There’s more to Project Management than software. But, like all good tools, software can make our lives easier. But many start-up businesses, clubs, and community organizations just don’t have the funds to pay for software. Luckily, the ‘freemium’ model of software marketing means there are many options for high-quality free project management software.
So, that’s what we’ll look at in this article. If you need free project management software – or simply want to conduct a thorough evaluation – here’s the place to be.
But I’m not a software reviewer. So these won’t be reviews. There’s just too much to know about any decent software solution. And let’s avoid this whole thing of…
‘My software is better than yours’
Your software may be better… for you. You can only assess the value of any tool or solution in the context of the job to be done or the problem to solve. And only you know what your:
However, I will tackle the problem of choosing software; whether its is free Project Management software, or any other software tool. I’ll share my tips and advice below.
There are some sources of genuinely free stuff. But, let’s face it, it’s reasonable to pay for tools that have a value. And it’s reasonable for the creators to earn money to cover their investment of time and money on developing it.
And it’s also often (but not always) true that:
So, I am including paid software that comes with a free tier. That is, one that allows you to make real use of the software. But I am not including software that offers a free trial period, but that you have to pay for at the end. None of the software in this list (currently) gives you a time constraint on using their free tiers.
I haven’t been scientific in this. But I have described each free Project Management software tool as having one of four (subjectively-assessed) levels of free offering. You may disagree with my assessments in the comments below!
Here’s what we cover. We start with:
Then, I have arranged the free Project management software in alphabetical order. Note that, unless explicitly stated, none of the links are affiliated.
In the capabilities lists, I have used:
Important Note: I have used my best efforts to gauge the functionality of these free Project Management software tools. However, I have relied only on their websites and may have missed something. I have not used many of these – and none of them in depth. If I have made an error, please point it out (politely) in the comments or by emailing me, and I shall amend the article accordingly.
…and, how to choose the best software for you – free or paid, PM or anything else.
My recommendation is to keep it simple, and follow a MoSCoW approach:
This approach to evaluation draws heavily on:
Airtable is a popular database tool that you can use to build simple project plans and tracking tools.
Team Communication | |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes – this is what it does |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Huge number of templates |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
Asana is mature and widely-used. It has a lot of features that will allow it to grow with your needs.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar View | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Portfolios, Automations, Dashboards |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
Avaza is not one of the well-known players but the tool has a lot of capabilities and is especially good if you need integrated invoicing as part of your solution.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | Yes |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | Yes |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | Yes |
Other tools | Timesheets, invoices |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
Basecamp is one of the big beasts of this list. It’s well-established and designed around team collaboration. It is very simple and only really manages by list and calendar.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Primary approach |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools |
.
Free tier level: Free tier
Bitrix offers a lot of different capabilities – of which Project Management is only one. It’s specialty seems to be CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Worth considering if you need a load of tools, including free Project Management software.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | ? |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | ? |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Loads – mainly CRM, sales, & support It even hosts a simple website! |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
ClickUp has recently become very popular with small businesses. And with good reason. It does a lot and it has a very modern user interface.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | Simple mindmap-style |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | Yes |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Time tracking |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
Freedcamp is one of the simpler tools, in terms of capabilities. And that may well suit you.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Timetracking |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
Frankly, I considered removing Kissflow. Their website is frustratingly far from informative and their free tier is very limited. But it may be the right tool for you.
Team Communication | ? |
Calendar view | ? |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | ? |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Who knows? |
.
Free tier level: Limited free tier
Kanban-based tool. If Kanban is what you need, then frankly, the Trello free tier is far better.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | ? |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Time tracking |
.
Free tier level: Limited free tier
Method Grid combines project-management and knowledge management tools that allow collaborative capture, sharing, and development of structured project processes, methods, and best-practice.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | ? |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Creating method statements |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
nTask seems to have a lot of capabilities, but I confess I found the website annoying.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | Yes |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Timesheets, Issue tracking, Risk Management |
.
Free tier level: Limited free tier (functionality severely constrained)
https://www.onepoint-projects.com
Declares itself to address hybrid project and portfolio management and it is fully-featured. However, the limitations of its free tier very nearly got it knocked off this list.
Team Communication | |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | Yes |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | Yes |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | Yes |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | Yes |
Other tools | Risk management, Portfolio creation and management |
.
Free tier level: Limited free tier and requires on premises installation
Paymo is ideal for agencies and consultancies delivering client projects, with its built-in invoicing functionality. But it also has a wide and deep set of project management capabilities.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | Yes |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | Yes |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Time-tracking, invoicing, expenses |
.
Free tier level: Free Tier
https://www.pivotaltracker.com/
Sophisticated software that seems to be optimised for Agile PM, based around user stories.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | Yes |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Analytics, Story blockers |
.
Free tier level: Generous Free Tier
Podio is owned by ‘big beast’ Citrix – which does not see the need to reveal much on their website. So the assessment below looks thin and it’s hard to know if it matches the reality. I guess you can sign-up for a free account and find out!
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools |
.
Free tier level: Free tier
https://www.projectinabox.org.uk
We have a full write-up on Project in a Box, and an article by its founder, Malcolm West. Its focus is on organizing all of your project information, and making it easy to access for your whole team.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | Yes |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | PRINCE2 and customizable to other methods |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Risk and Issue Management, Document Management, Trend Analysis |
.
Free tier level: Generous Free Tier
This tool focuses on the resource management aspect of Project Management and is excellent for that – but limited in other areas.
Team Communication | |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Time-tracking |
.
Free tier level: Limited free tier
Fairly well-featured solution that aims for enterprise-level usage.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | Yes |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Time tracking |
.
Free tier level: Limited Free Tier
This is very much a list-based project tool – more like an advanced To Do list app than a fully featured Project management tool. But some teams will like this simplicity!
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Productivity visualisation |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
This looks like a simple tool with limited features executed with a ‘friendly’ user interface.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools |
.
Free tier level: Limited free tier
Widely used and loved Kansan-based tool with generous free tier. It doesn’t do much else, but if Kanban is what you need, it does it very w
Team Communication | Limited |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
A good set of basic features makes Wrike one of the more popular tools. Its team communication is mainly mediated through email integration.
Team Communication | via email |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Time tracking |
.
Free tier level: Limited Free tier
Yodiz is designed for teams using agile methods in general and Scrum, in particular. It was new to me when researching this and, if you want an Agile-based tool, it looks good and seems well-priced.
Team Communication | |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | Yes, Scrum |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Issue management |
.
Free tier level: Generous free tier
Zenkit is built as a suite of inter-related tools. It is best for smaller teams. It has a pleasing user interface and appears genuinely different to many of the tools here, in its selection of features.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based planning | |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Knowledge Base, Mind Mapping |
.
Free tier level: Free tier covers everything but usage limitations aren’t clear
link.link
Zoho Projects is part of the larger Zoho suite of apps that competes with Google Apps and Microsoft Office. It is well-featured and takes a fairly traditional approach to Project Planning.
Team Communication | Yes |
Calendar view | Yes |
List-based planning | Yes |
Advanced lists: Table-based plannings | Yes |
Kanban-style: Board-based planning | Yes |
Roadmap: Simple Timeline planning | Yes |
Gantt Chart: Full Timeline planning | Yes |
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure planning | |
Network Charts: Process-flow planning | |
Resource Planning: Resource management tools | Yes |
Cost Management: Budgeting and cost tracking | |
Method-specific tools: like Scrum | |
Sophisticated tools: like Earned Value | |
Other tools | Analytics, Timesheets, Time Tracking, Issue Tracking, SLAs |
.
Free tier level: Limited Free Tier
Please do share your thoughts in the comments below, and I will be sure to respond.
And, of courses, if you feel we have misrepresented one of these tools, please do let us know and, if we can verify your comments, we’ll amend the table with pleasure.
Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
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I use Restyaboard, another free project management software to plan my trips for leisure, for work, and with or without collaborators. A good free alternative to Trello.
Carolyn, thank you. I was not aware of Restyaboard. I see it describes itself as ‘Open source. Trello like kanban board. Tasks, to-dos, chat, etc.’ and has a pretty strong free tier. https://restya.com/board