you create Gantt charts, establish the project budget, and set expense thresholds. You can also create milestones, track project progress, and align different teams for timely project delivery.

Digital Asset Management

this free project management software empowers marketing teams to manage assets from a central location. As a project manager, you can search files by name and metadata, filter search results, and track the performance of shared assets.

Resource management

confidently build teams for current projects while forecasting future labor needs. Smartsheet can track teams across projects, allocate resources according to capacity and availability, and monitor time spent on tasks.

WorkApps

get everything you need to build custom no-code apps to solve project or business needs. You can build apps using templates, pull data from your sheets and reports, and brand the apps. You can also integrate WorkApps with third-party tools and use them on the web or as ios and android apps.

Reports

Smartsheet includes a powerful reports functionality that can analyze sheet data based on custom rules. You’ll be able to identify trends and patterns, review resource performance, and visualize real-time project information. You can also customize and share reports, review Jira issues, and limit access using permissions.

5. Asana (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Software for Small and Medium-sized Teams

Pros
  • Unlimited number of projects
  • Workload management features
  • Free version
Cons
  • No built-in time tracking feature
  • Limited report exporting functionality
Asana icon
Asana
4.0
Editor’s Take

Asana is a popular project management app with a simple user interface. It enables you to create tasks and easily start collaborating on projects of any size. From its long list of features, my favorite is the workflow builder. This feature empowers every team member to create processes and workflows that can be saved as templates.

Best For
Simplicity
Price
$0 – $24.99
Annual Discount
18%

Asana lets you create goals to guide your project work while easily managing incoming work requests.

Asana’s free plan gives you unlimited tasks and storage, and the ability to work with up to 15 teammates.

With this project management tool, you can create task priorities, share project files, and define metrics for tracking work progress.

Key Features

Project planning and management

Asana is great for creating project plans, breaking work down into tasks, and assigning responsibilities to your team. You can start with a project template, sync schedules on Google calendar, and easily manage work requests. You can also monitor work progress using list, timeline, and calendar views.

Reports

gain insight into work progress, resource utilization, and time spent on work. As a project manager, you can create and download charts, build custom dashboards, and identify patterns in unlimited projects. You can also review GitHub issues and get real-time updates to help you make smarter decisions.

Workflow builder

enjoy powerful features for organizing your work using workflows and identify areas of improvement. Team members can use this free project management tool to create processes, automate tasks, and save workflows as templates.

Task management

with Asana, you don’t need a paid version to create unlimited tasks and assign them. A project manager can set task priorities, set deadlines, create task lists, and track progress using the calendar view. You can also share files and provide feedback on documents.

Goals

define individual, team, and company goals for all your projects. Users can show team members their contribution towards achieving goals while monitoring progress using OKRs. The Goals feature also helps teams reduce conflicts and focus their efforts on improving team performance.

6. Wrike (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Tool for AI-driven Analytics

Wrike- Remove barriers find clarity, exceed goals

Wrike empowers you for project success using AI. It helps you manage project risks and increase efficiency through task templates and workflow automations.

This free project management software gives you unlimited users, smart replies, and OCR document processing.

You can plan your resource needs, track work progress on a Gantt chart, and balance workloads among team members.

Key Features

Workflow management

gain full visibility into your projects’ processes and automate recurring tasks for increased efficiency. Wrike is also an agile project management tool that enables you to design agile and waterfall workflows. You can auto-assign work requested through custom forms, monitor progress using Kanban boards, and manage unlimited projects.

Work Intelligence

leverage AI-driven data processing to identify project risks and implement recommendations. Wrike can create tasks and sub-tasks from your project plans and descriptions, define actionable steps, prioritize tasks, and extract text from notes.

Reports

monitor work progress and use insights to make better decisions. You can filter records, manage your teams’ workloads, and build custom dashboards to easily track the status of projects. You can also monitor project budgets and share project reports and Gantt charts.

Resource management

create labor forecasts to guide your staffing needs and track time spent on every task. Project managers can use Wrike’s free project management software to monitor resource allocation, evaluate team performance, and re-distribute work.

Task management

simplify your work by breaking it down into tasks and sub-tasks and organizing those tasks into folders. You can create personalized to-do lists, view tasks on a Gantt chart, set reminders, and monitor progress using a Kanban board.

Pros

  • Free version
  • AI-based insights
  • Mobile voice commands

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Customization needs improvement

7. Todoist (Free plan, Free trial)

Most Innovative Task Management Tool for Small Businesses Managing Simple projects

Todoist- Organize your work and life, finally

Todoist is a popular project management app loved for its simplicity and flexibility. It enables you to manage projects collaboratively, create new tasks from email, organize tasks using labels, and filter them for analysis.

For small teams, you can communicate using threads and one-on-one private messages.

You can customize Todoist to match your personality or the day’s mood.

Key Features

Task management

quickly engage your team in task creation and add due dates. Users can use Todoist to customize personal task views, organize tasks using labels, assign task priority, and filter through tasks.

Twist

Todoist is one of the best free project management apps for communication. It revolutionizes team collaboration by using threads to organize conversations. With this software, you get context for every conversation, different channels for every project or topic, and one-on-one private messages. You also get an inbox that manages all threads in a central location.

Boards

Todoist’s project management platform helps individuals and small businesses to collaborate on project planning. You can customize boards and show detailed project structures, drag-and-drop tasks between sections, and easily track work progress.

Workload management

improve efficiency and productivity by allocating tasks to team members. You can create shared projects, assign work to teammates, and sync task schedules on Google calendar. You can also engage using comments and get status updates and task completion notifications.

Reports

set project goals and track them using periodic reports. Todoist lets you monitor weekly and monthly progress, track goals, analyze account activity, and use trends to optimize your projects’ processes.

Pros

  • Voice notes
  • Very affordable
  • User-friendly interface

Cons

  • Unsuitable for complex projects
  • Basic project management features are only available in paid plans

8. TeamGantt (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Gantt Chart Software for Project Management

TeamGantt - Get a top-rated gantt chart for free, forever

TeamGantt proves that a Gantt chart is the most important tool you need to manage projects. This free project management tool is simple and enables you to plan your project resources.

You can monitor work progress using the calendar and Kanban board views.

For performance reviews, you can track time and share reports in PDF format or online links.

Key Features

Project management

manage projects from start to finish using Gantt charts and save custom workflows as templates. Project managers can import project data from CSV files, create task dependencies, and use filters to locate project updates. TeamGantt also provides the ability to manage multiple projects on a single Gantt chart.

Reports

check project performance by comparing your project plan to actual timelines and deliverables. TeamGantt’s project management solution enables users to analyze project data, monitor budgets, and export reports in CSV and PDF formats. Users can also monitor work progress using Kanban boards and share a link to the project’s Gantt chart.

Time tracking

monitor time spent on tasks and whole projects, and automatically calculate all your project hours. This tool will help you track worked hours by task or project, edit timesheets, and export time data in CSV format.

Collaboration features

collaborate as a team on more than one project at a time and share files. You can post project updates for everyone to see, chat with team members, and attach notes to individual tasks or projects. You can also add comments via ios and android apps.

Resource management

forecast your project resources needs and keep track of actual resource utilization. TeamGantt allows you to assign tasks to individuals or teams and set minimum or maximum working hours. You can also re-assign work to balance workloads and monitor resource availability.

Pros

  • Video tutorials
  • Unlimited projects
  • Free version

Cons

  • Free plan supports one user only
  • Limited support options

9. Podio (Free plan)

Best Free Project Management Software for Building Custom Apps

Podio - Get your team working in sync

Podio provides a project management platform with custom apps, unlimited external users, and interactive dashboards.

You can create a task list from Gmail, chat with colleagues, and monitor ongoing work through activity streams.

Podio gives you unlimited project items and allows you to improve team collaboration through peer recognition.

Best Features

Task management

create and assign tasks and track work progress. As a project manager, you can use this free project management tool to create task lists, share them, and attach files for context. You can sync files through cloud storage integrations for Dropbox and Google Drive, and use calendars to view individual or group schedules.

Podio Apps

Podio helps you create custom apps that facilitate project success. You can use a drag-and-drop builder to add app functionality and create custom fields for data collection. You can also edit your workflow and use reports to visualize your work progress.

Collaboration

forget emails and use activity streams to see the latest project activities. You can use this free project management software for private and group chat and add links and images to your comments. You can also like your teammates’ posts, make video calls, and hold online meetings inside Podio.

Workspaces

build workspaces for your projects and manage teams and custom apps from a central location. You can invite team members to a private workspace and add clients to public workspaces for increased collaboration.

Integrations

users can integrate Podio with third-party add-ons to get more functionality. You can use the Google Task Gadget to auto-create Podio tasks from your Gmail inbox and import data from spreadsheets.

Pros

  • Customizable apps
  • Unlimited storage
  • Can handle more than project management

Cons

  • Poor customer support
  • No product updates

10. Hive (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Software for Hybrid Teams

Hive- Move faster as a team

Hive uses hierarchies, dependencies, and priorities, to plan projects and tasks.

You can use this free project management software to collaboratively edit notes, upload files, and track time using timers.

Hive can also host video calls, schedule workflows, define project goals, and visualize project progress on Gantt charts and dashboards.

Key Features

Project management

plan and manage unlimited projects using hierarchies and provide visibility to all team members. You can create tasks and sub-tasks, attach files to tasks, set priorities, and use a Gantt chart to show task dependencies.

Collaboration

bring your project resources together, align your team through status updates, and assign work to individuals. Teams in small businesses can collaboratively edit notes, utilize Zoom and Google Meet integrations, and assign next-step actions during or after meetings.

Reports

leverage your task and project data to gain insight into your team’s performance and business profitability. Hive’s project management app lets you set project goals, track activities, and use Kanban boards and dashboards to monitor project performance.

Automation

save time by automating routine tasks across Hive and other tools. Any project manager can define automation triggers, set up two-way data sync between apps, and customize project workflows.

Time management

keep track of time to hit your deadlines. Hive enables users to use timers for automatic time tracking, manually add worked hours, or auto-fill data into timesheets. You can also identify time-intensive tasks and monitor project timelines for a performance review.

Pros

  • Project goals
  • Unlimited projects and tasks
  • Responsive customer support

Cons

  • Limited mobile app
  • Limited native integrations

11. nTask (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Tool for Assessing and Managing Project Risks

nTask- A Powerful Project Management Solution Made For Growing Teams

nTask is the best free project management software for forecasting resource needs.

With it, you can estimate budgets, identify and analyze risks, and schedule tasks.

nTask lets you define roles, postpone message replies, compare project plans to actual performance, and engage using chat.

Key Features

Project management

nTask helps you plan your project activities, allocate resources, and manage execution. Project managers can set the project budget, manage work using tasks on Kanban boards, and create project milestones. They can also manage project files from a central hub and monitor budget thresholds.

Time management

track time automatically with the option of manual time entries. With this free tool, you can estimate how long work will take and compare time estimates with actual time. You can also enter time data into timesheets and report on team productivity based on time spent on tasks and projects.

Task management features

creating tasks and defining task dependencies is a central part of nTask. As a project manager, you can create to-do lists, set task deadlines, create schedules, and attach files. You can also monitor progress using Gantt charts and set task priorities to guide your team’s workflow.

Risk management

nTask has powerful functionality for identifying and mitigating project risks. The premium plan allows users to conduct risk assessment around project resources and create custom fields for risk monitoring. You can also filter risks based on impact and analyze them using risk matrices.

Collaboration tools

build a team whose members have clear roles and access permissions. You can collaborate by sharing project updates, chatting with individuals or groups, and brainstorming ideas. You can also distribute work among team members and use Reply-later for non-urgent messages.

Pros

  • Unlimited projects and tasks
  • Free coaching and onboarding
  • Free version

Cons

  • Limited reporting functionality
  • Limited mobile app

12. Paymo (Free plan, Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Tool for Client Billing and Online Payments

Paymo - Work better, together

Paymo is the best free project management software for easily managing everything from client acquisition to billing. You can use task lists to manage work, upload files, and track progress.

Collaboration is possible through chat. You can plan future projects on the timeline, re-assign work to balance team workloads, and get paid directly from the invoice.

Best Features

Online invoicing

Paymo helps you improve your invoicing efficiency by automating the process. Small businesses can use this free software to customize invoices using a visual editor and export invoices in PDF or CSV formats. You can also import timesheet data, manage time estimates, and get paid through credit card.

Task management

boost productivity through task creation and grouping. You can use Paymo’s free project management tool to set a priority status for every task to determine urgency. You can also attach files, set up milestones, and save recurring tasks as templates.

Collaboration

enhance teamwork by working together towards your project objectives. You can chat about the team’s workflow, visualize work using task views or a shared Gantt chart, and add clients to your workspace.

Resource management

try the paid plans for free and estimate your resources needs and work towards profitability. This free project management tool enables you to monitor project and staff schedules, re-balance workloads, and generate automatic bookings. You can make hourly bookings and use the timeline to plan resources for future work.

Reports

understand team and project performance by tracking time and resource usage. Using Paymo, you can monitor unlimited projects and tasks on Kanban boards and identify time-consuming tasks for improved planning. You can also visualize progress on Gantt charts, set up auto-updating live reports, and share reports with stakeholders.

Pros

  • Profitability tracking features
  • Available in 20+ languages
  • Online payments

Cons

  • Limited mobile app
  • Gantt charts are only available in the Business plan

13. Basecamp (Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Software Tool for Project Tracking

Basecamp- The refreshingly simple, and remarkably effective, project management platform

Basecamp gives you an overview of your work through the “My Stuff” menu, enabling you to stay focused on what matters to you.

This free project management software lets you visualize job progress using Hill charts and add sounds and emojis to your chats.

You can also up-vote comments using likes, and check work activity to understand project progress.

Key Features

Communication

keep your team engaged through centralized communication and relevant notifications. You can use Basecamp’s project management tool to create custom post types, boost peer recognition through likes, and engage in real-time chat. You can also schedule meetings on Google calendar and search the full conversation history.

Hill charts

of all project management software options available, it’s only Basecamp that enables you to visualize your work using the analogy of a hill. Brainstorming and planning your work are captured as going uphill, while execution represents going downhill. Since Hill charts are based on to-do lists and not individual tasks, they provide a very clear view of the bigger picture.

To-do lists

create and assign tasks and add them to to-do lists. With Basecamp, you can add deadlines, notes and comments to your lists, and assign lists to individuals or teams. You can also create project milestones, attach files, and create recurring events that improve team efficiency and productivity.

File management features

enjoy unlimited online storage space for all your file attachments. You can import files into Basecamp from various locations and link to a Google Docs document. You can organize files using color codes and use the version history to manage file changes.

Activity

stay on top of project progress by monitoring work activity. Basecamp’s free project management software lets you see what each individual or team is working on and review completed work. You can track overdue tasks, monitor the resolution of Jira issues, and receive a daily email showing the day’s planned work.

Pros

  • Unlimited projects
  • Workflow management features
  • Great collaboration features

Cons

  • Limited reporting functionality
  • Limited mobile app

14. Toggl Plan (Free trial)

Best Free Project Management Software for Project Planning

Toggl Plan- Deliver projects on time stress-free

Toggl Plan project management solution enables you to manage tasks via mobile and collaborate with others to build unique workflows.

You can track time spent on tasks, filter reports, create budgets, and plan your resources for future projects.

With Toggl Plan, you can analyze project expenses and performance to identify opportunities for improvement.

Key Features

Task management

plan and manage tasks using the desktop and mobile apps of this free project management software. You can use the timeline to create and assign tasks, track them, and set up milestones to guide your work. You can also collaborate on more than one project simultaneously to create custom workflows.

Project planning

create a project roadmap and estimate budgets and timelines. You can color-code your milestones for easy tracking, schedule project tasks, and adjust workloads according to capacity and availability. You can also set up automatic notifications for work updates.

Time tracking

monitor time spent on work and send accurate invoices to your clients. Toggl Plan lets you monitor time spent on work, track billable time across multiple projects, and export time data for sharing with stakeholders.

Resource management features

stay on top of project timelines and guarantee success through proper resource planning. You can plan and manage resources via mobile, build remote teams, and allocate them work. You can also visualize resource utilization using color-coded resource plans.

Reports

Toggl Plan gives you reports that show performance and contribution towards business profitability. You can send time reports to clients and compare revenue forecasts to actual revenues. You can also identify time-consuming tasks, customize reports using data filters, and round off time entries.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Fast customer support response
  • Robust features for report generation

Cons

  • Managing the timer should be made easier
  • Limited integrations

15. Zoho Projects (Free plan, Free trial)

Most Affordable Project Management Software for Big Teams

Zoho Projects - the best project management software for any business

Zoho Projects is the best free project management software that provides quick ways of starting and executing your project plans.

You can use Gantt charts for managing projects, save workflows as templates, and capture unique data using custom fields.

With this agile project management tool, you can add clients to your workspace and import projects from other project management apps.

Key Features

Task management

organize your work using tasks, sub-tasks, task lists, and milestones. This project management platform enables you to plan projects, set up task dependencies and deadlines, and define the critical path. You can also use baselines to monitor how actual progress compares to your planned progress.

Time tracking

leverage timers and timesheets to track time spent on work so as to bill clients accurately. You can see how long tasks and projects take, improve transparency by sharing time reports with clients, monitor team productivity, and improve profitability.

Collaboration tools

work with unlimited team members to finish work on time. Collaboration options include individual and group chat, task comments, and an interactive feed for posting project updates. You can discuss topics on forums and share documents, with the added benefit of version control.

Reports

track all your projects from the planning phase to time spent on work and monitor performance and profitability. You can evaluate budget forecasts, review job progress using detailed task reports, and analyze timesheet data of unlimited users. You can also use Gantt charts and dashboards to get an overview of the state of your projects.

Issue tracker

trying out the paid plans will allow you to import bugs or add them manually and assign them a priority status. You can also link issues, send automated notifications for new or updated issues, and track changes on Github and Bitbucket.

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Unlimited users
  • Full-featured mobile app

Cons

  • Limited features on the free plan
  • Slow customer support

16. GoodDay (Free plan)

Best Free Project Management Software Tool for Remote Work and Agile Teams

GoodDay-The way we work has changed, so should your tools

GoodDay is an agile project management tool that uses tasks and checklists to manage work.

You can have real-time chats, upload files, organize projects in folders, monitor performance, track tasks on Gantt charts, and schedule reports.

GoodDay gives you a customer portal, one-on-one training, unlimited tasks, and the ability to manage teams working remotely.

Key Features

Task management

break down your work using tasks, sub-tasks, task lists, and checklists. You can use GoodDay to assign tasks to multiple users, set up custom schedules for recurring tasks, and organize work items using tags. You can also define task dependencies and add file attachments for context.

Resource management

forecast and allocate resources for all your projects. You can manage workloads based on team capacity and assign tasks depending on hours required for the work. You can also schedule work on the team calendar and manage personal events such as vacations.

Reports

get your project data analyzed for actionable insights. GoodDay’s free project management software enables you to schedule pre-built reports to review team performance. You can also track work activities, review project progress, customize portfolio views, and monitor project KPIs.

Collaboration features

connect with unlimited team members working remotely and chat in real-time to move work forward. This tool enables you to have one-on-one or group chats, review your chat history, and search through files. You can also create a knowledge base for knowledge management and track work schedules on a shared calendar.

Project planning and management

even without GoodDay’s paid plans, you can still manage unlimited projects and organize them using folders with unlimited nesting levels. You can create project plans and view tasks using a tree structure and estimate project budgets. You can also manage timelines, customize workflows, and monitor progress on dashboards.

Pros

  • Auto-save data
  • Full-screen mode
  • Free tools for up to 15 users

Cons

  • User interface can be improved
  • Limited native integrations

17. Trello (Free plan, Free trial)

Most Visually-attractive Free Project Management Software for Simple Projects

Trello- Bring all your tasks, teammates, and tools together

Trello is a simple project management tool that gives small teams clear visibility into their work.

With this free project management software, you can create and assign tasks, upload files to Trello boards, and engage with remote team members.

You can also manage workflows using checklists and use automation to improve efficiency and productivity.

Key Features

Butler

enjoy powerful automation that saves you time and energy. With Trello, you can create trigger-based rules that automate tasks and get automation recommendations from Butler. You can implement these recommendations in one click and perform multiple actions using card and board buttons.

Multiple views

see your work through different views for maximum project visibility. You can use this free project management software to manage work schedules and deadlines on the timeline view. You can also sync third-party calendars, filter work details on the table view, and get a 360° view using dashboards.

Task management

create and assign tasks to team members. Trello allows you to add due dates to tasks, send reminders, and create unlimited cards. You can also add attachments by drag-and-dropping them onto cards and use checklists to guide your workflow.

Collaboration features

brainstorm ideas on unlimited boards and include file attachments. You can add descriptions on the boards, vote for the best ideas, and assign timelines for further review of ideas. You can tag teammates, add next steps, use cards to communicate meeting agendas, and manage GitHub issues through the GitHub integration.

Remote team management

connect and bond with remote teams through remote work activities. Trello enables you to use templates to plan remote work, create work schedules on Google calendar, and improve team meetings. You cna also track projects and integrate with different tools to promote virtual collaboration.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Free version
  • Unlimited file storage

Cons

  • Unsuitable for complex projects
  • Limited help resources

Choosing the Best Free Project Management Software Tool

Traditionally, managing a project with either big or small teams required investing in several tools. These included the best time tracking apps and the best resource management software.

Fortunately, life has become easier. You can even use a free version of the best apps to manage both simple and complex projects.

But since the list of the best free project management software tools is long, how do you sift through all these options?

The solution lies in identifying your most important needs.

Since there’s no cost involved, here are the most critical factors to consider, and the project management tools best suited for those situations:

Best Overall

Monday.com

Monday.com is the obvious tool for teams looking for a solution they can tweak to fit their unique workflows.
Best for Collaboration

ClickUp

ClickUp enables teams to work together and measure how their efforts contribute towards achieving project goals
Best for Clients

Teamwork

Teamwork is the ultimate project management tool for teams that need close collaboration with their clients.
Best for Enterprises

Smartsheet

Smartsheet provides enterprise teams with the ability to manage complex projects through a familiar interface
Best for Simplicity

Asana

Asana makes project management easy while providing powerful features for tackling complex project requirements.

If you’re looking for other tools for running your business, here are some related software reviews you can check out:

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Martin Luenendonk

Editor at FounderJar

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.