12 Free Project Management Software Tools

Project Management (1)

Below is a list of 12 free project management software tools to help users decide which project planning tool has the most useful core features to deliver a successful project. These freemium project management applications offer budget-friendly pricing to those looking for the basic features coupled with the ability to project plan multiple projects, offer collaboration, resource management, reporting tools, and more all in one project management app.

Depending on the type of project plan you are working on, or the functionality needed, most applications allow you to apply project templates to easily start project planning.

What is Project Management software?

Project management solutions offer software that helps project managers manage projects, and in some instances, manage project managers themselves. The software is a popular tool for big businesses, as it allows teams to keep track of various complex projects. However, the option is also becoming popular among small business owners or a small team as it offers the same capabilities to these companies to effectively monitor company progress, have team collaboration, project tracking, and share calendar apps. Users can extract data to make decisions, schedule meetings, monitor progress, or share plans with another department.

What makes great free project management software?

When considering a project management software tool, it’s important to consider what functionality is needed to be effective and task dependencies.

  • Online Collaboration/Project Tracking (to include multiple project views and project statuses)
  • Core of the product is usable (do you have to enroll in a paid plan to implement a basic project plan)
  • Online storage and backup
  • Workflow Assistance/Processes
  • Ability to track issues and reporting
  • Document Management
  • Ability to manage project resources
  • Allows multiple users
  • Integrations
  • Knowledgebase Assistance
  • Cloud-based with a Mobile Application
  • Free for limited budgets

Questions you need to consider when evaluating a free project management software:

  • What does it do and what does it do well?
  • Do you need unlimited users or will you have to soon convert to a paid plan?
  • What bugs does it have?
  • What features do you like and need?
  • Can you manage the number of projects you need? Do you need unlimited project capability?
  • Can you apply a methodology to your projects (ie. Agile project management)?
  • What features do you dislike?
  • How many employees need access?
  • What types of documents can be stored?
  • Are the premium features something you could use down the road?

 List of 12 Free Project Management Software Applications

Airtable

Airtable’s key feature is to allow the user flexibility to create their tables and database to develop customized collaborative project management workflows. There are 4 main configurable views, gallery, Kanban board, calendar, and grid, and users can configure custom dashboards based on the task. There are numerous templates to import and several integrations. The software also allows custom notifications and the automation of recurring tasks. Airtable offers over 50 prebuilt apps that allow one to view a Gantt chart, page designer, SendGrid, scheduler, or the option to create one.

PLAN: Free unlimited databases and unlimited users (1,200 records/database/2GB space). There is also the option of managing projects via their mobile app.

Airtable Overview Video

Asana

Asana was made for agile projects as it helps teams manage and track their work and is ideal for remote teams. It allows a user seamless team communication and project collaboration tool in one place. Additionally, it’s a great project management app for engineering teams that need to track bugs reports and sprints. Users can easily break down tasks, delegate work, automate recurring tasks, and get updates on what the team is working on. Asana also offers over 100 integrations via Zapier.

PRICE: Free for 1,000 tasks per team, unlimited teams, projects, messages, activity log, file storage (100MB per file), can collaborate with up to 15 teammates, list view of projects, board and calendar view of projects, assignee and due dates, project overviews and briefs, mobile apps for iOS and Android, time tracking with integrations plus 100+ free integrations. To access more of the timeline and dashboard features, users will have to opt for one of their premium plans.

Asana Overview Video

Basecamp

Basecamp is a lot of rich project management tools, but most are not included in the free version. This will give the user the Basecamp basics that are best for freelancers or a small team with a simple project. For complex projects, a user of this package would have the project planning tools needed at the premium price level to include client access, project templates, unlimited team project features, and 500 GB of storage.

PRICE: Free for up to 20 users, 3 projects, 1 GB of storage.

Basecamp Overview Video

ClickUp

ClickUp is an all in one project management software tool that allows a user to track agile projects and promotes “build the perfect workflow for every project ” for its viewing options. It has amazing task management as team members can assign comments and pair with action items, can share attachments, use instant chat, and notifications. There are multiple views (lists, boxes, a Gantt chart, boards, or calendar view features), workflow statuses, and can choose appearance using colors. Users can even integrate other project tools for project tracking. Additionally, it has custom fields, calendar apps, and task dependencies built in a user’s task list.

PRICE: Free for 100MB Storage, Unlimited Tasks, Unlimited Members, 100 custom fields, timeline and workload views, Gantt Charts, 24/7 support, 10 automations (but no sprint automations)

ClickUp Overview Video

Freedcamp

Freedcamp’s online project management software tool offers everything a user needs in a project management tool: task and time tracking, discussions, Gantt chart option, Kanban board style, milestones, task management, timesheets, and much more. Freedcamp is available on mobile and works with your existing calendar, email, and file storage tools.

PRICE: Free forever plan includes unlimited projects, tasks, storage, and users. Main features also include time tracking, passwords, discussions, milestone tracking, and a calendar app.

Freedcamp Overview Video

Jira

Jira is a project management tool for those that need functionality for agile teams and software development. It offers customizable scrum boards along with version control, builds, and deployment features. It has mobile access and plenty of integrations. This tool can be used for complex projects, multiple projects, heavy resource management.

PRICE: Free for up to 10 users for agile projects, one site, Scrum and Kanban boards, agile reporting, roadmaps, automation, and much more.

Jira Overview Video

MeisterTask

MeisterTask is a task management and project management system that is designed to help project managers and teams keep track of their work using a Kanban board view and customized views for multiple projects. MeisterTask is designed for the project manager who is looking for a simple and easy-to-use online project management tool. It offers the ability to import project data from another popular project management app (Trello, Asana, and Wunderlist). The app is mobile-friendly and has predefined task management workflows that can also be customized.

PRICE: Free for up to 3 active projects, unlimited users/project members, customizable project boards, limited integration possibilities, file attachments up to 20 MB per file, mobile apps, and email support.

MeisterTask Overview Video

Teamwork

Teamwork is another solid project management software tool for complex projects that helps users to have team collaboration, manage tasks, time tracking, manage resources, and reporting. This is a solid project management solution as it provides full portfolio management and workflow management with Gantt chart features, time tracking, and reporting dashboards. Whether you are working on a small project or a large-scale project, Teamwork can manage recurring tasks, task dependencies and offers complete resource management. The Chat and CRM features are add ons and are part of the paid plan.

PRICE: Free for up to 5 users, 2 projects, 100 MB of storage, Zapier integration, and standard project management features.

Teamwork Overview Video

Toggl Plan

Toggl Plan offers team planning, project management, and task management. It incorporates easy sharing features, drag and drop, milestone tracking, color coding, comments, mentions, and reporting. There are also options to integrate with Slack, GitHub, Trello, and Google Calendar.

PRICE: Free for up to 5 members, unlimited boards, unlimited timelines, unlimited milestones, unlimited tasks, timelines, shared timelines, and import data from CSV files. Users need to upgrade to a paid plan to use recurring tasks and export data.

Toggl Plan Overview Video

Trello

Trello is a popular online project management tool that allows users to organize and make managing projects easier using the Kanban board method. This app is a flexible project tracking tool that is perfect for simple projects with plenty of options for team collaboration. Each board has lists for projects, task lists, notes, etc. A user can drag and drop tasks and projects into lists to organize them. Trello offers custom fields, workflow automation, calendar, and due date commands with plenty of integrations for added functionality. You can also drag and drop cards between lists to organize and re-prioritize tasks.

PRICE: Free for up to 10 boards per team, unlimited cards, unlimited lists, 10MB per file attachment, 1 powerup/board, and 50 command runs/month. This offers a user a pretty complete management tool app at the free price without moving to a paid plan.

Trello Overview Video

Wrike

Wrike is work management software designed as an agile team collaboration tool with customizable workflows geared toward larger teams. This cloud-based project management solution seamlessly integrates user’s business applications, including Google Drive, MS Office 365, Box, Dropbox, and more. A user can manage multiple projects and their entire workflow from a single app, including task management, time tracking, file sharing, and collaboration tools. Users won’t get dashboards for the free version but offer spreadsheet views.

PRICE: Free for 1 to 5 users, board view, management of tasks, file sharing, real-time activity stream, spreadsheet views, basic integrations to include Google Drive and MSFT Office 365, desktop and mobile apps, cloud storage integrations (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Microsoft Office 365, and OneDrive), and 2 GB of storage space. Users need the paid plan for Gantt chart views and shareable dashboards.

Wrike Overview Video

Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects offers free project management software that is easy to use and great for a small team or a simple project if using the free version but can handle managing projects much more complex using the Enterprise paid plan. Zoho Projects uses the Gantt chart view which enables a user to visually plan and review projects.

Features include time tracking and project reporting will help you stay on top of your projects. It also integrates with Zoho CRM to help current Zoho users keep track of contacts and business leads. Finally, this app offers plenty of customization to include custom automation, custom fields, custom views, templates, custom statuses, layouts, and a custom domain.

PRICE: Free forever includes 3 users, 2 projects, 10 MB of storage, the ability to import from Microsoft Project, and a Gantt chart viewer. There is a mobile app to access this project management tool.

Zoho Project Overview Video

Want to learn more about creating a project management solution or managing projects? Be sure to check out the list of free and paid training for project managers.