12 Best Project Management Software for Small Business
As a project manager or business owner in charge of a small team or business, using project management software tools is a game-changer. These tools free up time for you to concentrate on high-level tasks that improve productivity in your business.
However, not all project management software is suitable for a small team or business. Some software tools have comprehensive features, premium prices, and an arduous learning curve that are not beneficial for small creative teams.
In this article, you will learn about 12 of the best project management software for small businesses and the key features to look out for.
Let’s get started.
Best Project Management Software for Small Business
1. Monday.com
Best Overall Project Management Software for Small Business
Monday.com is a project and work management software offering a comprehensive list of solutions to over 100,000 customers worldwide.
Main Features
Centralized Dashboard
Monday.com provides you with a dashboard through which you have centralized access to all your real-time data. You easily make decisions through these insights, especially when it comes to sharing resources among team members.
Gantt Chart
A very important tool in project management. Monday.com equips you with powerful Gantt charts with which you plan, track, and control your entire project management workflow on one view and workspace. With this Gantt chart software for project management, managing your baselines, milestones, and dependencies, among other important work items, becomes a breeze.
Integrations
Helping to streamline your entire business workflow across multiple platforms, you also enjoy integrations with over 40 external tools and software. These include Salesforce, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Excel.
Benefits
- Unlimited boards and documents on the free plan
- Automated alerts
- 14-day free trial
- Hundreds of ready-made templates
- 18% discount on yearly subscription
Pricing
- 3 Work Boards
- 2 Team Members
- Unlimited Docs
- 500 MB Storage
- 200+ Project Templates
- Unlimited Boards
- Unlimited Team Members
- Unlimited Viewers
- 5 GB Storage
- 1-Week Activity Log
- Calendar, Timeline, Map Views
- 250 Actions for Automations
- 250 Actions for Integrations
- 20 GB Storage
- 6-Month Activity Log
- Unlimited Guest Access
- 25000 Actions for Automations
- 25000 Actions for Integrations
- 100 GB Storage
- 1-Year Activity Log
- Dedicated Customer Agent
- 250000 Automations
- 250000 Actions for Integrations
- Enterprise Analytics
Find out more Monday pricing or Monday review
Monday.com is available to you for use through five plans:
- An individual plan that is free forever for two users
- A basic plan with unlimited work items
- A standard plan with over 250 automation per month
- A pro plan with time tracking capabilities
- An enterprise plan with advanced reporting and analytics. All paid plans are priced per user.
Try Monday.com’s 14-day free trial to get started.
2. ClickUp
Best Project Management Software for Small Teams with Great Plugin Options
Trusted by over 200,000 teams and businesses worldwide and founded in 2017, ClickUp is one of the best project management software for small businesses.
Main Features
Comprehensive Project View
ClickUp’s Everything view presents you with a complete and convenient view of all important elements and updates relating to your project. You have an immediate view of your ready projects, in progress, or under review, as well as comments and updates from team members.
Customizable Tasks
With access to over 35 native applications (ClickApps), you get to customize your whole task management workflow. Customization options range from over 50 integrated automation for time-saving to adding custom field data and assigning sprints, among others.
Multiple Visualization Options
This visual project management software offers you up to 15 different views to bring your workflow to life and easily track your project completion. These include a list, board, Gantt chart, mind map, and timeline views, among others.
Benefits
- Unlimited tasks and team members on the free plan
- Over 1000 integrations
- Real-time report dashboards
- Comprehensive time management options
Pricing
- 24/7 Support
- 100 Automations/Month
- Built-in Time Tracking
- Kanban & Calendar View
- 100 MB Storage
- Live Chat Support
- 1000 Automations/Month
- Guest Access Control
- Unlimited Map & Gantt Views
- Unlimited Storage
- Unlimited Dashboards
- 10000 Advanced Automations/Month
- Unlimited Teams
- Timesheets Integration
- Unlimited Timeline Uses
- Priority Customer Service
- 25000 Pro Automations/Mo
- Unlimited Subtasks in Multiple Lists
- API calls: 1000/Minute
- Custom Capacity for Workload
Find out more ClickUp pricing or ClickUp review
Alongside a Free plan, you have access to ClickUp’s services through four paid plans:
- An unlimited plan specifically made for small teams and comes with unlimited storage, integrations, and dashboards.
- A business plan for mid-sized teams.
- A business plus plan with advanced team-sharing options.
- An enterprise plan with advanced permission and security. All paid plans are determined by a quote.
Try out ClickUp’s 30-day free trial to discover if it is a suitable fit for your small business project management needs.
3. Wrike
Best Task Management Software for Small Business that Offers Extensive Customization Options
Wrike is a small business project management service provider that focuses on customizations and collaborations. It is trusted by over 20,000 businesses worldwide.
Main Features
Customizations
Wrike allows you to make a series of changes to your entire project management framework in a way that fits your specific needs. Not only do you get to customize your workflow, but your customization options also cover your dashboard and come with drag and drop capabilities, through which you easily make edits and see only what you need to see.
Gantt Chart
This web-based project management software also serves as one of the best
Gantt chart makers on the internet. Also equipped with easy drag and drop capabilities, you easily set and monitor your project schedules and dependencies in real-time.
Reporting
Wrike offers you an intuitive report wizard which allows you to build and edit real-time interactive reports, schedule notifications for report updates, create project status reports, and easily share them among other team members and stakeholders.
Benefits
- Free trial
- Intuitive collaborative proofing and approval tool
- Unlimited users on the free plan
- Mobile applications
- Brandable workspace
- Extended add-on features for increased functionality
Pricing
- Unlimited Users
- AI-Powered Processes
- Custom Work Views
- Different Project Templates
- Available in 8 Languages
- 2-25 Users*
- 2 GB Storage/User
- Custom Fields & Workflows
- Project Dashboards
- Calendar and Gantt Chart Views
- 5-200 Users*
- 5 GB Storage/User
- 200 Automations/User
- Enhanced Collaboration
- Resource Management Features
Find out more Wrike pricing
Wrike makes its services available to you through five plans: a free plan, a professional plan for small teams, a business plan, an enterprise plan determined by a quote, and a pinnacle plan also determined by a quote. All plans are priced per user.Try out Wrike’s 14-day free trial to get started.
4. Teamwork
Leading Small Business Project Management Software Tool with Highly Actionable Templates
Teamwork is an all-in-one project management platform allowing you to centrally manage projects, clients, hired freelancers, and your team. It is another software you can trust for your small business needs.
Main Features
Portfolio Management
In case you intend to manage multiple projects at the same time, Teamwork has you covered with its intuitive portfolio management features. This is facilitated through the use of centralized dashboards, the board view, and comprehensive project health status updates.
Comprehensive Team Tracking
Through time and resource tracking/management options, you easily monitor how efficiently your team members spend time and also how resources are spread and used up among team members.
Benefits
- Multiple project view options
- Templates
- 30-day free trial (no card details required)
- High-quality integrations
Pricing
- 5 Users
- Different Project Views
- 2 Project Templates
- Time Tracking & Dashboards
- 2 Projects & 100 MB Storage
- Customer Support
- Gantt Filtering
- 10 Project Templates
- 500 Automations/Month
- 100 Projects & 50 GB Storage
- Unlimited Client Access
- 3 Custom Fields
- 20 Project Templates
- 1000 Automations/Month
- 300 Projects & 100 GB Storage
- Project Budgeting
- Unlimited Custom Fields
- 50 Project Templates
- 2000 Automations/Month
- Workdown Capacity
Find out more Teamwork pricing
Alongside a free plan for individuals and small teams, you have access to Teamwork through a Deliver plan with 20 project templates, Grow plan with 50 templates and HubSpot integration, and a Scale plan with unlimited templates and projects.Try out Teamwork’s 30-day free trial to know if it is the best for your small business project management needs.
5. Zoho Projects
Easy-to-Use and Affordable Project Management Software for Small Teams
Zoho Projects is an easy-to-use, small business task management software founded in 2006 with over 60 million users today.
Main Features
Comprehensive Task Management Options
Zoho Projects equips you with a very comprehensive list of task management features to choose from. These features range from an intuitive work breakdown structure, powerful Gantt charts, and intuitive issue management options to a universal add button, multiple task views, and portfolio management options, among a lot of others.
Customizations
The project management software also places great focus on features that help you minimize your workspace and make it more specific to your needs. You enjoy access to custom layouts, custom fields, custom views, templates, tags, and even custom domains, among others.
Automations
Zoho also comes with a host of automation features, including SLAs, business rules, workflow rules, webhooks, blueprints, and automated notifications.
Benefits
- Comprehensive collaboration features
- High-quality reporting
- Time and resource management
- Comprehensive integrations
Pricing
- Unlimited Projects
- Custom Views
- 100 GB Storage
- 20 Project Templates
- Worlflow Rules
- Custom Fields & Roles
- 10 Guests
- 30 Project Templates
Coming with a free plan for 3 users, you have access to Zoho Projects through two paid plans: a premium plan with unlimited projects and an enterprise plan determined by a quote. All paid plans are priced per user.Try out Zoho Projects’ 10-day free trial to get started.
6. Kissflow
Best Project Management Software for Small Business with Powerful Search Tool and High Data Security
Kissflow is a workflow management software fully launched in 2013 which also serves as one of the best project management software for small teams.
Main Features
Multiple Views
Kissflow lets you comprehensively visualize your project workflow through multiple view options. These views include a card-based Kanban board system, lists, a matrix view option, and a “my task” view with all your to-do lists.
Collaborations
Through direct “@” mentions on comments, posts, or task cards, alongside comprehensive file sharing and a powerful search engine, among others, the project management software helps you collaborate more effectively.
Insightful Reports
Kissflow also provides you with insightful and actionable data through multiple reporting options. These options include cycle time reports, a cumulative flow diagram, lead time data, and a flow efficiency chart to measure team performance.
Benefits
- Improved data security
- Drag and drop editing
- Automated notification
- Free trial
- Extensive reporting options
Pricing
Kissflow does not come with a free plan and is made available to you through three paid plans: a starter plan with only 3 view options, a professional plan with unlimited views, and an enterprise plan determined by a quote.
Try out Kissflow’s 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
7. TeamGantt
Dedicated Gantt Chart Maker With Additional Integrated Project Management Functionalities
TeamGantt is Gantt chart software that comes equipped with extended project management tools and features to seamlessly collaborate, plan, schedule, and monitor your projects.
Main Features
Gantt Chart
TeamGantt majorly dedicates its platform to help you create Gantt charts. Equipped with drag and drop capabilities, you have access to a free Gantt chart with which you manage your tasks, files, and communications on a single centralized hub.
Built-In Resource Management
You also have access to integrated resource management features within your Gantt chart. With this, you closely monitor the workload of different team members and make schedules or assign tasks appropriately.
Benefits
- 30-day free trial
- Extended view options
- Integrated time tracking
- Baselining
- 20% discount on yearly subscription
Pricing
- 5 Projects per Manager
- 5 Users per Manager
- 150 Tasks in a Project
- Support Integrations
- 20 Projects per Manager
- Unlimited Users
- Unlimited Tasks
- Priority Support
- Unlimited Projects
- Dedicated Customer Agent
- Uptime SLA
- Customized Training
TeamGantt offers you its project management services through a standard plan and an Enterprise plan with unlimited projects, alongside a free plan for 3 users. Final prices are ultimately determined by your team size. Try out TeamGantt’s 30-day free trial to get started.
8. Trello
Simple Project Management Software with Highly Extendable Functionality
Trello is a web-based, Kanban-style, and simple project management tool for small businesses to manage multiple business-related workflows, from Agile projects to customer support tracking to sales pipelines, among others.
Main Features
Automations
Trello provides you with a built-in AI-powered assistant called “Butler” with which you simplify your workflow by avoiding repetitive and tedious workloads.
Extendable Functionality
Alongside integrations with other external platforms like Slack, Google Drive, and Dropbox, Trello equips you with hundreds of native apps called “Power-Ups” to extend your project management functionality.
Organized Workspace
With Trello, you do not just have access to regular view options but also a Trello Card view with which you split and categorize your checklists, deadlines, attachments, and communications, among others.
Benefits
- Unlimited cards, users, and power-ups on the free plan
- Mobile applications
- Templates
- Custom fields
Pricing
Trello offers its services through four plans: a free plan, a standard plan, a premium plan, and an enterprise plan determined by a quote. Pricing for the Enterprise is also determined by the number of users. Try out Trello’s 14-day free trial to find out if it is the right fit for your small business project management needs.
9. Basecamp
Online Small Business Project Management Software with Highly Reliable Communication Channels
Basecamp is an agile project management software that offers high-quality project and resource management features to keep track of your discussions, tasks, deadlines, and documents. It is a real-time communication tool dedicated to remote teams and trusted by millions of users
Main Features
Integrations
Basecamp comes with a comprehensive collection of quality integrations helping to streamline your project management workflow and get it to be more effective. Integrations include partnerships with Asana, Slack, Dropbox, and G Suite for your documents and calendars.
Charts
Track your project progress with Basecamp’s history snapshots. Easily respond to every update and leave comments for team members.
Benefits
- 30-day free trial
- 15% discount on yearly payments
- Mobile applications
Pricing
Basecamp is available to you through a free plan and a single paid plan. Opting for the paid plan gives you access to advanced client access control, templates, and an unlimited number of projects, users, and clients.
Try out Basecamp’s 30-day free trial to discover if the project management software is right for your small business.
10. Asana
Small Business Project Management Software with High Project Visibility
Asana is a web and mobile application specifically optimized with features that make your entire project management workflow as convenient as you need it to be.
Main Features
Multiple Project Views
Asana allows you to visualize and track your project workflow through the board, list, timeline, files, teammate, and calendar views, among others.
Customizations
With Asana, you have access to customizable templates to quickly start your project management activities, as well as custom fields. Your entire workflow is also customizable and automated through rules set by you.
Portfolio Management
Asana also lets you track all your projects on the same dashboards and in real-time. You have easy access to track and report updates on your teams across multiple projects.
Admin Control
This project management software for mac users also gives you a chance to regulate the level of access and control your team members and guests have over projects. You easily set permission and privacy controls, create comment-only projects, and have access to SAML and an Admin API.
Benefits
- Unlimited projects, tasks, activity logs, and file storage on the free plan
- Mobile applications
- Over 100 integrations
- Advanced search
Pricing
- Unlimited Projects & Tasks
- Unlimited Storage & Logs
- 100+ Free Integrations
- Status Updates
- Calendar View
- Unlimited Dashboards
- Workflow Builder
- Task Dependencies
- Task Templates
- Timeline & Milestones
- Workload Management
- Advanced Reports
- Built-in Time Tracking
- Create Custom Rules
- Premium Integrations
Find out more Asana pricing
Asana is available to you through three plans: a free plan, a premium plan with unlimited dashboards, and an enterprise plan determined by a quote and coming with portfolio management options, among others.
Try Asana’s 30-day free trial to get started.
11. Airtable
Best Project Management Software for Small Business that Offers Great Selection Of Templates
Airtable is a low-code platform and team management software with which you manage your large-scale projects, sub-projects, and tasks through a collection of collaborative project management features.
Main Features
Templates
Airtable equips you with a dynamic collection of project management templates that help to quicken the creation of your project management framework. These include templates for efficient project tracking as well as projects for science museums and nonprofit programs, among others.
Collaboration
Enjoy extensive collaboration features such as real-time updates, file sharing capabilities, and team dashboards.
Data Security
Airtable offers security features such as single sign on, two factor authentication, and advanced account permissions to protect your data from internal and external threats.
Benefits
- 14-day free trial
- Mobile applications
- Email support
Pricing
Airtable is available to you through four plans: a free plan, a plus plan, a pro plan, and an enterprise plan determined by a quote.
Try out Airtable’s 14-day free trial to get started.
12. Notion
Best Project Management Software for Small Teams with Great Focus On Customizations
Notion is another highly reliable project management software for small businesses. It is an all-in-one workspace based in San Francisco,
Main Features
Customizations
Through intuitive drag and drop actions, Notion allows you to customize your workspace and workflow. You also get to create pages inside pages, keeping your workspace more organized as related work items are placed together.
Collaborations
Notion lets you effectively and seamlessly collaborate in real-time and with an unlimited number of team members through smart and timely notifications.
Benefits
- Highly security conscious
- API access on the free plan
- 30-day free trial
- Mobile applications
- Bulk exports
Pricing
Nation's services come to you through a free personal plan, a personal pro plan, a team plan offering you unlimited team members, and an enterprise plan determined by a quote.
Try out Notion’s 30-day free trial to get started.
Key Features of Small Business Project Management Software
Project management software tools come dedicated to different sizes of businesses, with the top tools offering solutions for multiple business sizes. However, choosing one of these tools could prove difficult as there are a lot in the market. What are the key features to look out for, so you filter your different options appropriately?
1. Customizations
One of the key features that remains most common amongst the different software programs placed on our list is the existence of multiple customization options. Covering your project workspace and workflow, a lot of the top project management software on the internet equips you with customizable templates coupled with drag and drop editing capabilities to make personalizations easier.
You ensure you have access to these templates and drag and drop capabilities, as well as custom layouts, custom fields, custom views, tags, and even custom rules, allowing you to personalize your automation.
With customizations, you focus on and equip yourself with the most important solutions offered by the tool, especially given that small businesses with small teams typically have less complex tasks to handle.
2. Multiple Project Views
Another key feature to look out for before selecting your project management software is the amount and type of project visualization options available to you. A lot of project management software allows you to visualize your projects through simple lists, calendars, and boards, but are these enough?
The top project management software programs in the market offer you more advanced views which let you comprehensively visualize and intuitively interact with your project workflow. These visualization options include Gantt charts and Kanban boards. Some extra visualization options include a timeline, map, and matrix views, among a lot of others.
3. Integrations
Project management is just a part of your entire business workflow. A project management software does not offer you the level of functionality dedicated software programs give to you and also, you have some tools you and your team members have invested a lot of time and money into.
Integrations help you streamline your activities on these external platforms with your project management workflow. You avoid having to switch between applications while maintaining the use of these software programs that are important to your business.
Where you need extra functionality, the existence of multiple integration options makes scaling your business workflow a whole lot easier.
4. Comprehensive Collaboration Options
For a lot of small businesses, close collaborations between different employees or team members are key to their success. Due to this, it remains crucial that you choose a project management software that equips you with a vast collection of effective team communication and relationship management options.
Automated notifications, direct “@” mentions on comments, comprehensive file-sharing options, and views allowing you to track team members' activities and performance are a few important features to look for. These advanced options keep your team collaboration activities and channels as seamless, reliable, and effective as you need them to be.
Some other important features to look out for include advanced reporting, intuitive portfolio and resource management options, mobile application compatibility, and automation, among others.
What is the Best Project Management Software for Small Teams?
The best project management software for small teams or businesses depends on the required features you need to carry out your projects. While you want a project management software tool that is affordable, you should also consider other features such as customizations, multiple project views, integrations, and comprehensive collaboration options.
- If you are looking for project management software for small businesses that are beginner-friendly with a highly interactive and easy-to-use dashboard, choose Monday.com, ClickUp, Zoho Projects, and Trello.
- If you are searching for project management software for small teams with powerful AI tools, you should try Wrike and Teamwork.
- If you need a project management tool for small businesses with a dedicated Gantt chart marker, you should try TeamGantt.
- If you are searching for a project management tool for small teams with powerful search tools and high data security features, choose Kissflow.
- If you need a project management application for small businesses with a wide range of customizable templates, you should try Asana and Notion.
- If you are searching for a project management software tool to analyze your small team’s performance with an advanced reporting and alerting system, choose Basecamp.
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Martin Luenendonk
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.