How to pick the best project management software for 2026

Finding the perfect project management software can feel overwhelming, especially with so many options available. Whether you're managing a small team or a large organization, choosing the right project management tool is essential for streamlining your processes and ensuring project success - the right tool can save 10-15 hours weekly on coordination overhead and improve on-time delivery from 70% to 90%+.

This guide breaks down what to look for in project management software, including key features such as task management, collaboration tools, and budget tracking. We also highlight the top tools for 2026, so you can find the best solution to keep your team productive, organized, and on track to meet your project goals.

As a Content Marketing Manager at Teamwork.com, I've spent the past year testing how these tools handle real project workflows - from campaign coordination to resource planning to client collaboration - so I know what works when you're managing complexity and competing priorities. Let's jump in!

What is project management software? 

Project management software is a tool designed to help teams plan, organize, and manage their work efficiently with centralized visibility and coordination. It provides features like task assignment (create tasks, assign owners, set due dates), progress tracking (see percentage complete, identify blockers, monitor timelines), reporting (track performance metrics, budget health, team productivity), and resource management (allocate people to projects, balance workloads, prevent burnout), making it easier to collaborate and deliver projects on time and on budget. Whether you're working on small tasks or big projects, project management software provides a central place where team members and project stakeholders can share updates and stay aligned.

What are the benefits of using project management software? 

1. Improved organization: Project management software helps keep all project-related tasks, deadlines, and details in one centralized location instead of scattered across email, spreadsheets, chat, and local files (who has the latest version?). This ensures that important information is easy to find and reduces the risk of losing track of key data. According to McKinsey research, knowledge workers spend 28% of their workweek searching for information - centralized project management reduces this waste. Teams can access what they need, whether it's files, updates, or progress reports, without digging through emails or multiple tools.

2. Better collaboration: With project management software, team members can communicate and share updates seamlessly within a single platform (comments on tasks, project-level discussions, file attachments, @mentions for notifications). Features like message boards, file sharing, and real-time notifications ensure everyone is on the same page - no more "I didn't see that email" excuses. It reduces the need for emails (teams typically reduce email volume by 30-40% after adopting project management software) and improves transparency across teams. This helps teams collaborate effectively, even when working remotely or in different time zones.

3. Time management: Look for project management tools that include timelines (Gantt charts showing task sequences and dependencies), calendars (schedule view of all deadlines and milestones), and scheduling features (assign work, set due dates, track progress) to help teams prioritize tasks and manage deadlines. These features provide a clear view of what needs to be done and when key milestones are approaching. They also allow managers to allocate resources more efficiently, ensuring the right people are focused on the right tasks at the right time - preventing "we need a designer tomorrow but everyone's booked" emergencies. 

4. Budget tracking: Project management software allows you to monitor spending and track resources in real time (see actual hours vs budgeted hours, actual cost vs planned revenue, profitability percentage as project progresses). This helps prevent overspending by showing how expenses align with the project's budget and sending alerts at thresholds (e.g., notification when project reaches 75% of budget with 50% of work remaining = projected overrun). Managers can easily identify areas where costs may be increasing and take action before they become a bigger problem.  

Tools like Teamwork.com excel in budget tracking, offering detailed insights into financial data (actual vs planned, cost vs revenue, profitability by project or client) and helping teams stay on track with their project budgets - features absent from most project management tools like Asana, Trello, or monday.com which focus on task management without financial depth.

Monitor project budget details as you go so you can easily course correct before it affects your clients

Key insight: Project management software ROI comes from coordination time saved

The ROI of project management software isn't in the software cost - it's in coordination time saved. Teams without centralized project management spend 10-20 hours weekly on coordination overhead (status meetings, email updates, hunting for information, version control chaos). Project management software reduces this to 2-5 hours weekly by centralizing information, automating updates, and providing self-service visibility.

• Savings: 5-15 hours weekly × $30-$50/hour average team cost = $150-$750 weekly saved per person.

• Trade-off: software cost ($40-$200/month per person) vs coordination time saved ($600-$3,000/month per person) - ROI is 3-15× in time savings alone, before counting improved delivery, reduced errors, or better resource utilization.

• Action: Measure your current coordination overhead (hours spent in status meetings + email time + hunting for files weekly) before adopting project management software, then measure again after 30 days - if you don't save 5+ hours weekly per person, you're not using the software effectively or chose the wrong tool.

6 Key features to look for in project management software 

When choosing project management software, it's important to find a tool that fits your team's needs and simplifies your workflow without adding unnecessary complexity. We've outlined the process for you, making it easy to know what to look for. I evaluated these features based on hands-on testing with real project workflows - campaign coordination, client deliverables, resource planning - focusing on which features actually improve outcomes (on-time delivery, budget adherence, team productivity) vs which features sound good but add complexity without value.

1. Ease of use: Project management software should have an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, even for team members who are not tech-savvy. A user-friendly platform reduces the learning curve and ensures everyone can start using the tool quickly - aim for 80%+ daily usage within 30 days of rollout. Complex systems that require extensive training (1-2 weeks to feel comfortable, 5-10 hours of admin configuration) can lead to delays and frustration, reducing adoption and wasting the software investment. Test ease of use during trials: can a new team member create a project and assign a task within 15 minutes?

2. Task management features: Effective project management software should allow users to create, assign, and prioritize tasks. The ability to set deadlines and break larger projects into smaller tasks keeps the workflow organized and prevents overwhelm. Tracking progress in real time helps managers and team members stay on top of what's been completed and what still needs attention. Customizable task boards or lists can match different work styles, like Agile (sprints, backlogs, velocity tracking) or Kanban (visual cards flowing through stages), making sure the software suits your workflow instead of forcing you to adapt to rigid structures.

Teamwork.com provides customizable Kanban boards and Gantt charts, catering to different work styles and project needs. The Kanban boards are perfect for teams that prefer a visual, drag-and-drop interface for execution; Gantt charts show a timeline to help plan project schedules and keep track of tasks that depend on each other (if Task A delays 2 days, dependent Task B shifts automatically).

 Use Kanban boards in Teamwork.com to map out your workflow, quickly see the status of tasks, and automate your processes 

1. Collaboration features: Collaboration features are critical for keeping team members connected and informed without endless email threads or scattered communication. Look for project management tools that include messaging, comment sections on tasks, and file-sharing capabilities. Real-time updates help ensure that everyone is aligned and can respond quickly to changes or issues - reducing response time from hours to minutes.

2. Integration options: The best tool for project management should easily integrate with other tools your team already uses, such as email (Gmail, Outlook), calendars (Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar), file storage systems (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive), accounting (QuickBooks, Xero), CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce), or messaging (Slack, Microsoft Teams). Integrations eliminate the need to switch between multiple platforms, saving time and reducing errors. Prioritize native integrations over Zapier workarounds. 

3. Reporting and analytics: Detailed reporting and analytics are essential for understanding the performance of your projects and identifying issues before they cascade. The project management software should allow you to generate reports on key metrics like task completion (percentage complete, velocity, overdue count), resource usage (utilization percentage, capacity consumed, skills allocation), and budget tracking (actual vs planned spend, profitability, cost overruns). Insights from these reports help identify potential bottlenecks (tasks stuck in review for 3+ days, team members at 120% capacity, projects at 90% budget with 60% work remaining) or inefficiencies (tasks consistently running 50% over estimate, excessive time in meetings, low billable percentage) before they become bigger problems.

Tools like Teamwork.com go a step further with features like pre-built report templates for time tracking, budget summaries, and task breakdowns. Customizable reports let you focus on the data that matters most to your team.

 Look back to analyze historical data, and look forward to forecast future trends 

1. Dashboards: Provide a quick, visual summary of your project's status without requiring manual report generation. A good project management software should show key details like task progress (percentage complete, tasks completed vs total, velocity), upcoming deadlines (next 7 days, next 30 days, overdue), and team performance (utilization, task completion rate, workload balance) in one place that updates in real-time as work happens. With easy-to-read visuals, dashboards make it simple to spot issues early and keep stakeholders informed without generating manual status reports.

Teamwork.com excels at this by displaying key details such as task progress, upcoming deadlines, and team performance all in one customizable dashboard. With clear and easy-to-read visuals, Teamwork.com's dashboards make it simple to identify potential issues early. I check my dashboard every morning - it takes under 5 minutes to see what needs attention across 8-10 active projects and I can easily keep stakeholders updated with shareable dashboard links.

 Within Teamwork.com, you can view details about your project in the project’s Dashboard section  

Feature comparison: Project management tools

✓✓✓ = Excellent | ✓✓ = Good | ✓ = Basic | ✗ = Not available

5 Types of project management software 

Project management software comes in different types, each designed to suit specific ways of working, team structures, and project methodologies. Here's a simple breakdown of the main types and what they're used for - understanding these categories helps you choose software matching your team's workflow instead of forcing your team to adapt to rigid software structures:

• Gantt chart software is perfect for managing projects that have strict timelines or tasks that depend on each other (e.g., Task B can't start until Task A finishes, Task C depends on both A and B). It visualizes a project's schedule as a horizontal bar chart (tasks as bars on timeline, dependencies as connecting lines), making it easy to see how tasks overlap and connect. This type of software is especially useful for complex projects with multiple moving parts and stakeholders. Examples: Teamwork.com, Smartsheet, Wrike.

 With a Gantt project planner in Teamwork.com, you see your project’s timeline represented visually

• Agile project management software is designed to help teams work flexibly and adapt to changes as they go with iterative development cycles. It's popular for teams that use Agile methods like Scrum (work in 1-2 week sprints with defined goals) or Kanban (continuous flow with WIP limits), where work is done in small, easy-to-manage steps called sprints or iterations. They're perfect for industries like software development, marketing, or product development. Examples: Jira, Teamwork.com (agile features), ClickUp, monday.com.

 Re-allocate resources, adjust timelines, or change statuses to maximize resources and profits with Teamwork.com 

• Scrum software is a type of Agile software specifically built for teams using the Scrum framework with defined roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team) and ceremonies (sprint planning, daily standup, sprint review, retrospective). They include features like sprint planning boards (drag tasks from backlog into sprint), backlog management (prioritized list of future work), burndown charts (work remaining in sprint), and velocity tracking (story points completed per sprint). Scrum software helps teams organize their work into sprints, which are short, focused periods for completing specific tasks toward a sprint goal. These tools are great for teams that need to review their progress regularly and adapt quickly. Examples: Jira, Teamwork.com (agile features), Azure DevOps.

 Teamwork.com helps you organize and manage sprints using features like color-coding and priority labels to keep tasks clear

• Portfolio management software is for organizations managing several projects at the same time and needing visibility across the portfolio. Instead of focusing on individual tasks within one project, this software provides a high-level overview of all ongoing projects with portfolio dashboards showing project health, resource allocation, and budget status. Managers can use it to track budgets (total portfolio spend, profitability by project), allocate resources (balance people across projects, identify capacity constraints), and assess project risks (which projects are at risk of missing deadlines or budgets). It's helpful for deciding which projects to focus on or change according to the company's goals. Examples: Teamwork.com (portfolio dashboards), Asana Portfolios (Business plan), Wrike, Microsoft Project Online.

 Manage your team’s priorities, track your progress, and hit your deadlines all from one central place

• Resource and time management software helps teams stay productive and avoid burnout by providing visibility into capacity and workload. Resource management features show who's available (under 75% capacity), how much work they have taken on, and who's overloaded (120%+ capacity = burnout risk). Time management tools often include time-tracking features, so teams can monitor how long tasks take and track billable hours for clients. These tools are great for balancing workloads, managing deadlines, and keeping projects running smoothly. They're especially valuable for agencies and businesses that charge clients based on time spent - typical goal is 75-85% utilization with 75-80% of hours being billable. Examples: Teamwork.com (comprehensive resource and time management), Harvest (time tracking and invoicing), Float (resource scheduling).

 Forecast project resources with confidence months, quarters, or years in advance with Teamwork.com

5 Best practices for using project management software  

1. Set clear objectives: Before you start using any project management software, make sure everyone understands the project's goals with specific, measurable outcomes - not vague goals like "improve marketing" but specific goals like "increase qualified leads by 25% by Q4" or "launch product by March 15 with 95% feature completion" - and that you have clearly defined the objectives and outcomes you want to achieve. This helps ensure that all tasks and deadlines align with the overall mission of the project. When goals are clear from the start, it's easier to prioritize work and track progress.

2. Choose the right software for your needs: Not all project management tools are the same, so pick one that fits your team's needs and workflow instead of forcing your team to adapt to rigid software. Whether you're managing small tasks or large projects, select software that offers the features and flexibility your team requires. For example, if your team follows Agile (Scrum or Kanban), look for tools that support sprints and backlogs (Jira, Teamwork.com). If you need to track resources (capacity planning, utilization), choose software with resource management features (Teamwork.com, Wrike). If you're doing client work and billing by the hour, choose tools with time tracking and budgets built in (Teamwork.com). Don't pay for features you won't use - simple teams don't need complex tools.

3. Keep projects organized: Use the project management software to create organized project structures with consistent patterns. Break larger projects into smaller tasks (aim for tasks under 8 hours - anything larger should be broken into subtasks), assign deadlines, and make sure everyone knows their responsibilities. Organizing tasks and projects clearly will help prevent confusion and missed deadlines. Use folders, labels, or categories to group related tasks together for easy access and filtering.

4. Collaborate and communicate: Make the most of your project management software's collaboration features, like chat (real-time messaging), file sharing (drag-and-drop attachments with version history), and comment sections (threaded discussions on tasks with @mentions). Encourage team members to communicate openly within the platform to keep everything in one place instead of scattered across email, Slack, or meetings. This helps avoid email clutter and ensures everyone has access to the latest updates.

5. Regularly review and adjust: Project management software is a tool that needs regular updates and reviews, not something you just set up once and forget about. Regularly review your project's progress (weekly project health checks, monthly portfolio reviews), adjust timelines or priorities when necessary (if Task A delays, shift dependent tasks; if priorities change, reprioritize backlog), and keep the team updated (communicate changes, explain rationale, update documentation). Use reporting tools within the software to track milestones (are we hitting key dates?), identify potential roadblocks (tasks stuck in review for 3+ days, team members at 120% capacity, budget at 90% with 60% work remaining), and make adjustments as needed (reallocate resources, adjust scope, extend timeline, request more budget). Staying on top of these project reviews will ensure everything stays on track and is aligned with the original goals.

Top 5 project management tools 

I tested five leading project management tools over 30 days each, focusing on four criteria:

• Ease of use - can new team members be productive within 3 days?

• Task management - create, assign, track, prioritize

• Collaboration - comments, files, real-time updates

• Integrations - connect to existing tools, reporting (track performance and budgets)

• Value - features per dollar spent

Each tool was evaluated with real project workflows - campaign coordination, client deliverables, resource planning - not just feature demos.

1. Teamwork.com 

 Manage your projects, team, and clients in one place, with all the features you need to deliver work on time and within budget

Teamwork.com is project and resource management software built for client work, with time tracking, budget management, utilization reporting, and unlimited free client access. It's best for agencies and professional services teams (5-50+ people) managing multiple clients who need to track profitability, prevent burnout, and prove ROI. Pricing starts at $10.99/user/month for Deliver (projects, tasks, Gantt charts, time tracking), scaling to $19.99/user/month for Grow (budgets, invoicing, profitability reports) and $54.99/user/month for Scale (resource management, utilization reports, workload planner).

Teamwork.com is a powerful project management tool designed to make collaboration easier for agencies and client services teams. With a range of features (tasks, time, budgets, resources, reporting), it's perfect for managing projects of any size, especially for teams working with clients who need to track profitability and capacity.

With powerful task management features (create tasks, assign owners, set dependencies, track progress), Teamwork.com helps teams create, assign, and prioritize tasks while keeping everything organized in one place. The platform's time tracking (billable vs non-billable, custom rates, timesheets) and resource management (capacity planning, utilization tracking, workload balancing) capabilities ensure you can stay on schedule and within budget, no matter how complex the project.

Teamwork.com makes it easy to keep clients in the loop with features like unlimited free client access (add clients without paying per-seat fees) and regular project updates (automated notifications, shareable dashboards, client-friendly views). This means your clients can stay informed about progress without constant email updates - reducing coordination time by 30-40%. Also, its detailed reporting and budgeting features allow you to monitor expenses in real-time (actual hours vs budgeted hours, actual cost vs planned revenue, profitability percentage), helping keep every project financially on track and proving ROI to clients or leadership.

Another key advantage of Teamwork.com is its seamless integrations with popular tools like Slack (notifications, create tasks from messages), HubSpot (sync deals to projects), and Google Drive (attach files, sync folders) - 100+ integrations total. This ensures your team can continue using the apps they rely on while keeping all project data centralized in Teamwork. Customizable workflows, including Kanban boards and Gantt charts, allow teams to tailor the platform to their unique processes (Kanban for execution, Gantt for planning, table for reporting, list for daily work).

Whether your team is managing a single project or juggling multiple client accounts (I manage 8-10 active projects simultaneously), Teamwork.com is designed to help you deliver high-quality results while maintaining efficiency and transparency - on-time delivery, on-budget execution, and clear communication with clients and stakeholders.  

Key insight: Teamwork's client services focus sets it apart

Most project management tools (Asana, Trello, monday.com) focus on task management for internal teams - they lack features essential for client services like time tracking for billing, budget management for profitability, resource utilization for capacity planning, and unlimited free client access for collaboration. Teamwork.com was built specifically for agencies and client services teams, so these features are core to the platform, not add-ons or integrations.

• Trade-off: Teamwork.com is more complex than simple task tools (Trello, Basecamp) but provides the full stack client service teams need.

• Action: Choose Teamwork.com if you bill by the hour, manage multiple clients, or need to prove profitability. Choose simpler tools (Asana, Trello) if you're an internal team with fixed budgets who don't need financial tracking.

Pricing

• Free Forever: $0 (up to 5 users) - includes 2 projects, basic tasks, 100 MB storage

• Deliver: $10.99/user/month (billed annually) - includes unlimited projects, tasks, Gantt charts, time tracking, 100 GB storage

• Grow: $19.99/user/month (billed annually) - adds budgets, invoicing, profitability reports, advanced permissions, 250 GB storage

• Scale: $54.99/user/month (billed annually) - includes resource management, utilization reports, workload planner, advanced automations, 500 GB storage

• Enterprise: Custom pricing - adds dedicated support, custom onboarding, enterprise security, unlimited storage

Pricing accurate as of December 2025. Visit Teamwork.com pricing for the latest details and to start a free 30-day trial (no credit card required).

Ratings & reviews

G2 rating: 4.4/5 (based on 1,000+ reviews as of December 2025)

Take your project management to the next level.

Get started with Teamwork.com and deliver your best work, every time!

Try it for free

2. Asana 

Asana is a work management platform with tasks, projects, timelines, and portfolios for clean task tracking. It's best for marketing or operations teams (5-30 people) that prioritize task management and collaboration over financial features. Pricing starts free (unlimited tasks, 15 team members max), then $10.99/user/month for Premium (timeline view, workflow builder, advanced search), scaling to $24.99/user/month for Business (portfolios, goals, workload management).

Asana is a flexible tool designed to simplify task and project management with clean interface and straightforward workflows. It allows teams to organize tasks in various views, such as lists (hierarchical tasks), boards (Kanban cards), timelines (Gantt charts), or calendar (schedule view), catering to different preferences and work styles. The platform's easy-to-use interface and automation options (workflow builder with triggers and actions) save time and reduce manual effort, allowing teams to focus on their priorities. Asana makes collaboration easier with features like task comments (threaded discussions), file sharing (attachments with preview), and connections to tools like Zoom (start meetings from tasks) and Google Drive (attach files from Drive).

Pricing

• Basic: Free - includes unlimited tasks, projects, messages, 15 team members max, 100 MB file storage

• Premium: $10.99/user/month (billed annually) - adds timeline view, advanced search, workflow builder, unlimited free guests

• Business: $24.99/user/month (billed annually) - includes portfolios, goals, workload management, advanced integrations, 100 GB storage per user

• Enterprise: Custom pricing - adds advanced security, data export, admin controls, priority support

Pricing accurate as of December 2025. Visit Asana pricing for current details.

Ratings & reviews

G2 rating: 4.4/5 (based on 10,000+ reviews as of December 2025)

3. Trello 

Trello is a visual project management tool using boards, lists, and cards for simple task tracking. It's best for small teams (1-10 people) wanting visual simplicity without complex features. Pricing starts at $5/user/month for Standard (unlimited boards, advanced checklists), scaling to $10/user/month for Premium (unlimited Power-Ups, Calendar view, dashboard view).

Trello is a straightforward project management tool that uses a card-based system (boards contain lists, lists contain cards) to visualize tasks and workflows. Users can drag and drop cards across customizable boards (move cards between lists as work progresses), making it easy to track progress at a glance - zero learning curve for most users. Trello integrates with popular tools like Slack (notifications), Dropbox (file storage), and Google Workspace (attach Google Docs, Sheets, Slides), allowing teams to centralize their work. It doesn't have as many features as some other tools (no Gantt charts, no resource management, no time tracking, no budgets on free plan), but its simple design and ease of use make it popular with many teams - especially those wanting to start fast without extensive setup.

Pricing

• Free - includes unlimited cards, 10 boards per workspace, 1 Power-Up per board, 10 MB file attachments

• Standard: $5/user/month (billed annually) - adds unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, 250 MB file attachments

• Premium: $10/user/month (billed annually) - includes unlimited Power-Ups, Calendar view, dashboard view, admin controls

• Enterprise: $17.50/user/month (billed annually, 50 users minimum) - adds organization-wide permissions, unlimited workspaces

Pricing accurate as of December 2025. Visit Trello pricing for current details.

Ratings & reviews

G2 rating: 4.4/5 (based on 13,000+ reviews as of December 2025)

4. monday.com 

monday.com is a visual work operating system with customizable boards, automations, and workdocs for highly visual project management. It's best for marketing teams (5-30 people) that want visual customization and colorful interfaces. Pricing starts at $9/user/month for Basic (unlimited boards, 5 GB storage), scaling to $12/user/month for Standard (timeline, calendar, integrations, 20 GB storage) and $16/user/month for Pro (time tracking, formula columns, dependencies, 100 GB storage).

monday.com is a visually appealing project management platform that organizes task tracking and team collaboration with highly customizable, colorful boards. Its vibrant dashboards and variety of templates (200+ pre-built templates for marketing, operations, sales, HR) make it easy to start managing projects right away - pick a template, customize columns and automations, invite team. The tool lets you automate repetitive tasks (when status changes to Done, notify client and archive task) with visual automation builder, saving time and reducing mistakes. monday.com also works with apps like Microsoft Teams (notifications, create tasks from Teams) and Zoom (start meetings from monday.com) to make team communication easier. Teams of all sizes can customize the platform to fit the way they work (create custom column types for any data point), making it useful for many different industries.

Pricing

• Individual: Free (up to 2 seats) - includes unlimited boards, 500 MB storage, 200+ templates

• Basic: $9/user/month (billed annually, 3 seats minimum) - adds unlimited free viewers, 5 GB storage

• Standard: $12/user/month (billed annually, 3 seats minimum) - includes timeline view, calendar view, integrations, automations (250 actions/month), 20 GB storage

• Pro: $16/user/month (billed annually, 3 seats minimum) - adds time tracking, formula columns, dependency columns, private boards, automations (25,000 actions/month), 100 GB storage

• Enterprise: Custom pricing - adds advanced security, multi-level permissions, tailored onboarding

Pricing accurate as of December 2025. Visit monday.com pricing for current details.

Ratings & reviews

G2 rating: 4.7/5 (based on 10,000+ reviews as of December 2025)

5. Jira 

Jira is an issue tracking and agile project management platform built for software development teams using Scrum or Kanban. It's best for development teams (5-100+ people) managing sprints, bugs, and releases - not general marketing or agency work. Pricing starts free (up to 10 users, 2 GB storage), then $7.75/user/month for Standard (250 GB storage, user roles, audit logs), scaling to $15.25/user/month for Premium (unlimited storage, advanced roadmaps).

Jira is designed for software development and technical teams managing code, bugs, and releases. It excels in managing Agile and Scrum workflows, offering features like sprint planning (plan 1-2 week sprints with defined goals), bug tracking (categorize issues by severity, track resolution time), and customizable workflows (define stages, transitions, validators for development processes). Jira's powerful reporting tools (burndown charts, velocity charts, cumulative flow diagrams) provide detailed insights into project performance, helping teams identify and resolve bottlenecks (too many issues stuck in Code Review, velocity declining over sprints). Although it's made for development projects, it's flexible enough for non-technical teams to use too - though marketing teams may find Jira overly technical and better suited to development use cases.

Pricing

• Free - up to 10 users, 2 GB storage, community support, basic features

• Standard: $7.75/user/month (billed annually) - adds 250 GB storage, user roles and permissions, audit logs, 24/7 support

• Premium: $15.25/user/month (billed annually) - includes unlimited storage, advanced roadmaps, sandbox environments, IP allowlisting

• Enterprise: Custom pricing - adds unlimited instances, centralized administration, enterprise security, 99.9% uptime SLA

Pricing accurate as of December 2025. Visit Jira pricing for current details.

Ratings & reviews

G2 rating: 4.3/5 (based on 6,000+ reviews as of December 2025)

How to choose the right project management software

Choosing the right project management software depends on five factors: your team's primary use case (client services vs internal projects), team size (5-10 vs 50-100 people), required features (task management only vs time tracking + budgets + resources), existing tool stack (what integrations do you need?), and budget (free vs $10-$50/user/month).

If you're doing client services work, choose tools with time tracking for billing, budget management for profitability, and resource management for capacity planning - Teamwork.com is the only tool in this guide with all three. If you're an internal team, choose tools focused on task management and collaboration - Asana, monday.com, or Trello suffice without the complexity of financial features you won't use.

If your team is small (under 10 people) with simple workflows, choose lightweight tools like Trello ($5/user/month) or Basecamp ($15/user/month or $299/month unlimited). If your team is mid-sized (10-30 people) managing multiple projects, choose robust platforms like Teamwork.com ($10.99-$54.99/user/month), Asana ($10.99-$24.99/user/month), or monday.com ($9-$16/user/month). If your team is large (30+ people) or enterprise, choose tools with advanced features like Wrike, Teamwork Scale, or Jira for development teams.

Start with a 14-30 day trial (all tools offer free trials or free plans), migrate 2-3 real projects (not dummy data), and test with your actual workflows before committing. Measure ease of use (can new team members be productive within 3 days?), adoption rate (percentage of team using daily after 30 days), and time saved (hours saved weekly on coordination, reporting, or searching for information). If the tool doesn't achieve 80%+ adoption or save 5+ hours weekly within 30 days, it's not the right fit - try alternatives or reassess your workflow issues.

Start managing projects with Teamwork.com 

Teamwork.com simplifies project management with a user-friendly interface and powerful features built specifically for agencies and client services teams. It helps teams stay organized (centralized tasks, files, communication), collaborate efficiently (comments, proofs, real-time updates), and track progress in real time (dashboards, reports, timeline views). Whether you're managing a single project or multiple projects at once (I manage 8-10 active projects simultaneously), Teamwork.com provides the tools you need to ensure your projects run smoothly and meet deadlines - on-time delivery, on-budget execution, and clear visibility for clients and stakeholders. With customizable workflows (Kanban, Gantt, table, list views), task management features (assign, track, prioritize), and seamless client integration (unlimited free client access, client-friendly views, white-label branding), it's the perfect solution for agencies and client services teams.

Start your free 30-day trial (no credit card required) or book a demo to see how Teamwork can transform your project management.

What I appreciate most about Teamwork.com is how it has changed my business. Being able to repeat your process over and over is what makes a business successful. It’s what can make or break you as you’re scaling. You can’t scale if you can’t repeat.

Susan Fennema
Chaos Eradicating Officer (CEO)

FAQs about project management software 

Is Excel a project management tool?  

Excel can be used for simple project management tasks like tracking tasks and deadlines in spreadsheet format, but it doesn't have all the features of specialized project management tools - no automatic notifications (must manually email updates), no real-time collaboration (version control chaos with "Final_v3_FINAL.xlsx"), no visual timelines (can build Gantt charts manually but requires significant effort), and no resource management (can't see team capacity or utilization without complex formulas). It requires manual updates (change one date, manually update all dependent dates) and doesn't support real-time collaboration (only one person can edit at a time in desktop Excel; online Excel has limited collaboration). For bigger or more complex projects (10+ tasks with dependencies, 5+ team members, multiple stakeholders), Excel might not be the best choice - dedicated project management tools (Teamwork, Asana, Monday) provide automation, collaboration, and visibility that Excel can't match without extensive manual work.

Is Gantt chart a project management tool? 

A Gantt chart is not a full project management tool on its own - it's a visual tool (timeline view showing tasks as horizontal bars with dependencies as connecting lines) used within project management for planning and tracking schedules. It helps you plan and track project schedules and tasks by visualizing task sequences, dependencies (Task B can't start until Task A finishes), and critical path (tasks that affect project end date). Many project management tools, like Teamwork.com, Asana, Monday, and Wrike, include Gantt charts as one view option to help manage timelines - but Gantt charts alone don't provide task assignment, collaboration, file sharing, reporting, or resource management features that full project management tools offer.