Short answer
monday.com is our top pick for small businesses, scoring 86/100 when price and ease of use carry more weight. Paid plans start at $9/seat/mo (Basic, billed annually; paid plans start from 3 seats).
This list uses the same tools and ratings as our main project management tools ranking, reweighted for teams of roughly 1 to 50 people: price and ease of use count for more, and enterprise depth counts for less. Tools that score 70 or higher on the small-business weights are included.
The reviews
Starting price$9/seat/moBasic, billed annually; paid plans start from 3 seats
Free trial / planFree plan (2 seats); 14-day Pro trial
Main score85/100
monday work management runs projects on colorful, customizable boards. Timeline and Gantt views and 250 automation actions a month start on Standard ($12); Pro ($19) raises that to 25,000 and adds time tracking and private boards.
Who it's best for
Teams with many non-technical members who need a tool people will adopt without training.
Strengths
- Very easy to adopt, with 200+ templates
- Unlimited free viewers on paid plans
- Rated 4.7/5 on G2 from 17,000+ reviews
Watch-outs
- Gantt and automations need Standard or higher
- Paid plans start from 3 seats
- Automation actions are capped per month below Enterprise
Skip it if: You're a team of one or two who only needs a simple task board.
Read our full monday.com review →
Starting price$5/user/moStandard, billed annually ($6 monthly)
Free trial / planFree plan (10 collaborators per Workspace)
Main score77/100
Trello is a kanban board tool from Atlassian. The free plan covers 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace; Premium ($10) adds calendar, timeline, table, dashboard and map views.
Who it's best for
Small teams and individuals who want a visual task board with almost no learning curve.
Strengths
- Learn it in minutes
- Cheapest paid plan on this list
- Unlimited Power-Ups per board, even on Free
Watch-outs
- Timeline and calendar views need Premium
- Light on reporting and portfolio management
Skip it if: You manage dependencies, budgets or many projects at once.
Read our full Trello review →
Starting price$9/user/moCore, billed yearly (shown against a $12 regular price)
Free trial / planFree Forever plan
Main score86/100
ClickUp combines tasks, docs, whiteboards, goals and time tracking in one workspace. Its paid plans are Core ($9) and Business ($17) per user billed yearly, plus Enterprise by quote. Gantt charts and native time tracking start on Core, and every plan includes a monthly allowance of ClickUp Brain AI credits.
Who it's best for
Teams that want one tool for projects, docs and lightweight wikis, and are willing to spend time setting it up.
Strengths
- Gantt charts and time tracking on the first paid plan
- Docs, whiteboards and goals in the same tool
- Free Forever plan with unlimited tasks
Watch-outs
- So many features that setup takes real effort
- Core and Business prices are shown as discounts from higher regular prices; confirm your price at checkout
- Extra AI credits are a paid add-on
Skip it if: Your team wants something simple that works on day one; try Trello or Asana.
Read our full ClickUp review →
Starting price$10.99/user/moStarter, billed annually ($13.49 monthly)
Free trial / planFree plan for up to 2 users
Main score87/100
Asana organizes work into projects, tasks and goals. Starter adds timeline and Gantt views, dashboards and unlimited automations; Advanced ($24.99) adds portfolios, goals, resource management, approvals and time tracking.
Who it's best for
Marketing, operations and product teams that run many projects at once and need clear owners, dates and status.
Strengths
- Unlimited automations from the Starter plan
- Timeline and Gantt views on Starter
- Portfolios and resource management on Advanced
Watch-outs
- Free plan is limited to 2 users
- Portfolios and time tracking need the $24.99 Advanced plan
Skip it if: You want a flexible all-in-one workspace with docs, whiteboards and chat; look at ClickUp.
Read our full Asana review →
Starting price$9/member/moPro, billed yearly ($12 monthly), up to 10 members
Free trial / planFree trial
Main score81/100
Smartsheet runs projects in a spreadsheet-style grid with Gantt, board and calendar views. Business ($19 yearly) adds timeline view, workload tracking, unlimited automations and Power BI and Tableau integrations; portfolios and scenario planning are on Enterprise.
Who it's best for
PMOs, operations and construction or engineering teams that think in rows, formulas and dependencies.
Strengths
- Familiar spreadsheet interface with Gantt built in
- Unlimited free Contributors
- Strong reporting and BI integrations on Business
Watch-outs
- Pro is capped at 10 members
- Less approachable for teams that don't like spreadsheets
Skip it if: Your team prefers visual boards over grids.
Read our full Smartsheet review →
Starting price$29/mo flatFreelancer, 3 projects and 5 users; Pro Unlimited $199/mo billed annually for unlimited projects and users
Free trial / planFree plan; 30-day trial
Main score66/100
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.
Skip it if:
Starting price$10/user/moTeam, billed annually, 2 to 15 users
Free trial / planFree plan; 14-day trial
Main score79/100
Wrike is a work management platform for larger and more complex projects. Team ($10) includes interactive Gantt charts and dashboards; Business ($25, 5 to 200 users) adds workspace templates and standard integrations; resource and capacity planning and budgeting are on Pinnacle.
Who it's best for
Agencies and project management offices that juggle many projects, approvals and shared resources.
Strengths
- Interactive Gantt charts from the Team plan
- Strong resource and capacity planning on higher tiers
- Free plan and 14-day trial with no card
Watch-outs
- Business and higher plans are annual-only
- Seats are sold in groups of 5 or more
- Resource planning needs a sales-priced plan
Skip it if: You're a small team that wants a light, quick tool.
Read our full Wrike review →
How we weighted this list
| Criterion | Main ranking | Small business |
|---|
| Planning views | 25% | 16% |
| Workflow automation | 15% | 9% |
| Reporting & portfolios | 15% | 9% |
| Collaboration & ease of use | 20% | 34% |
| Integrations | 10% | 6% |
| Price & value | 15% | 26% |
FAQ
What are the best project management tools for small businesses?
monday.com scores highest (86/100) once price and ease of use carry more weight, followed by Trello, ClickUp.
How is this different from your main ranking?
Same tools and the same 0 to 5 ratings, but price and ease of use count for more, because small teams rarely have an admin or a big budget. The weights are in the table on this page. Trello move into the top three as a result.
Which project management tools are cheapest for a small team?
See the starting prices in the comparison table; free plans and trials are listed next to them. Price the plan that covers your team size, not only the entry plan.
What should a small business look for?
A free plan or low entry price, quick setup without an admin, and the two or three features you need on day one. Avoid paying for enterprise controls you won't use yet.
Vettlo Editorial TeamResearched and written by the Vettlo editorial team using our methodology. Prices and plan details come from each vendor's public pricing page.