Free Project Management Software: 10 of the Best Options

Free project management software might not come with all of the latest cutting-edge features, like your own generative AI assistant or advanced reporting, but it’s a powerful resource. If you need help keeping track of tasks, empowering teams, and streamlining workflows, particularly in the age of hybrid work, project management software is usually a must-have.

With the top free tools, you can align your teams, boost collaboration, and even access valuable insights into workflows, all while keeping costs low.

What are the best free project management tools available today, and how do you ensure you’re picking the right software?

We assessed some of the top-rated options in the market to bring you this guide.

How to Choose Free Project Management Software

Before we dive into our list of impressive project management solutions, let’s cover how you can make the right choice. There are dozens of free project management tools out there, as well as premium products with free plans for beginners.

In fact, the global project management software market is currently growing at a rate of 10.8%. New solutions entering the space constantly.

So, how do you identify what you need? We based our list of the best free project management tools on the following criteria:

• Project scope: Every company has its own unique set of projects to manage, each with specific pain points, challenges, and obstacles. The ideal project management tool should allow you to customize your workflows to suit your specific needs and manage an unlimited number of projects (for free).
• Ease of use: Project management tools will only benefit your team if they know how to use them. To keep things simple, we recommend prioritizing hosted solutions over self-hosted and open-source technologies where possible. Look for an intuitive user interface and even customizable dashboards.
• Collaboration: Many of the free project management software options covered below can integrate with collaboration tools like Webex and Microsoft Teams. However, it still helps to have some built-in collaborative features, such as chat, project assignment, and file sharing.
• Flexibility: Since the needs and challenges of your projects can vary, flexibility is crucial. Ideally, a project management solution should flex to suit every need, offering access to Gantt charts, calendars, kanban views, and more.
• Integrations: Most business tools are more effective when they can integrate seamlessly with the resources you already use. Look for a flexible solution that can work with your unified communication tools, reporting apps, CRM solutions, and anything else your teams will need to access in the flow of work.

The Best Free Project Management Software: Top Picks

As mentioned above, there are many free project management software options, so we’ve narrowed this list down to a selection of top contenders. We chose these solutions based on their functionality, ease of use, free features, and unique capabilities.

Let’s dive in.

1.      Asana: Free Project Management Software for Small Teams

Pros:

• Unlimited tasks, projects, messages, and file storage
• Board, list and calendar views
• iOS and Android mobile apps
• Access to dozens of integrations
• Handy collaboration features

Cons:

• Expensive paid pricing
• No AI on the free plan

Asana is an ultra-flexible free project management software solution, ideal for smaller teams and individuals. Unfortunately, the free plan doesn’t include access to Asana AI, but you’ll still be able to experiment with unlimited tasks, projects, file storage, and more.

Asana makes it easy to organize tasks and workflows in various ways, with list, board, and calendar view options. You can assign specific tasks with due dates to certain team members, track time with integrations, and access instant status updates.

Plus, Asana can seamlessly integrate with various common business apps, from Microsoft Teams to Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, and more.

The Free Plan

Asana’s free plan is extremely generous, with unlimited tasks, projects, messages, activity logs, and file storage. You also get various views, search filters, status updates, and mobile apps. However, you can only collaborate with up to 10 teammates at once.

2.      Trello: Simple, Visual Project Management Software

Pros:

• Highly customizable boards, with Power-Ups
• Straightforward visual-first interface
• Lots of templates for beginners
• Generous free plan
• Integrated 2-factor authentication

Cons:

• Limited views on the free plan
• Basic user management features

Trello is one of the most popular project management and collaboration tools in the world today, capable of integrating with a wide range of applications, and offering unique experiences to users. Simplicity is one of the biggest selling points of Trello. It takes minutes to create an account and start creating customizable boards with unlimited cards and “Power-up” options.

You can use Trello to plan assignments and workflows from scratch, or access a range of templates. There’s unlimited storage included on every plan, and you can even experiment with the app on iOS and Android mobile devices.

The Power-Up options are particularly impressive, offering access to calendar task views, voting options, automation, and more. Powerful no-code automation is also built into every Trello board to help boost efficiency and productivity.

The Free Plan

Trello’s free plan includes unlimited cards, 10 boards per workspace, unlimited storage and Power-Ups, custom backgrounds and stickers, and an activity log. You can also run 250 workspace commands per month and enable 2-factor authentication.

3.      ClickUp: Flexible Project Views

Pros:

• Plenty of different task view options
• Generous free plan
• In-app video recording included
• Whiteboards and collaborative documents
• Unlimited free plan members

Cons:

• Slight learning curve for beginners
• No AI features on the free plan

Like Asana, ClickUp doesn’t offer its latest AI capabilities on its free plan, but it still gives users a highly flexible environment for project management. The comprehensive solution is ideal for users who want complete control over their task “views.” You can choose from various options, like lists, calendars, Kanban, Gantt views, and more.

One great thing about ClickUp is how effective it can be at improving collaboration. Teams can work on documents simultaneously, access real-time chat, and create whiteboards. There’s even an in-app video recording feature for enhanced collaboration and onboarding.

Plus, the solution supports unlimited team members and sprint management solutions for agile software development.

The Free Plan

ClickUp’s free plan includes 100MB of storage, unlimited team members and tasks, multiple view options, two-factor authentication, and in-app video recording. You also get 24/7 support, sprint management, and whiteboards.

4.      Wrike: Included AI Content Generation

Pros:

• AI content generation on the free plan
• Multiple view options
• Web, desktop, and mobile apps
• Easy spreadsheet-style user interface
• Great project tracking features

Cons:

• Limitations on tasks in the free plan
• Basic customization

If you’re used to managing projects with spreadsheets, Wrike could be the perfect free project management software for you. The easy-to-use platform allows you to create comprehensive spreadsheets to track the progress of tasks or experiment with boards and lists.

Wrike enables instant status updates for team members and active task assignments. However, many advanced features like custom dashboards are restricted to paid plans. On the plus side, you get a built-in solution for AI content generation, which isn’t offered by most alternatives.

Wrike is also highly flexible and capable of integrating with 400+ cloud and on-premises applications. It can even enable two-way sync with solutions like GitHub and Jira.

The Free Plan

Wrike’s free plan includes web, mobile, and desktop apps, and unlimited projects for unlimited users. You also get board and table views, and AI content generation capabilities.

5.      Airtable: Customizable Free Project Management Software

Pros:

• Highly customizable interface
• Real-time collaboration features
• Excellent range of visualization options
• Developer support with APIs
• Lots of templates for beginners

Cons:

• Slight learning curve for beginners
• Some limitations on records

Airtable is one of the few free project management software solutions that allows users to create their perfect software. The app comes with a range of templates and resources to help you build project workflows. However, you can customize everything from the view type, to data validation.

The Airtable marketplace includes access to various apps that can help you optimize your project workflows and boost productivity. Plus, no-code automation is included as standard, along with an intuitive interface designer for straightforward customization.

The solution offers great real-time collaboration and commenting features, access to mobile apps, and up to 1GB of storage for each “base” you create.

The Free Plan

Airtable’s free plan includes unlimited bases, 1,000 records for each base, 5 editors, 1GB of file storage per base, 100 automation runs, and an interface designer. You’ll also get access to the Web API, developer tools, and various visualization options.

6.      Teamwork: Ideal for Client Work

Pros:

• Integrated client work features like time tracking
• Multiple view options and sub-tasks
• Basic dashboards and reports
• Integrations with dozens of tools, including Slack
• Customizable themes

Cons:

• Slightly limited free plan
• Basic collaboration features

Teamwork is a robust, free project management software solution that offers access to multiple views, including Kanban, List, and Gantt charts. The solution integrates with various workplace solutions, including Slack and Microsoft Teams. Plus, it includes centralized communication features to help enhance collaboration.

For agencies and companies working with clients, Teamwork really shines, offering access to estimated time management, billable time tracking, and a client view. It even allows users to send invoices directly from the platform.

While many of the best features, such as advanced project management, Gantt filtering, and enterprise dashboards, are limited to paid plans, you still get plenty of functionality.

The Free Plan

With Teamwork, the free plan supports dashboards, multiple views, and essential client management features for up to 5 users. It also offers access to key integrations (although some are restricted to paid plans).

7.      Monday.Com: Excellent CRM Integration

Pros:

• Easy access to Monday.com CRM features
• Multiple templates for beginners
• Mobile apps for access on the move
• Integrated no-code automation capabilities
• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• Complex pricing structure for paid plans
• Limited views on the free plan

Monday.com is free project management software we use here at Today Digital. It’s an excellent, straightforward solution for tracking teams and work. It offers hundreds of templates for building project workflows and integrated automation capabilities.

Users can experiment with different column types on unlimited documents to help them customize their workflows to suit their specific needs. Plus, there are integrated collaboration tools, like commenting, chat, and file-sharing capabilities.

Compared to some of the other tools covered in this list, Monday.com’s free trial is a little basic, but the paid plans are quite affordable and come with a 14-day free trial.

The Free Plan

Monday.com’s free plan includes support for up to 3 boards, unlimited docs, 200+ templates, 8 column types, and mobile apps. However, it only offers accounts for up to 2 users, so it might not be ideal for larger teams.

8.      Jira: Ideal for Agile Software Development

Pros:

• Designed for developers and engineers
• Powerful automation capabilities
• Reporting, dashboards, and issue trackers
• Unlimited goals, projects, tasks, and forms on the free plan
• Hundreds of integrations

Cons:

• 10-user limit on the free plan
• Slight learning curve

Jira is a popular free project management software solution for agile developers and engineers. Alongside common project management tools, like goals, tasks, and forms, it also includes access to issue trackers, backlogs, and more. Plus, it allows users to adapt their project view with summaries, timelines, boards, lists, and calendars.

This is a great resource for companies running Scrum projects and managing tasks through multiple channels, such as GitHub and GitLab. You can set up comprehensive automated workflows that help streamline user efficiency and increase productivity for unlimited projects.

Plus, the dashboards and reports are excellent for tracking team performance, progress toward deadlines, and more.

The Free Plan

Jira’s free plan includes unlimited goals, projects, tasks, and forms and 100 automations per site per month. You also get basic reports and dashboards, 2GB of storage, a backlog, a board, a list, a timeline, a summary, and calendar views. However, the free plan only supports 10 users.

9.      Nifty: Convenient and Simple Project Management

Pros:

• Unlimited team members on the free plan
• Comprehensive collaboration tools
• Tasks and milestone tracking
• Extensive knowledge hub
• Two-factor authentication

Cons:

• Free plan limited to 2 projects
• No advanced workflow automation

Nifty is a straightforward project management tool designed to help companies boost team productivity and accelerate results. The solution stands out for its simplicity, with a convenient and intuitive interface that users can adapt according to their preferences.

All Nifty plans come with central project management features like tasks with milestones, shareable, collaborative docs, and team chat functionality. Plus, you can set up recurring tasks and apply “dependencies” to specific milestones and project requirements.

Nifty even offers two-factor authentication and some of the cheapest paid pricing plans on the market, starting at $5 per member per month.

The Free plan:

Nifty’s free plan supports unlimited members but only 2 projects. You get 100MB of storage space, all of the core task management features, discussions for knowledgebase management, team chat, recurring tasks, and collaborative docs.

10. Hive: Free Project Management Software for Hybrid Teams

Pros:

• Unlimited collaborative notes, email, and chat
• Flexible view options with customizations
• Comprehensive project baselines and goals
• Workspace activity hub for remote workers
• 100 active automation flows on the free plan

Cons:

• Some limitations on workspace users
• Valuable reporting features reserved for paid plans

Hive is a project management solution designed for hybrid teams. In fact, the company actually regularly upgrades its solutions with new features based on user input. Some of the most advanced features, like generative AI assistants and advanced reporting, aren’t available on the free plan.

However, you can still access numerous valuable tools for free. In fact, there’s a huge range of collaborative features available, from team calendars to email, Zoom from Hive, direct and group messaging, news boards, and project chats.

Plus, users can customize their experience with Kanban, Gantt, timeline, calendar, and table views. There’s even a project summary option.

The Free Plan:

Hive’s generous free plan supports up to 10 workspace members with unlimited tasks and collaborative notes, as well as various view options. You get native chat messaging and email, 200MB of storage, and integrated automation.

Choosing the Best Free Project Management Software

If you’re looking for free project management software to turbocharge team performance and workplace efficiency, there are plenty of options out there.

The solutions above represent just a handful of the best offerings, with the most generous free plans and features.

However, many other project management solution vendors also offer free plans, from Zoho Projects to Notion. The right option for you will depend on your specific needs.

You can even consider using the built-in project management capabilities in some of your existing apps, like Microsoft 365’s To Do, or the new Slack Lists feature.

 

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