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Kathy Haan,Cassie Bottorff
Contributor,Editor
Published: Mar 31, 2023, 6:26pm
Reviewed By
Rob Watts
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Effective project management can play a key role in a company’s success, from generating additional revenue to reducing costs through higher productivity.
And project management has become even more critical with the rise of remote working, often requiring the coordination of multiple teams across different countries and work-streams.
Project management software can be an invaluable resource to help with this, making it easier to organise and share information, delegate tasks and foster effective communication between team members.
But, with so many free project management options on the market, it can be hard to choose the right one.
To help with this, we’ve carried out in-depth research on our pick of the best free project management tools and software on the market, including the main features, integration with third party software and mobile capabilities.
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- Featured Partner
- What are the best free project management tools and software?
- Monday.com
- Clickup
- Todoist
- Airtable
- Trello
- Methodology
- How to choose free project management software
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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1
monday.com
Free version available
Yes
Starting Price
From £7 monthly per user
Key Features
Mobile app available, All plans include unlimited free viewers, unlimited docs, shareable forms and more
1
monday.com
On monday.com’s Website
Featured Partner
What are the best free project management tools and software?
FEATURED PARTNER OFFER
BEST FOR BRAINSTORMING
Monday.com
4.7
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
On monday.com’s Website
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Why We Picked It
Monday.com offers a free plan which includes:
- • Two team members
- • Sharing of unlimited documents
- • More than 200 templates
- • Up to 1,000 items on boards, with over 20 different column options
- • File storage of 500 MB
- • iOS and Android apps
- • Activity log of one week
Customers will need to upgrade to the basic plan (currently £7 per month per member) to access unlimited items, boards and a customised dashboard.
Overall, this software is likely to appeal to very small teams wanting a tool for brainstorming and collaborating on projects in real time.
Pros & Cons
- Integrates with other apps (including Trello and Google docs)
- 24/7 customer support
- One of longer activity logs
- Limited to two users
- Slow updates to mobile app
- Mixed reviews on quality of customer service
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BEST FOR UNLIMITED USERS
Clickup
4.6
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Why We Picked It
Clickup’s free plan includes:
• Unlimited team members
• Unlimited tasks and custom views
• 100 uses of custom fields
• Up to five ‘spaces’
• Real-time chat option
• Time-tracking tools
• Activity log of one day
• iOS and Android apps
Customers will need to upgrade to the unlimited plan (currently $5 per month per member) to access unlimited dashboards, integrations and custom fields.
Overall, ClickUp offers unlimited free plan members, with a good set of capabilities, which may appeal to small business owners, freelancers or solo workers.
Pros & Cons
- Flexibility to customise projects
- Automation options
- Integrates with other apps (including Trello, Slack and Excel)
- 24/7 customer support
- Complex projects likely to ‘run out’ of free uses
- Limited to chat, mind maps and Gantt charts
- Limited activity log
- Some issues with speed of customer service
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BEST FOR TO-DO LISTs
Todoist
4.6
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Why We Picked It
Todist’s free plan includes:
• Five team members per project
• Five active projects
• 20 active sections per project
• 300 active tasks per project
• 5 MB file uploads
• Activity log of one week
• iOS and Android apps
Customers will need to upgrade to the pro plan (currently $4 per month) to access 300 active projects, 25 team members and 100 MB file uploads.
Todist may appeal to businesses looking to manage to-do lists with features such as task management, collaboration tools and filters.
Pros & Cons
- Simple interface
- Integrates with other apps (including Trello, Slack and Google sheets)
- Syncs to calendar
- One of longer activity logs
- File upload limit of 5 MB
- Limited features without external integrations
- Lacks time-tracking tools
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Airtable
4.5
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Why We Picked It
Airtable’s free plan includes:
• Five team members
• Unlimited bases with 1,200 records per base
• 1,200 records per table
• 2 GB attachments per base
• Activity log of two weeks
• iOS and Android apps
Customers will need to upgrade to the plus plan (currently $10 per month per member) to access 5,000 records and 5 GB of attachments per base, together with an activity log of six months.
Airtable may be a good option for businesses looking for unlimited bases, multiple views and a drag-and-drop interface.
Pros & Cons
- Easy to track progress
- Automation options
- Integrates with other apps (including Trello, Slack and Google drive)
- One of longer activity logs
- Not as simple as some software
- Mixed reviews on quality of customer service
- Issues with retrieving data
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Trello
4.5
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
Software integrations
Yes
Timelines
Yes
Why We Picked It
Trello’s free plan includes:
• Unlimited cards
• Up to 10 boards
• Built-in automation
• Templates
• Integration with more than 200 apps
• Unlimited storage (10 MB per file)
• Unlimited activity logs
• iOS and Android apps
Customers will need to upgrade to the standard plan (currently $5 per month per member) to access unlimited boards, custom fields and storage of 250 MB per file.
Trello may suit businesses with simple projects progressing through different stages, rather than more complex projects.
Pros & Cons
- Simple drag-and-drop interface
- Easy to track progress
- Automation options
- Integrates with other apps (including Kanban, Slack and Google drive)
- Unlimited activity logs
- Harder to track multiple projects at once
- Requires third-party integrations for some features, such as progress bars
- Files limited to 10 MB
Methodology
To arrive at our star ratings for the best free project management software, we considered the following:
- Features: these included task management, file sharing, collaboration tools and timelines. We also considered whether the software had a mobile app and integrations with third party software
- Ease of use: whether the software was user-friendly, including the use of templates, drag-and-drop functionality and multiple views
- Customer support: the ability to access help, both in terms of technical content provided on the website, as well as live chat and email support
- Customer reviews: we also considered actual user experiences and reviews.
We overlaid this research with editorial judgement to arrive at our Forbes star ratings.
How to choose free project management software
It’s worth considering which features are most important for your business, whether file sharing, task management, collaboration tools or mobile capabilities.
Ease-of-use is another key consideration, allowing employees to get up to speed quickly with the software. Finally, customer support can play an important role by enabling you to access help when you need it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the benefits of using project management software?
There are many benefits of using project management software, including the ability to track tasks, manage files and collaborate with team members. Project management software can also help you stay organised and meet deadlines.
Is free project management software really free?
Yes, free project management software is free. However, some free plans may have limited features and encourage you to upgrade to a paid plan to unlock advanced capabilities or add more users.
What is the best project management software for small businesses?
Companies should choose the best project management software based on their needs and budget. However, monday.com is a very popular project management software among small businesses for its breadth of features under its free plan.
Is project management software secure?
Like most types of software, the best project management software programs offer many levels of security. When choosing this type of software, you want to look for security features like two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA), documentation that shows frequent security updates and patches, intrusion detection, the monitoring of user activities, data encryption and privacy protection.
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Kathy HaanContributor
Kathy Haan, MBA is a former financial advisor-turned-writer and business coach. For over a decade, she’s helped small business owners make money online. When she’s not trying out the latest tech or travel blogging with her family, you can find her curling up with a good novel.
Cassie BottorffEditor
Cassie is an assistant assigning editor, collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. She is passionate about economic development and is on the board of two non-profit organizations seeking to revitalize her former railroad town. Prior to joining the team at Forbes Advisor, Cassie was a Content Operations Manager and Copywriting Manager at Fit Small Business.