Best Project Management Software 2024: 11 Tools Reviewed

Deadlines, goals, milestones, participants: projects have many moving parts, and the bigger the project, the harder it is to keep track of everything. That's where project management software comes in.

Because every team works differently, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. To help you make an informed choice, we put 11 providers through the ringer.

monday.com* is named after most people's least favorite day of the week, but we won't hold that against it. In fact, monday.com ranked first in our test, impressing us with its solid mix of user-friendliness, features, and flexibility.

monday.com is just a great example of what a modern project management platform should offer. Its interface is intuitive, workspaces are well-structured and organized, and it covers most views and field types needed for task planning.

monday.com is easy to use, even for less tech-savvy individuals. Team members can quickly navigate their workspaces and manage assigned tasks.

For project management, monday.com offers nearly all essential tools: customizable boards, a wide range of views, custom field types, and advanced task planning features.

Additionally, with over 200 integrations, you can seamlessly incorporate monday.com into your app ecosystem. It also offers handy automation with predefined templates to simplify routine tasks.

monday.com is ideal for small to medium-sized teams needing an intuitive project management solution for various user types. It provides a visually appealing, clear overview of tasks, deadlines, participants, and dependencies.

Unfortunately, many standard features (e.g., automations, integrations, time tracking, and form columns) and views (calendar, timeline, or Gantt) are only available in higher-priced plans. This can make monday.com pricier than other options.

Moreover, compared to some other platforms, monday.com lacks built-in communication features, opting out of chat or messaging functionalities entirely.

Lastly, monday.com's approach may not suit every team. It is more data-centric and less process-oriented than other tools (e.g., Asana), making it less suitable for certain workflows.

ClickUp might not be as sleek as monday.com, but its feature-rich and customizable interface can handle almost any project workflow. This makes ClickUp one of the most flexible project management tools out there.

ClickUp is what you make of it. Nearly every feature, setting, and interface element can be customized to suit individual needs and project workflows, making it suitable for virtually any project type.

Its clear hierarchy makes it easy to arrange projects into different team spaces and project folders, each with its own rules, members, and permissions, ensuring precise project management on various levels. Additionally, ClickUp offers multiple ways to visualize and organize projects and tasks.

Unlike monday.com, ClickUp also supports real-time communication. Besides task assignments and comments, you can chat with team members and even collaborate on documents simultaneously.

ClickUp is ideal for large and small teams seeking a logically structured and highly adaptable project management solution with numerous features, views, and personalization options.

However, ClickUp's steep learning curve and complex interface might be overwhelming if you need a simple solution or won't fully utilize its customization and advanced functions.

Getting started with ClickUp can take time. The extensive customization options and feature-rich interface can be overwhelming at first, and it may take a while to find the perfect combination of views and settings for your project workflows.

More annoying than the complexity, which you get used to over time, is the platform's performance: the interface often lags and isn't as fast and snappy as we would like.

Asana is more like monday.com than ClickUp: While it may not be as flexible, it's incredibly user-friendly and easy to understand, even for beginners. Asana's user interface, which we liked even more than monday.com's, is among the best on the market.

Work just flows when using Asana. Its fast and well-structured interface helps organize both individual tasks and longer project workflows with sub-tasks and dependencies. Because it's so intuitive and responsive, Asana adds a certain dynamism and lightness to even complex team projects.

Asana's feature set is solid, including essential views, task settings, and advanced features like automations, reports, and forms, along with extensive integrations.

Asana is a good choice for teams looking for a process-oriented project management platform that can organize and clearly display workflows from start to finish.

Even complex tasks with many sub-tasks and dependencies can be broken down and displayed in various user-friendly views, making Asana appealing to both small teams with simple tasks and larger organizations with complex projects.

Asana's communication tools aren't overly impressive, with no chat or advanced collaboration features. Additionally, the selection of custom fields is limited, so individual tasks are less customizable than on other platforms.

Most major project management platforms are generalists, avoiding restrictions to specific industries or project types to maintain a broad target audience.

While highly versatile, Teamwork.com does cater to a specific market segment: organizations managing client projects. In addition to standard project management functions, the platform offers features that facilitate client work.

Teamwork.com provides a comprehensive set of features tailored to the needs of agencies and teams handling client projects.

It offers a solid range of project views, custom fields, and advanced task planning settings. It also includes extensive collaboration features like private messages, group chats, and shared document editing.

What also sets Teamwork.com apart are its tools that help streamline client projects. For example, integrated budgeting and invoicing features enable teams to efficiently manage their time, distinguish between billable and non-billable hours, and correctly bill projects upon completion.

Teamwork.com is best suited for teams and agencies managing client projects. The platform combines multiple features — project management, time tracking, communication, budget planning, and invoicing — under one roof, making it an excellent choice if you need a single solution that does it all.

By the same token, as the platform's name suggests, it really is intended for teams and collaboration. Because all paid plans have a minimum license requirement, it's not suitable for individuals, such as freelancers.

Overall, Teamwork.com isn't as intuitive as Asana or monday.com. In some aspects, it's also less flexible: certain views (e.g., gallery, map) are missing, and the selection of field types for custom fields is limited.

Moreover, the “all-in-one” concept only works if you use most of the features: if you already use other solutions for time tracking or invoicing, Teamwork.com might feel unnecessarily overloaded.

Notion takes a different approach than the rest of our top five. It's not primarily a project management tool, but a Wiki-like knowledge database that can also — though not exclusively — organize projects and manage tasks.

This means that Notion offers less of a predefined path to project success than its competitors, but those who know how to use it can cover almost all traditional project management features — and much more.

With its Wiki-like setup, team spaces, and highly customizable pages and blocks, Notion provides a flexible foundation for many different workflows and use cases.

Notion's standout feature is its extensive Wiki capability: you can create detailed knowledge databases for your teams or the entire company and work on them collaboratively in real-time.

Notion is an excellent option for teams requiring extensive documentation or wanting to build an internal company Wiki. Since this Wiki structure is just the beginning, and powerful project management features are included, too, Notion suits various team and project types.

If you're looking for a pure project management tool focused on fixed workflows and processes, Notion might not be for you.

Plus, some features, such as time tracking, chats, or comprehensive reporting tools, are completely missing.

Haven't found the ideal platform for your needs yet? No problem — our top five is just a small selection of all available project management tools. Here are a few alternatives that are all worth a look:

Wrike is comparable to monday.com and Asana. It's beginner-friendly and offers flexible task management capabilities. However, it's held back by its lack of collaboration features and custom field types.

Airtable is a powerful hybrid of database, spreadsheet, and project management software. Often dubbed “Excel on steroids”, it can be a game-changer for data-driven projects. The downside — for some — is that it's less process-driven and relatively complex.

Trello keeps it simple with a Kanban-based project organization aimed at small and medium-sized teams. Even though it does this well, it's less versatile and customizable than other solutions.

Smartsheet is most similar to Airtable on this list. It's a spreadsheet-based platform designed for data-intensive projects, capable of handling complex project plans and workflows — so long as you know how to visualize them.

However, it's not primarily designed for this purpose and requires an understanding of spreadsheet formulas and calculations.

Basecamp, like Trello, deliberately limits its range of features: you'll only get certain views, and there are no custom fields. This focus on essentials makes Basecamp straightforward and easy to use, while its built-in collaboration features make it suitable for team communication. Its restrictions, however, make it less suitable for larger or more complex projects.

Like Basecamp and Trello, MeisterTask sticks to basic features, specifically Kanban-style project planning. If you're looking for a simple way to organize your work on Kanban boards, MeisterTask might suit your needs — but anything beyond that is a stretch.

You can find the full ranking of the 11 platforms that we tested here:

Selecting a project management solution is no small task. After all, you're investing in a tool that will sit at the heart of your workflows and often touch the daily routines of all team members.

Here’s a look at our criteria — and an overview of what to look for when choosing the right project management tools:

All software has a learning curve, and project management tools are no exception. However, there's a difference between “complex” and “confusing”: you can get used to complexity.

A good project management tool should present even complex features in as intuitive and straightforward a way as possible to make them accessible to users of different backgrounds and experience levels.

First, the setup should be straightforward. Most project management tools offer free trials that don't require payment information — you can simply sign up and try out the platform's features.

Platforms that stand out often use the registration process to briefly explain the software's basic features. For example, Asana guides you through setting up your first project and its tasks during the initial setup:

Once you've completed the initial setup and enter the main dashboard, you should be greeted by a tutorial that introduces the interface and available tools. Ideally, features are explained through an example project.

For instance, Basecamp's beginner tutorial is set up as a Basecamp project, combining instructional content with a practical example:

The interface of a good project management tool should be as straightforward as possible. It should include a well-organized central navigation menu that gives you quick access to different features and areas.

A three-part layout, like the one used by Wrike, has proven effective: the navigation menu on the left, the main workspace for your projects in the center, and a detail menu with project-specific information on the right:

However, other navigation concepts can also be effective, as long as they are intuitive and logically organized.

A clear organizational structure is vital. You should be able to organize tasks into projects and group different projects. It also should be possible to break down tasks into subtasks.

One of the key advantages of project management platforms is the ability to visualize projects and data from different perspectives using various methods.

For example, the table view shows all task details in one window; the Kanban view arranges project progress into different phases, and the timeline view helps you keep track of the project's schedule and how different tasks fit together over time.

Ideally, project management platforms should support as many views as possible while allowing users to select which views they want to use for their projects.

Here's an overview of the views we look for, including a comparison chart for the different providers:

Most project management solutions now offer smartphone apps, allowing you to view and manage projects and tasks on the go.

We don't expect these apps to replace their desktop counterparts: since project management involves a lot of fine-tuning, most users will likely prefer the web interface for big-picture planning.

On smartphones, we want quick insights into projects and upcoming tasks, as well as the ability to make small changes easily.

Keeping things simple and limiting the number of features can pay off here. The MeisterTask app, for example, is well-designed because it effectively translates the Kanban board design of the web interface to the smartphone:

In summary, a user-friendly project management platform should offer an easy setup, a clean and well-organized interface with clear hierarchies and areas, and provide plenty of views for visualizing projects and tasks.

Projects and tasks are the building blocks of project management platforms.

You'll likely spend most of your time dealing with tasks, as each task represents a specific step within a project. Therefore, creating, editing, and managing these tasks needs to be straightforward and flexible.

Adding a new task should require only a few clicks. Most platforms allow this directly within project views: simply click a button in the desired location to create a new task.

A quick action menu that allows you to create new tasks from anywhere in the dashboard is also handy:

Once a task is created, you should be able to edit it comprehensively and add all necessary information. This is usually possible in different ways: platforms with a table view let you edit task parameters directly within the table, with different columns for different properties.

You can also typically click on a task to open a detail view showing all standard fields, covering aspects such as:

These fields should be clearly organized and easy to edit, like in Trello below:

Tasks come in different shapes and sizes. Different teams and users have different needs, and the standard fields may not always capture all project data.

Truly flexible platforms allow tasks to be customized with custom fields. The more types and quantities of fields supported, the better:

The differences between the platforms we tested are significant: while some, like Airtable or monday.com, allow extensive customization with custom fields, others, like MeisterTask or Trello, support few or none (e.g., Basecamp).

Here’s a comparison table showing how many and which types of custom fields are supported by each platform:

Most projects consist of multiple tasks. These tasks often relate to each other or fit into a specific project workflow. Good project management solutions should offer additional tools to further contextualize and break down tasks within the project.

We look out specifically for the following features:

Nearly all project management solutions we reviewed support subtasks and dependencies. Milestones are only supported by about half, and goals by just two (Asana and ClickUp).

The following table shows which platforms support which advanced task features:

Creating and managing tasks should be as straightforward as possible, and tasks should be customizable with custom fields, subtasks, dependencies, and milestones for context.

Most project management platforms, even those that cater to individuals and freelancers, are designed for teams, but the extent of collaboration features differs from platform to platform.

A good user management system is essential. It should be simple to invite team members via email or link and assign them a particular role.

For large organizations, granular access rights are important, since not every employee should have access to all areas.

It's also important to have special user roles for external visitors, such as freelancers or clients, who should only have access to selected project areas and information.

Most project management solutions rely on asynchronous collaboration: each team member works individually in their dashboard, contributing to the larger project.

Tasks can be assigned to specific team members, which helps everyone to understand who is responsible for what. When tasks are created, assigned, completed, or moved to another status, project participants receive notifications.

Basic communication usually happens through comments in the project area. Here, colleagues can tag one another and write short messages.

Many platforms — including some of the top-rated programs in our test — stick to the basics mentioned above. This is generally fine, as many organizations use other solutions for communication.

Other providers offer enhanced real-time collaboration tools and support direct communication through chats, message boards, direct messages, and even video meetings. For instance, Teamwork and Basecamp offer numerous channels for team communication.

Some platforms, like ClickUp or Asana, support shared document editing, similar to Google Docs.

Wiki features, best exemplified by Notion, are handy for organizations looking for a way to centrally store key information and important documents in a Wiki-like environment.

Here’s a comparison of the collaboration features we consider in our reviews:

Project management software should provide comprehensive user management with various access rights and make asynchronous collaboration as smooth and hurdle-free as possible.

However, top marks in this category were reserved for programs that go beyond the basics and offer useful collaboration features and real-time communication options.

Most project management platforms offer additional tools and capabilities that go beyond task management and collaboration. Some of the most important include:

Here’s how the platforms compare when it comes to advanced features:

There is no “perfect” blend of features: everyone's needs are different, and one team's must-have feature might be next to useless for others. Plus, many organizations might prefer dedicated solutions for specific features, instead of looking for one tool to do it all.

Make sure to choose the platform that best matches your needs and offers integrations with the other programs you use

When it comes to support, we focus on two aspects: the quality of the help content provided and the quality of the direct support channels.

Every project management platform has a learning curve. At the beginning, you'll often need to look up where certain features are located or how to configure certain settings. You should be able to find answers quickly in the provider's help section.

We look for the following:

You likely won't find solutions to all problems on your own. When you hit a roadblock, you should be able to receive quick and thorough responses from your provider's support team.

Most providers offer email support and ticket systems in regular plans, which is sufficient for most inquiries. Some, like ClickUp, also have live chat. Phone support is rare, but support options for enterprise customers are usually much more extensive.

Good project management providers should offer a variety of high-quality support content and promptly respond to inquiries through multiple channels.

All providers in our comparison offer multiple pricing plans, which differ in the features, views, storage space, and number of projects they provide.

Almost all providers offer a free plan. These free versions are more than just trial versions; often, as with Airtable or ClickUp, they include all essential features and could be entirely sufficient for certain user groups, especially individuals.

In premium plans, you pay a license fee per user (excluding external users with limited rights). Some plans require a minimum number of licenses.

The actual costs depend on the plan you choose and the number of team members using the solution. Since plans and their features rarely overlap exactly among providers, comparing prices can be tricky.

With our price calculator at the beginning of this page, you can use filters to identify the most cost-effective plans for your needs.

The following table shows a price comparison of the providers we reviewed, based on the price for ten users in the cheapest plan with unlimited projects:

Project management tools don't guarantee project success, but they make the path to it much easier. They serve as a central hub for your projects and tasks, helping project managers allocate resources and assisting team members in planning their daily work.

When everything goes according to plan, a good project management tool is essential for keeping track of priorities and spotting problems early. However, they don't guarantee that everything will go smoothly.

First, you need to choose the right platform — and since it affects the daily work of many or even all team members, you shouldn't take this choice lightly. Our reviews, guides, and price calculator can help you find the best project management platform for your needs.