How Much Does Project Management Software Cost in 2026?
Short answer
Entry plans for the project management tools we rank cost $5 (Trello) to $10.99 (Asana) per user per month on annual billing, so a 10-person team pays $600 to $1,318.80 a year on entry plans. Timeline views, higher automation limits, time tracking and portfolios often sit one or two tiers higher, so price the plan that has the features you need, not the entry plan.
Entry prices by tool
The cheapest paid plan for each tool in our ranking, from each vendor's pricing page:
| Tool | Entry price | Plan and billing | Free plan / trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asana | $10.99/user/mo | Starter, billed annually ($13.49 monthly) | Free plan for up to 2 users |
| ClickUp | $9/user/mo | Core, billed yearly (shown against a $12 regular price) | Free Forever plan |
| monday.com | $9/seat/mo | Basic, billed annually; paid plans start from 3 seats | Free plan (2 seats); 14-day Pro trial |
| Smartsheet | $9/member/mo | Pro, billed yearly ($12 monthly), up to 10 members | Free trial |
| Wrike | $10/user/mo | Team, billed annually, 2 to 15 users | Free plan; 14-day trial |
| Trello | $5/user/mo | Standard, billed annually ($6 monthly) | Free plan (10 collaborators per Workspace) |
Starting prices are the cheapest paid plan on each vendor's pricing page on Oct 30, 2026, billed annually where shown. Basecamp charges a flat monthly fee rather than per user.
What a 10-person team pays per year
Ten users on each vendor's entry plan, at the annual-billing prices above (taxes, add-ons and extra AI usage excluded):
| Tool | Per user per month | 10 users per year | Plan terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trello | $5 | $600 | Standard, billed annually ($6 monthly) |
| ClickUp | $9 | $1,080 | Core, billed yearly (shown against a $12 regular price) |
| Smartsheet | $9 | $1,080 | Pro, billed yearly ($12 monthly), up to 10 members |
| monday.com | $9 | $1,080 | Basic, billed annually; paid plans start from 3 seats |
| Wrike | $10 | $1,200 | Team, billed annually, 2 to 15 users |
| Asana | $10.99 | $1,318.80 | Starter, billed annually ($13.49 monthly) |
Read the plan terms before comparing totals: some entry plans cap the number of members or sell seats in minimum bundles, and entry plans differ in what they include. Our ClickUp vs Asana and Asana vs monday.com comparisons price a 10-person team on the plan each tool needs for timelines, automations, time tracking and portfolios.
Which plan you'll actually need
The entry plan is often not the one a team keeps. These features decide which tier you land on:
- Timeline and Gantt views. Asana and ClickUp include timeline or Gantt views on their first paid plan; monday.com needs Standard and Trello needs Premium. Compare that plan's price, not the entry price.
- Automation limits. Asana's automations are unlimited on Starter; monday.com caps automation actions per month by plan.
- Time tracking, portfolios and resource planning. Features like portfolios and resource planning usually cost $19 to $25 per user or more. Some vendors put resource planning on plans priced by quote.
Our project management shortlist notes the plan each feature sits on for every tool.
Per-seat vs flat pricing and other cost drivers
- Paid seats. Most tools charge per user per month. monday.com has free viewers, Smartsheet free Contributors, and Basecamp no per-user fees at all. That changes the cost for wide teams.
- Billing period. The prices above assume annual billing. Where a vendor also lists a month-to-month price for the same plan, paying monthly costs more:
- Asana: $10.99 billed annually vs $13.49 month to month, $300 more a year for 10 users
- Smartsheet: $9 billed annually vs $12 month to month, $360 more a year for 10 users
- Trello: $5 billed annually vs $6 month to month, $120 more a year for 10 users
- AI add-ons. Some vendors include a monthly allowance of AI credits or requests and charge for more.
- Discounted list prices. Some vendors show plans as discounts from a higher regular price; confirm the renewal price at checkout.
Basecamp is the main exception to per-seat pricing. Basecamp combines to-dos, message boards, schedules and chat per project, priced as a flat monthly fee from $29 (Freelancer) to $199 billed annually (Pro Unlimited) with no per-user charges; lower tiers cap projects and users. At $199 a month, its unlimited plan costs less than putting every user on Asana's $10.99 entry plan once a team reaches 19 people. It scored below our threshold for the ranking because it lacks Gantt and timeline planning, but for large, simple teams the flat fee is worth pricing.
How to budget for project management software
- List the views and limits you need on day one, such as a Gantt chart, 500 automations a month or time tracking, and find the cheapest plan on each tool that includes all of them.
- Count paid seats separately from viewers and guests, then multiply by 12 months.
- Check seat minimums and caps so a plan still fits when the team grows.
- Start free if you're small. ClickUp's Free Forever plan has unlimited tasks, Trello's free plan covers 10 collaborators per Workspace, and Asana and monday.com have free plans for up to 2 users. See our best free project management software list for the limits of each.
Our shortlist scores each tool on six weighted criteria, including price and value, and our small business list reweights them for smaller teams. Moving off Asana? See Asana alternatives.
FAQ
How much does project management software cost per user?
Entry plans for the tools we rank cost $5 to $10.99 per user per month on annual billing. Plans with portfolios, resource planning and higher automation limits cost more per user.
How much does project management software cost for a team of 10?
On entry plans with annual billing, 10 users cost $600 (Trello) to $1,318.80 (Asana) a year, before taxes and add-ons.
What is the cheapest project management software?
Among the tools we rank, Trello has the lowest entry price at $5 per user per month on annual billing. 5 of the 6 also have free plans for small teams.
Which project management tools include Gantt charts on the cheapest plan?
Asana (Starter), ClickUp (first paid plan), Wrike (Team) and Smartsheet (Pro) include Gantt charts on their entry paid plans. monday.com includes them from Standard.